Conosci Paola Testa, un’appassionata insegnante italiana di musica che insegna nell’Istituto Comprensivo Statale Scialoia in Milan (MI) e che sa unire creatività e significato in classe. 

Automazione e Biodiversità in Stop-Motion Presentazione del Progetto Il progetto nasce dalla volontà di sensibilizzare gli alunni della classe prima sui temi della sostenibilità ambientale attraverso il linguaggio dei lego, coding, musica e stop motion. 

Utilizzando i mattoncini Lego, gli studenti hanno ricostruito ecosistemi fragili e simulato processi di riciclo, comprendendo che ogni piccola azione — proprio come un singolo mattoncino — è fondamentale per costruire un futuro sostenibile. Gli obiettivi principali sono: 

• Comprendere il concetto di biodiversità come ricchezza da proteggere.
• Interiorizzare le buone pratiche del riciclo e del recupero dei materiali. 
• Sviluppare competenze digitali, di problem solving, del pensiero critico e di collaborazione attraverso la tecnica dello stop-motion. 

Il cuore del nostro lavoro è la coesistenza tra spazi verdi e tecnologia intelligente. Abbiamo immaginato e costruito un parco in mattoncini Lego, simile a quelli che abbiamo nel nostro quartiere, simbolo di un ecosistema urbano dove la biodiversità deve essere protetta. Il progetto non è solo una narrazione visiva, ma un esperimento di ingegneria sostenibile: attraverso l’uso di Lego Spike, abbiamo progettato e programmato un tritarifiuti automatizzato. 

Nel corto in stop-motion, la protagonista Flora si prende cura del parco, raccogliendo i rifiuti abbandonati e affidandoli alla tecnologia per trasformarli in nuova risorsa. Incontra infatti un’operatrice ecologica la quale le mostra come il riciclo possa far nascere nuovi oggetti. Durante la sua passeggiata, si siede e monitora come la biodiversità cambia di giorno in giorno, osservando la fioritura. Gli studenti hanno discusso su come la gestione corretta delle risorse (tema caro ad A2A) influenzi direttamente la sopravvivenza delle specie viventi. 

Da qui è nata la sceneggiatura del nostro corto.

Fasi Didattiche e Operative 

1. Analisi: Biodiversità e Ciclo dei Materiali

Abbiamo studiato l’importanza di mantenere i parchi puliti per proteggere le specie che li abitano e la nostra salute. I parchi sono di fondamentale importanza per noi che viviamo in una città metropolitana come Milano. La classe ha discusso il concetto di “Economia Circolare”: il rifiuto non è la fine di un processo, ma l’inizio di uno nuovo, proprio come fa vedere il trituratore nel nostro video.\

2. Architettura del Set:

Il Parco LEGO Gli studenti hanno progettato il design del parco, curando i dettagli della flora e della fauna (biodiversità). Sono state inserite giostre, un campo da basket, una fontana e varie aree verdi. In questo scenario “ideale”, è stato inserito l’elemento critico: i rifiuti da recuperare e differenziare. Abbiamo immaginato una giornata ventosa che porta i rifiuti nel parco, e in un angolo è presente il tritarifiuti con una operatrice ecologica che spiega alla nostra protagonista l’importanza del riciclo. Il tritarifiuti trasforma appunto il pattume in una panchina, bicicletta e in un albero dove si vuole sottolineare il concetto che riciclando la carta non saranno abbattuti gli alberi. 

3. Robotica e Coding: I Tritarifiuti SPIKE

Gli alunni hanno: 

• Costruito il set lego e un tritarifiuti utilizzando sensori e motori Lego Spike. 
• Programmato il movimento per simulare il processo di apertura e chiusura del vano tritarifiuti. 
• Testato il funzionamento meccanico per renderlo fluido e realistico durante le riprese. 

4. Produzione: Stop-Motion e Animazione Robotica

La sfida è stata sincronizzare l’animazione tradizionale a “passo uno” (movimento dei personaggi, degli animali, della flora che cambia) con i movimenti meccanizzati dei tritarifiuti Spike. 

