These guys are doing great work and we think you should take notice!
There’s something magical about stop motion - claymation in particular and even classic 2D animation. It’s strange, even though the artwork is more crude (some might say flawed), it somehow seems more realistic to my eyes than CGI. The artistry is tangible. You can see the attention to detail in every frame. It feels like someone really made it.
As a behind-the-scenes nut, I love this clip (as long as it’s on mute). It immediately reminded me of the awesome bonus features on Nightmare Before Christmas. I suggest watching the whole video, but for the sake of this article - skip to about the 12:30 mark where they get to the "sculpture department."
You might recognize the similar “skeletons” in the puppets from the Zippy clip to help keep the movements clean and realistic. Animators move each piece by hand 24 times...for one second of footage! It took THREE YEARS to produce Nightmare. At one point they even say something like “only a few people in the world actually do this.” Pretty unfathomable stuff.
What I love about the Clay Kids video is that instead of seeming like a daunting task that only a few people in the world can do, they actually make the process look feasible and fun. It’s one dude, with a few supplies, in a garage somewhere, with a decent DSLR camera, a few lights and a remote (granted lot’s of talent as well).
That’s exciting! And the quality is top tier to boot. You don’t need 29 stages and 3 years of production and 15 old white guys to make exciting content. I’m hoping these guys inspire a new batch young animators.
In fact, if you’re feeling inspired, check out this awesome Play-Doh project we’re currently running on Tongal and tell your stop-motion animator friends!
