Create a stop-motion cartoon

Getting set up
Before you begin, think about the images needed to build your animation. If you are making a complex film, it is worth writing a script or making a storyboard beforehand. Once the required shots are mapped out, create the set. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you like: cardboard boxes, Lego – anything goes.

Before photography starts, work out how you will move the subjects around. Will there be enough space to easily reach around the camera and adjust things? If the camera is continually knocked off its spot, you may get frustrated with the project quickly.

Also consider the actions that need to be animated. Each movement will need to be broken down into a series of consecutive steps. Similarly, the inclusion of special effects will require step-by-step planning.

If you want the characters’ facial expressions to change, think about how this can be achieved: modelling clay can be used to create removable facial features, or make a series of interchangeable heads for the characters.

If the models themselves will be moving across the set, it may make sense to mark their starting positions (ideally, somewhere it won’t show up on camera). Changing things too drastically, or picking up and replacing a model in a slightly different place, will cause the finished animation to look jerky, so it’s best to plan ahead.

Don’t forget lighting, either. Stop-motion animation can take hours to photograph from start to finish, so if you are relying on natural light the animation may get darker toward the end – or, worse, strobes and flickers as the light levels fluctuate.

Even minor changes can look dramatic when still photos are strung together to form a rapidly moving animation. In short, consistent lighting is better, so consider working in a room where the illumination can be controlled with lamps.

Depending on the camera it may be possible to ensure consistency of its captures, too. Turn off the flash and, if possible, avoid the use of automatic settings – you don’t want the camera to adjust its view of its own accord as you go along.

If the camera allows it, we would advise capturing images at a resolution of no more than 640x480 pixels: this will allow you to store more photos on the memory card and the quality should be good enough for most animations. Capturing lower-resolution images now will also save processing time later.

Photographing your action
With your set arranged, subjects readied and camera set to shoot, you’re ready to start. Remember, the less the camera moves between photographs, the better the finished animation will look.

With this in mind, using a tripod is recommended. Some cameras can be operated using a remote control and this is ideal, as it removes the risk of camera movement when the button is pressed. Otherwise, just set up the camera as securely as possible – position it on a piece of furniture or a pile of books and use Blu-Tack to hold it in place.

Take a first photograph of the subjects in their starting positions, looking through the viewfinder to ensure everything is in the right place, well lit, and in focus. Then start to move the figures through the actions you’ve planned.

Work methodically, moving the characters to be animated as necessary. The smaller the changes between photographs, the smoother the finished animation will be – patience is the key here. Keep taking one photo after another until you have captured all the shots required for a scene.

Feeling ambitious? Consider using the camera’s zoom function, or even move the camera between shots, to create more dynamic images. For example, to dramatically zoom in on a character’s reaction to an event, take a series of photographs zooming just a little bit more between each shot; try to keep the increments small and roughly the same distance, to keep the finished animation fluid.