Toy animation can be done in many ways. However, the basic steps for producing a toy animation are as follows:
1) plan your toy animation project;
2) select (or construct) the toys most appropriate for the animation;
3) prepare the required stage and props, including the lighting for the animation;
4) perform the stop-motion or frame-by-frame photography of the toy subject(s) in incrementally changing positions that trace their intended motions;
5) connect each frame to the next using a video editing tool until the toys are brought to life in the finished animation; and optionally,
6) incorporate music, voices and sounds into the animation.
Because toy animation is often meant to be 'fun', many hobbyists who want to try their hand at toy animation skip step # 1 and go straight to step # 2. In fact, in all the excitement of trying to make the toys 'alive', the toy animator often neglects step # 3 as well.
This lack of preparation in steps # 1 and # 3 greatly affects step # 4, resulting in dark images and boring backgrounds that soon kills the enthusiasm of the animator to finish the project. Thus, one has to always keep in mind that toy animation, although fun to produce, must also be treated as a serious endeavor that requires time, effort, and patience.
Animators (all kinds) often use a storyboard in planning an animation project. A storyboard is simply a series of drawings that present how the animation will unfold, with some text under each drawing explaining its important points (e.g., duration of the shot, sound and special effects, etc.). By making drawings of the important scenes before the actual production, one minimizes the occurrences of errors and wastage of unwanted frames.
Then again, if you already have a clear mental image of what you want to do and you're willing to learn from your mistakes, plus you're just doing a very short animation, then do as we do when we're feeling cocky - produce the animation without a storyboard.
The choice of the right toy(s) for your animation project is important. A wrong choice of toy can reduce your animation's entertainment value or even jeopardize its completion. Basically, a toy used in any animation project must be appropriate for the character, well-crafted, durable, and of course, poseable. For a more detailed discussion on how to choose the right toy for your animation, click here. But don't forget to continue reading this article.
See also: What is toy animation?; How to choose toys for animation
