Whiteboard Animation
Education · Earth science lesson
Soil profile animation
Watch a soil profile drawn step by step, layer by layer: grass and fallen leaves, dark topsoil, lighter subsoil, broken rock and solid bedrock at the bottom. A hand-drawn whiteboard animation made from one illustration.
- 2:04 · 2 chapters
- 4:3
- Lines + colour
By Deniffer AlanPublished Tested by Deniffer Alan
Opens Studio with this picture, ready to draw.
The picture it starts from1920 × 1433 px · WEBP
DownloadThe prompt behind the picture
A vertical cross-section of a soil profile, shown as a single rectangular block of earth cut away like a slice of cake. From top to bottom, exactly five layers in this order: a thin top layer of grass and fallen leaves; a dark brown topsoil layer with a few plant roots reaching into it; a lighter tan-coloured subsoil layer; a layer of broken rocks and gravel; and at the bottom solid grey bedrock. Clear boundaries between layers. Nothing else in the picture. Plain background with lots of empty space, 4:3. Coloured pencil and watercolour marker, clean black ink outlines, warm off-white paper, no text.The picture came from an image model; any finished illustration works the same way, including one you drew. Use the prompt as a starting point for your own topic.
How this clip was made
The picture above was made with an image model from the prompt above; WhiteboardAnimation.ai then drew it, stroke by stroke, as the clip at the top of this page.
- Drawn
- Credits used
- 1
Notes from making it
The layers were checked against Britannica’s article on soil profiles, which lists six horizons: O, A, E, B, C and R. The picture leaves out the pale E layer to keep the drawing simple.
Soil profile, step by step
A script to read over it, timed to the drawing: the lines go down first and the colour arrives on the last beat.
- 0:00Line artA soil profile is a slice of the ground that shows the layers of soil from top to bottom. Scientists call these layers horizons.
- 0:19At the top is the O horizon: organic matter, like fallen leaves and bits of plants, lying on the surface.
- 0:37Below it is the A horizon, the topsoil. It is a mix of minerals and humus, and plant roots grow down into it.
- 0:56Next is the B horizon, the subsoil. Material from the layers above collects here, often clay.
- 1:14ColourThe C horizon is made of rock that has hardly been broken down. It is often the parent material the soil formed from.
- 1:33At the very bottom is the R horizon: solid bedrock. Living things and water seeping down slowly shape all the layers above it.
Where this soil profile animation fits
Use it in an earth science or geography lesson on soil and rocks, before digging a soil pit in the school garden, or as a short clip in a nature video for kids. The same process turns your own diagram into a clip.
- Education
- Explainer videos
- Science
- Nature
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