Zu3D Complete Stop Motion Animation Software Kit For Kids Includes Camera Handbook And Two Software Licenses Works On Windows Apple Mac OS X And iPad iOS

Zu3D is hands down one of the best stop-motion animation programs available, especially for children, educators, and beginners looking to dive into the world of animation. As summer camp owner, I’ve used many creative tools in our camps, and Zu3D stands out not only for its powerful features but also for how incredibly easy and fun it is to use! Ease of Use: From the moment you open the software, Zu3D welcomes you with an intuitive interface that makes animation feel accessible and exciting. The layout is child-friendly yet professional enough to produce high-quality results. My campers were creating their first animations within minutes, without frustration or confusion. The drag-and-drop functionality, simple timeline controls, and built-in tutorials make it easy for even the youngest users to jump in and get started right away. Special Features That Shine: Green Screen (Chroma Key): This feature lets students add exciting backgrounds to their animations, taking their stories to new worlds—from outer space to underwater adventures! Audio Recording & Editing: Kids can record their own voices, add sound effects, or insert background music directly into the animation, giving each project a personal and dynamic touch. Drawing Tools: With built-in drawing tools, students can add titles, speech bubbles, and extra artistic flair to their animations. Auto-capture and Onion Skinning: These tools help ensure smooth movement and fluid transitions between frames, even for beginners. Cross-Platform & Classroom Ready: Zu3D works brilliantly on both Windows and Mac and is available with school licenses that make setup easy and accessible across classrooms. Whether you're teaching a lesson on storytelling, science, or history, or simply encouraging creativity, Zu3D empowers students to become directors, artists, and storytellers all at once. It supports imagination while also reinforcing key skills like sequencing, collaboration, and digital literacy. In short, Zu3D is not just software—it’s a creativity engine that brings ideas to life. Highly recommended for camps, classrooms, clubs, and home users alike!

Very easy to use, I bought this for myself to create stop animation comics of my sculptures. Pros: The software interface is very friendly and simple to use. All controls are straight forward and intuitive. Drag and drop from frame to frame is flawlessly executed. I created a short animation in less than five minutes on my desk. (see uploaded video) The camera with the kit is adequate to simple captures and has built in lighting with a dimmer control. The kit includes; a green screen cloth that works very well with the software, some backdrops suitable for kids, an easy manual, multiple colours of clay for claymation, a quick start guide, and the software CD. Cons: The LED lighting on the included camera washes out anything white or glossy even at the lowest setting, so use some old school incandescent. Once any of the limited effects are applied You are stuck with them unless undo is applied before closing the software or applying another effect, so you cannot remove an effect, at least I cannot find a way so far. There is a link in the Readme file on the disk to download media content if you install the older version for Windows XP, however the the link is brings you to a 404 page not found and their main website has no link to download said content. Conclusion: I highly recommend this package for anyone wanting to dabble in simple stop animation, and for anyone with children who interested in making their own animations. Kudos to the Zu3D company for putting together a truly good package for learning stop animation.

Excellent software quality which is easy to use and set up. Audio quality/sound effects are clear. A wonderful way to spend time and to spur the imagination of youngsters. Requires patience which pays off when the video is watched by the artist. Very good value for money.

Awesome software, excellent webcam! The company even has outstanding customer support: the webcam that came in the box recorded sound, but had no video signal. I contacted ZuLogic and they shipped a new webcam out right away. My son and I had no problem producing a short little movie from his story. Real work time for us was probably a couple of weeks, though we spread it out over a few months of weekends. I like that the Zu3D software will import video from my camera (or stills) and drop it right into the timeline. The working files are bitmaps (.bmp) and .wav audio files. I used Zu3D to record an audio clip, then dug the .wav file out and used Audacity to add a few more effects, before returning the audio file to my movie. The software also recognized the other webcam on my computer and gave us the option to use that instead. However, the Starcam in the box has a much better lens for shooting close-ups of toys and clay. If you're not running this on a laptop, plan to buy some USB extension cables. The webcam cord is generous, but didn't reach from my tower to the "studio". The program gives you a single row of "video", a single row of titles, and a large number of audio tracks. So, you can't cross-fade video...unless you use different software to edit those bitmaps. The title generator is basic and fun, it will cross-fade in and out. ZuLogic even includes a small library of sound effects. It's a good collection (unless you're working sci-fi or fantasy) and will allow imports to the library. You can even edit sound effects or audio for length. The little tutorial book in the set was good for my son to review. The book explains the stop-motion process well. I looked over three major stop-motion sets and this one came out on top of my research. It's as good as the reviews say.

