Making Stop Motion Myths and Legends

Myths are stories that are designed to explain an absolute truth, such as why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west or why seasons change. These stories became an important part of spiritual and religious societies across history, and they normally featured gods and supernatural beings as the main characters.

Legends, on the other hand, are stories that focus on everyday human beings. Many have some historical root that can actually tell us something about the past. However, as these stories are told and retold over the centuries, new elements such as rumours, gossip and hearsay may be included which can make it difficult to figure out which bits are fact and fiction. They could also change as they spread across different countries.

Often beginning as oral stories passed on by word of mouth, they have since appeared in forms ranging from books and plays to more recent adaptations like film, television and video games.

One of the ways myths and legends can be told is through stop-motion animation. By taking lots of pictures of an object which is moved a little between each shot, you can then combine them together to make it look as if it was moving on its own. You can see this style being used in films such as Wallace and Gromit, as well as classic Greek mythology movies like Jason and the Argonauts.

Fran Hills – Bexley YAC

Adult supervision is required.

Type of Activity : Crafting, Animation

How many people required (minimum) : 1

Safety Measures : Please ask an adult to help you with things like scissors if you want to cut anything to make for your scene

Ages : 8+

Time Required: 2 Hours

Step 1

Choose which myth or legend you want to animate. It can be anything from Greek, Norse or African mythology to King Arthur, Stonehenge and even Robin Hood. Stuck for ideas? Try looking online at places such as the ‘Extra Credits Mythology’ Youtube series.

Step 2

Choose which Lego/Duplo figures and bricks you will need for your story. How many characters are there? Do you want any buildings?

Step 3

Set up your scene.

Step 4

Once your scene is set up, take a picture, move your figures a little bit and take another picture. Repeat until your story is told. Remember the more pictures you take the better the animation.

Step 5

Once finished download your pictures into the animation software and enjoy your film. If you want, maybe think about adding music or narration?

Step 6

Want to try the activity again? Think about trying a different story. Or perhaps try making characters out of clay or paper cut-outs?