ABSTRACT
This chapter explores into using color, background, and animation tricks to engage and delight children of all ages. Creating believable character animation is a well-developed art form, but there is more to animation than creating characters. The colors affect the mood, and every item in the room supports the story theme and potential for interactive animations. Animation is powerful in children’s design because it gets attention and can bring anything to life. When users see random animations and events, their minds often try to connect the events to some action they have taken because our minds want to find cause-and-effect relationships as part of the process of learning to play. Art and animation together create a visual invitation and mental hook that are the first tools in a designer’s palette. Designers can go a long way toward creating the illusion of life in characters and scenes by simply adding ambient and random events to environments.
