Our Film Needs Your Vote! Help!

Our Film, (Created by Ron Cole, Isomer and I, Castlegardener) Third Necessity, is in an “Animation of the Month” contest over at ToonTube!

Voting ends the 1st of July! We need your votes to win.

Go to:

http://toontube.toonlifeonline.com/

You’ll see this:

———————————

June “Animation of the Month” Finalists

Vote for your favorite. Voting will go on until July 1st.

There are 5 films under that header. The first one on the left is ours.

Be sure to find the title

Third Necessity

right under the video box.

You will have to register there to vote. It only takes a couple of seconds.

Won’t you help us win?!

Sketchbook swap

I know a lot of stopmotion animators are also artists or at least know their way around a pencil and paper. After reading about a project by Jim Doran :

http://jimdoran.net/joy/?p=83

I decided to do my own sketchbook swap. Thanks Jim for the idea, it is terrific. The basic idea is you buy a sketchbook, draw some sketches and then send it off to another artist, they do some sketches, then they mail it on to the next artist on the list. Eventually your sketch book arrives back at your house with original works of art from artists all over the world. This is how I am going to run it.

*I am going to use a moleskin journal like this one:

I found this one at Barnes and Noble bookstore in the U.S. for about $16 US. But you can use any sketchbook you wish as long as it has at least 100 pages, won’t fall apart will all the mailings, and is easy to mail. So, no really heavy books or really large books. Remember the artists have to mail them to each other all over the world. This one is 5″ x 8 1/4″ and has 100 pages. It will be easy to drop into the mail box.

*Get a sketchbook. Make sure your name and mailing address is on the book cover.

*I will collect names, probably about 10 or so and put them on a list with addresses.

*Each artist will do 5 sketches or drawings and then mail the sketchbook to the artist after them on the list. Please do not modify any other pages or other artist’s works.

*When you receive the book you will have 3 weeks to do your set of sketches and mail it on to the next person. Please initial or sign your sketches or put your name somewhere in each journal so you will be remembered.

*When your journal makes it through all the artists you will get your own sketchbook back. You will have about 50 original works of art from artists all over the world in your sketchbook when it returns to you.

*I may set up a photobucket account or some other photo upload site if the participants wish to share some of the works of art with others. We will end up producing about 500 sketches when we are all complete. I will give everyone the account name and password so any of us can upload any sketch that you really like.

*I will begin as soon as I get 10-13 names. Email me if you are interested.

* This is not to judge others work, but to share creativity. I do not want to hear any negative comments at all about the quality or style of any artist’s works. Any skill level and any style or medium is welcome as long it will fit in the journal without any damage (like watercolor for instance).

Are you ready to start? Let’s get sketching! Email: to sign up.

castlegardener@yahoo.com

Beginner’s guide to ball and socket armatures

Ok, for my new film short, I need a flying rig to hold a wooden sled in place as it comes down a hill. So, let’s head down to the shop and build one today. It will use basic ball and socket joints which you can use in your puppet construction. This is a very basic ball and socket joint with a few tools. It is not professional grade and will not be the smoothest joint you have ever seen but it works and it is what I have used for all my puppets with ball and socket construction.

First I start with a steel plate from the hardware store. This is what it looks like straight off the shelf.

I then use the drill press to drill a hole in between the two holes in a line. This hole will be the proper size to tap a 8-32 hole.

This is what the plate looks like after drilling the center hole. This hole should be as perfectly centered as your setup will allow. The more perfectly centered it is the better the hold and the smoother the joint.

I use a dremel tool with a cut off wheel to cut the plate into two. If you wish you can round off the corners but for this project I am not. Then take one plate and drill a hole large enough for a 8-32 to pass through. One plate will be tapped with screw threads, one will be large enough that the screw can slide through freely.

