Richard Svensson, also known asThe Lone Animator has been at it again! He recently created a really amazing comical puppet called the Blunderbat. Richard uses all kinds of materials and techniques, but doesnt like to cast his puppets in foam latex. He would rather use the build-up technique that is one of the more rare ways of making a character, but the final product is no less amazing.

Check out how he did it and see more pictures on Richards blog here.

If you havent already heard, there are two big stop motion exhibits happening from March to June 2010. Here is what the exhibit site has to say about the first exhibition showing off the creations of Adam Elliots Mary and Max in Australia:

Go behind-the-scenes of the marvellous miniature world of Adam Elliots Mary and Max. Oscar-winnning director and writer Adam Elliot in collaboration with ACMI, has developed a unique exhibition from the plasticine world of Mary and Max.

If you happen to live near Glasgow, you can check out Aardmans amazing work at the Science Center. Here is what they have to say about it:

We are proud to announce that we have secured the first opportunity outside London to host Wallace and Gromit present . . . A World Cracking Ideas. This is a fabulous interactive exhibition stuffed full of crazy innovation, some amazing examples of ideas that have gone from a twinkle in someones eye to reality and a huge range of activites, fun and games which stimulate your creative juices. (Oh and, of course Wallace and Gromit!)

Read about Adam Elliots Mary and Max exhibit that started March 2nd here.

Read about Wallace and Gromits Cracking Ideas that starts April 2nd here.

Ray Harryhausen is also going to have an exhibit too at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is going to start in May so there is still a lot of time to prepare. Here is what Rays official web site has to say about it:

An exciting new exhibition of key items from the Harryhausen collection will be on view at the Academy, including numerous original models, drawings, storyboards, and behind-the-scenes photographs demonstrating the unique filmmaking process created by Ray Harryhausen for many of his iconic films.

Read about the Ray Harryhausen exhibit that starts May 14th here.

Ray will also have an exhibition staring 29th June 2010 (Rays birthday) for twelve months at The London Film Museum at County Hall, Southbank in London.

Animateclay recently has been in contact with a company in Australia that created a webcam that they claimed was suitable for stop motion. There are a LOT of webcams out there, so why is this one important to our community? And is it as good as advertised?

Read our full review of this latest webcam on the market here.

Robina Marchesi, animator Tim Hittle, Klara Harris and Liza Patnoe have finally released Gumby Dharma. The film is an emmy award winning film about Art Clokey, the person behind the popular green guy everyone knows as...of course, Gumby!

The film went through all the film festivals, won awards and you can grab it on DVD to watch if it didnt show up in your town. Clokey who was deeply spiritual really believed that he was on the right path with Gumby and was fortunate enough to employ new animators and take them under his wing. In fact his humble studio hired many of the animators working on all the stop motion films you will find in theaters today. The documentary however focuses more on his personal life and hardships during his childhood and career.

You can get your copy online here.

Read more about the film and the film makers on the same site here.

If you still arent convinced it is worth buying, watch the trailer for the film here.

We have some big news for visitors of Animateclay.com and Stopmotionmagic.com. To celebrate Ray Harryhausens 90th birthday, we'll be accepting animated contest entries in his name at stopmotionmagic.com soon. Leroy who takes care of the challenges will be helping. It may be part of our regular challenges - but might not. We need to work it out. Famous Monsters of Film Land will be hosting a festival in Rays name and will be showing the entries to a live audience. So this is big news and a possible way for visitors of all our sites to get noticed. Possibly by Ray himself!

Tony Dalton who is in contact with Ray directly said this about the contests:

(By all means proceed with the proposed competition based on mythology in Ray's name but he asks that we keep it Harryhausen-like rather than promoting something that is simply not Ray at all.)

According to Ron Coles blog, there are a few details that he says contestants must stick to. Every entry must be family friendly, so no blood and gore. He also says that the entries can be as long or short as the animator wants. I asked what the deadline will be, but that is unknown still. My guess is that since Rays birthday is June 29th, it will most likely be a few days to a week before that.

Once we get things ironed out I will post a link to the official contest page here. But if you would like to join, now is the time to start building some realistic Harryhausen puppets for the contest!

UPDATE! We have an official page set up with all the information you will need to take part in the tribute. Leroy Binks set it up on Stop Motion Magic here. There's no time to lose, if you want to be a part of it - everyone must get started as soon as possible.