Set Building

Article from old site by Nofby...

Set construction is a vital skill to learn in stop motion animation. Your characters need somewhere to live, be it in a crumbling stone castle, a deep dark swampy forest or cosy wooden hut. Do they live inside an apartment, or perhaps in a big city? All these things you have to keep in mind when designing and constructing your set. Sets can be as simple as a four-legged platform with three walls on which you animate your puppets, to a complex exterior set of rolling hills and trees. Building sets can be easy: think practically, and don't make beginner mistakes such as making your set designs bigger than the studio space you have.You can think big without needing to build big. [edit] Tools and Materials

Tools used to make sets are very basic. Saws, hammers, hot glue guns, paint brushes and drills are essential. If you already have some basic tools you may already have all you need. One of the more advanced tools to use for making sets are hot wire foam cutters, these can be used to cut styrofoam, a great set building material that I will come on to later on.

Materials that you can use to make sets are:


 * Wood (MDF, Pine, etc.)
 * Styrofoam (Great for stone textures, bricks, hills and other purposes.)
 * Plaster (All round purpose, nice for making textures and walls.)
 * Chicken wire/ Mesh (Good for building up hilly landscapes because of its strong support and malleability.)
 * Balsa (Good for furniture like wooden tables, chairs and more complicated wooden props like brooms, pipes and walking sticks. It can also be weathered with a nice effect using a wire brush against the surface.)

[edit] Design and concept

To make a set, you first need to start off with a concept. Where is your film set? In the Middle Ages maybe? In the Roman Empire? Or maybe it has no time period or specific location at all? If your film is set in a specific time period, you will need to research and find information on what architecture was like during that period, common ways they built houses etc. Doing this will make your film more believable; it will help you portray the location.

Designing a set is something you have to be careful with, the most common beginner mistake is designing sets that are too big or complex for their budget and space.