The world of animation has witnessed many changes over the years. From hand-drawn animation to 3D animation, it has evolved dramatically.
In this competitive era of animation as a career, the industry is demanding technical skills, a good understanding of art and aesthetics, and a unique creative style. In today’s times, students focus on software knowledge and technologies to make their animation films. They rarely experiment with various other mediums of animation.
One such medium of animation is stop-motion animation. It is the term used to describe the form of animation that is created by physically manipulating real world objects and photographing them, one frame at a time, to create the illusion of movement when the series of frames are played as a continuous sequence.
There are various types of stop-motion animation. Some of them are:
Claymation (Clay Animation)
Clay animation is a unique form of stop-motion animation that uses figures made of clay. It involves sculpting characters and background sets out of clay.
Puppet Animation
Puppet animation is a technique that incorporates the animation of still puppets. Similar to claymation in many ways, the characters and sets are already made in full forms instead of being made while the animation is being shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii11-GmCqR4
Cut-Out Animation
Cut-out animation is a technique of producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut out from various materials such as, cardboard, stiff photographs
Pixilation
Pixilation is one of the most difficult forms of stop-motion animation. In this form live actors change their movement in each frame of the animation. They pose while multiple frames are taken and the position changes slightly in each frame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY
Object Animation
Object animation involves the animated movements of non-drawn objects such as toys, blocks, dolls, etc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBjLW5_dGAM
Silhouette Animation
Silhouette animation involves characters who are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by back-lighting detailed cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist. It is partially inspired by shadow play.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgBY_oqouSk
These are just a few examples of stop-motion animation. Students have to understand that animation software are just tools. The limitless possibilities of using models and settings are dependent on the animator’s imagination. If your idea is good, then the medium is just a platform to give it a visual presentation.