This is the tapping tool. It comes with the proper size drill bit. So, you drill a hole with the proper bit, then put this tapping tool in the hole and slowly turn it back and forth until it cuts threads in the hole perfectly fitted to your screw size. These tap sets are pretty cheap ($5 US) but most do not come with the handle. That is sold separately. Use lubrication when cutting threads and your bits will last longer.

This is the dremel tool setup used to cut the plates and the threaded rod. Wear eye protection because fine metal dust will be in the air. I wear a full respirator but at least wear eye protection like wrap around goggles that seal against your face.

These are the brass balls I use. They are not ideal because they are softer than the steel plates and can easily scratch but they are cheap and I can find them right off the shelf at my hardware store. They are drilled and tapped for 8-32 threads when you buy them. I pay about .50 US each for them.

This is the solder I use. It has silver in it and makes a stronger bond. I have had very few solder joints fail me.

This is the one item you may not have in a normal shop. It is micro butane torch. It is a terrific tool. I do all my soldering with it. I think it is about $50 US or so. It uses refillable butane.

This is the 8-32 threaded rod. I bought this in one foot sections for a few dollars.

Put the threaded rod in the vise, careful not to damage the threads.

Cut a slot in the rod to help solder flow better.

I always use flux. Any kind should work. It keeps the solder joint clean and helps the solder flow better once you apply the heat.

Clean off the rod and coat with flux. Screw on the brass ball.

Apply heat to the ball.

Apply your solder and wipe off excess. This is a ugly joint but you get the idea.

This is what the plates look like when completed. Put the screw through the plate with the large hole, all countersunk holes in the plates facing inwards, and thread the screw into the tapped plate.

Insert the ball into the hole and you are done.

For mine I soldered my whole rig onto a heavy brass hinge so I could clamp it to my set.

This is what it will look like in use. I will erase it in post.

Go ahead, make a mess, have some fun.

end

Set completion and prop beginning

Ok, most of the set is done now, and it is time to begin the props for this film. Remember this short is only going to be 30 seconds long, set to music by idragosani from the stopmotionanimation.com forum. My challenge to everyone was to have him compose a 30 second music clip and we all animate to it. The deadline is August. I added some coarse turf and some field grass and some flowering foliage. All are available at a hobby store.

Below is some grass stuck in a puddle of glue to dry.

Some more drybrushing with a good and dirty palette. This is not the place for a nice neat palette.

This is kinda what it looks like now. Getting really close now.

Now we begin making our first prop. It is going to be an old wooden sled. I have a full wood shop outside I could use but I want to show you that you can make a great prop with some readily available materials and some simple ideas. I start with a cut piece of cardboard. I bent it up some for the sled front.

I cut two pieces of white paper and glued them one at a time to the bent cardboard. This is called lamination. It will keep the bend in the sled as the glue dries.

This is the first lamination. See how it holds the curve.

I used a paint bottle to help shape the front end.

A clamp with light pressure holds it until dry.

Now I add two pieces of wood on the back

Some more clamps.

Two pieces of styrofoam help the curved shape.

Brush on a sloppy coat of paint that is two or three browns kinda mixed together. And you have a great looking old fashioned wooden sled.

This is what it looks like on the set.

Go ahead, make a mess, have some fun.

More puppet set building tutorial

Here are more pictures of the in progress set building. I already have the first several coats of grass and sand glued on. Then I added some different colored textures from the same company as the other. It is like colored chunks of cushion foam. I dabbed some glue then sprinkled on the foliage.

I put on plenty but only some of it will stick to the glue. I will have to brush off the excess and refill any holes I find.

Try to remember where real grass would grow and real rock would fall.

Some small pebbles glued on to look like debris that has fallen down. This debris is called “talus” I think.

I had a tree frame from a craft store laying around so I glued some green clumps on the branch tips. It is just started in this photo. I had to let it dry a bit before adding more green to it. This tree frame is just wires twisted together at the trunk and then spread out for the branches. The trunk is wrapped with paper and then painted. Easy enough to make.

