Clay characters
Clay animation makes people smile. Claymation, also call "stop-motion" animation, is a fun project to try at home. Make characters out of clay, build a set, light it and then shoot the animation frame by frame. A decade ago, digital claymation required complicated, expensive equipment. Now, use your own digital camera and capture individual animation frames. Download "Capture" software and convert your frames into a movie. Add soundtracks and audio with basic editing tools. Create visual effects with graphics-editing software.
Instructions
1. Sketch your clay character on a pad of paper. Twist the armature wire with your hands to create the skeleton of your clay figure. Make the body limbs and head from one long piece if possible.
2. Add modeling clay on top of the wire skeleton. Form the torso. Add the arms and pinch the clay to join the body parts. Add the head. Create eyes and hair from different colored clay.
3. Set background
Paint the inside of your large cardboard box. The box is your stage set. Cut open the side panels and flare them out slightly. Paint a background with trees and grass, or paste a photograph of an outdoor scene to the back wall of your set.
4. Set up two lamps pointing at the box, one on either side. Set up your digital camera on a sturdy tripod. Place the tripod in front of the box, about four feet away. Adjust the zoom and focus to frame the background set.
5. Place your clay figure in front of your set. Position it in the pose you want. Adjust the feet if necessary to make the figure stable.
6. Camera on tripod
Press the digital camera "Shutter" button to take a picture. Repeat five times. Carefully lift up the figure's arm slightly. Bend the elbow slightly. Take three pictures. Lift up the arm some more. Take one picture. Raise the arm to shoulder level. Take two pictures.
7. Move the other arm, using the same frame pattern. Leave the first arm in its position.
8. Move the figure's left leg and bend its knee. Shoot two frames. Extend the leg forward straightening the knee slightly. Shoot three frames. Inch the leg straighter and forward. Shoot three frames. Straighten the leg more and plant the foot on the floor surface. Shoot four frames.
9. Repeat the animation steps with the figure's right foot. Then switch back to the left foot, and repeat. Make the figure walk across the stage. Twist the head to face the camera and then twist it back. Repeat to complete the entire walk sequence.
10. Multiple frames
Upload your individual files onto your computer. Load them using a frame-grab software. The software combines all your single images into a continuous strip. Play the strip and watch your clay figure raise its arms and walk while its head turns toward you.
11. Special effects
Load your animation movie into your editing software. Add sound effects or a voice-track recorded directly onto your computer. Use a graphics-editing package to add other images on top of your animation, such as smoke or fireworks.
