# Model animation

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{{Short description|Stop motion animation}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Refimprove|date=May 2017}}
{{More footnotes|date=October 2021}}
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'''Model animation''' is a form of [stop motion](/source/stop_motion) animation designed to merge with live-action footage to create the [illusion](/source/illusion) of a real-world fantasy sequence.

== Techniques ==
Many types of models have been created and developed, and the choice mainly depends on the budget of the film:

'''Clay models:''' Unlike most clay figures used for animation, clay models have an inner metal skeleton designed to allow them realistic movements and expressions.{{sfn|Priebe|2006|p=40}}

'''Built-up models:''' These types of models are more expensive and detailed than clay models. They are made by building up pieces of foam on a metal skeleton to create a body, and then either brushing on several layers of liquid latex or casting soft rubbery skins and attaching then to the padded armature.

'''"Cast" models:''' These types of models are the most expensive used in the industry and are longer-lasting than the other types. They start as clay sculptures onto which two- (or more) part molds are made in order to reproduce all the details. Then the mold parts are assembled with an armature inside, and they are filled with a liquid material (foam latex, silicone rubber, urethane foam, etc.) that then forms a soft rubbery "flesh" over the skeleton.

==Works==
Model animation was pioneered by [Willis O'Brien](/source/Willis_O'Brien), and it was first used in ''[The Lost World](/source/The_Lost_World_(1925_film))'' (1925). His work also includes
*''[King Kong](/source/King_Kong_(1933_film))'' (1933)
*''[Son of Kong](/source/Son_of_Kong)'' (1933)
*''[Mighty Joe Young](/source/Mighty_Joe_Young_(1949_film))'' (1949)
*''[The Black Scorpion](/source/The_Black_Scorpion_(film))'' (1957)
*''[The Giant Behemoth](/source/The_Giant_Behemoth)'' (1958)

Picking up the model animation baton from O'Brien, and refining the process further, introducing color and smoother animation, was his protégé, [Ray Harryhausen](/source/Ray_Harryhausen). Assisting O'Brien in ''Mighty Joe Young'' in 1949, Harryhausen went on to do model animation (and other special visual effects) on a series of feature-length films,{{sfn|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|pp=96, 99}} such as:
*''[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms](/source/The_Beast_from_20%2C000_Fathoms)'' (1953)
*''[It Came from Beneath the Sea](/source/It_Came_from_Beneath_the_Sea)'' (1955)
*''[Earth vs. the Flying Saucers](/source/Earth_vs._the_Flying_Saucers)'' (1956)
*''[The Animal World](/source/The_Animal_World_(film))'' (Opening Dinosaur sequence, with O'Brien, 1956)
*''[20 Million Miles to Earth](/source/20_Million_Miles_to_Earth)'' (1957)
*''[The 7th Voyage of Sinbad](/source/The_7th_Voyage_of_Sinbad)'' (1958)
*''[The 3 Worlds of Gulliver](/source/The_3_Worlds_of_Gulliver)'' (1960)
*''[Mysterious Island](/source/Mysterious_Island_(1961_film))'' (1961)
*''[Jason and the Argonauts](/source/Jason_and_the_Argonauts_(1963_film))'' (1963)
*''[First Men in the Moon](/source/First_Men_in_the_Moon_(1964_film))'' (1964)
*''[One Million Years B.C.](/source/One_Million_Years_B.C.)'' (1967)
*''[The Valley of Gwangi](/source/The_Valley_of_Gwangi)'' (1969)
*''[The Golden Voyage of Sinbad](/source/The_Golden_Voyage_of_Sinbad)'' (1974)
*''[Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger](/source/Sinbad_and_the_Eye_of_the_Tiger)'' (1977)
*''[Clash of the Titans](/source/Clash_of_the_Titans_(1981_film))'' (with [Jim Danforth](/source/Jim_Danforth), 1981)

The third generation of model animators featured such notables as Jim Danforth, [David Allen](/source/David_W._Allen), and [Phil Tippett](/source/Phil_Tippett).

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Works cited ===
* {{cite book|first1=Ray|last1=Harryhausen|author-link1=Ray Harryhausen|last2=Dalton|first2=Tony|author-link2=Tony Dalton|title=A Century of Model Animation: From Méliès to Aardman|year=2008|publisher=Aurum Press|isbn=978-0-8230-9980-1}}
* {{cite book|first1=Ken A.|last1=Priebe|title=The Art of Stop-Motion Animation|year=2006|publisher=Thompson Course Technology|isbn=1-59863-244-2}}

==See also==
*[List of stop-motion films](/source/List_of_stop-motion_films)
*[Go motion](/source/Go_motion)

{{Animation}}
{{Filmsbygenre}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Model Animation}}
Category:Stop motion
Category:Animation techniques

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Model animation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_animation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_animation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.