Handmade Flipbook

Making your own Flipbook isn't that difficult if you have the right software tools and some patience. I cannot take credit for this design, however - you can find my inspiration over at http://thecurio.us/blog/?p=14 and 3 sample flipbooks by the designer.

View my new flipbooks at http://www.instructables.com/id/Handmade_Flipbook_2/

Step 1 Find 5-6 sec of video and grab frames

You'll need software that has the ability to grab individual frames and save them to your computer. I used Pinnacle 12 (see figure) and grabbed approximately 101 still frames from approx. 4 seconds of video (at 30fps it should have been 120 individual still frames, but I trimmed the video a little).

This took almost 2 hours - it's time consuming and the software doesn't have any macro ability to automate this procedure. Maybe your software will...

Comments

[Jeesh]

Hey, This was great for my photography project! thanks very much I didnt expect them to be so thick but, hey! hope I get good marks :D thanks again

[rtjacks2]

jktechwrite this is an awesome idea! The wife and I are expecting and this will be the perfect gift to preserve the baby's 1st and surprise presents! How many pictures did you use per book, what type of leather, and where did you get the screw posts? Thanks.

[jktechwriter]

Congrats on the new arrival - my wife loves these 3 flipbooks I made showing our son at different ages. My recommendations, based on making about 8 flipbooks so far: 1. No fewer than 60 frames, no more than 90. The thickness of this stack (if you're having them printed on photo paper) is around 3/4 to 1" thick and is a perfect thickness for flipping - if the book is too thick, there will be frames that don't flip properly. 2. I got a 3" wide by 4' long strip of natural leather from Tandy. The strips are cut perfectly (the long edges are perfectly parallel) and I used the 3/8" thickness which gives the flipbooks a solid feel and doesn't let the stack twist in your hands. Tandy is online so you can order directly from them if you don't have a local Tandy store. 3. The brass Chicago screws come directly from talasonline.com - don't be fooled by the brass screw posts at Ace Hardware - they're not real brass and a screwdriver will strip off the color and you'll see bright aluminum underneath (I was ticked off because the salesperson told me they were real brass but I should have known by their weight - too light). When you order, I recommend getting a pack of 1" (6 pairs for 3 books) and also order a pack of 1/4" extensions (again, 6 of them) just in case your stack plus leather is a little too thick. Jim

[rtjacks2]

Jim thank you for your detailed response. I plan on doing the same and maybe one of the wife were she doesn't realize she is the star! Thanks again, Ron

[fancypenguin845]

awesome!!!

[jktechwriter]

Thanks! Glad you like it. I've had dozens of friends and family ask me to make them one - if they only knew how much time went into each one!

[happylinks]

Monkeyjam is also good software

[jktechwriter]

Thanks - I'll take a look at it. Anything to reduce the time involved in ripping individual images from a video clip to JPEGs would be great. Maybe this will do the trick. (If so, then the next step is to find software to automate the placement of the border around each image - for cutting purposes - and then export to a 4x6 jpeg suitable for printing.

[jeaper99]

Class. Total class. Much better than a simple video, you can leave this on a coffee table where it is interactive, and touchable.

[jktechwriter]

One thing I forgot - use Matte finish on your photos - Glossy has a glare that makes the animation hard to see in some light.

[=SMART=]

Awesome, Total cost ?

[jktechwriter]

I didn't keep track with receipts (next time, sorry). I'd estimate I spent about $15 or so on the developing (going to be cheaper next time when I use Costco), $20 on the leather, and $18 or so on 12 sets of Screw posts (with shipping). The leather will allow me to do another 10+ books (based on about 4" for each binding). Photo printing is the highest cost - I figure each book will cost about $15-20 in materials. A bit high I think, but then again, it's handmade and (IMO) very nice looking.

[=SMART=]

It is vey nice , and definitley worth the cost

[firesketch]

Awesome man! : D I love flipbooks...

[jktechwriter]

Me, too - I love old-fashioned tech...

[finky555]

What a great instructable! Just a thought on drilling paper, if you clamp a piece of wood on each side of the area to drill, (top and bottom of the stack) the bit won't tear the paper at each page as the drill goes through. You could cut and pre-drill the wood to use as a template to line up the pictures and holes for future flip books.

[jktechwriter]

Yeah, someone else made that comment over at the.curio.us website and I totally missed it. I'm going to use that technique on the next book and hopefully the paper won't be so damaged - I'm guessing the wood on bottom and top keeps the paper from ripping?

[jktechwriter]

Thanks for the comments everyone - I'm glad you like it. I wanted to give my wife a gift that would be a nice heirloom. The leather is already starting to brown from the handful of people I've shown.

[rimar2000]

Nice job. I would like to see it in operation (video).

[jktechwriter]

I'll take a short video of it this evening and post it up.

[earnst2w8]

man that's so cool:D

[greenhippo33]

Looks like I just found an awsome Christmas presents for my family THANKS 5 STARS

[joejoerowley]

Very Cool! Great Instructable!

[sageserver]

cool. I always like making these from post its. what kind of photo paper did you use?

[jktechwriter]

Just standard photo paper - this set was developed at Wolf Camera so whatever photo paper they use.