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Claymation

S

SBT

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 5, 2006
42
0
England
Hey, i have placed a new animation of mine on my homepage. Its very basic and short but i am using it as something to put on my homepage while i re-design it.

http://www.timspratt.co.uk

Please have a look around and at the more animations that are on there.

Also in the background is MY MAC (mini)

What do you think?
 
schaef2493 said:
Very Nice. How does one make a claymation anyway?
Click to expand...

Set up a scene. Take a picture. Move something a fraction of an inch. Take a picture. Rinse and repeat until your story is done. Put frames together as a video.

Just like a flipbook...only a lot more time-consuming.
 
Well, normally good ones take along time. This one took around 10 minutes:p
All you need is a webcam, some software for capturing pictures and combining them into a video. Then you get some clay/plasticine and form your figures, capture them and "Bobs you uncle" (or sam:D )
 
Boinx software makes an amazing program called iStopMotion specifically for doing time-lapse projects. It's fantastic for doing claymation as it will let you "onion skin" between shots. This let you see a ghost image of your last frame so you can easily see how much to move the object you are animating. Boinx also has a section of user-submitted videos.

SBT - Very nice little video BTW.
 
WildCowboy said:
Set up a scene. Take a picture. Move something a fraction of an inch...
Click to expand...

Or in the case of claymation maestro, Bruce Bickford, set up a scene move hundreds of of things, advance camera one frame. Continue all day until you have captured 3 seconds of footage.

I would recommend 'The Amazing Mr Bickford' or 'Baby Snakes' to all claymation afficiondos.

Zappa/Bickford, flash clip.
 
It's very cool, SBT, I've always wanted to have a go at making a claymation. Maybe I will, now that I've got some free time on my hands :)
 
I'd have a go but I don't have a webcam (the iSight is unsuitable to do SM).
 
ChrisG said:
the iSight is unsuitable to do SM
Click to expand...

The photo on the iStopMotion page shows an old iBook with an external iSight being used. Or do you just mean you can't use a built-in iSight?
 
dcv said:
The photo on the iStopMotion page shows an old iBook with an external iSight being used. Or do you just mean you can't use a built-in iSight?
Click to expand...

Yeah - I don't know if the built-in iSight works. I use my external iSight with iStopMotion- works like a charm.
 
dcv said:
Marvellous... I'm gonna go and buy some Plasticine then :D
Click to expand...

Oooooooooh be careful not to mush it all up girl... otherwise it turns that slightly sickly greeny/brown colour. *shudders*
 
iGav said:
Oooooooooh be careful not to mush it all up girl... otherwise it turns that slightly sickly greeny/brown colour. *shudders*
Click to expand...

Yes i've been there and done that:p . I just uploaded some of my older claymations for you all to watch btw... hope you like them> they can be found as a link to another page under the animation on my main page atm ("more claymations") or by clicking on the link below:

http://www.timspratt.co.uk/clay.html

They are "quite" violent;) , but also i hope they give a few laughs.

Does anyone else have any claymations they have done and want to show us all?

Post!!!

ChrisG, you said your friend had a webcam, why not use that:confused:

Hope you like the animations. Comment on them please
 
SBT said:
ChrisG, you said your friend had a webcam, why not use that:confused:
Click to expand...
Because, its his webcam? He wants to use it maybe? He has a right to use it (as its his)?

And I didnt say that :p

EDIT: dcv, the MacBook is my sig has a built in iSight. Unsuitable.
 
Some great animations there SBT- a question for you or anyone else:

How do you do stop motion for something "in the air?" Like when your figure gets hit by the truck and leaves the ground- do you just use something clear to hold it up for that frame?

I really need to get into some of this myself- and start making flash animations again. Perhaps when that 24" iMac comes in this week. :)
 
iKWICK7 said:
Some great animations there SBT- a question for you or anyone else:

How do you do stop motion for something "in the air?" Like when your figure gets hit by the truck and leaves the ground- do you just use something clear to hold it up for that frame?

I really need to get into some of this myself- and start making flash animations again. Perhaps when that 24" iMac comes in this week. :)
Click to expand...


Watch some ROBOT CHICKEN, and itll give you some great ideas on what you can do with stop motion.

In any case, AFAIK, the ONLY way to get people to "fly" in animation, is to use some sort of rigging and later edit it out.

Lots of Robot Chicken episodes contain computer edits, its the only way you could ever do some of the things.

have you ever gotten a GI Joe to stand up and NOT twitch as you fiddle with his little joints 20+ times a second of animation? Its just not possible. for instance, shoot only from the knee up, hiding the pile of clay you have the action figures stuck to...


Lots of "tricks of the eye" are the best way to achieve stuff in stop motion.

if you cant figure out how to do it "cleanly" do it "dirty" and clean it later.
 
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