The Art & Craft of Stop Motion Animation, from historical to current modern use ... including Retro & Classic Special FX ... miniatures, models, matte paintings, forced perspective tricks, in-camera effects, etc.
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Matteo Burani and Ariana Gheller jointly operate an independent production house >> Studio Croma Animation, located in Bologna, Italy. Their website offers an immersive and engaging experience, particularly when viewed on larger screens such as laptops or desktop computers. The design of the site feels like a guided tour, inviting visitors into the creative world of Studio Croma. Their
animation & special effects work are eclectic, producing advertisement spots,
music videos, and animated shorts which use a variety of mixed media animation
styles. Matteo and Ariana come across as warm and approachable, encouraging visitors to reach out.
They currently have a few animated shorts which are available for viewing. You can explore Studio Croma at their >>Youtube or >> Vimeo channels. Their recent work, partially crowd funded, was released in 2024 ... 'Playing God' is a 9 minute animated story that has toured various film festivals.While it may have been available at some point, it seems to not be available for viewing at this time. If you are curious about 'Playing God', you might ask and communicate with them here >> Contact
Playing
God’ is an animated short film created using the CLAY stop-motion
animation technique. Good to see the Clay medium being used in a more 'pure' form somewhat remininscent of the vintage works of >> Will Vinton Studios with their ClayMation™ brand. The key creators behind 'Playing God' are Director Matteo
Burani and Producer Ariana Gheller. Despite their
official titles, both Matteo and Ariana are deeply involved in multiple
aspects of the production process. They contribute to the design,
including stage set construction, puppet fabrication, camera & lighting, and actively
participate in the hands-on animation itself.
This is from Studio Croma's other Projects -- Other Animators or studios use Croma's services to produce whatever custom puppets, props, miniature sets, etc. Take note -these Behind the Scenes have a short story musical style presention!👍😎
All in a day's work
BLU | Puppet Making Backstage - Fabrication of Replacement Puppet Faces, NOT using any 3D printing. The connecting magnets are embedded in a keyed polyurethane hard resin neck/skull base ... then each of the custom facial feature expressions are hand sculpted using putty epoxy which hardens & bonds to the resin component (with the embedded magnets). Also, for Croma's client, they produced numerous puppet hands as backups if the wire fingers break during animation. If you do not understand, just study the video using full screen and select slow motion video speed!
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Adam Savage recently posted a YouTube video about the early Evil Dead cult films, which inspired me to dive into my archive-reference files. There, I discovered a few more items connected to the cult classic Evil Dead II.
Here’s the Adam Savage video where he reunites with Tom Sullivan, one of the original artists behind The Evil Dead (1981) and the later reboot-remake, Evil Dead II (1987) but with a chaotic over the top horror comedic twist. In the video, Tom reveals that he’s auctioning off some of the classic props from the films. He and Adam have a fascinating conversation about the items and their history. My only small regret, as with many auctions, is that the sold items will likely end up in private collections, leaving the public with little chance to see these incredible pieces of cult classic cinematic history. Watch below.
For those who haven’t seen the opening Evil Dead II opening of the Necronomicon book, I still believe it stands as one of the most uniquely creative and imaginative pieces of special effects work. It’s all crafted using old-school, analog methods—no digital effects, no computers. The result is surreal, with the offbeat intensity of stop-motion giving it an almost dream-like quality. There’s simply no way CGI could replicate this vibe or gritty aesthetic.
The flying stop motion puppets ... simple designed 'wire' armatures but effective >> ghost creaturesIn this photo, I believe that Tom was drawing each page which were stop motion animated. As the pages flipped faster, I think he did some shortcuts so that he would not need to draw every page >> Stop Mo Necronomicon
Below is a video of the Deadite creature's flying attack scene. While impressive, it doesn’t quite match the spectacle of the stop-motion animated opening sequence featuring the Necronomicon book — something even Tom Sullivan, the creator and animator of the Deadite puppet, has acknowledged. Despite the significant effort he put into crafting the puppet, production constraints limited his input. Sullivan had hoped to collaborate more closely with the director to create a truly attention-grabbing moment, perhaps as an homage to Ray Harryhausen’s iconic work.
Note: Any Photos ... you can usually click on it, and then you will see a super-sized larger photo.
Here’s the Deadite stop-motion setup in its initial stage. The studio lacked the space for a larger background blue screen, which was necessary to accommodate the Deadite puppet’s wide wingspan. Initially, the puppet was suspended by nylon lines, but it proved unsteady when supported this way, and I don’t believe any usable animation resulted from this setup.
