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puppet #2: construction notes
February 10, 2006
puppet #2 is underway
by sven at 10:11 pm
Work on my second puppet is finally underway! Here's a picture of what I've got done so far...
I don't have a story that I want to animate right now. For the while, I'm just trying to learn puppetmaking. Once I have puppets, then I think short stories will suggest themselves.
...This might seems backwards -- normally you'd write a script, and then build puppets for it. But in the StopMotionAnimation.com forums I see a lot of newbies planning films that are beyond their abilities, and consequently getting stuck. In my opinion, puppet animation is an advanced form of playing "make believe" with dolls. Thus, you should begin exploring stopmo with learning how to make really beautiful and functional dolls.
I think that only a fairly advanced animator can successfully start off a project with a script. The implication is that you already have the ability to fabricate any actor or set that comes into your mind. A newbie (like me) isn't going to have those skills. In my opinion, treating stopmo as if it were a live-action film really does beginners a disservice. You can't cast your friends as actors; you can't use neighborhood buildings as sets. You have to build all this stuff from scratch. --So begin with learning how to build things.
posted by sven | February 10, 2006 10:11 PM | categories: stopmo