Character Variations

   There is a lot of room for variation in these somewhat flattened paper-look styles of character. I like the warmth of the paper cut out paired with freedom to stage and shoot my action with a physical lens. I think it is a good way to keep a storybook illustration feeling in my films. The simplicity of this technique makes it more practical to animate an ensemble of characters solo or with a small crew.

The only thing in common all these characters have is magnets in their feet, a threaded rig point on their lower backs and a flexible method for animating their faces.

On some characters there is a tin plate under the plane of the face and the eyes and mouths are printed and cut out from magnetic sheets. On others all the faces are PSD files animated in After Effects after a 3D tracking stage.

The armatures range in size from 3” to 9” and use different approaches to construction but always with an effort to keep them simple and light. The process of making these little characters is pretty addictive and before you know it you can have quite a crowd.