Design, build, or 'recruit' your characters. You can animate almost anything using stop-motion, from people and action figures to drawings and old appliances. You simply need something that you can move slowly and will hold it's shape while you take the pictures. Some ideas for stop-motion subjects include:
Free Stop-Motion Animation Video Maker JellyCam is a small and easy to use free stop motion video maker that allows you to make stop-motion animation video with a web-cam or a bunch of photos. JellyCam stop motion video maker has a simple and comprehensive interface with input video, frame timeline and video playback to quickly preview the stop. Jellycam stop motion and other (mostly silly) projects by Chris Dennett. Public Notice: I haven't updated this project in ages, but if you still want to use JellyCam.
- Dolls, action figures, and toys are bendable, expressive, and easy to adjust. You can use them to enact any scene you want, and they are easy to manipulate, stick, and move.
- Drawings are time-consuming, as you need to draw every frame (10-12 a second) by hand. However, this is how traditional cartoons were done before computers. You can also do a stop motion movie as you draw something, taking a picture as you add the lines, shading, color, etc, to show the drawing as it is brought to life.
- Household objects can be brought to life quickly and easily. This is often the best place to start, as you have the materials on hand and can quickly get them moving. Paper can toss itself in the trash, pencils can spontaneously dance, and bread can slide itself out of the bag and into the toaster.