5. Creazione sigla e copertina

Per creare la copertina, abbiamo imparato a dare il prompt corretto all’intelligenza artificiale per creare l’immagine così come l’avevamo pensata. Per la sigla invece, abbiamo utilizzato un’app di musica digitale creando una musica originale adatta al contesto dello stop motion. 

6. Sintesi e Messaggio Finale

Attraverso il montaggio video, abbiamo unito l’impegno umano alla precisione tecnologica. Il risultato è un messaggio che vogliamo lanciare: la tutela della biodiversità passa attraverso l’educazione di tutti i cittadini e l’adozione di soluzioni innovative per la gestione dei rifiuti, in piena sintonia con la visione di A2A. “Se puoi sognarlo, puoi costruirlo. Se puoi costruirlo, puoi proteggerlo.” Questo progetto è il nostro modo di dire che la natura è l’incastro perfetto che regge il mondo. 

Eco-Logic: The Park of the Future

Meet Paola Testa, a passionate Italian music teacher who teaches at the Istituto Comprensivo Statale Scialoia in Milan (MI) in Milan and who knows how to combine creativity and meaning in the classroom.

Automation and Biodiversity in Stop-Motion – Project Presentation

The project was created with the aim of raising awareness among first-year students about environmental sustainability through the use of Lego, coding, music, and stop-motion techniques.

Using Lego bricks, students reconstructed fragile ecosystems and simulated recycling processes, understanding that every small action—just like a single brick—is essential for building a sustainable future. The main objectives are:

• To understand the concept of biodiversity as a richness to be protected.
• To internalize good practices of recycling and material recovery.
• To develop digital skills, problem-solving abilities, critical thinking, and collaboration through stop-motion techniques.

At the heart of our work is the coexistence between green spaces and intelligent technology. We imagined and built a park using Lego bricks, similar to those in our neighborhood, symbolizing an urban ecosystem where biodiversity must be protected. The project is not just a visual narrative, but an experiment in sustainable engineering: through the use of Lego Spike, we designed and programmed an automated waste shredder.

In the stop-motion short film, the protagonist Flora takes care of the park, collecting abandoned waste and entrusting it to technology to transform it into new resources. She meets an environmental worker who shows her how recycling can give life to new objects. During her walk, she sits and observes how biodiversity changes day by day, watching plants bloom. The students discussed how proper resource management (a key theme for A2A) directly affects the survival of living species.

From this, the script of our short film was developed.

Educational and Operational Phases

1. Analysis: Biodiversity and the Material Cycle
We studied the importance of keeping parks clean to protect the species that inhabit them and our own health. Parks are essential for those of us living in a metropolitan city like Milan. The class discussed the concept of the “Circular Economy”: waste is not the end of a process, but the beginning of a new one, as shown by the shredder in our video.

2. Set Design: The LEGO Park
Students designed the park layout, paying attention to details of flora and fauna (biodiversity). They included playground rides, a basketball court, a fountain, and various green areas. In this “ideal” scenario, a critical element was added: waste to be collected and sorted. We imagined a windy day that carries waste into the park, and in one corner there is the shredder with an environmental worker explaining to the protagonist the importance of recycling. The shredder transforms waste into a bench, a bicycle, and a tree, emphasizing the idea that by recycling paper, trees do not need to be cut down.

3. Robotics and Coding: The SPIKE Shredder

The students:

• Built the Lego set and a shredder using Lego Spike sensors and motors.
• Programmed the movement to simulate the opening and closing of the shredder compartment.
• Tested the mechanical operation to make it smooth and realistic during filming.

4. Production: Stop-Motion and Robotic Animation
The challenge was synchronizing traditional frame-by-frame animation (movement of characters, animals, and changing flora) with the mechanized movements of the Spike shredder.

5. Title Sequence and Cover Creation
To create the cover, we learned how to give the correct prompts to artificial intelligence to generate the image as we had envisioned it. For the title sequence, we used a digital music app to create an original soundtrack suitable for the stop-motion context.

