I’m teaching a cutout class this semester and recently gave my students a crash course in cutout puppet fabrication, which as it turns out, is a bit of an under-documented subject. Here’s a brand new tut on Tape & Thread Hinge, plus a list of free resources documenting additional approaches for building puppets for flat and multiplane cutout stop-motion animation projects.
- Thread & Tape Hinge (tut by DIYAC editor, Dave MH, based on a method learned from Clyde Petersen)
- Paper Hinge (tut by Chris Sullivan)
- Punch Hinge (tut by Lynn Tomlinson – punch hinge portion starts at ~2:30)
- KG’s Colorful Guide to Cutout Animation (broad and welcoming intro to cutout by Kelly Gallagher)
This is meant to be a roundup of free resources, but if you happen to be a Skillshare user, I also recommend Anne Beal’s “Make A Paper Puppet for Stop-Motion*” (*not an affiliate link! Just a fan of her work and think it’s an excellent class).
DIY Animation Club co-founder Dave Merson Hess taught and developed animation curriculum for Aurora Picture Show’s youth workshops, 2014-2018. He also started Rush Process, a Gulf Coast-based festival celebrating animators who work with physical media, which ran from 2015 to 2018. Dave is currently an MFA candidate in Experimental Animation at Calarts.