Flip Book Template
Print the frames for a paper flip book in a minute. Choose 8 to 48 frames and a frame size (3 × 2 in, 4 × 2½ in, A7 or 5 × 3 in, or your own), and every frame prints with its number on a binding strip for the staple, a light drawing window and optional guide lines: a centre cross and ground line, or a 5 mm grid. Add a cover with your title and a back card, and lay the frames out in reading order or in stack-cut order, so you can cut a whole stack of pages at once and the frames come out in sequence. Draw your own animation, trace the starter bouncing ball (with an onion-skin outline of the frame before), or add a GIF or a set of pictures and the frames fill themselves, spread evenly or in a loop. Watch it play on screen before you print, then download a PDF, 300 DPI PNG or SVG. Nothing is uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Print at 100% (Actual size). Cut on the solid lines, stack the frames in number order with the cover on top, and staple or clip the left strip.
Watch it move
Frames
Fill the frames
Runs in your browser with our own code: your GIF and pictures are read on your device and nothing is uploaded or saved. A GIF is split into its frames by our own decoder. The designs are our own drawings: you may use them and anything you make with them, including things you sell, with no credit needed.
How to make a flip book
- Choose US Letter or A4, the number of frames and the frame size.
- Pick guide lines, the binding strip width and whether to add a cover and a back card.
- Leave the frames blank, choose the starter animation, or add a GIF or pictures to fill them; press Play to check the motion.
- Download the PDF and print at 100% (Actual size), on card stock or thick paper if your printer takes it.
- Cut on the solid lines, stack the frames in number order with the cover on top and the back card underneath, line up the left edges, and staple or clip the strip. Then flip.
What you can use it for
- A first animation project for kids, a class or a club
- Turning a short GIF or video clip into a paper flip book
- Teaching frames, timing and in-betweens in an art lesson
- A handmade gift or party favour
- Testing a walk cycle or a bounce on paper before animating it on a computer
- A rainy-day craft with a pencil and a stapler
Frame sizes and frames per page
| Frame size | Frames per US Letter page | Frames per A4 page | Pages for 24 frames, cover and back card (Letter) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 × 2 in (76.2 × 50.8 mm) | 10 (2 × 5) | 10 (2 × 5) | 3 |
| 4 × 2½ in (101.6 × 63.5 mm) | 6 (2 × 3) | 4 (1 × 4) | 5 |
| A7 landscape (105 × 74 mm) | 4 (2 × 2) | 4 (2 × 2) | 7 |
| 5 × 3 in (127 × 76.2 mm) | 4 (2 × 2) | 4 (2 × 2) | 7 |
Each page holds as many frames as fit inside a 10 mm margin, turned portrait or landscape, whichever holds more. Frames sit edge to edge, so one cut separates two frames.
How long your flip book plays
| Frames | At 6 frames a second | At 12 frames a second | At 18 frames a second |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 2.0 s | 1.0 s | 0.67 s |
| 24 | 4.0 s | 2.0 s | 1.33 s |
| 36 | 6.0 s | 3.0 s | 2.0 s |
| 48 | 8.0 s | 4.0 s | 2.67 s |
Hand-drawn animation is often drawn at 12 frames a second. The Play button above shows your frames at 6, 12 or 18 frames a second so you can see the timing before you print.
Reading order and stack-cut order
| Page (3 × 2 in frames, 24 frames, Letter) | Reading order | Stack-cut order |
|---|---|---|
| Page 1 | cover, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | cover, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 |
| Page 2 | 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 | 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, back card |
| Page 3 | 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, back card | 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23 |
Reading order is easiest when you cut each page by hand. Stack-cut order is for cutting all the pages in one go: stack the pages with page 1 on top, cut, then stack the piles cell by cell.
What prints on each frame
| Part | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Solid outline | The cut line around every frame |
| Binding strip with number | The left edge, where the staples or clip go; the number keeps the frames in order |
| Drawing window | A light box inside the frame: keep the drawing inside it so it does not disappear into the binding |
| Centre cross and ground line | Guides that help a drawing stay in the same place from frame to frame |
| 5 mm grid | A light grid for measuring how far something moves |
| Cover and back card | A title frame on top and a card underneath to stiffen the book |
Tips for a smooth flip book
- Change the drawing only a little from one frame to the next; small steps look smoother.
- Draw the first and last positions first, then the frames in between.
- Keep anything that should not move, like the ground, in the same place on every frame.
- Use a light box or a window to trace the frame before and change only what moves.
- Flip it early and often: if the motion jumps, add frames where it jumps.
Which paper template?
Fold a one-sheet booklet with the Zine Template, plan shots on a Storyboard Template or draw panels with the Comic Strip Maker. To see every frame of a GIF as a picture, use Split GIF; to make a GIF from your drawings, use the GIF Maker.
More free tools
Making something that moves?
Animation and paper tools that run privately in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a flip book?
Print the frames at 100%, draw one picture per frame with a small change each time, cut them out and stack them in number order with the cover on top. Line up the left edges, staple or clip the strip, then hold the strip and flip the free edges with your thumb.
How many pages does a flip book need?
About 12 frames make a one-second animation at 12 frames a second, so 8 frames is a short loop and 48 frames is about four seconds. More frames with smaller changes look smoother. The table on this page shows the running time at three speeds.
What size should flip book pages be?
Small pages flip best. A 3 × 2 in frame fits nine to a page and is easy to hold; a 5 × 3 in frame gives more room to draw. The binding strip on the left is part of each frame, so the drawing window is a little narrower than the frame.
Can I turn a GIF into a flip book?
Yes. Add the GIF and it is split into its frames on your device by our own decoder, then spread over the number of frames you choose. Add several PNG or JPEG pictures instead and they are used in file-name order (2 comes before 10).
What is stack-cut order?
With stack-cut order the frames are spread across the pages so you can stack every printed page, cut all the cells at once with a guillotine or a craft knife, then put the pile from the first cell on top of the pile from the second cell and so on. The frames come out in order without sorting.
What are the onion-skin outlines?
In the starter animation each frame also shows a dotted outline of the ball in the frame before. Animators call this onion skinning: it shows how far the drawing moves each time, so the spacing stays even.
What paper is best for a flip book?
Card stock or thick paper flips more cleanly than thin copy paper, which bends and sticks. Print a test page first to check your printer takes it, and glue the back card onto a piece of card to make the book stiffer.
How do I bind a flip book?
Line up the left edges by tapping the stack on a table, then put two staples or a binder clip through the binding strip. The small crosses on the strip show where the staples go. A strip of tape wrapped around the edge holds it neatly.
Can I use the starter animation in class?
Yes. The bouncing ball is our own drawing and you may print it for a class, a club or a workshop. The note under the tool gives the full terms.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Everything is drawn by JavaScript in your browser and never leaves your device, and nothing is saved when you close the page.