The Art of Clay Animation

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The Art of Clay Animation

• By Instructors
• Mr. and Mrs. OLoughlin
• Oshkosh Area School District

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The Art of Clay Animation
Select one of the chapters below by clicking on
the appropriate box

• What is Claymation?
• Brainstorming Ideas
• Making a Storyboard
• Creating your Characters
• Sets/Backgrounds
• Animation and Technology

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What is Animation?

• Animation is the rapid display of a series of
  images in order to create an illusion of
  movement.
• Animation is an optical illusion of motion.

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What is Stop Motion Animation?

• Stop-motion (or frame-by-frame) is an animation
  technique where the artist maneuvers real-world
  objects and photographs them one at a time.

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What is Stop Motion Animation?

• When the photos are combined in a series the
  illusion of movement is created. Just like the
  bouncing ball animation we saw earlier.
• In professional claymation films, each frame or
  picture, is played back at a frame rate greater
  than 1012 frames per second.

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What is Claymation?

• Clay figures are often used in stop motion
  animations because they are easy to move and
  position.
• Stop motion animation that uses clay is known as
  claymation.

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History of Claymation

• Clay animation began a short time after the
  invention of a clay-like substance called
  plasticine in 1897.

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History of Claymation

• One of the first claymation films was made in
  1908.
• This film was called A Sculptor's Welsh Rarebit
  Nightmare.
• During that time period, claymation wasn't a very
  popular technique and for almost 70 years, it
  remained that way.

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Gumby

• It wasn't until the mid to late 1980's that
  claymation became popular.
• One most memorable clay animations was Art
  Pokey's Gumby.

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Will Vinton

• Another man named Will Vinton is a big part of
  clay animation's history. In 1987, Will Vinton
  made a documentary explaining the process of clay
  animation. It was titled Claymation.
• Will Vinton also established many of the
  techniques used by clay animators today.
• You may know him by what might be his most
  popular creations, the California Raisins.

http//willvinton.net/
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Will Vinton Said

• According to the Will, "any one can do claymation
  and have wonderful results." Well . . . almost.
  You see, to obtain that raisin-quality status,
  the animators at the studio may reshape a
  character up to 1,440 times in only one minute.
  That's right, math fans. Each second of film
  consists of 24 different frames of film. Three
  seconds of animation for most is considered a
  'good day.'

http//willvinton.net/
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Other Famous Claymation Films

• Wallace and Gromit created by Nick Park

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Other Famous Claymation Films

• Chicken Run by Aardman Animations studios

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Other Famous Claymation Films

• Corpse Bride,The Nightmare Before Christmas, and
  Caroline By Henry Selick

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Other Famous Claymation Shows

• Bob the Builder created by Keith Chapman

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Professional Claymation Movies

• Producing a claymation movie is extremely
  laborious. Normal claymation films run at 12
  frames or pictures per second.
• For a 30-minute movie, there would be
  approximately 21,600 stops to change the figures
  for the frames.
• For a full-length (90-minute) movie, there would
  be approximately 64,800 stops.
• Great care must be taken to ensure that the
  object is not altered by accident, by even slight
  smudges, dirt, hair, or dust.

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Brainstorming

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Brainstorming Group Worksheet
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Brainstorming Group Worksheet
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What is a storyboard?

• A storyboard visually tells the story of an
  animation panel by panel, kind of like a comic
  book.

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What is a storyboard?

• Storyboard From the movie Chicken Little

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It is important to make a storyboard for several
reasons

• Creating a storyboard will help you plan your
  animation out shot by shot. You can make changes
  to your storyboard before you start animating,
  instead of changing your mind later.
• You can save countless hours of unnecessary
  editing by doing a storyboard. It is especially
  important in animation. Unlike live-action
  filming where the filmmaker shoots tons of
  footage and then edits it later, an animator
  wants to throw away as little of his/her work as
  possible because it is more work to animate a
  scene than it is to film it in live action. If
  you plan it all out in advance you don't have to
  worry about wasting time animating scenes that
  you'll never use.
• Another reason why a storyboard is important is
  because it is a way to uncover problems and to
  fix them while they are still easy to fix.
• In a storyboard you're not only describing the
  plot but all information that's important to your
  scene such as the mood, the setting and anything
  else that you think will help the audience
  understand your story.
• To create a storyboard, you should follow three
  basic steps. First is analysis which is breaking
  down your story into its component parts. Second
  is evaluation which is judging and choosing what
  shots angles and frame sizes you will put in your
  project, and third is synthesis which is the
  process of actually developing and putting your
  project together.

