To set up a double boiler, fill one saucepot about halfway with water. Place that pot on your stovetop. Then place another pot - either the same size or slightly smaller so it fits snugly - on top of the first pot. Place the clay you want to mix in the top pot, and turn the burner on. As the water in the lower pot boils, it will heat up your clay to make it moldable.

It might be helpful to begin by building a simple wireframe for each character. Use wire to shape the core of the body and arms and legs. If you’re making a non-human form, use the wire to form the basic shape of the object. Once you have a wireframe, press clay onto the frame. You’ll have to form things like feet, hands, fingers, toes, or other details completely from clay. If you’re just beginning in clay animation, stick to simple figures. They’ll be easier to create and manipulate. And keep in mind that some of the most popular clay animations use super simple figures – think of Gumby!

For example, if your story is about a dog and its owner in a park, you’ll need a set of trees, maybe a pond, and possibly some buildings in the background. You can build the trees out of building blocks, and the pond and buildings out of construction paper. If you set up your scene near a wall, you can tape your background to it. Make sure you have all of your sets built before you begin filming. It will cut down on your production time.

To figure out approximately how many shots you’ll need, consider that for every second of film, you’ll need about 12 shots or stops. Multiply that by 60 seconds in a minute, and then the number of minutes you want in your film to determine how many shots you need.

For example, your story could be about a boy talking his dog for a walk. For that, you’d only need a background and dog and boy clay figures.

For example, if you’re making a film about a boy walking a dog, maybe at some point the dog starts to chase a bird. Draw or insert (depending on your software) a conversation bubble next to the boy. You can write something like “Fido! Stop chasing the birds!” If you’re adding dialogue bubbles, you’ll need to make sure you add them to several frames. Otherwise, they won’t appear in the animation long enough for your viewer to read them.

The differences between successive shot cards will be really, really small. For example, you can’t have your main character in one place in one shot, and then moving as if he’s walked a step in the next. Instead, you have to get a shot of his knee starting to bend, then another of his knee bent a bit more, then another of his foot lifting off the ground, etc.

You can really use any digital camera for clay animation. Larger cameras like DSLRs will give you the most editing options, but you can still make great clay animations with entry-level point-and-shoot digital cameras. You can also use your smartphone’s camera, just make sure you back up your photos to an external hard drive or cloud drive. Otherwise, you won’t have enough storage space. You will occasionally need to move your camera, depending on what you want to emphasize in each scene. Make sure you note on your storyboard when you need to move the camera, and where you should move it to.

Your first scene should set up the entire story. So for example, if you’re filming a story about a boy taking his dog for a walk, you might want to set up the first scene outside of the boy’s house. He should have a leash in his hand, and his dog should be there, ready for the walk.

The entire scene should be well-lit, but it should also mimic the scene you’re creating. So if you’re shooting a scene that’s supposed to take place outside, pick a spot where the sun might be in the sky and set up a light there. It will create realistic shadows.

For example, if your story is about a boy walking his dog and the first shot is of the boy and the dog outside their house, the next shot should begin the process of the boy putting the leash on the dog. Keep the background in mind while you’re setting shots. If you have other animals in the background, make sure you’re also moving them.