The Stop-Motion Handbook

Introduction

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to making a basic stop motion puppet is the technology involved in the various techniques. Not everyone has access to soldering or drilling equipment, and we don't all have the skills or studio space to make a two part plaster mould. I have put a lot of energy into finding a low cost basic approach to puppet making which allows the novice animator to begin to explore model-making for animation at their kitchen sink or sitting room sofa. This technique will provide you with a low cost puppet which will perform well, and with a few modifications could be repairable. However, it is essentially a disposable model, which will last the duration of a short film, and can be quickly and cheaply replaced.

This tutorial will cover:

1) Materials and suppliers
2) Basic armature construction
3) Skinning the puppet with nylon stocking and hollow fibre wadding
4) Basic guide to making simple tiedowns

A Step by Step Guide to Making a Low Cost, Low Tech Stop-motion Puppet

Written by Mary Murphy

1) Materials and Suppliers

The following is a list of the basic equipment and materials you will need to collect before you begin.

1) Tools and equipment

• Good sharp scissors with a pointed tip is essential for snipping the nylon
• A packet of sewing needles and some dressmakers pins
• White sewing thread
• A glue gun
• A kettle for boiling water, a bowl a small rolling pin and a fork for working with the polymorph
• A small pair of pliers, preferably one with a wire cutter

2) Materials

• Two pairs of sheer tights (Pantyhose) in a flesh colour
• Hollow fibre wadding. The cheapest way to get this is to buy an inexpensive cushion or pillow
• A pair of glass or plastic beads for eyes
• A supply of aluminium armature wire in at least two different gauges*
• A tub of Polymorph or friendly Plastic. (See below for details)
• A small section of Loc Line Plastic hose (See below for details)
• A pair of matched screws, nuts, wing nuts and washers for the tie-downs**

* The size you choose will need to be appropriate to the size and weight of your puppet. (See below for details)
**The screws need to be appropriate to the size of the tie-down holes you wish to make.

Polymorph (UK) or Friendly Plastic (US)

It is essentially a low melt nylon plastic, which becomes soft in boiling water, and cools to form a very hard, light plastic material.
A tub costs £12.99 from Maplin, and it is re-usable. It can be purchased on the web…

In the US at this site
http://www.kelvin.com

Or in the UK at this Website
http://www.maplin.co.uk

Aluminium Armature wire

This type of wire is soft, and has very little memory, or spring to it. It is the best type of wire to make armatures from, as it is easy to bend, and it has a longer life span than other types of wire. For a stop motion puppet armature, five or six thin strands are usually twisted together, and it is a good idea to have a few gauges, (or thicknesses) on hand, as the necessary strength of the armature can vary a lot depending on the weight of the skin, the size of the puppet etc. The puppet in the photographs was made using a combination of 1mm 2.5mm and 3mm strands.

The best supplier I have found in the UK is Flints. The following link will take you to the website, where you will find aluminium armature wire under "Prop makers Materials" in the "Painters and Props" section. They sell it in small coils, and will post it directly to you.

http://www.flints.co.uk

Loc-Line Modular Hose system

Loc-Line is the brand name for a product which was developed as a fluid distribution tool in industry. It is essentially a series of interlocking plastic cups which form a flexible, spine-like tube. It is completely modular, and can be added to, or shortened at will. In the context of puppet design, it is not very suitable for limbs, as it forms a fairly broad curve when bent, but it does make excellent spines, which can be popped apart, added to, or swapped over. It also makes really good tails or long necks for animal puppets. It is available from this website

http://www.loc-line.com/

And it comes in three different widths.

The armature is made using a Loc-Line section as the spine, twisted wire for all the bendable parts, and Polymorph as the "Bones" of the figure, to give it strength, and to make sure that it always bends in the right places. The wire can be twisted by hand, but it is better to use a hand drill or an electric drill if you have one. Simply loop one end of the segment to be twisted over a door knob, and secure the other end in the chuck of the drill, and twist away.

LEFT: This is an example of a basic Human Armature. The pelvis and chest are simply made by modelling Polymorph around the joint between the leg wire and the end of the spine. I glued them together first, to make it easier to model the polymorph on the joint, but when the polymorph cools, it is strong enough to hold it all very firmly in place. The Polymorph bones are a little tricky to make. With the water as hot as possible, take a small blob of polymorph out of the water with the fork and roll it between your fingers to make a sausage shape. Dunk in back in the water to keep it flexible, and then quickly roll it into a flat sheet with the rolling pin. Using the scissors, trim it into a rectangle shape, making it as long as the bone needs to be, and wide enough to wrap around the wire with a bit to overlap. (Have a look at the shin, for example, on the puppet above) Then, re-boil the kettle, dunk the little section back into freshly boiled water to get it as soft as possible and wrap it around the section of wire. It may take a few attempts as the Polymorph sometimes loosens as it cools. If you get it wrong, dunk the leg back into the bowl, and remove the bone.

RIGHT: This is the Loc-Line spine. While the armature was under construction, there were five sections to the spine, when it was completed, I felt that the proportions were wrong, and that her back was too long, so I popped her apart, removed two sections, and clicked her back together

BELOW: The hand is made in the same manner, but what is difficult to see from this picture is what is going on inside the lower arm. The polymorph is actually joining two separate bits of wire. It was designed in this way to allow the hand to be replaced if a finger snapped during the shoot. In theory, all the bones could be designed in this manner, although this would make the construction very fiddly and there are other materials and techniques, such as K.and S. systems which make repair jobs easier and quick.

LEFT: Note the distance between the bones. If you place the bones at either side of a wire joint too close together, the wire will always bend at the same point, it will always rub against the hard surface of the Polymorph, and in extreme cases, will be stretched during extreme bends. This will really shorten the life expectancy of your wire, and consequently your puppet.

The head has been made by embedding wire into a large ball of polymorph. The eyes were eventually made from white glass beads, but I have used blue beads here to make the photograph clearer. The brow wire was not a huge success, and I actually removed it in the final puppet, The nose and upper palate section were added on while the polymorph was still very soft, and the eyes were nestled into place before it cooled. The jaw wire runs right up to the back of the skull, and the ends have been splayed out. The neck wire runs into the back of the head, and the ends of the wire have also been splayed out to really grip into the polymorph. It's a little clearer in the photograph below, as the Polymorph becomes a little translucent when it is hot.

RIGHT: A half completed hare puppet. Note the splayed open wire at the end of the legs. This is to help the Polymorph key into the wire securely when making the foot. The tie-down bolt will rest in the fork of the wire.

CAUTION!

Polymorph is a wonderful substance, but it is not the most responsive modelling material. Be prepared for burned fingers, and lots of boiling water as it must as hot as possible in order to stick to itself.

2) Basic Armature Construction