Claymation (Clay Animation): What It Is, History & Examples

Claymation, also called clay animation, is a type of stop-motion animation where characters and sets are sculpted from a soft, non-drying modelling clay such as plasticine. An animator moves each figure by a tiny amount, photographs it, and repeats. Played back at speed, the still frames become movement.

That simple idea has produced some of the best-loved films in animation, from Gumby to Wallace & Gromit. Below we cover what clay animation is, how it’s made, its history from 1908 to today, the most famous examples and why the clay style still works for brands.

What is clay animation?

Clay animation is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. What makes it different is the material: each character or background piece is “deformable”, made from a malleable substance, usually plasticine.

Figures are usually sculpted around a wire skeleton called an armature. The armature holds a pose between frames, while the clay on top can be squashed, stretched and re-sculpted for expressions and mouth shapes.

Is claymation animation?

Yes. Claymation is animation in the full sense: it creates the illusion of motion by playing back a sequence of still frames. It simply uses physical clay models and a camera instead of drawings or computer graphics.

Is claymation a cartoon?

It depends how you use the word. Many claymation series, such as Gumby, Morph or Pingu, are children’s cartoons in tone. Technically, though, claymation is a 3D, physical technique, while “cartoon” usually suggests drawn animation.

How claymation is made

Producing clay animation is extremely laborious. Film runs at 24 frames per second. Animators often shoot “on twos”, exposing two frames per pose, which means about 12 changes for every second of screen time. On that basis a 30-minute film needs roughly 21,600 separate moves.

1. Write and storyboard the idea. Plan every shot before you touch the clay, because re-shooting is slow.
2. Build armatures and sculpt the characters. A wire skeleton inside each figure keeps poses steady between frames.
3. Build and light the set. Lighting and camera position must stay consistent, or the film flickers.
4. Pose, shoot, repeat. Move the figure a fraction, capture a frame, and repeat for every movement.
5. Protect the "hot set". Once a scene is under way, nobody touches the set. Humidity and small knocks can deform clay, so scenes are often shot in one day or less.
6. Edit, add sound and finish. Frames are compiled, then voice, music and effects are added in post-production.

Clay has to stay clean, too. Smudges, dust, hair and fingerprints all show up on camera. That’s one reason feature films often switched from clay to cast silicone, resin or foam components, while keeping the clay look where it matters.

How to make a simple claymation at home

You don’t need a studio to try clay animation. A short test shows you how the technique works, and why professionals plan so carefully.

1. Get non-drying modelling clay. Plasticine-type clay stays soft, so you can re-pose a figure again and again.
2. Make a simple character. Start with a basic shape, or twist a piece of wire inside the clay as a rough armature so limbs hold their pose.
3. Fix the camera. Put a phone or camera on a tripod or stack of books so it can’t move between shots. Any wobble shows up as a jump.
4. Keep the light steady. Use lamps rather than daylight from a window, which changes as you shoot and makes the film flicker.
5. Move a little, shoot a frame. Shift the figure slightly, take one photo, and repeat. At 12 photos per second of film (“on twos” at 24 fps), even a five-second clip needs about 60 moves.
6. Play it back. Use a stop-motion or video-editing app to sequence the photos, then add sound.

Two habits from the professionals help even on a small test: plan the shots first with a quick storyboard or shot list, and make spare copies of key figures or parts so a damaged character doesn’t stop the shoot. Keep the first test short. The aim is to feel the rhythm of pose, shoot, repeat.

Types of clay animation

Type	How it works	Example
Character claymation	The clay keeps a recognisable character throughout a shot	Art Clokey’s and Will Vinton’s films
Freeform claymation	The clay changes shape radically as the animation runs	Eli Noyes’s films
Clay painting	Clay is pushed around a flat surface like wet oil paint	Joan Gratz’s Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase
Strata-cut	A loaf of clay packed with imagery is sliced thin, one frame per slice	Pioneered by Oskar Fischinger in the 1920s and 1930s
Clay melting	Heat melts clay while a camera films in time-lapse	Used in the climax of Raiders of the Lost Ark

The history of clay animation

Clay animation is older than most people expect. It predates sound in cinema.

1897–1920s: plasticine and the first clay films

William Harbutt developed plasticine in 1897. Because it didn’t dry and harden like ordinary clay, it became the favourite material for clay animators.

The first clay films followed within a decade. Segundo de Chomón’s Sculpteur Moderne was released on 31 January 1908, with heaps of clay moulding themselves into sculptures. The Sculptor's Nightmare (May 1908) animated clay busts that blink, speak and turn their heads. Willie Hopkins then produced more than fifty clay segments, Miracles in Mud, for Universal Screen Magazine between 1916 and 1918.

