October 23, 2012

What is Clay Animation?

Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation.

Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine

clay.

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What type of Clay will we use?

A claymation character will need to be positioned many times during theprocess,so be sure to build them out of clay that does not harden. Plasticene-type modeling clay, such as Claytoon™ from VanAken

International, never hardens and will not dry out. It is also dense so you can sculpt long noses or big ears that wonʼt droop or sag.

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Technique1. In clay animation, each object is sculpted in clay or a similarly pliable material such as Plasticine, usually around a wire skeleton called an armature. 2. As in other forms of object animation, the object is arranged on the set (background), a film frame is exposed, and the object or character is then moved slightly by hand. Another frame is taken, and the object is moved slightly again. This cycle is repeated until the animator has achieved the desired amount of film. 3. The human mind processes the series of slightly changing, rapidly playing images as motion, hence making it appear that the object is moving by itself. 4. To achieve the best results, a consistent shooting environment is needed to maintain the illusion of continuity. This means paying special attention to maintaining consistent lighting and object placement and working in a calm environment.

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If your character is waving or talking, you donʼt need to keep taking pictures for the duration of the animation. Take a few pictures, such as mouth open and mouth closed, and simply reuse/repeat these images as frames in the animation once you are working in the software.To show movement across a location, move your character about a half inch at a time. The less you move the character each time, the smoother the motion will be, but you will have to take more pictures to create the complete animation. If your camera is zooming in or out, remember to do it slowly and in stages.Once you have taken your pictures, follow the directions that came with your camera to transfer them to the computer and place them in a single folder.

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Each frame, or still picture, is recorded on film or digital media and then played back in rapid succession. When

played back at a frame rate greater than 10–12 frames per second, a fairly convincing illusion of continuous motion

is achieved.

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ArmaturesA claymation character will need to be positioned many times during the process, so be sure to build them out of clay that does not harden and will not dry out. Claytoon

Clay is also dense so you can sculpt long noses or big ears that wonʼt droop or sag. An armature can be built to

support your clay figurine using wire, tin foil, styrofoam balls, and/or popsicle sticks. Characters can be almost any size, but keeping a character under 6 inches tall or long will

take less time and require less materials for construction.

An armature can be made by soldering ball-and-socket joints to small metal rods, bending 16 gauge aluminum wire, or even by wrapping chenille stems together.Give the armature some bulk with Styrofoam, cork, and aluminum foil. Styrofoam and aluminum foil can be cut into just about any size or shape and are easily sculpted. Then, cover this thick understructure with a thin layer of modeling clay.

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BackgroundsIf you watch a claymation video or advertisement, you will see many

different types of media used for characters, sets, and props.

Adding accessories to your characters means you donʼt have to create every detail with clay. Feel free to experiment with different media. Use beads to make buttons and eyes, paper clips to make antennae, and scraps of cloth to make scarves, neckties, and other

pieces of clothing.Most students have an incredible source of accessories at home: their toy collections! They can scour their closets and share their findings

with the other teams. Your local craft store may even have an aisle filled with miniature

furniture, musical instruments, gumball machines, and more.

In addition to clay characters, each team will need to create, design, and build theset or scenes where the action will take place. Scenes can be highly elaboratesets or simple backgrounds made of one color.You do not want your background to overshadow your characters. Keeping thebackground simple will let viewers concentrate on the action occurring in theanimation. Try to keep details to a minimum and create large, simple objects.Backgrounds created from construction paper are easy to make, and their boldand often contrasting colors look great in animations. Paper, glue, and scissors areinexpensive and provide your students with limitless possibilities for the designof their backgrounds.Backgrounds do not have to be photo realistic. Use colors for sky and groundthat contrast with the colors of your character and make them really stand out.In other words, donʼt put a green snake on green grass unless your animation isabout camouflage.

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If you need to save time, try making backgrounds with pictures from existing student artwork, posters, calendars, or picture books. A large picture book held open with clothespins is a great time saver. Combine this with plants, paper, or other props to complete the scene.

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Positioning the cameraPosition the camera at least 3 feet away from your scene. Zoom out so that you can see the entire set through the camera lens. This will keep you from having to move the camera and will minimize the number of pictures you need to take from different angles.

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Use a tripod

It is very important to keep the camera still while you are taking pictures. Using a tripod will make it much easier to hold the camera still. You can find full-size, tabletop, and clamping tripods at most electronics and camera stores. If you are careful, placing the camera on a table or even taping it down will also work.If you donʼt have a tripod, use boxes, books, and other objects to get the camera at the right height and the correct angle for picture taking.

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LightingProper lighting will help make your images crisp and clear and taking pictures in a well-lit room or in filtered sunlight is a great first step. Experiment with lighting effects and take a few test shots before you begin to animate your character.Be careful not to use too many lights. They can add a lot of heat to a room and might cause your characters to melt, sweat, or wilt. Donʼt use your flash as a substitute for proper lighting. The flash will wash out your characters and background and can add harsh shadows.

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History of Clay AnimationAttributed to two technological developments-

1. Invention of the single frame movie camera

2. Invention of plasticine (modeling clay) by William Harbutt, 1800's, England

The First Clay Animation Films -

In 1908, two films, “A Sculptor’s Welsh Rarebit Dream”(Edison, Feb. 1908) and “The Sculptor’s Nightmare”(Biograph, May 1908)

•Both films use clay animation as early “special effect”of clay that magically builds itself into a sculpture.

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"The Sculptor's Nightmare" (1908)

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Different types of Clay Animation...

Character Clay Animation

Clay can take the form of "character" clay animation, where the clay maintains a recognizable character throughout a shot, as in Art Clokey's and Will Vinton's films.

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•As USC film student, created experimental film ”Gumbasia”(1955)

•“Geometric and amorphous shapes made from modeling clay”

•Was tutoring child of Sam Engel of 20thCentury-Fox who produced the Gumbypilot film (1954-55)

•Gumby was born

Art Clockey

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First five episodes were aired in rotation on “The HowdyDoodyShow”

•Given NBC Saturday morning time slot.

•Budget was $650 per minute of animation (1/2 that ofcelbased such as Hanna-Barbera-Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound)

•Cancelled by NBC –Clockeysyndicated the show himself

•Lucrative agreement with Lakeside Toy Company

Gumby

October 23, 2012

1980’s shifted toward commercial and special effects

•The California Raisin commercials (1986-1989)

•Filmed like “music videos”

•Featured caricatures of stars (Ray Charles, Michael Jackson)

•Claymation®trademarked by Will Vinton Studios

•Fired in 2002 by new owners Nike

Will Vinton Studios

October 23, 2012

Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in a British series consisting of four animated short films and a feature-length film by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The characters are made from moulded plasticine modeling clay on metal armatures, and filmed with stop motion clay animation.

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How to create using Clay Animation...

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