We are now animating the cut out models we made last week. The animation has no plot or story line. Instead, we are making the mis-matched features of faces from a magazine move and change around.
We completed the animation by cutting the eyes and ripping the mouths, leaving only the original faces. Below is our completed animation of the faces.
I, along with Beth Sigsworth, designed a basic cutout character, by using a face from a magazine and features cut out from other faces. When put together in different ways, the face becomes surreal and becomes a character which could be used in a cutout animation. Below are photographs of the face with different features.
Cutout animation is animation made with cut out bits of paper, card, photographs and other materials on a flat surface. The camera is above the cutout models, to create the illusion that it is stood up. Below are some examples of this kind of animation.
This is the Adventures of Prince Achmed by Lotte Reiniger. It is a silhouette cutout animation made in 1926, and is the oldest lasting feature animation film. Because it is a silhouette animation, you do not actually see the models, but rather you see their shadow through a piece of paper. There will have been a light behind it to make the shadows stronger.
This is Les Trois Inventeurs, a cutout animation by Michael Ocelot from 1980. It was made using white paper and was intricately cut out to create this animation. It also looks as if lace or paper doilies has been used, which has a charming effect. Unlike the Adventures of Prince Achmed, the models here are actually seen and are not just silhouettes.
As with other types of animation, cutout animation is done by taking a picture, and then moving the models slightly, and taking another. Then, when put together, it creates the illusion of a moving picture - persistence of vision.
The Alien Ritual Dance is a stop motion video I made of two plasticine alien-like models. I made the dark green (looks blue) model last week (below) and this week I decided he needed a friend, to make the animation more interesting. This is Blorgan and his little friend Makra dancing the traditional dance of their alien tribe.
Today, we created models out of plasticine. Next week, we will make a stop-motion animation with them. I created an alien guy with orange eyes and an orange mouth-like thing. He has two arms and four tentacles. Here he is:
Model based animation is a type of animation where you create a model out of plasticine, or some other kind of material, and take pictures of it in one position, move it slightly and take another picture. This is repeated many times until you have enough frames to make a short video. Below are some examples.
This is a short clip of the well-known animation, Wallace and Gromit. It was created by Aardman Animations out of plasticine on metal armatures.
This is The Clangers, a model-based animation by Oliver Postgate. Unlike Wallace and Gromit, The Clangers is not made out of plasticine, but little knitted characters. It was originally broadcast by the BBC from 1969 - 1972.
