Stop-Motion News: Justin Rasch's New Stop-Motion Animation Short!

Having completed Gerald's Last Day, Justin Rasch has now started work on a new stop-motion sci-fi short. Nothing as of yet has been revled about the story, and it is still to be titled. But judging from the pictures of the models that have been posted, it's going to be a stop-motion short to remember! You can check out the official post on Justin Rasch's blog "Stop MOTION Mission" here.

Stop-Motion Fun Stuff: "My Baby Just Cares For Me"

In 1987, Aardman Studios made a music for the song "My Baby Just Cares for Me," sung by Nina Simone (in 1958). I hope you enjoy it!

Stop-Motion How-To: Books on Animation

There really isn't an abundance of info on learning the art of animation out there (although I'm trying to do my part in improving that). The most useful info is usually found in books. Quite a variety of subjects are available to choose from, ranging from timing to the history of animation. Even books about cell or CG animation, still more than likely include a lot of information that is quite useful in stop-motion animation. Check your local library for books on animation. You can also check out Amazon's selection here.

Stop Motion News: Marvel's Ani-Movie

I came across this cool product by Marvel called Ani-Movie. Ani-Movie is a simple all-in-one stop-motion animation studio. It was created for 2D stop-motion paper animation, but if you can get a 3D puppet to stand on it, it should work for that too. It comes with a camera capable of connecting to a TV for live feed, movable 2D paper models, an SD memory card slot, and two paper backgrounds. You can check out all the features at the official site here.

This stop-motion setup probably won't work the best for an experienced animator. But for someone who is new to animation I would recommend that they give this a try. Check it out at Amazon.com, or you might be able to find it cheaper on Ebay.com

Stop Motion Fun Stuff: Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas, Pt. 3

Due to all the holiday festivities going on I had to really rush to get this post out on time, But anyway here's the last part of the Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas show.

I hope you all have a vary merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!

Stop-Motion How-To: Achieving the Chroma-Key Effect

Chroma keying is the process of replacing a solid background with a picture or digital set. Colors like blue and green are most commonly used for chroma keying because they are the best contrast for the human skin, allowing the computer to better decipher the differences between the subject and the unwanted background. Chroma keying will allow you to incorporate more digital material into your movie, saving you from having to construct complicated and expensive sets.

Admittedly, getting the chroma key to produce a seamless product creates frustrations of its own.If you follow the tips Mark Apsolon outlines in the two vids below will help lessen some of the strains and headaches of chroma keying. You can check out the program VisionLab Studio that Mark talks about in his second vid here but If you don't want to pay $350.00-$450.00 for the full version, you can download Wax, a free chroma key program, but keep in mind that because it is free, it doesn't offer nearly the number of options that bigger programs do.



How to make awesome Chroma key!
How to use Green Screen Software for Chroma Keying

Stop-Motion Fun Stuff: Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas, Pt. 2

Here's the second installment in Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas.