Any one know about clay?

[Mad-Mardigan]

Im thinking of doing a clay movie and I have a few questions...

Is there any web cam that has good quality and that program you need?

Whould Model Magic be good for creating characters or some other type of clay would be better?

Thanx

[Dusty-Gorilla]

Any digital camera is fine.

[Mad-Mardigan]

anyone else?

[FrostedMuffins]

Definately. I got into claymation first, which lead me to flash, and now programming :)
Stick with the ghetto videocameras with stop motion 4fps, like my super old JVC

[Mad-Mardigan]

Thanks for giving me tips, but can anyone answer my questions?

[Mad-Mardigan]

At 7/26/06 11:00 PM, Killer_Kadoogan wrote: Thanks for giving me tips, but can anyone answer my questions?

If not can you just tell me witch web cam I should buy?

[Lone-Ronin1]

I use a webcam i got for 30$ at wal mart also i use fimo clay but sculptey is good too.

[EKublai]

rules:

Do NOT use Model Magic. Model Magic hardens and tends to not mold well, plus if you tear it it doesn't stick back together. Use animator's clay, or pigmented oil-based modeling clays.

You'll find that it tends to not stay in the place you intended because of the elasticity of it, but that's something all claynamators have to deal with. This type of clay can get expensive especially if it's colored, so if you want a cheap alternative, get the always classic play-doh. comes in a lot of colors and usually doesn't rub into the furniture like the oil-based clays.

For webcams I use a Quickcam Pro 4000, which is a very good camera that comes with the stopmotion program. It tends to be inconsistent as you use it in terms of picture quality, so animate on 'good days' and rest the thing on 'bad days' keep the lens clean and use it frequently because underuse creates graininess. This webcam cost about $100 but it comes with three extra program, two of which, "Photoshop elements 2.0" and "Painter Essentials 2" make this a very good deal.

Animating: Pick a good spot that does not have harsh light for your scene. direct light tends to come off awkwardly on webcams. Use a desk you can risk getting grimy. Practice with it awhile til you get the jist of it and animate in small incremental parts. Don't use the built in microphone for dialogue because it's terrible. use an audio editing program like Audacity and not sound recorder like a lot of n00bs.

Most importantly, don't submit something if it's not good because although we like to see effort, claymation is nothing without a good director first.

hope this helps good luck

[Mad-Mardigan]

Wow thanks!
But I found a cheaper cam called Quick cam pro 5000. Should I get that instead?
and how should I keep it clean?

[Mad-Mardigan]

At 7/30/06 09:13 PM, Killer_Kadoogan wrote: Wow thanks!
But I found a cheaper cam called Quick cam pro 5000. Should I get that instead?
and how should I keep it clean?

Sorry I forgot to add, would Cernit Polymer Clay be good?