I also introduced in “puppet for clay animation”, the primary feature of clay animation is metamorphose.
Here I would like to introduce some of the shooting methods of metamorphose and some points to note about clay animation shooting.
example
First of all, I animate the puppet that I made in “puppet for clay animation”.
This is the basic shooting, taking pictures with changing the shape of the puppet frame by frame.
reverse shooting
Next, I animate that this puppet transforms into the alphabet ‘G’.
Even though the puppet changes its shape one by one from the first frame, you can animate such an animation, but it is difficult to change the alphabet “G” in a beautiful shape one by one. and it takes time.
Actually the above animation is made from 2 cuts. First, shoot an animation in which the puppet is crushed, then make the alphabet “G” with clay, then animate “G” is crushed. Then, you can playback the animation in which “G” is crushed in reverse, and connect it after the first animation that the puppet shot. Then, the puppet is crushed and the crushed clay transforms to the alphabet “G”. This is called reverse shooting .
replacement
watch this animation.
The puppet moves and shrinks, actually this animation uses 5 puppets.
I repeat replacing the puppet and shooting one frame, so it looks like the shape has changed. It is very difficult to shoot it changing the shape. When repeating the movement of the same pattern over and over like this, you can make beautiful animation as soon as you make and replace the puppet as much as you need for movement. This method is called replacement.
It requires a lot of puppets, it takes time and effort to make puppets, but shooting can be done quickly as it just replaces the puppet. With this method you can do beautiful animation even in complicated forms of puppets. Also, even deformation of a puppet containing an armature can be transformed by replacing it with a puppet without a armature in the middle.
There are various shooting methods in clay animation besides those introduced here. Let’s come up with various ideas and make interesting animation.
point of shooting clay animation
I introduce some points to note about shooting clay animation.
Make a ground so that it do not become dirty easily
Clay is so soft that it clings to anywhere. Especially the ground of the set become dirty easily, think about some countermeasures so that you can wipe it quickly even if it gets dirty. For example, if the ground is paper, it will soon become dirty as it becomes spots soon with clay oil. If you apply oil-based varnish to the ground and coat it, clay can be wiped off even if clay is on.
Keep a working space
animating clay animation is like animating with shaping. If you shape the clay on the set, the set gets dirty. reserve a space where you can work where you can reach. It is also important to keep wipe clean cloth at hand. It is used to prevent the dirt of the puppets, personal computers and camera. it is necessary to keep the hands clean at all times.
do not warm the room more than necessary
Clay is vulnerable to heat. When it becomes soft it will not be able to shape well and clings to the hand. When shooting, lower the temperature of the room as much as possible.
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