The tree on the right is a little bonsai tree that had died on me so I removed all the dead branches and just kept the trunk. I then glued green clumps on the tips and glued the whole thing to the set. Any stick or branch would work for this.

This is a big crack in the paper mache I have to fix and/or hide.

This photo below was taken with a flash. The unflattering flat forward light from the flash will show all the defects and help you see what needs work.

This is what it looks like with the studio lights. You can see the hotspot on the right. I will fix that before shooting.

My puppets will start on the right side as you are looking at it, and will slide down the mountain to the left mostly out of control.

Below you can see some reflection from the paint. It is always better to use flat paint for landscapes but I didn’t have any. I will have to do something to fix that.

Go ahead, make a mess, have some fun.

A new set being constructed

Ok everyone, I started my set. The basic idea is a bunch of puppets sliding down a grassy hill side having great fun. I started by adding two pieces of granite turned so the shiny side is hidden. This is a great rough surface for some mountain side or building. Kinda expensive but I had some left over from a kitchen job.

Add some styrofoam, cut to rough shape.

Add some paper mache to cover all the styrofoam.

Mix up some earthy looking paint, brown or greenish.

Base coat the mountain

Drybrush on some brown

Drybrush on some different colors, mostly browns and greens.

Mix up some white glue and water. I dumped some of the ground texture in there too for fun.

This is the textures I used. I got them from a hobby store where they sell railroad supplies.

Mix them up in a big bag.

Brush on the glue mixture and sprinkle the texture on. Let dry, brush off the excess and reapply to fill in any holes.

It is really starting to look like a grassy hillside.

Here is a closeup of the textures.

Add a puppet.

In this shot with the flash you can see some areas on the front that need some more work. I will probably add some larger rocks or more dirt later.

Go ahead, make a mess, have some fun.

Demolition of a puppet set

I finished my latest short “A Public Safety Announcement” and it was time to take down the set. Here are some photos behind the scenes of the set coming down. This first photo is before any demo work was done.

The tools are ready and the statue is broken free.

The statue is on a styrofoam base and it came up in one piece.

The top parapet comes down in a bunch of unusable pieces.

The front gate section comes apart in one whole piece, which will be easily reusable one day.

Most of the rock castle wall is gone. The painting on the background is from my last film before this which I worked on with Ron Cole, “The Third Necessity”.

Only a few sections of rock wall are left. I managed to get the piece on the left out in one big piece intact.

Nothing left now but bare walls and scraps of styrofoam.

The props go in a box outside to be stored until I need them again in the future.

Hope you enjoyed the deconstruction. Please return all hardhats to the front desk as you leave.

A failed puppet

Well, I tried to make a new puppet and failed. The challenge was to sculpt something in clay, then make a plaster mold of it the clay, then cast it in brush on latex to make a skin for the puppet.

Everything started out great. I found some professional plastilina oil based clay and some softer water based clay and completed my sculpt. Here is the side of the clay sculpt. It stands about 5″ tall.

Now you can see the head and arm and leg sculpted in plastilina clay.

The plaster mold process went great and all the molds were completed. I used two part molds for the body, arms, and legs, and a one part mold for the head. Once the plaster was dry, and the clay removed, I brushed in vaseline for a mold release.

I pulled the skins out and tried to attach them to my wire armature. This is where the problems started. I didn’t have enough foam on the body to fill everything out.

The seams on the back spines and the front chest looked really bad.

And the details seemed all mushed together. The brown belt though that you can see is another experiment using rubber cement, thinner, and paint all mixed together to make a paint medium that will stick to the latex and still flex. It seems to really have worked well.

Above is a close up of the detail. Below is the head. I may leave this part.

I am removing the red skin from the puppet and starting over but the head seems ok. Below is a wrinkle in the side of the puppet.

I removed all the red skin and bulked up the body mass with more foam and will see what happens from there.

