What are the types of stop motion animation? This post from MiniTool MovieMaker will introduce you to six types of stop motion, which are clay animation, object animation, pixilation, lego animation, cutout animation, and model animation. Let’s take a deeper look!
#1. Clay Animation
As the name implies, clay animation involves animating objects and figurines made out of clay. But, clay is not the only material that can be utilized to make these animations, since animators usually create puppets from plasticine and other similar materials.
This type of stop motion animation is often used to make cartoons, although it’s relatively simple to find TV shows and music videos that are created with this technique. Making the whole scenography and the characters for clay animation films is very difficult, which is why beginner animators must have an advanced range of clay modeling skills to effectively utilize this stop motion animation technique.
#2. Object Animation
Any object like a toy or a pair of scissors can be utilized as an object to animate, as long as it suits the story you’re attempting to tell. Object animation is often used in commercials, tutorials, or videos that are used for a wide range of purposes.
Furthermore, object animation is frequently combined with other animation techniques. As one of the most common types of stop motion animation, it is to simulate the flying or bouncing of the objects in the shot as it’s difficult to control the movement.
Rigging is often used to solve this problem because it allows the animator to have complete control over the movement of the object while removing the rig from the shot will need some extra work in the post-production.
Also read: How to Make a Stop Motion Video – Ultimate Guide
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#3. Pixilation
Pixilation involves working with people since you’ll be animating one or more actors’ movements one frame at a time. This type of stop motion animation works especially well with other types of stop motion like object animation, however, it can be fairly effective as well when combined with time-lapses or regular videos.
The examples of Pixilation can be dated back to the early twentieth century, while today the animation technique is also found in music videos, commercials, and full-feature films.
#4. Lego Animation
If you’ve seen the Lego Movie you already know the possibilities Lego bricks give animators. But this movie was made with computer graphics, so don’t expect the same results on the first go. Essentially, you need to build your whole scenography and the characters in your film out of Lego bricks, and then change the on-screen positions from one frame to the next.
This is not a simple task, since it may take you a long time before you can begin filming your video. Even so, you’ll have a wide variety of props available to you, giving you a great deal of versatility during the production phase of your project.
#5. Cutout Animation
Cutting out pieces of paper and animating them may not seem like a surefire way to make an entertaining film until you see the enormous possibilities offered by this animation technique. Even so, pro animators are not as keen on utilizing it as novices in the field of stop motion.
All you need to begin making a cutout animation is a flat surface and variously shaped pieces of paper. You can use this technique in countless ways and the story you’re trying to tell is the perfect way to decide the exact elements you will utilize in your stop motion animation.
#6. Model Animation
If you know how to make puppets out of different materials, then you can try creating a model animation. In addition, you need to discover a means to change the facial expressions of the puppets you’re utilizing in your film, which is the reason why model animation should not be your first option if you’re only learning stop motion animation techniques.
Final Thoughts
Stop motion animation provides so many different opportunities as it lets you animate objects, people, puppets, and so on. As a result, the story you’d like to tell is the ideal way to decide which type of stop motion is right for your project. Hopefully, the different types of stop motion mentioned above will assist you in creating your movie.