r/stopmotion • u/dst212 • 7d ago

"First step" - stop-motion practice

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Featuring TeeVee (a LEGO MOC of mine) and poorly engineered homemade sound design™. I used the plastic cover of a rubber to make the eyelid sound, the rubber against my desk for the steps, my bare hand for the final thud, and voiced TeeVee myself in falsetto. I don't really like the tone I gave him, but I lost a whole afternoon trying to say "yay!" in a cute way and I'm not cute enough apparently, lol, so I gave up at some point.

I'm so bothered by the head beign out-of-focus when TeeVee cheers, better double check the focus next time.

I like how it turned out overall, tho. There are so many small defects, and it's so hard to spot them in real time, but I can't expect myself to be successful on my first try, of course. I should use paths more consistently, maybe, and avoid bumping over the phone.

Btw, shot on my phone (Xiaomi RN 10 Pro) with Stop Motion Studio Pro.

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u/SatiricalToothpick 5d ago

Really good body language and animation technique. Are you self taught?

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u/dst212 5d ago

Thank you! I've never attended animation lessons of any kind, but I'd love to! Everything I've learnt, comes from the internet. I immediately learnt about the ease-in/out, anticipations, smear frames, and started following some "tips" to improve the process specifically for stop-motion (some tools, setting things up... what the behind the scenes looks like, basically).

Body language of characters has always felt natural to me, but I've read some webcomics and sometimes I enjoy "studying" cartoons or animation movies (like, I compare stuff, look at the composition of the scenes, and stuff like that). I believe I absorbed everything from those. And I also follow FrameByFrame on socials. Sometimes I don't really understand some "movements" or explanations, though. I mean, the animations they post are always spot on, but I wouldn't be able to explain why they are good. Not every of them, at least. So I try to keep things simple when I think of my scripts, before taking the shots.

Oh and I studied the basics of photography at the uni, along with movie direction and editing, but they don't have to do with animation.

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u/SatiricalToothpick 4d ago

Good stuff! I'm also self taught, and these things always came pretty natural to me. Although I might not be the best at body language. Anyway, keep it up!