A new sculpt in clay I want to mold

Ok, I sculpted a clay creature and now plan to make a plaster mold for it. The plan is to make a clay sculpt, then make a two part plaster mold of it. Once the mold is made, I will clean out the clay (destroying the sculpt in the process) and put the two halves back together. I then plan to pour some latex (mold builder) in the mold, swish it around, then pour out the excess. I will let that dry, then repeat a few times until the latex skin is thick enough.

Then I plan to pop open the mold, and have a great latex skin of my sculpt. I will cut maybe between the legs so I can slide a metal armature inside, and then fill it out with some cushion foam (like from a seat cushion) to form the muscles.

I will post more as it progresses. These pictures are the torso only. I will sculpt the limbs and head separately. The sculpt right now is about 5″ high. I started with a lump of clay around a pencil which is held upright with a hole in a piece of scrap wood. The creature is a big scaly creature with leather straps holding on a quiver of arrows.

Mysterious Ron and Elise’s son V’s interview (Devan)

In an attempt to interview people from all levels of experience, next on our list Isomer’s son. He has just been animating a few weeks and has just completed a few test clips. Here are his responses

1. You are just getting into animation. You have made a few tiny short clips. What has been the hardest part?

Well, the hardest portion of my work has been dealing with clay. Mainly the armatures, but also, when I move something, the object itself changes its local. I experimented with flying, but gravity took care of THAT idea!

2. After you finished your animation how did you feel about the process?

As of what I feel after producing a test clip, I want to shoot more! Any time I finish, I just want to give maybe a few more frames for good luck. Add maybe a frame to fix up that shot. I also feel that it isn’t a film, but reality, like it really happened.

3. You are the son of a famous special efx guy, any plans to work in this field when you get older?

Probably for a career, stop motion will be a side job, going along with the arts in general. My thought is a balance between cgi and the traditional forms of entertainment.

4. With all those fancy video games out there, what draws you to stopmotion?
Your question concerning what brought me to this field, instead of the new high tec video games, is that the games are nice and all, but making them is better. To create a project is far better than to merely watch the finished product.

5 Most of us are old and we have no idea what todays kids are into. Can you tell us what people of your age are interested in these days?

People of the generation of the current status are interested in relationships- to the extreme. They discuss matters that your generation would be embarrassed to even think about. It is the shock value that has encouraged generations of our time to get into arguments with the previous. They also love their games, food, and traveling in relation to competition. They also are so different because the parents do not check what it is that they buy for their children. The kids get what they want when they want, or they get super mad. So most parents- as to avoid a big conflict- buy the kid the thing they’ve been begging for for them to spend a million dollars, so the item can collect dust when the NEW thing comes out. That is the proper definition for this generation.

6. Have you seen any good videos, films or shorts lately?

Well, my Dad’s short is a good one, I can tell you that!! Good clips are easy to find, yet they come in bundles. My dad showed me one a while ago- the proposed first try at clay. The residual motion was fantastic. As I stated earlier, they are easy to find.

7. If we could make a tutorial to help out beginners like you, what would it be?

A tutorial for beginners would at best be to explain what to expect to go wrong, and how to overcome it. The rest should for most come naturally. If you want to go into this field, you do not have to go very far to find put the basic mechanics of the system.

8. What is something that you think my generation doesn’t understand about you and your friends.?

This may seem obvious, but the thing your generation does not take into account, is that my generation was raised in the proverbial bubble environment. This generation does not face nearly as many hardships as yours. I SHOULD KNOW

9. Any goals for your stopmotion animations?

My goal for my stop motion career is to get to a point where I can make a good living off it, so as not to put all my eggs in one basket. As I stated earlier, I will go into many fields.

10. My final question will be about the resurgence of this field. I feel that if you want to help this generation to get back into this art, then show them how to do animation in the computer. Show them how to do the stop motion physically, then show them how to enhance it with the computer. My thought is that you want a balance with the traditional arts, and the new fields.

I Thank Castlegardener for these questions. I will continue on my path and pursue greater.