Eventually,
it was decided to move the Deadite stop-motion production to a larger
studio with a much bigger blue screen. The puppet was then supported
from the rear with a rigid rod for improved stability.
Here are some photos of Tom Sullivan at his mom's house, working on the finishing touches of the Deadite puppet fabrication >> Photo 1>> Photo 2. Just a quick side note — I had the chance to visit Tom in his hometown in Michigan many years ago, during the post-production prep for the Deadite stop-motion. From there, we traveled to Detroit to visit Renaissance Pictures, where Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell were immersed in the post-production tasks.
Naturally, Evil Dead 2 showcased a wide variety of special effects, all created using the old-school analog techniques of the era. These included extensive use of makeup prosthetics, cable-operated puppetry, and practical on-set effects, such as custom props and intricate set designs. However, my focus here is specifically on the stop-motion effects featured in Evil Dead II. Below, I’ll list the Artists / Creators who contributed to this work — some of whom you may not be familiar with:
Rick Catizone - A veteran in special effects & animation: I was not aware of the entirety of the work that Rick did for Evil Dead II — Sculptor/armatures designer and builder/animator. Animated stop-motion crawling hand sequences; Animated neck grow and face transformation, combining replacement head transformation sculptures with fully articulated stop-motion puppet. Animated full figure puppet of Henrietta; Shots were composited with live action plates via single-frame rear-screen projection.In addition on other projects, Rick also is fully capable in 2D animation. Too much to list his other creative skills. Here is his Website & IMDb. If you're curious what the Henrietta armature looks like, go here >> Henriettaand >> Crawling Hand Armature
Larry Larson - Stop motion special effects: Brought his stop-motion expertise from running his own independent studio in Detroit. He served as the stop-motion cameraman and handled lighting, using his classic heavy duty Mitchell camera — a staple of analog stop-motion photography. Larry and Tom collaborated closely to set up the stop-motion shots. While his >>IMDb credits may be sparse, Larry was highly active in the Detroit indie scene, producing ads, promotional work, and his own stop-motion shorts.Larry was also a talented musician and later became an instructor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. He even dabbled in creating a DVD tutorial on armature-making for beginners. To my surprise, Larry generously shared this tutorial on his >> YouTube channel. Sadly, Larry passed away in 2019 (RIP, Larry), leaving behind a legacy of creativity and generosity.
Brian Rae - Special Effects Prosthetics/Make-up: Originally from Michigan, Brian has been a long-time resident of the Los Angeles area. His impressive resume speaks for itself, as shown on his >> IMDb listing. On Evil Dead II, Brian worked as Tom Sullivan's assistant, contributing by making props and assisting with animation setups. While I’m not sure if Brian has a website or an online portfolio, here’s a friendly nudge: 'Hey Brian, if you’re reading this, get yourself a website or some kind of online presence!'😉He’s amassed many behind-the-scenes photos from various projects, showcasing his talents in makeup prosthetic fabrication for renowned special effects studios.
Yancy Calzada – Stop-Motion Armature Fabrication: Yancy collaborated with renowned special effects veteran >> Doug Beswick, constructing the stop-motion armature for the 'Dancing Linda Corpse' scenes in Evil Dead II. Here’s a photo of the armature >> Linda While his blog hasn’t been updated in years, it still offers a glimpse into his diverse creative talents. Yancy isn’t just skilled in metalworking craftsmanship — he also excels in creature design concept illustration. These days, I believe Yancy primarily focuses on CGI effects work. He has always struck me as someone who prefers to remain low-key, avoiding the limelight. While he’s not been active in the stop-motion community these past years, it’s understandable given that his career and interests have taken a different direction.Yancy's >> IMDb >> Blog site (you can click on each photo to enlarge/zoom) >> Linked In
Oh, look here! — Apparently the Linda stop motion puppet was in Doug Beswick's personal collection. It appears to have been auctioned off back in 2022 See photos >> Linda animation puppet
Here is a documentary Swallowed Souls - Making of Evil Dead II (2011) If you are into the Evil Dead fandom cult, this retrospective is real fun & informative. It is about 1 hour & 40 minutes long!
