What is Stop Motion Animation? Definition, Techniques & Famous Uses

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Published: April 10, 2025 | Last Updated: April 11, 2025

How Stop Motion Animation Works

Stop motion creates the illusion of movement by stringing together a series of still photographs of objects in slightly different positions. Each photo represents a “frame.”

The human eye perceives continuous motion when you play these frames in rapid succession (typically 12 to 24 frames per second), known as persistence of vision. This relies on the same principle as traditional hand-drawn animation or a flipbook, but instead of drawings, you’re using tangible objects in the real world.

In practice, an animator will pose or shape the subject (for example, a clay figure or a puppet), take a single photograph, then subtly adjust the subject’s position before taking the following picture. By repeating this painstaking process hundreds or thousands of times, the animator captures a sequence that, when played back, makes the object look like it’s moving by itself.

For instance, if you want a toy car to roll across a table in a stop-motion video, you might move it a few millimeters for each frame. Later, when the frames are played quickly, the car glides smoothly across the screen.

Because every second of footage can require a dozen or more separate photographs, stop motion animation is a time-intensive technique.

It’s common for professional stop-motion films to shoot at 24 frames per second, meaning the animator must create 24 distinct poses or movements for just one second of final video. Some simple stop-motion projects use 12 frames per second and double each frame in playback (a process called animating on twos), which is a bit less laborious but results in slightly choppier motion.

Either way, the process demands patience and precision. Even a short stop-motion scene that plays back in a few minutes may represent days or weeks of work for the animation team.

Types of Stop Motion Animation

Object animation: Everyday objects are moved between frames. Simple, accessible, and often used in DIY stop motion projects.

Claymation: Clay figures are sculpted and reshaped frame by frame. Used by studios like Aardman for films like Chicken Run (2000).

Pixilation: Real people act as stop-motion subjects, moving slightly between each photo. A surreal effect seen in Norman McLaren’s Neighbours (1952).

Cutout animation: 2D paper shapes are animated under a camera. South Park started this way before switching to digital cutout simulation.

Puppet animation: Characters built with armatures are animated through pose adjustments—used in films like Kubo and the Two Strings (2016).

Silhouette animation: Characters are shown as shadows, backlit on translucent surfaces. This dates back to The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926).

Famous Stop Motion Animation Examples: A Brief History of Stop Motion

Stop motion animation has a storied history in cinema and has been used in a wide range of productions, from early experimental shorts to major Hollywood features. To appreciate its impact, let’s look at some of the most famous uses and milestones of stop motion:

Early Pioneers

The concept of stop motion emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the first recorded stop-motion films was The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1898), where a pair of filmmakers animated acrobatic toy circus figures. Unfortunately, the film has been lost, with only a single image remaining:

Not long after, in 1902, Edwin S. Porter used stop motion to animate photographic images of letters and objects in a short film called Fun in a Bakery Shop:

As the technique caught on, creative artists began exploring its possibilities. A landmark early stop-motion film is The Cameraman’s Revenge (1912) by Władysław Starewicz, which used intricate insect puppets (actually real dried beetles and grasshoppers, repositioned frame by frame) to act out a sly marital drama — bizarre but groundbreaking stuff for its time!

A few decades later, I want to mention the holiday TV specials from Rankin/Bass in the 1960s, which might have been a first exposure to stop motion for many kids — productions like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970) used lovingly crafted puppets to create a distinct holiday magic that reruns year after year.

Stop Motion for Special Effects

In the following decades, stop motion became a go-to technique for bringing monsters and fantastical creatures to life in live-action films. Before the age of CGI, filmmakers used stop motion models (puppets animated frame by frame) to insert the unbelievable into ordinary footage.

Willis O’Brien was a pioneer of this approach: he animated the towering ape in the original King Kong (1933), a feat of model animation that left audiences awestruck as Kong battled dinosaurs on Skull Island and climbed the Empire State Building, swatting biplanes:

In the 1950s and 60s, animator Ray Harryhausen became legendary for his stop-motion creatures in adventure films.

Harryhausen’s masterwork might be the skeleton warrior sequence in Jason and the Argonauts (1963) — he spent months animating an army of sword-fighting skeletons frame by frame, compositing them into live-action footage of actors so it appears as though human actors battle skeletons in real time. That scene remains iconic to this day, demonstrating stop motion’s ability to blend with live action:

Other Harryhausen creations include the Medusa and Kraken in Clash of the Titans (1981) and the creature Ymir in 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957).

