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.
"The Great Corelli is a young and successful magician at the height of his career as an illusionist. However, during the most important performance of his life, he fails a crucial magic trick, disappointing his audience. In the aftermath, he finds himself performing brief and modest magic acts in a rundown old theater." What unfolds from there was far from what I expected — the ending took me by surprise.
TRAILER
The Great Corelli (2019)
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Timelapse
Some special effects, digital erasing rigs, compositing & miniature set extensions
Artist Heather Colbert was the character designer and fabricated the puppets for 'The Great Corelli'. There were a total of two puppets. Only one was a machined stop motion armature from Edu Puertas' → Kinetic Armatures located in Spain ... this armature was for the older/senior magician character. The other armature of the younger version of the magician, which was a precisely hand-made Wire Armature which worked sufficiently well for the animated scenes. Go to Heather's website (link below) for details & many photos.
Originally from Galicia, a region bordering northern Spain, stop-motion director and animator Abel Carbajal graduated from ESCAC (Cinema and Audiovisual School of Catalonia, near Barcelona) in 2018. His final-year short film, The Great Corelli, was created after completing a specialization in 'Visual Effects & Animation'. The project took nearly two years to produce, with filming lasting nine months.
While working on his animated short, Abel sent a sample to Laika Studios in the USA., which garnered their favorable attention. He later traveled to the United States to work in stop-motion animation for Laika, the prestigious studio behind Coraline and other well-known stop-motion features. I am not sure, but I think Abel is perhaps still at LAIKA or might later work for the studio's new stop motion feature → Wildwood
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The 1987 Sci-Fi classic RoboCop, directed by Paul Verhoeven, remains a cult favorite, thanks to its compelling narrative and enduring appeal. Its success sparked sequels, a remake, TV series, and cartoon animated adaptations, though few matched the original’s impact. The sequel, RoboCop 2, directed by Irvin Kershner, leaned heavily on intricate analog special effects but didn’t quite capture the first film’s magic. Subsequent entries suffered from studio interference, diluting the franchise’s vision and coherence, as many critics and fans agree.
While the RoboCop universe offers endless discussion ... readily available in online analyses ... my focus here is narrower and technical: ED-209, the iconic robotic enforcer of Detroit’s dystopian streets. Specifically, I’ll explore the artistry behind its creation, crafted using classic stop-motion animation in the tradition of masters like Ray Harryhausen. Below, I’ll share videos and articles shedding light on the ED-209’s analog special effects, perhaps, an underappreciated aspect of this sci-fi landmark.
Researching this information wasn’t as straightforward as I expected. It required some legwork to piece together from various sources.
ED-209 model was designed by → Craig Hayes (aka Davies). Craig, and his associate → Paula Lucchesi (only two person crew!) constructed the full size static ED-209 prop/model.
There were a total of TWO identical ED-209 internal Stop Motion armatures which were designed by → Tom St. Amand. Tom and his associate → Blair Clark machined the armatures. Upon completion of the armatures, they were passed on to Craig Hayes who fabricated all the exterior shell pieces that attached to the armatures. The stop motion puppet exterior being an exact match to the full size ED-209.
The hands-on stop motion animation was shared among Phil Tippett, → Randal M. Dutra, and → Harry Walton. Phil would usually work on his own scenes, while Randal & Harry worked together on other animation scenes.
Okay ... here is one of the classic and iconic Robocop scenes. Remember that this was before digital visual special effects. All this done with retro analog cinema effects methods. Just a little warning ... → practical effects used here and they are very convincing😮. You have the option to stop the video or turn away if you choose not to watch it 😁
Movie clip below, is another classic scene where Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) confronts the weakened Robocop (Peter Weller). A battle emerges between ED-209 and Robocop.
The original full-size ED-209 model by Craig Hayes had been stored in the Tippett studio warehouse, high up near the ceiling rafters, for many years. Recently, it was carefully dismounted and brought down to the studio floor for cleaning and minor restoration. Youtube channel 'Tested' host, Adam Savage, visits ED-209.
This video, is a general overview of some of the Robocop special effects, it includes master matte painter → Rocco Gioffre commenting about classic matte painting composites effects. Also Craig Hayes' backstory about the design & construction of the full size ED-209.
Here is Harry Walton, a veteran in stop motion animation and visual special effects, recollecting about his work on Robocop.
Phil Tippett back in 1987, appeared on a USA weekday Mon-Fri TV program called Evening Magazine.
Another one ... Phil Tippett next to an ED-209 stop motion animation stage set-up with a projected rear screen ... he's describing what stop motion is.
The
spark for this blog was a simple question: Where are the original two
ED-209 stop-motion puppets from RoboCop? Online discussions and videos
often focus on the intricate CAIN puppets from RoboCop 2, whose complex
design may overshadow the simpler ED-209 puppet models. As mentioned,
only two ED-209 puppets were built. I’ve been tracking their
whereabouts, suspecting Phil Tippett might still own one, while the
other may have been auctioned. Despite searching Propstore.com, I found
no trace of them. Here is a video clip of about 12 years ago, recorded
at Phil Tippett's studio.You can clearly see the ED-209 stop motion
puppet in the the lower middle of screen.
Here is someone's passion project to re-create the Tom St.Amand / Craig Hayes ED-209 armature & puppet. His objective was to machine this. That was back in 2017 😐 → ED-209 Stop Motion Armature Design
Here is the only photo of Tom St. Amand's ED-209 armature that I have seen.Long ago, I had a collection of → Cinefex magazines which recently, I donated many of them. Fortunately, I saved the Stop Motion themed Cinefex's including the Robocop issue #32. From the magazine, I took this photo. I am guessing that you might possibly think that it may not look complex or sturdy, however, Tom's engineering design of all the jointing mechanisms, most effectively performs the necessary animation movements. It is made of strong & rigid Aircraft Aluminum. The finished massive size appearance of the ED-209 stop motion puppets was, thanks to, the creative & technical skills of Craig Hayes, who fabricated all the puppet exteriors with vacu-formed plastic & other materials, with intricate detailing ... that completely covered the internal armature.You can click on the photo to Super-Size it and zoom into the photo.
For your information ... as of 2025, the original ROBOCOP is now 38 years old😲
Stop Motion Works SEAL—REAL Hand-Made Certified™ ( A.I.)
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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.
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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.)
A.I.)