6. Summary and Final Message
Through video editing, we combined human effort with technological precision. The result is the message we want to share: protecting biodiversity depends on educating all citizens and adopting innovative solutions for waste management, fully aligned with A2A’s vision.

“If you can dream it, you can build it. If you can build it, you can protect it.”

This project is our way of saying that nature is the perfect interlocking system that holds the world together.

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Since co-launching Filmscope CIC and piloting Inanimatorz and Inanimatorz GO! projects for the London Borough of Culture Awards in 2020, it’s been a joy to bring the accessibility and creative power of stop motion animation to children and adults across my local community of Brent, London.

Following my previous HUE blog post back in 2023, Filmscope has continued to bring stop motion animation to schools across Brent, including Chalkhill Primary School, Kingsbury Green Primary School and Preston Manor All-Through School, as well as running holiday and summer sessions at local community centres and venues in the borough. It’s been wonderful for the team to see the kids from all ages experiment, problem-solve, and express themselves through animation whilst utilising the versatile cameras from HUE.

The HUE HD cameras have become our trusted companions in nearly all of these workshops. It’s really allowed participants to animate in a tactile, hands-on way that is intuitive and creative for their own individual animating styles and needs.

Notable Sessions from the Past Few Years

Chalkhill Primary School

One of Filmscope’s earliest funded stop motion projects, STOPMO YO!, took place at Chalkhill Primary School with Spanish teacher, Ms. Irene Mallek. Before the pandemic, Ms. Mallek would take students to Spain each year — but with travel suddenly halted, due to Covid restrictions, she wanted to recreate the experience through animation instead.

Working in small groups, the children designed different scenes from their “virtual Spanish trip”, recording their own voices and bringing the story to life through stop motion. The final film was screened in an assembly to the school and parents — a moment the children, and Filmscope, were incredibly proud of! 

This session was our first real insight into the benefits of stop motion for children with SEN also. For those that were more visual and kinaesthetic learners, the set up really worked well. Teachers and parents told us they noticed improvements in focus, patience, and confidence, and that some children even began experimenting with animation at home, which was a joy! Often we might bump into one of the kids from previous sessions and they would proudly show us their new animation. Exactly the kind of outcomes we were hoping for.

Check out the behind the scenes process of making the stop motion animation with our Spanish language pupils at Chalkhill Primary School!

Kingsbury Green Primary School — d/Deaf Group Sessions

Inspired by the success at Chalkhill, we began working with a group of d/Deaf students at Kingsbury Green Primary School. Our focus here was visual communication, sensory learning, and giving the d/Deaf children ways to express themselves creatively without relying on spoken language. The HUE setup is brilliantly Plug and Play, while the flexible neck allows the children to position the camera anywhere — over paper cut-outs, LEGO builds, clay, drawings, or layered mixed-media scenes.One of the highlights was when the children took photos of themselves and turned them into superheroes. With their printed poses cut out, they designed costumes, added colourful effects and animated their characters together in collaborative scenes. The happiness they felt seeing “mini versions” of themselves animated on screen was priceless!

Framing the Future

The success of these stop motion projects across Brent has inspired Filmscope to expand the inclusive animation sessions to after school clubs and even further — giving more children who are d/Deaf, neurodivergent, SEN, or, as we like to say.. .those that are simply wonderfully curious, the chance to explore storytelling through animation.

Adults also have the opportunity to learn and explore stop motion animation at ANIMATIKZ – 1 to 1 sessions with me at the studio in Wembley Park, once a week! Whether a beginner or with experience, these guided sessions are a great way to get into something new. In a world that’s seemingly moving digital and less tactile, let us bring movement to the imagination!!

More information can be found here: https://classbento.co.uk/stop-motion-animation-course-harrow 

Stop motion continues to show us that storytelling goes far beyond words. With tools like those from HUE, creativity becomes accessible, visual, and joyfully collaborative — exactly as it should be! A special thank you to Ruth at HUE HQ, who has been immensely supportive throughout this stop motion journey. Thanks to her, we’ve received the newly released HUE Clay, and the excitement from the children so far has been…LOUD!!! They love the colours, the feel, and the endless possibilities — and I cannot wait to see the curious characters and worlds that will be created in 2026!

