How to Create a Figurine for Clay Animation

The hardest part of clay animation is shooting the scenes. To make a good 3D animation, you'll need to shoot the action frame by frame by posing the clay puppet over and over again. But before you get to that part, you'll need to make the clay figure. Here's how.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Craft wire
• Paint brushes
• Wire mesh
• Polymer clay
• Acrylic paints
• Beads

1. Bend some craft wire to make an armature. An armature is actually a skeleton for your clay figure. Whether you're making a duck or a person, you might want to roll some wire mesh into a tube for the torso. Connect wire to the torso. These wires will help form the arms, legs, neck and other appendages.

2. Use polymer clay to build the torso of the animation figure you're going to animate. Using a base color, such as a skin tone, push the polymer clay into the wire so it is secure.

3. Cover the other pieces of wire with clay. This will make the arms, legs, neck and head on the armature. It is important to make these of separate pieces of clay from the torso. This will allow your clay figure's arms and legs to move without cracking along the body.

4. Put a different color polymer clay over the base. This will be your clay figure's clothes.

5. Add details to your figure. Make a mouth out of clay and secure it into position. Use paint or glitter to add extra color to your clay figure.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use beads to make eyes for your clay figure. As you build your clay figure's head, press a bead into the place where an eye would go. Use a sewing needle to roll the bead in the socket until it sits snugly in place. Then make an eyelid with some of your base color clay. Now you can move the eye in the socket without risking it falling out.