Sets For "Coraline"

The risk is unmistakable. The world of animation gets more crowded by the day, with feature films, DVDs, TV series and video games competing for consumers' attention. And "Coraline" isn't your typical talking-animal romp or potpourri of pop culture references.

Rather, it's a spooky, through-the-looking-glass tale of a lonely tweener girl who moves to Ashland and steps into a mirror world where sinister impostors stand in for her parents.

And did we mention that there's also a burlesque, Benny Hill-style interlude that mixes Shakespeare, trapezes and the doffing of clothes -- all set to a song written by "Coraline" director Henry Selick?

By choosing unconventional source material, as well as the decades-old stop-motion technique over the computer-generated animation familiar from such hits as the "Shrek" franchise and "The Incredibles," Laika is breaking with nearly all the conventions that helped make animated movies one of the surest bets in Hollywood.

Set Research

Link; http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://clayfolk.com/gallery/clayset.jpg&imgrefurl=http://clayfolk.com/clayset.html&usg=__utOoEDr29THJuJKnp-PZv2CBr4E=&h=300&w=400&sz=25&hl=en&start=4&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=JcIHoytBQkZKZM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstop%2Bmotion%2Bsets%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox%26tbs%3Disch:1

The Wombat is an exciting action short created in the process of clay animation and computer compositing. Great care and attention were paid to the construction of the Australian based lead character who is almost an "anti-hero". It is great to be animating a show with a good sense of humor!

stop motion sets research (Continued)

Artist, graphic designer, product designer and all around good guy Amierinkz took on the challange to create a paper model NYC neighborhood inspired scale model for a recent production. Starting with a set of weighted cardboard boxes, Amierinkz created a fantastic paper world.

The boxes were surfaced with white backdrop paper in the Greenpoint studio. Amierinkz took the boxes to his studio and added detail with black “sharpie” marker and foamcore elements.
Smaller 3D elements such as, water towers, roof top door sheds were constructed from cardstock.
The Bus had removable doors and spinning wheels for animation. He created an interior room scene with sharpie on cardstock which was matted behind the green screen window cutout.
After creating the basic window grid to conform the scale of the buildings, he went off the deep end creating extra elements such as, animated rats, garbage dumpster, taxi, lightpost, clotheslines with clothes, fruit stands, newspaper boxes, etc.
The buildings were set up on foamcore sidewalk elements on a black paper covered board. Most elements were affixed with hotglue.
AmierInkz is of Colombian-Puerto-Rican descent, born and raised in Brooklyn since 1975.

From the start of his career, Amierinkz, has explored various mediums, materials and techniques and has maintained he visual curiousity throughout.
In early ’88 he began computer based design on a Mac. In ’93, he joined Digital Konfusion and created “Digi Kon artz” as well as designing for labels such as Jive Records, New Breed, Liquid Sky, Allen St Recordings, and Half Baked Ideas. In addition to purely graphic work, he began designing clothing and accessories for clients such as Bungie, Fox, Konami, and Nintendo.

A truly multi-talented and multi-disciplinary artist, Amierinkz, continues to cross borders and push boundaries.

Checkout more Amierinkz via: http://www.myspace.com/amierinkz

Link; http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://obscureobjectfilms.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/lou-web_7229-copy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://obscureobjectfilms.wordpress.com/tag/animation/&usg=__y7Oi4nAyizHVqA1XkHObIOuoRAM=&h=2431&w=3884&sz=5542&hl=en&start=3&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Rklly08EBiVroM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstop%2Bmotion%2Bsets%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox%26tbs%3Disch:1















Miniature house set from stop-motion animated film, The Falling
Miniature tree set and interior set of Opossum's den from Mr. Furry Fur Fur
and His Friendly Earth Friends, Ingaldson-Smith Productions







Link to Kate Stransky website; http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.katestransky.com/images/house114sm-copy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.katestransky.com/sets.html&usg=__O11zCSa3IT5rjvrGijuLxYpdHLo=&h=672&w=487&sz=88&hl=en&start=7&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=OjVmKW8m1yblHM:&tbnh=138&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstop%2Bmotion%2Bsets%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox%26tbs%3Disch:1

Final Armature

Head plate made of brass. Has holes marked on it ready to be drilled, will the head have a wire frame that can be threaded through these holes? marked using a compass and ruler.

Testing the elbow joint for friction making sure the screws are tight enough to hold everything together moves well!!

assembling the elbow joint with a screwdriver, tightening up the brass plates, aluminium rods on either side which act as the joints.

Assembling the aluminium legs and brass plates , then screwing together, this will create tension and hold the hips together, thus creating a moveable ball and socket joint!

Aluminium rod tightened in an elcrtic drill, then using a round file, creating a ball at the end of the rod which will then be a joint, elbow or wrist!

Small nuts and screws used on the Armatures ankle joints and knee joints to screw brass plates together!

Making my Ball and Socket Armature a few of the development photos .....

Brass Plates Cut to size and holes put in them readdy to put the screw through the middle of the plates this will then create tension when the rounded Aluminium rods are also slotted in on either side.






Some of the tools that were used to create my ball and Socket Armature; Set Square, Hacksaw Blade for marking the metal, Mole grips used, Compass used to mark out parallel lines and radiuses.