Please tell me what you think!
Go W&G

Newplast

thanks i'll put it on my christmas list because it is'nt available in Australia.

I would say definately Van Aken. It has a better colour range than Newplast, and alot better qualities.

newplast not that van aken american rubbish

Van Aken is MUCH better. You can melt it to mix colours, it has a brighter colour range and Aardmsn use it in their 'Aardmix'. Have you even seen or worked with Van Aken...

AARDNAN USE NEWPLAST

THEY USE A MIX OF CLAYS!!

I went to the exibition and on a video they played there, it clearly said.

" Aardman use a mix of different plasticenes called "Aardmix" instead of one clay"

Then an animator quotes

" It gives us the right feel and thickness to our clay"

They don't use just one clay!

CLAYS WHAT PLANT POTS ARE MADE OF

The clay you say is potters clay. There is air hardening clay, bake clay like fimo or sculpy and there is plasticene. Plasticene isin't the ONLY puppet making material. Foam latex, latex, silicone,wood,potters clay,polymorph are all puppet building materials.

i do know i have been making animations since 2001

I have to say that van aken is the best that i have used and so do most animators being that it as it dose not dry out at all unlike newplast and you can make any color you want unlike newplast and its not as hard as newplast so its easy to move but still its not to soft and you dont have to keep it in a warm climate.

Hey, Im thinking about trying claymation, and I wanted to know if you guys had any tips or redcommendations. Thanks

Hey Gromitt,
There are no strict rules on how to animate and no SECRET formula. You need to try it out yourself... don't concentrate on developing a style, that will come naturally. Start off really simply. Make a clay man. Animate him waving his hand. Then add a dilemma into the story.. he slips over and hurts his head. Then a ending, he gets rushed to hospital. I hear ALOT of people here and on other sites who say things like " well, I've made a puppet..." or I've created a set..." But wheres the story?
Here are some tips generally
-----------------------------------------------------------

Plasticine - tricks of the trade

Plasticine is brilliant for clay animation for the following reasons.
It is soft, easily moulded and never cracks or tears consistently like polymer clay
It never dries out like potters clay or epoxy putty
It is not too soft, but firm enough to animate well
It can be melted and mixed
The colours are often more specific and do not bleed too much
It has a more clay-like than ''plasticy' polymer clays
More finer and pliable than polymer clays.
Plasticine is used all over the animation industry. From Aardman, who use 'Aardmix', a mix of different plasticines, to lazy You Tube clay 'morphers' use plasticine. There are many ways of sculpting plasticine to get a professional clean look to your puppets and sculptures. The secret is to define your sculptures and keep them smooth and symmetrical. Of course, this may not work for stylized puppets who have a different look, but keep it basic. Try not to over complicate your puppets. Look at Wallace and Gromit, the puppets are simple but they look professional, because they are defined, smooth and simple. If the puppets are simple, the less likely you are too have mistakes and cracks in your clay from over detailing etc. Yes you can detail your puppets, but this doesn't look best with plasticine. If you keep your puppets simple, the colours are bolder and cleaner. This gives you a nice clean professional looking puppet.

When you smooth plasticine, your nails should be short, as when you are rubbing and smoothing the clay, your nail will make little dents that will show up on a simple bold puppet. Marc Spess has a CD about smoothing techniques which you can get from his site. The link is my homepage.

Just keep your plasticine puppets simple, bold and defined in shape. They will stand out and look clean and bright.




Take it from me, and this is one of the most important things to remember. Start with a story and the challenges will come along the way. Don't think of a elabrote storyline and complicated ideas. Start with a simple story and your film-making techniques will improve from that. So many people say " I've been preparing for this film for ages!" And I reply " Have you animated before?" And they haven't! Just concentrate on the BASICS and from there you will improve and succeed.

Nofby

And google Will Vinton. When you watch his films, you'll see why!

And you will need a frame-grabber. PLEASE don't use windows movie maker, its a nightmare!! Here are some frame-grabber links....

Newbie:

Monkeyjam....( free animation software)
http://www.giantscreamingrobotmonkeys.com/monkeyjam/

Framethief....( animation software for Macs)
http://www.framethief.com/

Anasazi free animation software ( lower end program)
http://www.clayanimator.com/english/stop_motion_animator.html

Pro:

Stopmotion Pro - different versions
http://www.stopmotionpro.com/
( What I use)

Dragon
http://www.dragonstopmotion.com/faq.php

Nofby

Why do I bother... It would be nice to respond after helping you out. Don't leave questions and expect everyone to answer then don't bother looking at the thread again.

Nofby, don't forget that people don't always visit the forums every day, so it may take a little while for a response. I'm sure Gromitt will find your tips very useful

Yep, sorry about that. I was especially aggrovated after a horrible day.
"Don't leave questions and expect everyone to answer then don't bother looking at the thread again."
Thats just stupid and reflecting I was a bit of a moaner. I'm sure he's had a look and thats all I need! I know that most aren't too regular so it may take time. I sounded very angry. Sorry Gromitt!

Well, I read this post as well, and I have to say... Thanks Nofby!! this helped me out a lot with making claymations and I'm hoping to upload one of my vids this month!

I like clay by "Jovi", we use it in animation on "Pilot studio" in Russia.

I use plastercene (<- ? spelling not right) to do my animations but use other matereial for scenery.

where can u get newplast or van aken from???

You can get van aken at hobby lobby

newplast, oh and since youre in australia check out
http://www.entropy.com.au

pretty sure they will have, thats where i buy stuff for my kids

I love animating!!!!!!!!!!! I use plasticine!

i use newplast. To ginger snap, you can get newplast from hobbycraft

Plasticine or any other type of oil based clay should do just fine.

plasticine is the most pro. Aardman even use it