Also, if you enjoy >> Cinefex Magazine style special effects articles, here is a good read about the Evil Dead II special effects. It appears accurate about the specific artists doing the special effects. If they are wrong, do not blame me! The website has somewhat small text & photos so you may need to use your browser's zoom to enlarge the text & photos ... Link below
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Below is a behind the scenes of of a special effects sequence that Tippett Studio did for the feature 'Alien: Romulus'. It is somewhat short and some scenes are time-lapsed and speeded-up. Remember this trick ... in the Youtube video players you can change the playback speed. This is a useful tool if you want to slow down the video speed. You will be able to observe animation or movements in more detail including videos of real animals or people. Click on the gear icon at the bottom of the player. For this video I recommend speed .5, or you can even go slower at .25. I do this on a laptop computer. I do not know if this works on your mobile phones. First, watch it at regular speed then afterwards you can watch at slower speed.Geez ... I sure went off topic and down a rabbit hole ... LOL!😄
Here you go ....
Befores and Afters is an online special effects focused magazine by subscription service, however many times they provide free teasers & samples of their magazine content. B &A did a very good article about Tippett Studio doing this special effects for this sequence. You old schoolers may remember Cinefex magazine. Well, Befores and Afters has captured that similar vibe. Click the link below to read the article which includes some photos.
About a month ago the behind the scenes of the Disney Skeleton Crew series was posted. You can revisit here >> What's a Tet'niss? (Star Wars) . Well, Disney or Tippett Studio posted another follow-up behind the scenes of the Crab Creature. So this could be called a Part 2. It is short about 2 minutes, and so, do not forget that you have the option to change the speed and watch it in slow motion so that you can carefully study the details.
STOP MOTION WORKS 'Seal' - REAL Hand-Made Certified™ ( A.I.)
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This just popped up online: Adam Savage has had a long-standing online presence, starting years ago with Mythbusters on the old analog Discovery Channel. Later, he joined YouTube with a group under the channel name 'Tested'. Now, this channel is primarily associated with Adam Savage himself. His studio shop is equipped with every imaginable tools, allowing him to create physical props, models, mechanical objects, and costumes for practical effects or cosplaying. His studio is the envy of us DIY enthusiasts (home craftsmen/artists).
Adam can build just about anything. I am not sure but I think this might be his first attempt constructing a Stop Motion Armature. He is using the >> Tom St.Amand - Phil Tippett >> T-Rex Armature that was used for Jurassic Park (animation motion testing), as his reference guide. Every armature fabrication has its own methods. Here, we can see that Adam has chosen to build the T-Rex armature skull first. My way of doing this would be to leave the skull for thelast step. I would have detailed blueprints of the entire armature, with an exact scale outline of the T-Rex skull (front, top, side view). I would then complete the armature first, and then build and attach the skull as the final step. In the end, the results are the same ... whatever works!
Maybe this is a spoiler. You will not see the completion of the T-Rex armature in this video. In the description, I do not see an upcoming part 2, or possibly the follow-up video might be reserved for his membership group.
In the photo below Randal M. Dutra is doing the hands on animating of the T-Rex striding-walk test. Online this has the label as 'Go-Motion', however it appears to have been very smoothly animated traditional Stop Motion (not Go-mo). I think it was more of a test demonstrating the highly realistic puppet fabrication and its appearance, especially the T-Rex's external skin characteristics, where you see the illusion of the skin sliding over the muscles underneath and also the Belly Sway Jiggle effect. Nature Artist >> Art of Randal M. Dutra
This is the infamous finished test walk-striding T-Rex that you may have seen online.
STOP MOTION WORKS 'Seal' - REAL Hand-Made Certified™ ( A.I.)
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This was about 12 years ago (2012-13) and was produced by a couple of professionals in the special effects business as a fan tribute to the original 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980). What we have here, added to the original 'Empire', are Stop Motion inserted scenes and digital compositing & tweaking so that it would blend with the original. The artist-creators were >> Joe Schultz and >> Jim Davidson. If you are on facebook, in the >> Stop Motion Monsterland Group, I think Jim Davidson may have posted some photos of the puppet fabrication.
Reminder - Lower Right of video player you can click Full Screen icon button
Original Wampa Attack scene ...
Here is the completed fan made, modified version of Wampa attack An additional note, I believe the stop motion armatures were made by >> Tom Brierton. This video below is about 4 minutes long but the actual scenes starts at about 2 min & 20 sec
Behind the scenes 1
Behind the scenes 2
Behind the scenes 3
STOP MOTION WORKS 'Seal' - REAL Hand-Made Certified™ ( A.I.)
