I was assigned to the stop-motion animation project team with Xiao Tang, Kemeng Zhang and Frances. This animation combines three different materials: clay, paper cutouts, and needle-felted wool. My role was character design and armature construction for the needle-felted section, as I had previous experience working on needle-felted animation projects and related collaborations.  

In this part of the animation, the protagonist enters a world of needle-felted monsters, creating a surreal and absurd atmosphere. It features five main monster characters. Based on my senior’s initial drafts, I designed their character illustrations and experimented with two different color schemes in distinct styles.  

The designs went through several iterations as I refined the details to better differentiate the monsters’ shapes and patterns. In the end, after another teammate conducted Blender lighting tests, we chose the final version (the last picture) that best suited the overall theme of the animation.  

Once the designs were finalized, we moved on to armature construction. Here, I applied the armature-making techniques I had learned in previous puppet-making classes. We used stone clay to reinforce key joints, preventing instability or displacement in later stages.  

Thanks to a well-prepared outline, our workflow was smooth. However, we encountered a significant challenge regarding the movement of the eyeballs. Since the monsters have large eyes to emphasize their ferocity, we needed to ensure that the eyeballs could rotate freely while remaining securely embedded in the armature. To solve this, we shaped all the supporting wires for the eyeballs into loops, attached sponge material, and then embedded the eyeballs, ensuring they had a stable foundation.  

This collaboration was an enriching experience! Through hands-on practice, I gained more in-depth knowledge of armature construction and developed a deeper understanding of stop-motion animation across different materials. My senior also shared many production insights and stories with me. I’m really happy to have been part of this project and can’t wait to see the final outcome!