Follow Vee on social media and find out how to book a Classbento workshop via the links below.

Website: www.filmscope.org | www.animatikz.com  

Classbento: classbento.co.uk/stop-motion-animation-course-harrow 

Instagram: 
@filmscopecic instagram.com/filmscopecic
@hello.animatikz | instagram.com/hello.animatikz
@VeeLadwa | https://www.instagram.com/veeladwa 

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Read on for inspiring ideas to shape young minds and make model students of the whole class.

3D shapes

Modelling clay makes it easy to construct 3D geometric forms and introduce students to cubes, cones, pyramids and spheres. Students can roll, press and pinch the clay to gain a tactile understanding of shapes, faces, edges and vertices. Don’t be a square (be a cube!) and try this activity with your students today!   

Pizza fractions 

Mamma Mia! Your students will want a slice of the mathematical action with this delicious idea! Instead of using cardboard or paper models, students can create clay pizzas and divide them to show halves, fourths, fifths and beyond. It’s a dough-lightful way to visualise equivalent fractions and make maths more engaging.

Creating patterns

Students can use clay to make repeating patterns with different colours and shapes to learn about symmetry or sequences. This hands-on activity provides a solid foundation for mathematical thinking without kneading to press the issue too much!

Toothpick structures

Combining clay with toothpicks enables students to build stable structures and explore engineering principles such as balance, support and weight distribution. Why not hold a competition with your students to see who can make the tallest tower or sturdiest structure? 

Clay boat building challenge

See Archimedes’ Principle in action and learn about buoyant force, material density and water displacement with this fun, yet challenging, clay boat building activity. The only downside of this project will be your students’ loud screams of “Eureka!” echoing down the school corridors.   

Volcano experiment

Your students will have a blast while making this lava-ly science experiment. With modelling clay and a few readily-available household items such as dish soap, food colouring and citric acid, your students can make their very own volcanic eruptions! If you’d like to try this experiment in the classroom, the boffins at MEL Science have got you covered (but thankfully not in ash).

Landforms and terrain mapping 

Get ready to rock your geography class! Mould mountains, valleys, rivers and plateaus out of clay to create landforms and bring geography to life through hands-on learning. For some real-world inspiration, check out how teachers at Fontenebro International School in Madrid used modelling clay to create detailed terrain maps of the continents. See their fantastic project here.

Recreate famous sculptures

Challenge the budding Barbara Hepworth’s and mini Michelangelo’s in your class to create museum-worthy masterpieces! The firm consistency of HUE Clay is ideal for creating models with high levels of detail so you can make your own Venus Dough Milo or Doughnátello’s David.  

Print making

Using some clay, ink and a printing roller, students can carve, stamp and press their own unique designs into a slab before transferring them onto paper. This fun activity is suitable for pupils with SEND ​​(Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and it is guaranteed to make a lasting impression. For more information about this activity idea, see how teachers played with plasticine to make prints in the Education Room at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Product design

Clay is the perfect hands-on introduction to design thinking, allowing students to prototype inventions and test out ideas before recreating them with fabrics, wood, or other resistant materials. This mouldable medium isn’t just for the classroom, clay modelling plays a key role in real-world industrial design, from concept cars to cutting-edge boat manufacturing.

Want to see how the pros do it? Check out why major car companies still rely on clay models, even in the digital age.

Hold history in your hands

Modelling clay can be used to create historical artefacts from different time periods and cultures. You could uncover the mysteries of ancient Egypt by making clay cartouches, pyramids, sarcophaguses, amulets or even Clayopatra’s Bust! 

Stop motion animation

One of the most exciting applications of clay in the classroom is stop motion animation. Students can create their own claymation characters and bring them to life with an animation kit such as HUE Animation Studio. This activity combines storytelling, art and technology in a fun and educational way. 

Need some inspiration? We love this wonderful claymation movie created by Alberto, Carlos, Juan Manuel, and Francisco, from the second-grade (Year 2) class at Laurel de la Reina High School in La Zubia, for their French class. In it, they explain step-by-step how to make an authentic French crepe.

