What is Claymation?

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Remember television's fun-loving Gumby and Pokey from 1956 to 1963, or the quirky, crazy adventures of Wallace and Gromit in movies of the 1990s and early 2000s? Clay animation, also referred to by Will Vinton's trademark name Claymation, brought these characters to life.

Basics

The stop-motion photographic technique of Claymation gives clay objects or characters a life-like, animated quality. Filmmakers take multiple single shots with slight scene changes or character movement, string the shots together during editing and add voices.

History

Art Clokey's Gumby in the late 1950s and Will Vinton's California Raisins of the late 1980s brought attention to the art form. With computer advancements came such clay animation films as "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993), "Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (2005) and "James and the Giant Peach" (1996).

Concept

Think of flip book animation. An artist draws a character on each page with slight changes each time. When you flip through he pages quickly, it creates the illusion of a moving, animated character. This concept applies in clay animation, but with three-dimensional characters and objects made of clay and other materials.

Process

Anyone can create simple, short clay animation without sophisticated equipment. Take a picture of each movement with a camcorder on animation feature or a digital camera. Play back the film or download the images and edit the film using computer programs such as Windows Movie Maker, iMovie or Adobe Premiere.

Art

Clay animation creators need time, patience and artistic ability. They develop characters conceptually and visually, conceive a storyline, create scenery and props, shoot scenes and edit film. Vinton revealed that at least 24 individual shots were needed for just one second of film.

Source:

Utah Education Network: A Virtual Tour of Claymation

Prince of Wales Collegiate: History of Claymation

Mount Royal Collegiate: Claymation

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What is Claymation?

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