Interest badges
Animation
Express myself
Burst static stories into life.
Animation creates the illusion of movement and change.
Getting a Rangers interest badge
There are 36 interest badges for you to earn at Rangers, and 3 fun challenges to do for each badge.
You can do these badges at any time, anywhere and in any way you’d like. You can do them on your own or with units, during unit meetings, at home or even on holiday.
How to complete this badge
1. Character mode
Create your own character, and a biography for them.
Be inventive! You could research other characters first, then have a look at the tips below:
- What’s their backstory?
- What do they look like?
- What’s their personality?
- Use a colour palette.
- Think of their silhouette (like their shadow).
- Exaggerate things!
Share your character in the way that best suits you... and them. Why not create your character using 1 or more of these methods: drawings, collage, clay, fabric, photos or video.
2. Storyboard it
Using the character you’ve developed, create a storyboard to map out a story that your character plays a central role in.
Action: A storyboard uses grids, or separate sheets of paper, to show each stage or angle of a scene. You then sketch what’s going on, so other people can understand your story and where it’s going.
Sketches: What will each scene look like? Are there any other characters? Storyboard artists don’t focus on the detail – it's all about the flow. Rough sketches are great.
Simplicity: The story should be short, but that means the storyboard will still be detailed. If your drawings are too complicated, the storyboard gets confusing.
Annotation: Note down and label any actions, dialogue or other stuff that is harder to communicate with your rough sketches.
Look at your favourite short stories, songs, TV episodes, or online videos for inspiration for a storyboard.
3. Get animated
Using any animation technique you like, make your animation!
Techniques include a flip book, computer animation, or a stop-motion animation using clay models, paper, puppets or photos.
Different types of animation take different lengths of time, so you may need to adapt your animation style to suit the length of your story, as well as your own skills and interests.
Once you’ve created an animation you’re proud of, share it with others, in person or online.
Internet safety
To keep safe online, I'll…
- Not share any personal information on the internet (my full name, my home or school address, my phone number or my email address).
- Only download files on to my devices with permission from my parent or carer.
- Always ask permission before uploading photos or videos online. If I send pictures, I'm aware that these can be forwarded onto others.
- Tell my parent or carer, teacher or leader if something online worries or upsets me.
- Only add people online that I know in the real world.
- Be wary of emails that contain unknown links. I know clicking links can download viruses or other harmful files onto my devices.
- Treat people online with the same respect as I would in the real world. I'll never write anything that might hurt or upset someone.
- Not meet up with someone that I've met online and if someone asks me to do so, I'll tell a parent or carer.
- Think carefully about what I read, hear and see online, and not trust information unless I've checked it on other websites or in books, or have asked an adult about it.
