How the Process of Claymation Has Changed

What I found most interesting about this week's screening was the behind the scenes documentation of the claymation process. It was fascinating to see how the process has changed over the years and been developed to be more efficient. In Will Vinton's documentary short, he showed how long and arduous claymation was, and how a lot of it is susceptible to human error. For example, animators had to mix colors themselves to create correct shades, leaving them open to having inconsistent shading. The animators for Paranormal used 3D printing when creating the different facial expressions for each character so that the skin tones would be consistent. With the development of 3D technology, they also were able to increase the number of facial expressions possible. Whereas Will Vinton and the animators he worked with were much more limited in the range of expressions they could produce. This shows how changes in technology have affected the way animation, and art in general is created, and made it a more streamlined process.