Beginner’s Starter Kit
Too Long; Drew Rabbits (TL;DR)?
Yes, we’re back with the pun 😆. We are going to cover today:
To start your story-time animation, you do not need expensive gadgets – just the basics. Hardware like a drawing tablet or even your phone, a decent microphone (Or your laptop/phone’s microphone), and simple tools like headphones will get you going. Your system should meet basic requirements (Windows i5/8Gb RAM or a Mac with M1 chip).
Free software such as Krita, Opentoonz or DaVinci Resolve can handle animation and editing, while paid options: like Adobe Animate, After Effects, Premiere Pro and Vegas Pro give more power.
If you cannot upgrade yet, mobile applications work as well. Begin with what you already have, upgrade slowly, and focus on building your confidence, and on creating stories.
Tools, Hardware & Software You Need
for Story-time Animation
Okay. You have learnt what animation is, and you know the different types. Now, comes the big question: “What do I actually need to start animating?”
Good news: you do not need to sell your soul or kidney to buy Disney-level equipments. let’s break this down into 4 simple parts: hardware, software, tools, and system requirements.
1) Hardware (Your Physical Gear)
These are the things you’ll actually touch while creating your animations.
– Drawing or Display Tablet:
- FREE Solution: Use your phone with free drawing application (Yes, you can animate on your phone to start!).
- PAID Solution: A display tablet like Wacom Cintiq, XP-Pen or Huion Kamvas, and drawing tablets like Huion Inspiroy or Wacom Intuos
– Microphone (For narrating your story):
- FREE Solution: Use your phone’s built-in microphone. Just record in a quiet closet or a room with a blanket over your head (Cheap sound-proofing life hack).
- PAID Solution: A condenser microphone like Blue Yeti, Audio Technica AT2020, Razor Seirin, Hyper X or Fifine makes your voice crisp and professional.
– Two–Fingers Drawing Glove (Help to prevent accidental presses, reduces friction and smudge on the tablet):
- FREE Solution: Wrap a tissue under your hand or cut the index and middle fingers off an old glove.
- PAID Solution: A proper artist glove – cheap but handy.
2) Software (Your Physical Gear)
This is what you will use to draw, animate, and edit your video.
– Animation Software:
- FREE Solution: Krita, Penci2D, Flipaclip or OpenToonz (Good for simple 2D Animation). For mobile, you can use Flipaclip also.
- PAID Solution: Adobe Animate, Moho, ToonBoom or Cel Action – Industry-standard for 2D and story-time animations.
– Video Editing Software:
- FREE Solution: DaVinci Resolve or Hitfilm (Powerful and free)
- PAID Solution: Adobe Premiere Pro or Vegas Pro – Great for polishing, add reference clips and syncing your audio + animation.
– Special Effects/Polishing:
- FREE Solution: Canva (For simple text animations and graphics)
- PAID Solution: Adobe After Effects, Nuke or Motion Graphics – Professional-level effects, transitions, and visuals.
3) Tools (Your Little Helpers)
These make your workflow smoother, even if they seem small.
– Headphones:
- FREE Solution: Use whatever earphones came with your phone.
- PAID Solution: Over-ear studio headphones for better sound quality.
– Screen Recording (If you want to show your drawing process for Patreon or behind-the-scenes):
- FREE Solution: OBS Studio – works perfectly for screen recording and streaming.
- PAID Solution: Camtasia or ScreenFlow (Smoother editing built-in
– Storage (Animations eat space quickly):
- FREE Solution: Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive, free tiers.
- PAID Solution: External hard drives or bigger cloud plans for backups.
4) System Requirements (Your Computer Setup)
Your PC or Mac does not need to be a monster gaming rig, but it does need to keep up with animation software. Here’s the basic breakdown:
For Windows (Beginner-Friendly Specifications)
- Processor: Intel i5 (Or Ryzen 5) and above.
- RAM: 8 GB minimum (16 GB if possible)
- GRAPHICS: Integrated is okay for beginners, but a dedicated GPU (NVIDIA GTX 1050 or better) helps a lot.
- STORAGE: 256 GB SSD (Faster loading)
For Mac
- Any MacBook Air/Pro with M1 chip or newer is fine for beginners
- 8 GB RAM minimum
- Built-in graphics are good enough
- SSD storage recommended (128 GB or higher)
Free Alternative: If your computer is not powerful enough yet, start with phone/tablet apps like FlipaClip or ibisPaint X until you’re ready to upgrade.
Your Next Step?
Now that you know the tools and system requirements, it is time to ask yourself the big question: “Why do I want to do this?”
Story-time animation isn’t about quick fame or fortune. It is about sitting all by yourself for hours, bringing your dreams (Drawings) to reality (Life), and loving every second of telling stories. If the idea of spending days on a single video doesn’t scare you – but rather excites you – then story-time animation might be perfect for you.
In the next blog, we’ll dive into what is story-time animation really – how it works, why people love it, and how to know if it’s the right style for you.