As you can see, clay isn’t just for the art room; it’s a shape-shifting superstar that can bring learning to life right across the curriculum. From deepening conceptual understanding in maths and science to inspiring creativity in history, geography and design, modelling clay turns abstract ideas into meaningful, hands-on experiences.

Ready to get started? Explore HUE Clay and discover how a simple, reusable resource can spark curiosity, strengthen understanding and boost engagement in every subject. And when creativity strikes, capture and share your students’ work with your trusty HUE HD Pro document camera.

Do you have any clay-tastic classroom ideas? We’d love to hear them in the comments below!

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For advice in other languages (including French and Spanish), please click here.
Notre service client francophone est là pour vous pendant les fêtes.

As many people will be receiving HUE Animation products as gifts over the festive season, we would like you to know that our customer support is here to help throughout the holiday period.

If you need any assistance setting up your HUE product, or simply want to know how to use one of its features, please check the advice below or send us an email.  Our customer support elves will aim to help within 24 hours, and often much more quickly than that. We’ll do our very best to turn ‘Oh no no‘s into ‘Ho ho ho‘s!

We understand that it’s frustrating when you are trying to get something working during the holidays – especially when children are eager to get started – so we have a few tips for ensuring that we can help without any delays when you contact our team.

Please tell us exactly which product you have: HUE Animation Studio,  HUE Animation Studio Pro or HUE Animation Toolbox.

We’ve now added Stop Motion Studio animation software for Windows and macOS as an enhanced software offering for your HUE Animation kits. 

If you need getting started you’ll find all the details you need in this previous blog post.

• Checking our FAQs and Tutorial pages or searching the FAQs is often the fastest way to get help.
• For software problems, try updating to the latest version as a first step.
• If you’re having trouble activating the software, please contact us, choosing Query Type ‘Support’. Please include your activation code and email address so that we can check for any problems. General instructions can be found here. If you don’t remember your activation details please add as much information as you can, such as alternate email addresses you might have used when originally registering your kit.
• If there’s an error message, it’s best to send us a screenshot/photo or copy down the exact wording of the message so we can identify the specific issue. Please include details about your computer’s operating system and a description of the problem so that we can give you the most accurate advice.  
• Every HUE product comes with a 2 year warranty and we can provide individual replacement parts if needed. If there’s a problem with the camera itself and you think a return might be required, please include your original order details (e.g. the Amazon or HUE order number). If you don’t know the order number because it was a gift, please include any of the purchase details you have.
• We’ll never ask you to share your HUE online account password or payment information.

Once you have made a few simple animations, you might be ready to explore the multitude of downloadable resources that are available from your HUE account. Just go to Downloads> Other Downloads and you’ll find everything there. These include sound effects, printable backgrounds and inspirational videos to watch using different animation techniques. 

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If you have purchased HUE Animation Toolbox, HUE Animation Studio or HUE Animation Studio Pro or for a loved one this holiday season, you might be wondering how to set the kit up in anticipation for the big gift-giving event of the year.

When the ripping and rustling of wrapping paper has ceased, and all the new exciting gizmos, gadgets and gifts sit before your kiddos, it’s understandable that they’ll want to dive right in and play with everything immediately. When it comes to tech toys, though, that can be a little bit tricky to navigate. 

Downloading software and setting up equipment might seem like the last thing you’d want to do when the festive cheer is flowing but, thankfully, there are a number of things you can do in advance of the big day such as: 

• Installing the animation software.
• Downloading (and printing out) the free animation resources included with the HUE Animation Studio kit.
• Watching the animation software tutorial videos. 
• Bookmarking the accompanying HUE Book of Animation example videos page in your web browser.
• Reading this blog post

The best thing about preparing everything in advance is that once your kids start making movies, they will likely keep themselves occupied for hours. This will give you the perfect opportunity to pour a refreshing glass of your favorite beverage, kick back and relax with friends and family. 

How to set up your stop motion animation software

Step 1: Find the Activation Code for your animation software

Open your HUE Animation product and locate the HUE Book of Animation inside the box. On the back page of the book you will find the Activation Code for your animation software. 

