Bouncing Green Blob!

Easy Stop Motion Animation - Replacement Method

Step By Step Instructions

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Shown here are all the steps you need to follow in order to make a short stop motion "claymation" movie shown above. It is a really easy stop motion method called "replacement stop motion". You simply make five pieces of clay shaped in a certain way and you swap them in and out between each photo or snapshot. When you replay the images taken you have anice stop motion claymation short movie. This method is quick and easy and can be applied to any object or figure that you can shape.

Step 1 - Get some Clay

Get a piece of clay that can be split in to 5 equal parts.
Here I am using Sculpey III clay. Any clay type or color will work just fine,
just make sure it is clean and reasonably consistent in color (all the same color)

Step 2 - Divide up the clay

Roll the clay out and divide into 5 equal segments. It this case I am using Sculpey clay as it does not dry out and can be easily manipulated. Roll each segment up in to a small ball. Try to make them all the same size.

Step 3 - Making the clay pieces

Squash the balls down to make the 5 shapes shown here.

Step 4 - Creating the set

Get a sheet of white paper and set up your webcamera or digital still camera in front of your clay. You should adjust your camera settings and lighting to get best results. Make sure both your camera and set are secured so they will not move during the snapshots that you will take when animating.

Step 5 - Adjust your Camera

Start a new project in iKITMovie. Give it a name such as "Boing" and set the resolution to 800x600, (or 640x480 if your camera cannot handle anything higher). If you are using a digital still camera then set it to take snaps (jpeg) 800x600. Set the frame rate to 15 frames per second.

HOWEVER NOTE - If you are using a digital still camera you will find it very difficult to replace the clay pieces in the correct place between shots. When you are using a webcamera connected to your PC with iKITMovie for example, you can use a feature called "onionskinning" which will really help you to find the correct placing of each piece as you take snaps. The screenshot to the right shows a ghost image of the previously placed clay piece allowing me to place the next piece in place of it but in the next position in the sequence.

Step 6 - Taking the snapshots

Take 10 snaps of clay piece number 2 first. That is the round shaped clay ball. Then replace it in the exact same position with clay piece number 1. Take one snapshot or two of it. Then use piece 3, but place it slightly in the direction you wish the clay to move. Take a snapshot. Then use piece 4 and move it even further along. And then piece 5. And then place piece 4 , 3 , 2 and 1 to bring it to a stop, taking a snap of each one as you place it. Repeat this sequence as many times as you wish in whatever direction you wish to extend the length of your movie.

Try the Demo Now

Watch an Overview Video

Step 7 - Adding Sound fx

Any animation or movie will seem very lifeless and dull without sound. Sound fx , music, voiceovers etc will enhance the movie drammically. iKITMovie has sound fx included so next we will bring things to life by selecting the sound fx that best suit the animation.

In this case we will use a cartoon type "boing" sound. So scroll down through you list of sounds and select either that one or one that you think might suit.

Repeat this for each position of the clay object where you think a sound would be appropriate such as when the clay changes direction etc.