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Storyboards

• Your storyboard should convey some of the
  following information
• What characters are in the frame and how are they
  moving?
• What are the characters saying to each other, if
  anything?
• How much time has passed between the last frame
  of the storyboard and the current one?
• Where is the "camera" is in the scene? Close or
  far away?

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How to Create your Characters

• In clay animation, one of the many forms of
  stop-motion animation, each object is sculpted in
  clay or a similarly pliable material such as
  Plasticine, usually around a wire skeleton called
  an armature.

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• 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. 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. 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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• figures and props are molded from clay and are
  then used to tell a story. Using stop motion
  photography, a series of still pictures taken
  with a digital camera, the frames are then run
  together to produce an animation.

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History of Clay Animation
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• First off we should look at what animation is and
  some common terms that are used
• CEL
• A broad term that encompasses most types of
  animation art. In its strictest interpretation, a
  cel is the plastic sheet, either cellulose
  acetate or cellulose nitrate, that animated
  characters are painted on. In practice, the term
  cel has come to mean that plastic sheet in
  combination with the outline and coloring of a
  character, object, and/or special effect.
  Outlines can be either hand-inked or
  Xerographically transferred to the sheet of
  plastic. Those outlines are then filled with
  color, either by hand-painting or a serigraphic
  process, to complete the cel.
• 12 or 16 Field
• These terms are used to describe the size of a
  particular cel. They come from the size of the
  "field" of view of the camera photographing the
  artwork. For rough use, consider a twelve-field
  cel roughly 10"x12", and a sixteen-field cel
  approximately 14"x16". The actual framed size may
  differ.
• ORIGINAL PRODUCTION CEL
• These are the cels actually used in the
  production of a cartoon. They can have either
  Xerographed or hand-inked outlines, and are
  hand-painted at the studio. These cels are
  one-of-a-kind pieces of art, and their rarity
  makes them highly sought after by collectors.
  Because these cels were created to make an actual
  cartoon, each cel is a component part of a larger
  movement. Different cels from the same scene may
  be more or less desirable depending on a variety
  of factors size, profile and expression of the
  character, any damage to inking or paint, and
  overall visual appeal.
• LIMITED EDITION CEL
• As with production cels, limiteds can have either
  hand-inked or xerographic outlines, and are also
  hand-painted. The major difference, as its name
  implies, is that the limited editions are created
  in limited quantities, generally in runs of 250
  to 500 cels. Because of these small edition
  sizes, limiteds can also be very collectible.
  Some limiteds are exact reproductions of the
  frames of the film they represent. Others are
  based on contemporary interpretations of classic
  characters or scenes by their animators- Chuck
  Jones limiteds, for instance. Limited editions
  are always hand-numbered on the cel, and many are
  signed by the artists.
• SERICELS
• Sometimes called serigraph cels. The serigraphy
  process involves silk-screening each individual
  color to the cel, one at a time. Every distinct
  shade is a separate screen, and a separate pass
  in the procedure. As a result of this fine art
  operation, each color is flawlessly reproduced.
  Sericels are also created in limited quantities,
  typically 2500 to 5000 pieces. Because of their
  larger edition size, sericels are the most
  affordable type of animation art, ideal for the
  beginning collector.
• If you would like to learn more about how
  sericels are made, we invite you to drop by our
  online Creating a Limited Edition Sericel
  presentation.
• PUBLICITY CEL
• A cel, usually hand-painted, not actually used in
  a film or created for collectors, but made for
  publicity or promotional purposes.
• CEL SET-UP
• A combination of cels presented together. If the
  combination of cels match exactly, it is referred
  to as a KEY SET-UP.
• ANIMATION DRAWING
• These are the original, one-of-a-kind drawings,
  penciled by the animator, that cels are
  eventually made from. Drawings can be rough, or
  the more refined CLEAN-UP drawings. Sometimes,
  set-ups are available with matching drawings and
  the cel that was made from it.
• STORYBOARD DRAWING

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• Claymations from 2003
• The Fly Run, Fergus, Run Frostbite Basketball
  Frustration Full Moon Losing Ur Head Play Ball!
  Slam Dunk Tough Luck
• Claymations from 2002
• Apollo 13 The Cat Trap Disco is Dead Monkey Biz
  Up, Up and Away!
• Comments from Students

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Making Claymation Figures

• Clay figures are often used in stop motion for
  their ease of repositioning. Stop motion
  animation that uses clay is known as claymation.
  The figures may have an armature or wire frame
  inside of them, similar to the related puppet
  animation (below), that can be manipulated in
  order to pose the figures. Alternatively, the
  figures may be made entirely of clay, such as in
  the films of Bruce Bickford, where clay creatures
  morph into a variety of different shapes.
  Examples of clay-animated works include The Gumby
  Show (US, 19571967) Morph shorts (UK,
  19772000), Wallace and Gromit shorts (UK, as of
  1989), Jan vankmajer's Dimensions of Dialogue
  (Czechoslovakia, 1982), The Amazing Mr. Bickford
  (US, 1987), The Trap Door (UK, 1984).