Keep the book handy for the next step! You will need the Activation Code to verify your purchase of the kit and access the animation software from the HUE website.

Step 2: Activate your software

Visit My Account on the HUE website and create an account, if you do not already have one. Once you have logged into your account, click on Register New Software. Type your Activation Code into the box provided, then click the blue Activate Code button. This will permanently add your software download links and license keys to your online account.

Step 3: Download your software

In order to provide animation software for as many customers as possible, HUE Animation Studio now comes with a choice of two stop motion animation applications. 

Stop Motion Studio is our newest software offering which is compatible with Windows 10 or later, and macOS 11+.

Make sure you download the correct application for your computer operating system! If you’re not sure or have questions, please contact us and our tech support elves will be delighted to assist you. 

HUE Animation is our legacy software application for customers with older computer operating systems, such as Windows 8, 7 or XP and legacy versions of Mac OS X (macOS 10.14 and earlier). It requires graphics drivers with OpenGL 2.0 support.

Step 4: Install your animation software

Once you have downloaded and are installing the appropriate software application, you will be prompted to enter your license key into the application. To do this, head over to the License Keys section of your account. Here you will find the license keys for both software applications so make sure you copy the correct key! The 20-digit product key for new Stop Motion Studio software will be labeled “sms-single”. 

Once you have done this, you will be ready to plug in your HUE camera and start animating. Woohoo!

Extra help, tips, tricks and freebies!

Tutorials and FAQs

Watch the Stop Motion Studio for HUE tutorial playlist on YouTube to find out how to navigate the software. Subtitles are available in multiple languages.

If you need more help getting started with the kit, you can find answers to the most frequently asked questions or contact us by visiting our Support pages. 

Animation freebies

Log into your HUE account and go to Downloads > Other Downloads to access the free resources included with your HUE Animation Studio kit, such as the HUE Animation Activity Pack!

Animation inspiration

Feeling a little stuck for animation ideas or wondering how to build a set for a stop motion animation movie? Chances are we’ve already covered everything you need to know about animating in our helpful blog posts. 

• Stop motion techniques for beginners.
• Stop motion set making for beginners and kids.
• Stop motion animation frame rates explained.
• Digital storytelling and HUE Animation.

Visit the HUE blog to read more informative articles and head over to our YouTube channel to watch inspiring videos created by the HUE Community (and more). Happy animating, y’all! 

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We are excited to announce that HUE will be exhibiting at the Manchester Animation Festival in the MAF Marketplace. The show takes place on Wednesday 12th November 2025 in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK. 

Running between the 9-13th November 2025, Manchester Animation Festival is the UK’s biggest celebration of the animated art form and it is also an Oscar®-qualifying, BAFTA-recognised film festival. 

Taking place at HOME in Manchester, the festival unites the nation’s animation communities and welcomes international guests to share in the joy of all things animation. Working with leading organisations including Netflix, Disney, Apple, Sky, Aardman, Cartoon Saloon, Blue Zoo, Nickelodeon, the BBC and many more, the festival offers something for everyone, including animated short film competitions, feature screenings, retrospectives, workshops, networking events, panel discussions, masterclasses and talks from some of the industry’s leading voices. 

Come and find HUE in the MAF Marketplace where we’ll be showing off our HUE Animation Studio and HUE Animation Studio Pro kits, together with HUE Clay, the colourful clay that’s perfect for bringing your stop motion creations to life. 

We’ll have free samples to give away (while they last!) plus chances to win stop motion goodies in festival giveaways such as our clay creation challenge. Get creative, make your own clay character and share it on social media with the hashtag #MAFHUE25 for the chance to bag a bundle of HUE prizes!   

This year, HUE is not only excited to be part of the MAF Marketplace, we are also the proud sponsors of the Stop Motion category of the Young Animator of the Year UK (YAY UK) Award!

The YAY UK Awards is the nation’s largest animation competition for aspiring creatives aged 11–22. Open to entrants from across the UK, the contest showcases short films under three minutes in length in 2D, 3D and stop motion.

