Stop-Motion Fun Stuff: T-Shirt War

While browsing some animation sites I came across an awesome pixelation animation about two guys having a t-shirt war! It was made by the YouTube Entertainer duo

Rhett and Link. It's very creative. You can tell a lot of time and thought went into it. Check it out below.




After you've watch the vid, make sure to check out the behind the scenes here.

Stop-Motion News: Stop motion in the oscars

It seems stop motion has done quite well for itself this year, coming out with two full-length movies (Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline) and a multitude of shorts, the most prominent being Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death.

Now that the Oscars have come around again, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline, and A Matter of Loaf and Death have all been nominated! Both Mr. Fox and Coraline were nominated in the Animated Feature Film category. The Fantastic Mr. Fox was also nominated for best music.
A Matter of Loaf and Death was nominated as an Animated Short. It's going to be a hard win for Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline, going up against Up and The Princess and the Frog, but I think both have good chances. I have high hopes for A Matter of Loaf and Death. Judging from Wallace and Gromit's past record at the Oscars, I think there's a good chance they might win!

Stop-Motion How-To: Easing In, Easing Out

Easing in and easing out is an essential method for making your puppet's moves look real!
Easing in and out is the technique of moving your puppet less at the beginning and ending of a movement. If you analyze the way people move, you'll notice that they do the same thing. For instance unless your The Flash, you probably don't start running as fast as you possibly can right away. Instead, you start off slowly, then move into full speed. And unless you have gas brakes in your shoes, you won't be making any immediate stops either. The same thing applies when someone picks up an object: he won't jerk forward and grab the object, then jerk back. Instead, his hand will start off slower, go into full speed, then slow down when he reaches its goal.

Marc Spess made a great video showing how easing in and easing out works. Check it out below!

Stop-Motion Fun Stuff: Arthur

The animation below (animated by Guionne Leroy and inspired by the opera King Arthur) has become one of my favorite clay animations on YouTube. The way the character and sets have been sculpted and animated give it a unique and very whimsical feel! It is a truly beautiful piece of animation!