Overview
Kids animate geometric shapes in this stop-motion film-creator app. They will learn to combine or layer shapes on top of each other to create more interesting characters.
Two Modes of Play
This movie-building app offers two modes: "Easy" for kids as young as age 7 and "Expert" for kids ready for more complicated, freeform designs.
In the Easy mode, kids work their way through five progressively more difficult tutorials, learning to build a snowman and make a train chug across the scene. In each scene, they match shapes to outlined positions, snapping a photo in between each step to create the animation. In the Expert mode, while templates are available, the app doesn't show you how to move them to make the movie. You have to experiment to figure it out.
App Analysis
Overall, this app is harder to use than
ABCya Animate. Resizing, rotating, and moving objects to the foreground aren't as intuitive. I found I was frequently moving a geometric shape that I didn't intend to move.
The Bottom Line
It will take kids a while to learn this interface. However, because the app provides endless possibilities to design with geometric shapes, some older kids may like the challenge of figuring out how to use this toolset and enjoy the crispness of the resulting animation.
Best For:
Easy Studio is best for kids who like Tangram-like puzzles. Part of the challenge here is figuring out how to combine shapes to make objects.
All tech products are judged on a five star scale by looking at the following factors: fun, education, ease of use, value, and technical.
