SET UPDATE

Well I've been dabbling a bit more on the set. I am now leaning towards an open meadow instead of a park bench scenerio. My mind keeps changing! But here's how it's going so far

Here I have foamed some shrubbery and the trunks for the trees . The tree trunks are later shaved down to shape before painting

 

This is how my hillside background attaches

 

Laying down grass.Notice i used a piece of pvc pipe to give the grass a little raise in the eye line. Also notice my hillside has been painted a lighter green which i ended up hating and changing

Here are the trees and shrubs added... trees were fastened down with screws. Notice I changed the hillside color yet again. I may remove the hillside all together and just paint something on the sky backdrop when it's completed.

 

BUILDING A MAGNET RIG

Working on concepts for a magnetic rig mount using a "magic arm" with clamp and small rare earth magnets glued to the end

So far it works great as a stabilizer for 12'' action figures

I then super glued a washer to the front and back of the action figure then applied glue to a magnet and it was easily held in place until the glue dried solid!

The rig will be set at a perfect height to join the two magnets together

SET BUILDING UPDATE

Well, I have began work on a set for a film idea i have. This particular set is a city park. It will have trees and park benches along with possibly a street lamp and trash can. Right now i am just experimenting with some methods. Read on to see what we've done.

This is a quick conceptional drawing i did of the idea

  First ive cut some scrap styrofoam with a hot wire into the shapes of rocks and/or hills  I applied Dry Dex spackling over it to make a paintable surface with some interesting texture.

 

 

 I then gave them some paint (The big ones i painted green but forgot to take photos of the process)

I also started work on an idea to build trees using spray foam insulation for the tree tops over foam discs. These will be put on top of wooden dowels which will also be covered in foam for texture

This is how it's looking so far... still alot of work to do including a giant sky background!Those tree tops really look like shrubs...which gives me an idea! Stay tuned!!

ADDING SOUND EFFECTS

I went ahead and added some sound effects to the previous clip to spice it up a bit

ATTEMPTING A BLINK

Thought i would try my hand at some blinking... not sure what to think about the results..hahaha

WORKING ON A NEW ARMATURE!!

Just trying my hand at an armature!! Simple aluminum wire design with quick setting apoxy putty for "bones".

 

My first two test shots.

Please forgive my lack of talent thus far! haha



Thanks for checking them out!!

cc

AND SO IT BEGINS...

Hi Everyone!!

Welcome to the begining of a new Crazy Chris adventure!! I am trying my hand at stop motion animation and thought i would share my studio set up so far! its all still in the very early stages and no projects have been designated as of yet. Everything you will see as far as set pieces and puppets are simply for practice. 


Stop motion requires your stage base to be fairly heavy duty in order to provide a stable unmovable surface to your tiny world. I had several ideas but then came across this super heavy duty shelving system which actually bolted to the floor.

  Its various shelving rungs allows me the luxury of setting up at virtually any height i need. They would even allow for glass or plexiglass shelves for a multi plain set up! (Note: The inner lip would make it simple to add the glass)

 

I then added a piece of MDF cut to fit perfectly for the width of the shelving. It is held in place by 2 sturdy vice clamps on either opposing corner. This allows me to move it or exchange it anytime i want!

Also my slider and gearhead fit nicely on the edge for special shots

I plan on doing a lower level of MDF on a shelf directly below my stage as a secondary lower ledge for the slider. This will allow upshots as if shooting from the floor of the set.

Next i began setting up my fabrication/puppet building work station which has quickly grown from a neat and tidy workspace to a sloppy mess. But its my favorite spot in the whole house!

 

I needed something to practice animation so i came up with a simple blob of clay type character (wire armature covered in foil then covered with an outer layer of plasticine clay. Then I gave him a shirt and a hat to class him up a bit. And added a small grocery cart for a touch of fun!

I then began work on setting up the camera , lighting and set decoration as well as installing my computer and software. This is all still a work in progress but so far so good! 

 

The shelving works out fantastic because the upper shelf is great for rigging my smaller LED pin spots for specialty lighting needs. And all the chords quickly and easily zip tie to the various railings

I am so excited to continue my journey and bring lots of little characters to life!! Watch this space for more stop motion animation fun in the future!

crazy chris