you’ve got the option to use a lot of different materials to create wonderful stop-motion animation.
Puppets and clay models come to mind, but then you could also create stop motion with people too!
The best part is you don’t need any fancy equipment.
What Is Stop-Motion Animation?
In stop-motion animation, individual photographs are put together in sequence to create a sense of motion.
Do this repeatedly, and soon you will have a sequence that comes to life.
As the film technique developed, stop-motion pioneers like Ladislas Starevich created feature-length films using stop motion and puppets.
Check out theseanimation apps for Android.
For those who have kids, it’s a material you might already have in the house.
Out of the different kinds of clay, plasticine is often used.
Clay can be morphed into wonderful shapes to create strange monster-like creatures.
One solution is to shoot your photos from above with all your objects laid flat on a table.
Cutout Animation
If craft paper is all you have on hand then you might want to try cutout animation.
Sticking with basic shapes, you’re free to make all sorts of characters.
Cutout animation is sometimes imitated using digital software too.
For example, you canmake a simple animation using Adobe Illustrator and After Effects.
Pixilation
When stop-motion animation is created using real-life actors it’s called pixilation.
All you need for pixilation are some friends and a bit of patience.
Here’s aguide on studio lightingif you have access to a studio.
Puppet Animation
In this style of stop-motion animation, a puppet is the main subject.
can be repositioned however you like.
If you have a doll that has movable limbs, then that will work as well.
The most important thing is that your puppet can stand on its own while you take each photo.
Silhouette
In this pop in of stop motion, characters are only shown as black silhouettes.
Sometimes this is done with paper cutouts in a diorama with a light shining from the back.
Other times you could use thin black cardboard paper to create silhouette characters.
The most effective silhouette stop motion can simply be black paper cutouts moving left or right.
you might create claymation using plasticine, or try pixilation by just photographing your friends.
For more challenging types of stop motion, try creating your own puppet.
In reality, stop motion can be created with just about anything.
Whether you are using objects around the house or paper cutouts, the method remains the same.
All you need is a camera and a bit of imagination to make your first-stop motion animation.
