A little reason to celebrate
International Animation Day
Hobby ยท October 28
A day for animation in all its forms, from hand-drawn cartoons to stop motion and computer graphics, marked in the United States and elsewhere.
International Animation Day falls on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. That is tomorrow.
Animation is the trick of showing a series of still images fast enough that the eye reads them as movement. International Animation Day honors that trick and the people who practice it, and it is marked in the United States as well as in many other countries.
The craft comes in many forms. Some animators draw every frame by hand. Others move clay figures or paper cutouts a fraction at a time and photograph each pose, which is called stop motion. Much of today's animation is built in computers, where artists shape digital models and set them moving. A few minutes of finished film can take a small team weeks of patient work.
People mark the day by watching what they love and looking for something new. Short films are an easy place to start, since they often carry the most inventive ideas in the least time. Animation festivals, libraries and film clubs sometimes hold screenings, and plenty of classic shorts can be found online.
It is also a day that rewards making something. A flip book needs only a stack of sticky notes and a pencil. A phone and a few toys are enough for a rough stop motion clip, and the first jerky result usually explains, better than any lecture, why animators count frames so carefully.
The oldest principle still holds: draw a ball a little lower and a little squashed in the next frame, and it starts to bounce.
Ways to celebrate
- Make a flip book from a pad of sticky notes.
- Watch an animated short film you have never seen.
- Shoot a simple stop motion clip with a phone and toys.
- Look for a local screening at a library or film club.
- Share a favorite animated scene with a friend.
Dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Wednesday, October 28 |
| 2027 | Thursday, October 28 |
| 2028 | Saturday, October 28 |
| 2029 | Sunday, October 28 |
| 2030 | Monday, October 28 |
All national days on October 28
Also on October 28
Categories: Hobby days