Stop - Motion Animation Set

Hello again! :)

Awhile ago I thought that I could try to make a stop motion animation.
I bought my modelling clay, as I didn't have any. But then I thought that I want it to be the best I could make!
I haven't made any stop motion, ever, and there's not really a lot of tutorials for animation props and sets.
As a crafter, I decided that I'll make everyhing by myself, no matter how wrong or right my technique will be!
So, I made this simple animation set. I have made dioramas before, so it wasn't hard for me to figure this one out. I also made a tutorial so you can make it too! ^-^ (Some photos are missing, so ask me if you don't get something)

You will need (for the basic set):
- Cardboard (the sturdier the better)
- Craft knife
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Glue (I used hot glue)

 Before you cut anything, make measurements. I don't really remember mine, but I think that one side of the cardboard was about 21 cm wide. Anyways, feel free to make anything the way you want, how big you want, I'm just here to show you how I made it! :)

 1. Cut your cardboard according to the picture. I didn't have even piece of cardboard, so I cut the bottom of it straight. The short folded part was a box flap I think, so if you don't have it, then fold your cardboard like that too. Then cut this whole piece in half, like in the picture. Then cut off the short flap off one of the halfs (see picture).

 2. Take that little cardboard piece and fold like so. Don't fold it in half, one side must be longer than the other (you'll need this in the next step).

 3. When you cut off the small piece, you got the large piece, too! And you also got that third basic piece you didn't touch, right? And it has that little flap we didn't cut off. (What i'm doing now is trying to explain things I don't know how :D)
So, what you have to do is to glue that large piece to the basic piece's small flap on the front side. The small piece must be glued to the back of that basic piece's flap. It would be nice if you understood me now. :D Look at picture, I think it is quite understandable. :) (I thought I did take pics for this, but now I see I didn't, so I just took this pic)
When you glue the small piece (probably with hot glue), the longest part of it must be on top, and it must form a triangle. This will make the whole set stand on it's own.

4. For the floor, I took some random paper I found, but you can take a new paper page.
For the wood effect, I sprayed water over the paper evenly. Then I took watercolors one by one and brushed over the paper with large, dry paintbrush. I reapeated this process many times.

5. When you keep repeating that process a lot of times, there will be those paper bits coming off. Don't worry about them, as long as you don't start seeing through your paper, that means you've gone too far with the brushing! :)
Then just leave the paper to dry. If you don't mind being messy like me, do it on your desk/table. Then you can just leave it there and remove the paper from the surface easily. If you do this on newspaper, you might not be able to take the paper off it, as the paper gets soaked with water completely and sticks to anything it lays on.

6. When the paper is dry, draw "floor board" on the back side of it. I think mine measures 1x4 cm or something like that.

7. Then just cut out those "floor boards"!

8. After that is done, glue the floor on piece by piece. Try to mix the pieces for a more natural look. For example, put lighter color piece next to a darker piece. And when you glue them, arrange them kind of like real floor boards, or even bricks. What I mean is, after you've done the first row of boards, the next row must start from the previous row's first board's half. Then the next row will be like the first one again, and so on.
When you're done with the rows, fill in the sides of the rows with half-pieces. I think you can see the gap between rows in my picture, that's what I meant.

9. When you're done with that, it's time to choose a wallpaper (if your're not in to painting walls/bricks/tiles)! As most of the time, I used my paper from Tiger shop, I love this wide variety of patterns! I'm glad I bought it! You can also use wrapping paper or other decorative paper, too! :)

10. This was before I made the floor. I made that little sofa first. I couldn't decide wich paper was the best!

11. Then you can glue this paper on like a real wallpaper, cutting it into stripes, (I did that at first, but then I just glued it on the way it was) or just glue the paper on as usual.

12. I don't know how this thing is called in english, but I suppose it's a floor board. Glue it on also when you are finished with the walls. :)


Then you're done with the set! I might also do some other tutorials for furniture, if I'll have time. I hope you like it! You could also use it as a diorama or dollhouse if you want to! :)

Have a nice day! :)