The Puppets

All of the puppets in my animation, Klaus, are made of paper and assembled using paper or wire joints.  I use BFK Rives printmaking papers and Sobo Glue to joint the characters.  All of the puppets are painted in gouache.

One of the simplest puppets is the one of Klaus facing the viewer.  He is painted with gouache on paper.  His eyebrows move and he has eyelids that go over the eyes to simulate blinking.   He also has two different mustaches.

The two Klaus puppets that are in profile were much more difficult.  All of the pieces were cut and painted.  This puppet has replaceable hands, mustaches, and a movable eyebrow.  Once that was done I jointed them.  I used paper joints for the larger puppets because it holds well and is easy to replace if there is a problem.  Below you can see the joints on the back of the puppet.

Finally, I had to make two small puppets.  They can fit in the palm of my hand.  Since these puppets were so small I needed to be jointed with wire.  

Materials for Making the World of Klaus

To make the sets and scenes for my animation, Klaus, I only use a small range of tools.  All of the backgrounds, sets, and puppets are all painted cut paper.  I use BFK Rives printmaking papers because they take wet medium well while also being easy to cut.  Watercolor paper is simply too thick. My primary cutting tools are different types of scissors and X-acto knives. I use Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache for the painted parts of the piece.  

After all of the paper for the puppets is cut and painted I need to joint them.  For smaller puppets I use wire joints.  For larger puppets I use paper joints.  

Materials used in the creation of Klaus

Here are a few examples and sneak peaks of some of the details and how I use these materials.  

Tiny painted furniture.

Clocks.

Small full body puppets of Klaus.

Visual Development and Character Design

After I make the initial story then I have to start redesigning Klaus, the sets, and the overall look of the piece.  I started with Klaus.  Since my original designs were only really fit for making shadow puppets I experimented with shapes and angles.  I stayed with the same body shape, but experimented with expressions and shape of the face.

Next I worked on the sets and ideas for what they would look like.  Some I realized more by painting them and some were created through the storyboards.  They were roughly made and used for reference for the final piece.

Finally I worked on the most important aspect of this work, the clocks.  The evolution of the clocks through the animation is pivotal.  I spent extra time realizing these clocks and their progression. Through this process I found a medium I was excited to work with in this animation.  I am creating the animation with cut paper painted with gouache.

                 

Storyboards and Animatics

After I have stared at the wall a sufficient amount of time, and finally come up with a story it's time to start storyboarding.  Storyboarding is a mapping out of key frames and important scenes in an animation.  It is important to see that the viewer will understand the story.  There are usually a number of revisions at this stage...and lots and lots and lots of drawing.

Initial Storyboards: Usually very rough, adding tones helps. 

Initial Storyboards

Showing storyboards to people who are not familiar with the story are my best friends!!! They are a blank slate and tell me what they do and do not understand so that I can make certain points and aspects more clear before I animate. 

Final Storyboards for the first sequence.

Finally an animatic is made, which is a moving storyboard. It helps to find pacing and fluidity in the animation and final notes are taken before the final animation is shot.

Next will be a post on visual development! Stay tuned.

Online Store Updates: New Merchandise

The Nicole Horsman Studio online store has been updated!

Two works that have been uploaded to my RedBubble account are.

Life Tips From An Optimistic Otter

You Can Weather This Storm

These two are available as prints and cards. There are also individual pieces of The Optimistic Otter series.  These are available in a variety of different products from phone case to mugs to throw pillows.  Check it out.  If you have any questions feel free to message me through my email. 

Check it all out at this link:  Nicole Horsman Studio: Red Bubble  Or above, under the banner where it says "Store".  Enjoy :)

Re-imagining Klaus

Klaus from Nicole Horsman on Vimeo.
Klaus is an original stop motion I created that follows an old man's journey through a dark forest.  The piece was entirely done in cut paper and was a treat to work on.  I had fallen in love with this idea of an old clock peddler walking or miles and miles just to sell his clocks.  Although I had finished the short animation, it didn't seem resolved.  This is why I am re-imagining Klaus to make a longer more developed piece.

Klaus originally was a character I had thought to explore because I wanted something slightly related to my family history.  I am a mutt; a combination of German, Austrian, English, and Irish (Combine all of this with living in New England and you get one pale human being).  Looking into my German heritage I found the Ührschlepper, German for clock peddler.  Clock peddlers were people who made clocks and then walked all across Europe to sell them.      







I needed to come up with a better story.  So here's the Nicole method of brainstorming and coming up with a plot that tries to achieve full true human emotion.

Step 1. Get a note pad and paper.

Step 2. Sit in a quiet room.

Step 3.  Stare at a wall and write down everything that comes to mind, even if its completely irrelevant and stupid you can laugh at it later.

I did this for about a month and a half until, EUREKA! A story had found its way onto my notepad.  Even though this process took a long time.  The real work begins after this.  

*New posts every Monday*