Sara E. Thomas
In order to shoot a successful stop animation film it is imperative that students understand how the musculoskeletal system functions. Their characters must have a realistic range of motion in order for their film to look believable to the viewer. Students will need to learn how our bodies move, as well as the limitations of our bodies. To gain a better understanding of range of motion students must understand what lies underneath our skin. Just as sculptors use an armature to give their sculptures form, our bones and muscles provide this armature for our bodies. This infrastructure is largely responsible for our outward appearance, along with our range of motion.
Students will need to gain an understanding of how this infrastructure is arranged and functions in order to replicate human motion in a smaller model character. Often students will draw "spaghetti arms", where their character has arms which look like the letter "C", void of bone structure and an elbow, and impossible in real life. In order to correct "spaghetti arms" students need to gain a better understanding of how their bodies are constructed. A correctly drawn arm should be composed of a straight arm, a straight forearm and an elbow joint that allows the arm to bend and move. By teaching students anatomy their final stop animation will be much more successful because they will be able to duplicate realistic motion of the figure.