Six Steps for making educational cartoons.

I generally follow a six step process for making full blown movies (depending on the project) and generally in the order listed below.  It is worth noting that the difference between making a movie and an effective PowerPoint presentation is steps 5 & 6.

1. Concept Development
2. Storyboarding
3. Graphic Design
4. Narrative/Script Development
5. Animation
6. Audio Visual Production

Those processes in further detail are:

Concept Development defines scope for story boarding 

• Target Audience:  Who needs to receive the message
• Message:  What do they need to know
• Call to Action: What do they need to do

Storyboarding defines scope for all subsequent parts of the process

• Who are the characters
• What are the concepts
• Where the story begins and ends
• Where characters and concepts interact
• What problem is resolved by the end of the story

Graphic Design provides the visual components/artwork for the message

• Who are the characters
• What are the concepts
• Where the story begins and ends
• Where characters and concepts interact
• What problem is resolved by the end of the story

Narrative/Script Development (aka screen play) provides the dialogue component of the message

• Dialogue
• Who gives the dialogue

Animation integrates the artwork and storyboard into a video media format

• Character Interactions
• Scene Transitions

Audio Visual Production and editing integrates/fits the narration and into the movie 

• Integration of Audio and Visual
• Fine-tuning of visual and audio

Related Resources:

Example of a movie made using this technique: http://youtu.be/kj08i6yoh8U