FAQ
Here are some of my most frequently asked questions about my stop motion animations. If you have any more that you don't see on this page then please fill out the form below and if I feel it is a question that would benefit everyone else then I will update it here.
What clay do you use?
I used to use an oil-based clay called Belgrave, which was only sold in Australia. More recently I've being using polymer clays, like Sculpey. Main thing to look out for is that it doesn't dry out and is easy to bend without snapping or melting.
What software do you use?
For claymation I used to use Stop Motion Pro on Windows. A few years ago I bought a Mac and at the time there was no compatibility with that OS, so I switched to Dragonframe, which turned out to be much cheaper and a little more comprehensive. Some cheap/free alternatives are Monkeyjam or Frame Thief.
For 2D animation I mostly use Adobe Animate (formerly Flash), After Effects, Photoshop, Procreate, Rough Animator, ToonBoom or TVPaint. Any post production is typically done in After Effects or Premiere.
Where do you get all your props/sword/furniture etc.?
Most of my props come from action figures and playsets (such as the Figma range), so take a trip to your local toy store to see what you can find. For furniture I typically use ones found in dollhouses, as they are the right scale.
What frame rate do you shoot at?
24 frames per second.
How do you make things fly?
There are two methods I use for this and it typically depends on the scene. If I'm feeling lazy then I'll attach it to characters or hold the clay off-shot somehow (used in Green With Envy). If it's a shot where doing the former is impossible, then I will use a method whereby I take an image of all the still elements in the scene. I will then animate a character attached to wire through the use of a rig and then edit out the wire in Photoshop. There are a few stop-motion tutorials on YouTube of this already, so a quick search should yield some results.
Here are some of my most frequently asked questions about my stop motion animations. If you have any more that you don't see on this page then please fill out the form below and if I feel it is a question that would benefit everyone else then I will update it here.
What clay do you use?
I used to use an oil-based clay called Belgrave, which was only sold in Australia. More recently I've being using polymer clays, like Sculpey. Main thing to look out for is that it doesn't dry out and is easy to bend without snapping or melting.
What software do you use?
For claymation I used to use Stop Motion Pro on Windows. A few years ago I bought a Mac and at the time there was no compatibility with that OS, so I switched to Dragonframe, which turned out to be much cheaper and a little more comprehensive. Some cheap/free alternatives are Monkeyjam or Frame Thief.
For 2D animation I mostly use Adobe Animate (formerly Flash), After Effects, Photoshop, Procreate, Rough Animator, ToonBoom or TVPaint. Any post production is typically done in After Effects or Premiere.
Where do you get all your props/sword/furniture etc.?
Most of my props come from action figures and playsets (such as the Figma range), so take a trip to your local toy store to see what you can find. For furniture I typically use ones found in dollhouses, as they are the right scale.
What frame rate do you shoot at?
24 frames per second.
How do you make things fly?
There are two methods I use for this and it typically depends on the scene. If I'm feeling lazy then I'll attach it to characters or hold the clay off-shot somehow (used in Green With Envy). If it's a shot where doing the former is impossible, then I will use a method whereby I take an image of all the still elements in the scene. I will then animate a character attached to wire through the use of a rig and then edit out the wire in Photoshop. There are a few stop-motion tutorials on YouTube of this already, so a quick search should yield some results.