Among the few craftsmen who specialize in classic stop-motion creature and character puppet fabrication, Eduardo Oropeza stands out. Hailing from Mexico, Eduardo brings a unique twist to the tradition. Unlike many of his peers who gravitate towards CGI or digital effects animation, Eduardo has chosen to immerse himself in this hands-on creative niche. By doing so, he continues the legacy of the iconic stop-motion animation master, Ray Harryhausen.
Eduardo has collaborated with the exceptionally talented animator >>> Justin Rasch. I hope they continue to work together, as they would make a formidable team. As an independent production studio, they could offer their services in mixed media and stop-motion animation. Traditional animation will always captivate audiences, despite the prevalence of CGI and the current surge of A.I. generated animations.
Justin collaborates with various puppet fabricator artists, tailoring each puppet character design to be more stylized or cartoon-esque as needed. Eduardo contributed to the Del Toro / Gustafson, Oscar winning 'Pinocchio', working with the 2nd unit production team in Guadalajara, Mexico. If Eduardo were to come to Portland, Oregon which is currently a hotbed for stop-motion animation, his creative talents would undoubtedly be in high demand!
Eduardo has much social media content and I cannot post the many photos or videos here, but instead, these are the links ... his handle is TRexProduction3190
Take a look at this unique collaboration ...Eduardo Oropeza's detailed realistic stop motion puppets and Justin Rasch's awesome animation ... fabrication & stop motion, all hands-on tactile REAL!
STOP MOTION WORKS 'Seal' - REAL Hand-Made Certified™ ( A.I.)
Perhaps you have not watched these documentaries, or if you have, you can revisit and experience the golden era of the maybe less stressful past, where the mind assault of today's excess of the internet juggernaut did not exist. Relax & enjoy.
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Karel Zeman was a pioneering Czech filmmaker known for his innovative use of animation and special effects. Often referred to as the "Czech Méliès," he masterfully blended live-action footage with various animation techniques to create fantastical worlds. His notable works include "Journey to the Beginning of Time," "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne," and "The Fabulous Baron Munchausen". Zeman's unique style and creativity have left a lasting impact on the world of cinema. >>> Karel Zeman - IMDb
The Special Effects of Karel Zeman (1980) - 17 minutes
Film Adventurer Karel Zeman (2015) - It appears that the only way to watch the newer Zeman Documentary is by rent streaming it. Some streaming platforms require you to subscribe to a monthly fee, but you have option to cancel anytime and not pay.. I found VIMEO offers to stream this for only $3.00. No subscription, no cancellation red tape. You pay once and you can watch as many times within 48 hours. Click >>> VIMEO Stream
It is a completely new documentary produced in 2015, with the older Zeman works having digitally improved resolution, and it is a substantial 1 hour 36 minutes long - Here is a preview.
Ray Harryhausen was an iconic American animator and special effects pioneer, best known for his innovative use of stop-motion animation, or "Dynamation." His groundbreaking work on films like "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms," "Jason and the Argonauts," and "Clash of the Titans" has inspired generations of filmmakers and special effects artists. Harryhausen's unique ability to bring mythical creatures to life left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. >>> Ray Harryhausen - IMDb
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2011) - 1 hour 37 minutes
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Phil Tippett is a renowned American visual effects supervisor and producer, celebrated for his expertise in creature design, Stop-Motion, and computer character animation. He has made significant contributions to iconic films such as the original "Star Wars" trilogy, "Jurassic Park," and "RoboCop." Tippett founded Tippett Studio in 1984, where he continues to innovate in the field of visual effects and also, continues to produce various classic style stop motion effects. His work has earned him multiple awards, including two Academy Awards. >>> Phil Tippett - IMDb
Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters (2019) - 1 hour 23 minutes - Youtube will not allow placing this video in websites, but you can click >>>HERE or the screen arrow below and you will be transferred to Youtube, and watch there. It is free to view and has some Ads.
You can also watch Mad Dreams and Monsters at TUBI streaming for free and no ads. It is available in USA including, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador >>> WATCH HERE
STOP MOTION WORKS 'Seal' - REAL Hand-Made Certified™ ( A.I.)
Their
animation & special effects work are eclectic, producing advertisement spots,
music videos, and animated shorts which use a variety of mixed media animation
styles. Matteo and Ariana come across as warm and approachable, encouraging visitors to reach out. 
A.I.)
