This short stop-motion sequence was created for the Stop-motion 1 class offered at the Savannah College of Art and Design. During this course, I learned how to create a silicone puppet from start to finish, apart from trying out set design and animation. For the project, I chose to do a sequence inspired by my years as a ballet dancer. I chose a fragment of a song from the ballet Copelia, a play where a human-sized doll comes to life. I created my own coreografy wanting to showcase one of the most iconic ballet moves, the fouettés, and reinterpreted the concept to be about a porcelain doll in a music box that came to life.
Animatic
Motion Test
Porcelain Dance
Sculpt turn around
Finished puppet
The finished puppet is around 14 inches. The body is made out of silicon, with the clothes being painted out of the same material during the injection process. The head was cast out of plastic and painted by hand. Eyes and eyebrows were sculpted by hand to allow for swap parts to be created to achieve different expressions.
The music box is created on top of a wood base. The exterior was wrapped in EVA foam, which was then dremeld and decorated. The foam was then primed and painted by hand. The music box key is fully functional, allowing it to be animated for the sequence.
Puppet Fabrication
Puppet Concept art