The software was easy enough for my 9yo to get running with himself (after he watched the videos available on their site). I took one star off because the registration requires windows authorization after inputting the serial number of the product, but, the second time when I ran through it with a password when I could a couple of days later, it told me the SN was already in use. I emailed the support team and they reauthorized the SN in just a couple of days, but, it was an inconvenience because that took us out past the 7 day trial period, which was upsetting to my son. He and his friend who tried it both really liked it, so I'd recommend it definitely.

We opened this gift and the camera does not work. The sound is also very hard to navigate for a 10-year-old. I wish that we had opened sooner, as the return window has passed.

I bought this for my 10 year old grandson for Christmas. He’s just discovered stop-motion and it’s his newfound passion. This was on his list. My son is a software design engineer manager at Amazon. He’d cleared my grandson’s wish list; however, he just assumed that this kit would have a CD rom in it. As is often the case…his “assumption” now has him buying a CD rom. I’m extremely thankful that I discovered this BEFORE Christmas; otherwise It would be like gifting a 10 year old a battery operated toy with NO batteries…on Christmas morning😵‍💫 For his birthday, the poor kid got 2 “electric” presents that were duds. One is that “as advertised on TV” lit-up “floating” cage-like ball. Problem: It didn’t have the bomarang return right out of the box😵‍💫. As with many TV “products”, the ads made it appear to by “out of the box ready to use” toy. Turns out it’s like pitching, you have to know HOW to throw it. The second present was a laser remote Cornwall climbing car. PROBLEM: Like many cars, it pulled to the left. It wouldn’t go straight so it wouldn’t climb the wall! I useable toys does not teach delayed gratification…it creates frustration and disappointment😞 LESSON: CHECK the toy out throughly BEFORE gifting….Batteries/CDrom needed? Car “tires” aligned? PhD in pitching needed before use? As a gift giver, don’t add a source of frustration for the receiver😵‍💫

The first camera didn’t work but after a few emails back and forth we got a new one - I am enjoying the program now! Thank you!

A fantastic complete set for budding animators. Comes with the webcam, green screen, modelling clay and easy-to-use software — everything’s included. My son has spent hours making his own short films and learning the process of animation. It's been wonderful to see his creativity and confidence grow, he's even started teaching me a thing or two, therefore becoming something we can enjoy as a family. Very happy with this purchase, great value and really well thought out! :)

Dieses Set hab ich für meinen Sohn gekauft (8). Zuerst war ich skeptisch ob es für diese Altersgruppe wirklich geeignet ist. Nach dem ich aber erfahren habe, dass es in Großbritannien in vielen Grundschulen eingesetzt wird, dachte ich, wir versuchen es einfach. Ich war positiv überrascht! Man hat schnell das erste Erfolgserlebnis. Nach etwa einer Stunde hatten wir die erste Filmsequenz! Wir hatten zu wenig Geduld, eine aufwändige Kulisse zu bauen. Dennoch wikte die Aufnahme schon überraschend gut. Die Funktionen sind intuitiv und einfach zu bedienen. Mein Sohn hat sich dann die nächste Stunde alleine damit beschäftigt, Musik und Geräusche auszuprobieren. Eine super kreatives Projekt für kleine und große Kinder und alle Begabungsstufen. Wenn man Zeit und Geduld hat, kann man sich hier wahnsinnig kreativ austoben.

Une prise en main facile malgré l'Anglais, car logiciel très intuitif. Pack très sympa donc à recommander pour les adeptes du stop-motion

Parfait

The kids love the animation software. It is really helpful and sufficiently feature rich to make super short films. EDIT- it seems that the original camera was faulty. A similar camera was sent by the super ZuLogic team, and although it looks almost the same, it works beautifully. The colours and sound are now much, much better. The new camera only uses a USB connection - the faulty one had a separate connection for the sound. [original text..] Some things were less good - like the Voice recording. It does not let you test to get the volume correct. And getting the camera settings correct was quite difficult... The camera itself was ok - but * colours burnt out in good lighting, meaning that most movies were made in dull lighting. This may be controlled by one of the many settings - but I could not figure it out. You could not immediately see the effect of changing a camera setting. * the led lights, over a shorter distance at least, results in spots of light. Nice idea, but less useful than expected. * the focus ring works - but it is easy to move the camera when you do so. Would be even nicer if the focus could be controlled on the computer [though I guess that that type of camera would cost much more] * for an HD camera, it seemed moderately low quality (grainy and poor colour matching) - though I tried different fps vs quality settings. The green-screen cloth looked quite grey on the computer, even in good light. * the built-in microphone is not very sensitive - you have to shout at it to pick up. Tried all settings and twiddled knobs, but never got really good results. The best bet is to complete the movie first, then hold the camera close to your mouth to record any voice-overs. Not bad enough to be upset - as I said, the kids love it!