Even the famous AT-AT walker battle on the icy planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) was achieved through stop-motion miniatures (the technique was nicknamed “Go motion,” a variant with motion blur, used by Industrial Light & Magic to animate the giant four-legged walkers).

Beloved Stop-Motion Films, Directors, and Studios

When many think of stop motion, they think of the feature films and shorts that gave this medium its enduring popularity. Here are some of the major studios, you should know:

Aardman Animations

We’ve already mentioned the charming work of Aardman Animations in claymation: Nick Park’s Wallace & Gromit shorts (like The Wrong Trousers) and Aardman’s first feature Chicken Run were global hits, proving that audiences loved the wit and warmth of clay-animated characters.

Laika

Another major player in modern stop motion is Laika, the studio behind beautifully crafted films such as Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), and Missing Link (2019).

Laika’s films are known for their darkly whimsical stories and technical innovation — Kubo and the Two Strings, for example, features a gigantic stop-motion skeleton puppet that was 16 feet tall, one of the largest ever built for a film.

Selick and Burton

Another famed stop-motion director is Tim Burton (and his collaborator Henry Selick): although Burton is often credited, it was Selick who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and James and the Giant Peach (1996), both of which have become classics.

Selick more recently directed Coraline with Laika, and Burton later directed his own stop-motion film Corpse Bride (2005) and the feature-length remake of his earlier short Frankenweenie (2012).

These films all share a distinctive, slightly gothic, handmade aesthetic that stop motion delivers so well.

Wes Anderson

On the more playful side, the team of Wes Anderson embraced stop motion for the witty animal tales Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Isle of Dogs (2018), giving each a style reminiscent of vintage dolls come to life.

Stop-motion in Commercials and Beyond

Outside of film and TV narratives, stop-motion animation also appears in commercials, music videos, and art projects. Advertisers love it for demonstrating products.

For example, an Ikea commercial might use stop-motion to assemble furniture or show the possibilities, or a sandwich brand might animate ingredients flying together to form a perfect sub.

Stop-motion in music videos

Music videos, as mentioned earlier with Peter Gabriel, have used stop motion to create memorable visuals (another instance: the White Stripes’ “Fell in Love with a Girl” (2002) video, which used stop-motion animated Lego bricks to depict the band performing).

In an age of digital everything, the tactile, analog feel of stop motion can be refreshing and attention-grabbing. It signals craft and creativity, so artists continue to use it in various media.

Why stop motion is still used

Stop motion creates a tactile quality that digital animation can’t fully replicate. You can see the light hitting physical objects, the imperfections in movement, and the texture in every frame. That makes it feel grounded—even when the story is abstract or fantastical.

It’s slow, demanding, and deeply manual—but that’s also why it stands out. In a world of clean CGI, stop-motion still looks handmade and strange. Directors like Henry Selick, Wes Anderson, and the team at Laika lean into that charm to make films that feel lived-in and unreal at the same time.

The trade-off for this tedious process is a unique visual style that can feel incredibly tangible and magical. Stop motion has a distinctive charm because everything you see on camera—every character, set, and prop—is a real, physical object captured by a camera lens (often with practical lighting). This gives stop-motion films an organic texture and “authenticity,” distinguishing them from slick computer-generated imagery.

You can often notice subtle fingerprints on clay characters or slight lighting shifts frame to frame, little clues that human hands crafted every moment. Rather than a flaw, these little imperfections are part of stop motion’s appeal, reminding viewers that a lot of love and effort went into every frame.

How to Get Started with Stop Motion Animation

One of the wonderful things about stop motion is that you don’t need a Hollywood studio or millions of dollars to try it yourself. In fact, many professional stop-motion filmmakers began by experimenting at home with simple equipment. If you’re a beginner curious about creating stop-motion animation, here are some tips and basic steps to get you started (all in smooth paragraph form, no bullet points needed):

Basic Equipment

You’ll need a camera and a stable surface. A smartphone with a good camera can work perfectly for beginners, and even dedicated stop-motion apps (like “Stop Motion Studio”) make it easy to capture frame-by-frame and convert into video.

Stability is key

Whether you use a phone or a mirrorless camera, stability is key. Any jiggle or shift in framing from one photo to the next will show up as a distracting jump in your final animation. Mount your camera on a tripod or stand, or otherwise ensure it cannot move between shots.

Consistent lighting

Consistent lighting is also important: try to shoot in an environment where the light won’t change (for instance, avoid using sunlight from a window that might change as clouds move or evening approaches; instead, use desk lamps or other constant light sources, like a small LED lighting kit or a ring light). Keep your setup in place for the entire shoot so that backgrounds and lighting don’t accidentally change.