The oldest known surviving film made mainly in clay is Long Live the Bull (1926) by Joseph Sunn.

Why claymation stalled early on

By the 1920s, drawn cel animation had become the dominant way to make studio cartoons in the US. Cel work could be split into small tasks done by many people, like an assembly line. Three-dimensional clay was harder to scale, and it slipped into relative obscurity for decades.

1950s–1970s: Gumby and television

Art Clokey’s student film Gumbasia (1955) set clay shapes moving to a jazz tune. He went on to create Gumby, who appeared in segments of Howdy Doody in 1955 and 1956, then got his own series (1957–1969 and 1987–1989).

Aardman Animations was founded in 1972, and its character Morph has appeared since 1977. In the US, Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner’s Closed Mondays (1974) won an Academy Award for animated short.

1980s–today: Aardman and the feature film

Nick Park joined Aardman in 1985 and became the most successful claymation director. He won four Academy Awards, for Creature Comforts (1989), The Wrong Trousers (1993), A Close Shave (1995) and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).

Aardman’s Chicken Run (2000) became the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film in history. On television, Shaun the Sheep has run since 2007.

Famous claymation examples

Example	Studio or creator	Year	Why it matters
Long Live the Bull	Joseph Sunn	1926	Oldest known surviving film made mainly in clay
Gumbasia	Art Clokey	1955	Student film that led to Gumby
Gumby	Art Clokey	1957–1969, 1987–1989	Brought clay characters to US television
Closed Mondays	Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner	1974	Academy Award-winning clay short
Morph	Aardman Animations	Since 1977	Long-running British TV clay character
The California Raisins	Vinton Studios	1986–1998	Clay-animated TV commercials
Creature Comforts	Nick Park, Aardman	1989	Academy Award winner
Pingu	Switzerland	1990–2000	Clay children’s series about a penguin family
The Wrong Trousers	Nick Park, Aardman	1993	Academy Award-winning Wallace & Gromit short
A Close Shave	Nick Park, Aardman	1995	Academy Award-winning Wallace & Gromit short
Chicken Run	Aardman	2000	Highest-grossing stop-motion animated film
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit	Nick Park, Aardman	2005	Academy Award-winning feature
Shaun the Sheep	Aardman	Since 2007	Long-running series and theatrical films

Claymation has also reached video games, including The Neverhood and ClayFighter.

Claymation vs other stop-motion techniques

Claymation is one branch of stop-motion animation. What sets it apart is that the figures can be re-sculpted between frames, not just moved.

Technique	What’s animated	Reshaped between frames?
Claymation	Clay or plasticine figures, usually on wire armatures	Yes: faces and bodies can be re-sculpted
Puppet animation	Purpose-built puppets	Usually no; parts may be swapped
Object motion	Everyday objects	No
Pixilation	Live actors, posed between frames	No
Cut-out animation	Flat paper or card figures	No
Silhouette animation	Backlit cut-out figures	No

Feature films often blend these. Will Vinton coined the name “Foamation” for one foam-rubber process, and many features have moved from pure clay to silicone and resin parts while keeping a clay look.

What frame rate is claymation shot at?

Film runs at 24 frames per second. Most stop motion, including claymation, is shot "on twos": each pose is held for two frames, so you make 12 changes per second of film. Shooting “on ones” (a new pose for every frame) is smoother but doubles the work.

Shooting style	New poses per second	Poses for 10 seconds	Poses for 1 minute
On twos (12 per second)	12	120	720
On ones (24 per second)	24	240	1,440

Moving images start to read as smooth motion at around 10 to 12 frames per second, which is why 12 is the usual starting point for beginners.

Claymation vs other animation styles

	Claymation	2D animation	3D (CGI) animation
Made with	Physical clay models and a camera	Drawings, by hand or digital	Computer models and rendering
Look	Tactile, handmade, fingerprints and all	Flat or illustrated	Anything from realistic to stylised
Changes late in production	Hard: shots are physical	Moderate	Moderate
Best for	Charm, warmth and a crafted feel	Clear, flexible storytelling	Products, mechanisms, realism

For a wider overview, see our guide to the different types of animation.

Can a brand use the clay look?

Yes. Advertisers have used claymation for decades, from The California Raisins to Aardman’s Chevron Cars ads, because the handmade look feels warm and memorable.

For most business videos, though, the deadline, the number of revisions and the need to update messaging later matter as much as the look. A clay-inspired style can also be recreated digitally: Aardman’s Flushed Away was a CGI replication of claymation. If you want an explainer with a tactile, handmade feel, we can talk through the options on a call, alongside the rest of our explainer video production process.

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