Clay stop-motion animation

Also called Clay animation

Clay or plasticine figures are adjusted and photographed one frame at a time. Their malleable bodies can stretch, melt and reform, while fingerprints and tiny dents preserve a handmade quality; carefully planned timing can produce smooth movement as well as deliberate staccato action.

Kind

Technique

Lineage

Puppet and clay stop motion

Related styles

1

Medium family

Moving image, cinema and video

Medium

Mixed media

Technique

Stop motion

Light

Soft light

Texture

Hand-modeled soft clay

Key traits

1. 01Use the volume, contact shadows and surface response of physical clay models to create a tangible material presence.
2. 02Retain small pressure marks, joins or subtle surface changes when useful, or choose carefully smoothed surfaces.
3. 03Change position, pose or form incrementally across frames, with movement size and rhythm determined by the animation design.
4. 04Keep scale and physical contact consistent among characters, props and sets while varying material colors and subject matter.