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• The hardest part is probably coming up with an
  idea. Use a storyboard to set up the scenes
  before beginning.  You wont need to draw every
  picture but the storyboard will give you
  something to start with and helps you keep track
  of where you want to go. Decide what colors you
  will need for each scene and what you will use as
  a background before getting started. It seemed
  easier to work with the background flat on the
  ground to take pictures instead of having to
  stand it up.  The clay does not dry out but it
  is tough to get off your hands. If you are going
  to work with a light color of clay after working
  with a dark color be sure to wash your hands
  first. Mixing the colors takes a little time.
  Cut the colors you want to mix into strips and
  layer them altering the colors. This makes it
  easier to mix. The length of the clips we used
  was originally one every 1/4 second(four clips
  a second), which worked well and later we changed
  that to one every 1/3 second to slow it down a
  bit. Ideally, estimate the length of voice
  narration before shooting theclaymation movie.
  Use still clips of longer duration if narration
  is long. Get an idea of the length of sound
  effects or music before creating themovie as
  well.   The more increments of movement and
  pictures taken, the more natural the movement
  appears on video. Use a tripod and be sure to
  keep the camera as still as possible,
  theslightest movement by the camera from one
  picture to the other can make the video very
  jerky. Take a few practice shots to be sure
  that- the edges of the backdrop don't show,-
  the camera isn't moving from shot to shot,- the
  figures are large enough to be seen (once the
  movie is converted to QuickTime, the screen is
  much smaller than the monitor and very small
  figures like our seed are hard to discern or see
  at all, so it's better to use larger figures and
  zoom in more on the subject of the movie), and-
  the lighting is good The creation of our
  claymation animation proved to be the most
  difficult project of all.  It involved taking
  many pictures (close to 150 for our project which
  was called "Up, Up, and Away") of our clay
  figure.  Each picture acted as a single frame in
  our movie and so for each picture the figure was
  moved slightly. 
• At first we had to experiment with how much to
  move our clay figure between frames to obtain a
  smoothly flowing movie.  As we began to take
  pictures we encountered a problem with the
  camera.  We realized that any movements to the
  camera would result in a jumpy movie, so we
  decided to mount the camera on a tripod to
  minimize any accidental camera movements. 
• A second problem we encountered was that it took
  so long to take pictures and move the clay figure
  that the entire picture-taking process took us
  close to 4 periods to complete (4 hours!).  This
  was a problem because it meant that at the
  beginning of each period we would have to set up
  our scene guessing where the clay figure and
  props were supposed to be.  We were able to come
  pretty close to setting everything up the way it
  had been by comparing it to the last picture
  taken on the previous day. 
• Then, to disguise any small changes in
  positioning, we decided to change the camera
  angle.  The third and last problem we encountered
  was getting the clay figure to hold each position
  long enough to take a picture because the clay
  was so soft.  So, we had to use pieces of wire
  to hold up the clay.  This added the workload in
  the end because I personally had to edit each
  picture using Adobe Photoshop version 5.5.
•      Once we had obtained and edited all of our
  pictures we used Stopmotion Pro to make a movie
  out of them.  It was really easy and the program
  did all of the work.  It even had the option of
  automatically resizing each picture to a desired
  resolution.  Although the most difficult this
  project was also the most rewarding.  It was a
  change to work in a group, and a little trying
  when trying to even out the workload.  With all
  things considered, sitting back and watching the
  finished product after it has been mixed with
  sound, using Adobe Premiere 6, there is a lot of
  satisfaction felt by all group members. 

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What is a Set?
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What is a Set?

• A Set is the place where your characters will
  perform. A Set includes a backdrop, the
  scenery, and any props in the scene.
• In claymation the set is usually miniature in
  scale or smaller in size than in real life.

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What Makes a Good Set?

• Craftsmanship, Craftsmanship, Craftsmanship!!!
• Details, Details, Details!!!
• Creative use of Materials

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Student Examples

• Craftsmanship, Details, Creative use of Materials