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Special Project: Clay Animation – 6th grade art class

See project objectives below

  • Attack of the Mummy

    Created by Keegan Conway, Perrin March,
    Meg Mathile, and Melissa Saele

    This animation was created using two scenes to tell the story. In the first scene, we see the main character (Marty) climbing out of a spiked pit. In the second scene, we see his encounter with an angry mummy.

    play video

  • Athena’s Birth

    Created by Aaron Holmes, Mandy Keelor, and Emily Nunlist

    This animation was created using a single scene to tell the story – this is an interpretation of the Birth of Athena. It depicts the Greek gods Hephaestus, Zeus, and Athena.

    play video

  • The Squishing Sphinx

    Created by Tommy Noe, Isabelle Saldana, and Katie Sanders

    This animation used two scenes as well as two scales. The initial scene is shot with a full-size Cleopatra and camel. The second scene uses miniature characters in order to create the illusion of the giant sphinx. The subject of this film takes a humorous and alternative look at the demise of Cleopatra.

    play video

  • David, Goliath, and… Super Rock

    Created by Phil Albers, Rachel Argo, and Tommy Crowl

    This animation uses three scenes to tell the complete story. The students have depicted a somewhat humorous rendering of the story of David and Goliath – they have personified the rock that David uses to slay Goliath, dubbing it “Super Rock.”

    play video

  • The Curse of the Mummy

    Created by Ariel Cohen, Brian Dean, Sara DesMarais,
    and Megan Funk

    This animation uses a total of four scenes and two scales to depict the story of the mummy… this film is a creative take on the theme: “The Curse of the Mummy.”

    play video

Project Description

Students were divided into groups. They decided on a topic area as a group – they were given a choice of topics based on what they were studying in their core classes. After their topics were chosen, they wrote a “script” that included character descriptions and action sequences. They distilled their story into one or two scenes in order to most effectively and simply tell their tale. Each student constructed at least one character that would appear in the film. These characters and all props were made out of non-drying clay. This clay was formed around “armatures” to form a flexible but sturdy character.

Once characters and sets were complete, students were ready to begin filming. Each film consists of 60-100 still frame photographs. For each photograph, students had to make small changes in the poses of their characters. These photographs were then put together in a fast sequence to create the illusion of movement.

Skills Learned

Students will:
  • Explore another technique of animation – fits within animation unit between flip books and Flash computer animation
  • Learn the aspects of film-making: pre-production, production, and post-production.
  • They will learn the steps in making a short film using clay animation techniques – story development, character development, construction (characters and set), filming, camera angle decisions
  • Develop three-dimensional modeling skills
  • Analyze a story idea, decide on critical moments, depict these moments in clay
  • Utilize decision-making skills and problem-solving skills (group work/compromise)