The Stop Motion News Archive

Jack Houston and the Necronauts

2013-05-21T06:53:20Z

Warbird Games is producing a really exciting new type of game which includes stop motion.

Stacy Davidson is creating one of the most exciting video games in recent months called Jack Houston and the Necronauts. In short, our hero Jack Houston encounters something after he crash lands on Venus. "The world he wakes up to is one of savage beast men who worship a devil god with the power to control the dead."

It sounds like a fun idea, and not only that - the designs, concept art, behind the scenes videos and web site are equally as exciting. Check out the official web site for the project here. Take a peek at the official project Facebook page over here. Most exciting of all is the YouTube channel with behind the scenes footage from the project over here. You can watch one of them below, showing some exciting game terrain that Stacy has built already.

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Ray Harryhausen Leaves Us

2013-05-08T20:57:14Z

A sad day for the stop motion community.

The time has come. Ray Harryhausen has passed away on May 7th 2013 at the age of 92. What he left behind is nothing short of an amazing series of moving art. Created one frame at a time, Rays ability to animate multiple puppets left fans in awe. Those puppets were not just inanimate objects, they were living, breathing, moving actors that left lasting impressions. It was nothing short of "magical", a word that Ray used to describe the difference between stop motion and other forms of more modern animation.

As of yesterday the internet is still buzzing about the news of his death. Much of it somber, some of it light hearted and some have shared guidance that Ray passed onto them. The good news in all of this is that Rays work, inspiration, books, interviews and spirit will live on and inspire new stop motion animators in the very distant future.

If you'd like to leave your thoughts and memories of Ray you can do so on the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Facebook page over here.

Dark Minions

2013-05-03T23:12:27Z

What is this new adult stop motion show and where can you see it?

According to what we could find, Dark Minions is written by Kevin Sussman and John Ross Bowie. It's an animated workplace series about two slackers just trying to make a paycheck working an intergalactic warship. The good news is that it's a free show that you can watch on Amazon.com right here.

The episodes were made by Shadow Machine, a smaller studio that is steadily growing in numbers and in projects. One of the most exciting future projects is Pinocchio. You can read up on their other well known projects over here. Watch the trailer for Dark Minions below.

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Flatworld

2013-04-22T21:12:05Z

Academy Award winning animator Daniel Greaves uploaded his masterpiece Flatworld on YouTube. What is it all about?

This film was made in the 1990's without the help of current capture programs or paint programs. It was shot on film and utilizes paper cut-outs carefully placed on sets. So is it cel animation? Is it stop motion? You could say it is actually both. At some points in the film, Daniel used pure cel animation to contrast the "real" stop motion world. It is a great short story and he's shared his film online. It's definitely a must-watch film which you can view below.

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Runtime

2013-04-09T21:00:43Z

What happens if you don't work together in harmony? Sometimes going your own way has unintended consequences.

Runtime is a short film by David Seidewitz and Florian Tscharf. The two puppets are supposed to resemble the long and short hands of a clock and how jealousy in their race through time ends. The puppets are made to look like mechanical clock parts, they really look great. The animation is also well done and incorporates some motion blurring techniques. Florian has a Vimeo page here that has a few other works of his, but his main web site can be found here. Watch the full short film Runtime below.

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Will Vintons Claymation Easter

2013-03-31T19:45:44Z

It's that time of year again, Easter is here!

What that usually means is a flurry of people upload the Claymation Easter by Will Vinton on YouTube. So while it lasts, you can watch the entire film below.

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The Consumer: Max Mortl

2013-03-21T04:41:32Z

What happens when you can't stop consuming everything put in front of you?

Find out in this clay animated film made by Max Mortl below. You can visit the Max Mortl site as well over here. However this seems to be the only stop motion film the group created.

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Squak Pattern Productions

2013-03-06T04:08:43Z

Glenda Rolle is working on a film project for a new start-up production company called Squak Pattern Productions.

Glenda and her team of artists in Illinois decided that even though they are geographically separate, they could handle any job through the use of the internet. This is definitely a trend in stop motion and is one way to cut down on overhead costs that make animation normally very expensive to create. Below you can see her whimsical video that explains her company.

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One of the films that she and her team are putting together is called Rescued. They plan to release it later this year, and so far it looks interesting. You can watch the teaser below.

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You can also visit Glendas web site which has a gallery of puppets, art and more by clicking here.

Mile of Pennies by Ian Timothy

2013-02-21T03:39:07Z

Ian just completed a well made clay animation commercial for a client in Kentucky that helps abused and neglected children.

It seems like the perfect way to reach out to kids and families. We're talking clay animation of course, one of the least used mediums in stop motion. It sparks your interest as soon as you see it which is why animated puppets can be a great way to get a point across. In this case the point and cause is to educate parents and kids about Mile of Pennies. It's a campaign to raise funds for Sunrise Children’s Services that you can learn about over here and it helps abused and neglected kits. Ian Timothy did a great job, you can check out his profile over here and watch his creation below.

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Making Toy Wax

2013-02-08T15:18:21Z

MAKE Magazine has a great tutorial interview with Scott Hensey on how to make toy wax. What are the uses for toy wax? Let's find out.

Toy wax is a great material when you need detailed and precise sculptures. You can also smooth wax to a high shine which is why toy sculptors use it. Finger prints are no longer an issue as well as smooshing fine details by accident. It does require different tools to work with however and you can find out more in the videos below. To find the original article as well as ingredient list to make your own toy wax, visit the MAKE Magazine page over here. To buy your own ingredients for making toy wax, visit this cosmetic ingredient supply site here.

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Here is a second interview from MAKE Magazine with Scott Hensey and his amazing creations.

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Visit Scotts personal web site for his toy creations here.