Claymation/Plasticine/Modelling Animation

Clay/Plasticine Animation is a material used in animation that allows the producer to form any character they are able to form with that clay. As clay can be moulded into different shapes easily and remain its position until its moulded again this allows the creator of the animation the ability to easily manipulate the movements of the clay. It means it is much easier as there is more flexibility with the material the creator is working with. This will allow them to be more creative with the styles they are using and means they can test out different object or characters that they want to be present during the animation, without any set backs of it not going back to its original clay form. 

In most cases when using clay in an animation thin metal wire is also used along with it which allows the use of support in the clay to form structure in an object or character. It also means smaller parts of the clay will have more stick on larger parts of the clay, it is safer for smaller pieces to be moved around with metal wiring in the middle. The use of the thin metal wire allows the clay to become slightly more realistic and adds features to the clay that were not there before.

The problem when working with clay is that it is a material substance that needs to be kept contained so it does not dry up so quickly. If you are producing a stop motion animation with the use of clay , you are going to need that clay to remain flexible for the duration of filming. Depending on the type of clay being used this can be avoided. The quality of clay that is picked is extremely important as some will not dry out as quick and some will not dry out at all and can remained permeant fixtures and sculptures. A lot of people think using play-doh will be easier to work with, in some respects play-doh is an easier material to work with as it requires less effort to mould it into the form you want it at. However, play-doh is a substance that drys out extremely quickly which can  effect the timing of the production and may mean you need to start all over again. Plasticine which is the highest quality of clay available is something used by top stop motion claymation animation film producers.

 I have chosen this specific animation because it uses basic techniques and basic clay material, but it has been executed extremely well which shows how smooth the use of clay material can be.