Prepare!

Plan Your Scene! Stop-motion requires planning because once you start moving things and taking photos, mistakes are hard to undo except by redoing the whole sequence.

It helps to sketch a simple storyboard or at least have a mental outline of the action you want to animate.

Know your beginning and end points for the movement. For example, if you’re animating a character walking across a table, plan how many steps it will take and where exactly on the table they will start and finish. This foresight will guide your incremental movements and help maintain consistency.

Also, gather or create any materials you need beforehand: if you need props or multiple character figures, have them ready. A common beginner’s mistake is to improvise as you go and then realize halfway that you needed something or that the motion isn’t heading where it should.

Shoot the Frames

When you’re ready to animate, position your first pose and snap a photo. Then, move the object a tiny bit and take another photo. After each shot, try not to bump anything.

The smaller the movement between frames, the smoother (and slower) the action will appear. If you move things more, the action is faster, but also can look jerkier if too much movement happens per frame.

A good rule of thumb is that normal human or creature motion animated at 12 fps often needs small movements (think a fraction of an inch at a time for something like a walking leg).

It’s best to use a remote shutter release or a timer (many stop-motion apps have a voice command or interval timer) so you don’t actually touch the camera to take the picture. This avoids tiny shakes.

Also, if your camera or app allows, use manual settings for exposure and focus — lock the focus, ISO, shutter speed, and white balance so that they remain consistent across all frames. If you’re unfamiliar with these terms, read this article about video settings.

Automatic settings might adjust between shots (for example, if the lighting changes slightly or the object moves to a slightly different part of the frame, the camera might refocus or change brightness), which can cause flicker or focus hunts in the final video. By keeping settings manual, each frame will have the same look.

Patience and Adjustments

Embrace the slow, methodical nature of the process. It can be Zen-like! If you make a mistake (say, your hand accidentally nudges a prop out of place or you realize a previous movement was too large), you might have to decide whether to live with the small continuity error or to back up and fix it.

In many cases, minor errors aren’t too noticeable in the finished animation because the action happens quickly, but glaring mistakes (like a big jump in position) will stand out.

Don’t be afraid to redo a shot if needed — it’s frustrating in the moment, but rewarding when your final animation looks smooth.

Also, keep checking your progress. Many digital capture systems let you play back what you’ve shot so far as a test. This “onion-skinning” or preview feature is incredibly helpful to see how the motion is coming along and whether you need to make movements smaller or can afford to make them bigger.

Polishing the Result

Once you’ve taken all your frames, use software or an app to stitch them into a video. If you use a phone app like Stop Motion Studio, much of this is automatic — you hit play, and it shows your animation. You can usually adjust the frame rate (try 12 fps or 24 fps to see what looks best).

If you shot with a standalone camera, you can import the image sequence into video-editing software or special stop-motion software like Dragonframe. This software will compile the frames in order.

Add Sound Effects and Graphics

At this stage, you can add things like titles or sound. Sound is a big one: adding some music or sound effects can bring your stop-motion clip to life, since the raw frames are silent. For instance, if you animated that toy car rolling, adding a “vroom” engine sound and a horn honk will make it much more engaging to viewers.

Many stop-motion creators also do a bit of touch-up in post-production, like cropping out any unwanted edges of the set or slightly adjusting brightness if needed. But generally, if you’ve planned and shot carefully, you won’t need heavy editing. Then, it’s time to export your final animation and share it!

Have Fun and Experiment

The most important tip for a beginner is to enjoy the process of creation and experimentation. Your first stop-motion attempt might be super short or a bit rough — that’s totally normal. You’ll get better at timing and smoother motion with practice.

Even the pros spend years honing their skills. The great thing about stop motion is that it’s a hands-on learning experience. You’ll discover tricks as you go, like using a bit of sticky tack to hold a wobbly object in place, or finding that a certain clay material works better under hot lights (tip: use LED lights – they don’t get as hot). Every project will teach you something.

Summing Up

Stop motion is very tangible: it’s about moving stuff with your hands and capturing a little story one frame at a time. So whether you’re animating a complex puppet or just making coins slide around on a table for a YouTube intro, you’re part of a long tradition of stop-motion tinkerers.

With each attempt, you’ll gain more appreciation for the patience of the artists behind your favorite stop-motion films — and you’ll join them, in your own small way, in bringing inanimate objects to life.

Also, stop-motion animation isn’t just one thing—it’s a broad technique that has been adapted to many storytelling needs, enchanting viewers in many different contexts. It’s slow, precise, and expressive, and it continues to thrive in both DIY projects and major films.

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