Claymation is a media of animation that dates back as far as 1897. It has been popular for decades and currently is still a popular form of animated entertainment. It is essentially the art of creating animated characters and objects by using molding clay, and then filming in a stop-motion style.
Humble Beginnings
Claymation has been around officially since 1908, even though it had existed in a minor form for a decade prior when plasticine was invented. Will Vinton became a leader in claymation when he created an animated feature titled "Closed Mondays," which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1974. The short animated feature took a grueling year to complete and was created in the basement of Vinton's home.
Memorable Moments
Since Will Vinton's short was released there have been several popular claymation features, such as the California Raisins, which was also created by Vinton, and Wallace and Gromit, created in 1989 by Nick Park. Following the creation of Wallace and Gromit, Park created the world-famous "Chevron Cars" commercials. Other prominent and memorable animation features include "Gumby," a cartoon that was popular in 1968, featuring a green clay model figure and other clay characters.
Plasticine
Plasticine was created in the late 1800s and was a type of modeling clay made of petroleum jelly and other materials. It was a nondrying clay that was used to make sculptures flexible. It became a staple in clay animation and has paved the way for stop motion animation as well.
Stop Motion
Clay animation and stop motion animation go hand in hand, as the filming is stopped each time the clay figure needs to be repositioned. Stop motion animation has been used to make inanimate objects appear to move on their own since around 1890. The popular show "Robot Chicken" is a stop motion animation television show that aired in the year 2005 and has remained the second most popular show on the "Adult Swim" lineup as of 2009. The show is known for using claymation in addition to dolls and action figures in the animation.
Process
Clay animation is a painstakingly long process in comparison to other forms of animation. It requires constant manipulation of clay figures, and attention to every minor detail is necessary. "Closed Mondays" was only about 15 minutes long and took 14 months to complete.
