Elementary Instructional Technology Rockwall ISD

Transcription

1 Why Claymation? Creating a clay animation movie allows students to use their artistic and creative talents while using clay and technology to communicate and tell a story. Clay animation appeals to multiple intelligences and a broad variety of learners. Language skills are engaged while brainstorming and writing the script and storyboard. Mathematical, logical, and spatial skills are used in organizing the project, sequencing the frames, and using digital photography and video editing technology. Creativity is encouraged when students sculpt clay characters, draw and paint sets, and animate their stories. Collaboration skills are practiced when students work together to produce a clay animation project Materials Modeling Clay-Oil based (Van Aken) Placemats Pipe Cleaners Paper towels Armature Wire Toothpicks Aluminum Foil Tweezers Wax paper Roller Baby Wipes X-Acto knife Wiggle Eyes Wire cutter Pins Digital Camera Styrofoam balls (Different Sizes) Tripod Fishing line Windows MovieMaker Construction Paper Magazines Crayons Old Calendars Makers Colored Pencils Scissors Glue Stickers Push Molds Cooking pans Magnets Plastic ware Paintbrush 1

2 Step 1: Storyboard Create a simple storyboard of eight to ten pictures that will be the main story of your Claymation. Keep the story board simple using stick people. The storyboard should also have the parts of the background that will be in motion, i.e. clouds. KEEP IT SIMPLE! The shortest and simplest concepts are the easiest to animate. Your storyboard can be simple or detailed, in pencil or in color. Always remember: The story is the most important part of any clay animation project. The more you include in your storyboard, the easier it will be to create with your clay character. Step 2: Creating your characters You will first need to acquire some modeling clay for your project. Plasticine works best. It is an oil based product and does not dry out and comes in a variety of colors. You will be able to move your character without having the clay crack or split. The modeling clay may be hard right out of the package. Break the clay into smaller pieces and kneed the clay with your hands to make it more pliable. Also remember to use a workmat as it will leave an oil stain on paper, wood or fabric surfaces. Other bits and pieces will be needed for the completion of your character. Collect craft items such as "small Styrofoam balls, google eyes, pipe cleaners, beads, etc." Do not use Play dough as it dries out and you will be unable to move/use your figure after it dries out. When you are ready to create your clay character, you will need to think about how the character will look from all angles, and how it will move. It is a good idea to start with an "armature". An "armature" acts as a skeleton for your clay creation. You can use pipe cleaners to form your basic skeleton and cover it with the clay. You need to think about your characters movements at all times. o Is it able to stand? o Can you make small changes to its position and it can still stand, walk, and move? 2

3 o Is it top heavy? Use lighter weight materials inside your character (ex. Styrofoam ball for the head or body) and use Plasticine only on the exterior. Use armature wire to form the skeleton - The wire is easy to twist into the general structure of your character. Any part of your character that will move should have bones of armature inside it. Be sure to twist the wire tightly together, in order to make a strong skeleton. Use modeling clay to fill out the body and the details - Massage the clay in your hands to make it softer and easier to work with. Add the clay to the wire skeleton. Pay attention to expressive details, such as the eyes of your character Twisting Armature Wire Adding Clay Step 3: Creating the background The Background for your clay animation can be just about anything. You can use a variety of art supplies to build your set - crayons, markers, colored paper, water colors, anything. You can also use real objects - a rock for a boulder, a branch for a tree, etc. Objects in the foreground can give your animation a nice sense of depth. You can even create an animated background - one that changes during the course of your animation. For a short cut - use a picture as a background, such as a large photograph, a small poster, or a picture from a calendar. Make sure that your background is the same scale as your characters, and that it will fill the frame for whatever camera you will use to capture the images. Construction Paper/Crayon Background 3

4 Your character will need a setting or some kind of backdrop. It is important to make sure that your set is secure. Any movement of your set will be very noticeable in the final production. Even the slightest bump usually causes the final animation to appear to be taking place during an earthquake. Also some objects on your set will be made out of clay, but you may use other objects as well Step 4: Taking pictures Calendar Picture Background Keep your hands clean Don t move things that aren t supposed to move don t bump the table Don t forget to take close-up pictures. Using tape, label the permanent location for your tripod so that all shots will be taken from the same spot. This is necessary for consistency and continuity of your film. (You can change the camera view or zoom occasionally but make sure you label this second location) Using a digital camera, take stills of each movement for your character. If possible I highly recommend the use of a tripod. That way the camera will be as still as possible. Take 8-15 pictures per second of finished video so make sure and take plenty of pictures! Move characters approximately ¼ inch between shots. The more photos you take to slowly move your characters, the smoother your characters will move when the photos are imported into Windows MovieMaker. Once you are finished taking your pictures, create a folder within your student folder to hold your pictures. Download photos from your digital camera into this folder. Pictures must be numbered in sequential order. As you add photos to this folder, make sure you are numbering the photos to maintain the sequence you need. 4

5 Step 5: Importing pictures With your photos in sequential order, load the folder into Windows Movie Maker. You will need to adjust the time of each photo to 0.25 seconds in order to allow a quick transition from picture to picture. o Tools Options Advanced Now click on the first picture, hold down your Shift key and click on your last picture 5

6 Now that you have all your pictures selected, drag your pictures down to the storyboard below. In addition to adding the pictures, you and your team will also have to add a title, final credits and possibly voice overs. Notes: 6