How to Create a Claymation Armature
The armature is the skeleton, or the basic support for your claymation character, and will allow you to move your creature while filming the claymation production. Although claymation armatures can be very complicated, it's possible to make a simple and effective wire armature.
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Things You'll Need
- 1 spool of 1/16-inch aluminum wire
- 1/8-inch wooden dowels
- Scrap wood
- Steel wire
- Hot glue gun
- Screwdriver
- Power drill
- Wire cutters
Instructions
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1
Cut a 4-foot piece of aluminum wire and bend it in half. Place the two ends of the wire in the chuck of a drill bit and place the curved part under a chair leg.
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2
Turn on the drill and twist the wire, which will make it twice as strong.
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3
Repeat step one and make bent wire pieces for the legs and hips, for the arms and shoulders and for the mid-section. Bend the wire where you want bendable joints, such as the elbows, wrists, waist and knees.
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4
Measure the places that won't bend, such as the lower legs, thighs, upper arms and lower arms, and use the wire cutters to cut pieces of wooden dowel for those places.
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5
Wire the wooden dowels to the armature with steel wire, and secure them firmly with a hot glue gun.
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6
Form a neck and head with twisted aluminum wire, and attach them to the armature. The neck should be sturdy, but should be able to have some movement.
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7
Bend wire loops for hands, or glue on a dime for each hand. Bend two wire loops for feet, attach them to the leg and screw the feet into a block of scrap wood. The armature is now ready for clay.
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