Submissions closed on 1st September 2025, and the winners will be revealed at the Manchester Animation Festival on the 9th November 2025, with prizes including exclusive studio tours at world-renowned companies such as Aardman.

Feeling social? Keep up to date with everything HUE Animation (@HUEanimation), MAF (@mcranimation) and YAY UK (@younganimatorUK) over on Instagram.

We can’t wait to see you all at the festival! 

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Written by Brett Mullins, Somerset Primary School, Tasmania.

As a STEM educator working with children from Prep to Grade Six, I have found the HUE Animation cameras to be an invaluable tool in my classroom. Over the past four years, as a digital technologies teacher, I have never had a child say they were not interested in using the HUE cameras and animation. The HUE cameras consistently captivate my students, encouraging them to explore their creativity through stop motion animation and video projects. 

Part of my teaching philosophy centers around the use of digital media and fostering a cooperative learning environment. The HUE cameras align perfectly with this philosophy. The built-in microphone and ability to magnify details have enhanced our lessons, allowing students to see and hear their work with exceptional clarity. The software that accompanies the HUE cameras is incredibly easy to use, not only for the children but also for new teachers to the HUE program. The flexibility of the cameras allows us to use them from a variety of angles, which significantly enhances the children’s animations. We use everyday objects, clay, LEGO, paper, and foil, just to name a few, to create engaging and imaginative projects. 

We have entered state animation competitions and consistently achieve top-level results, even competing against high school students who have access to more expensive equipment. We use only the older version of HUE cameras, but it doesn’t matter because the product is amazing. We use the HUE cameras daily with over 370 children, and they have become a staple in my teaching toolkit and part of a 10-week program. Whether it’s for recording videos, taking pictures, or especially for stop motion animation, the HUE cameras consistently deliver high-quality performance. 

They are easy to set up and use, making them accessible for both teachers and students. The results are outstanding, even for children who have difficulties in the classroom, as they can tell their own story, in a different, unique way. The HUE Animation setup and program help them focus as it promotes self-directed and creative learning. I can set a task or show a skill, and the children make it their own—there is no wrong way. 

The HUE product is faultless in delivering excellence. I highly recommend the HUE animation cameras and software to any educator looking to enrich their classroom experience. They are truly awesome and have made a significant positive impact on our students’ learning journey at every level. The HUE product is the best on the market that I have ever used. Thanks HUE

HUE Animation Studio is a STEM.org approved, movie-making starter kit for children aged 7+. It places kids in a highly engaging and immersive environment where they can enjoy the freedom to express themselves creatively.

Whether animating on their own or with friends, children love the thrill of making stop motion movies and they can do it for hours! It is the perfect gender-neutral activity for imaginative play, enabling children to create pretend worlds using both hands-on artistic and technical computer skills.

HUE Animation Studio contains everything a budding animator needs to create stop motion movies using modelling clay, LEGO®, 2D drawings or a favorite toy, including:

• A colorful, flexible HUE HD camera.
• A perpetual single-user Stop Motion Studio for HUE software license.
• A full-color, 64-page animation activity book. 
• A durable carry case.
• Digital resources, sound effects and backgrounds.

Recommended by top child development expert, Dr. Amanda Gummer, this educational kit fosters 21st century skills such as creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking while bringing hours of enjoyment to young film directors as they learn how to make movie magic.

Watch the video to find out more and follow us on social media @HUEcameras for updates about awards, giveaways and fun ideas. HUE Animation Studio is one of a range of colorful, creative and affordable products for school, home and work from HUE.

Find out more, subscribe to our blog, download resources, contact us or follow us on social media.

HUE is this year’s sponsor of the stop motion category of the Young Animator of the Year Awards – the biggest animation competition for young creatives in the UK!

The competition is now open for film submissions and entries must be submitted online by Monday 1st September 2025, so it’s the perfect creative summer holiday project.

The contest is free to enter and a great chance for students to showcase their creative skills. 

Students from Year 7 to Year 11 can share their work and be in with a chance to have their film screened at the Manchester Animation Festival, which is the biggest animation festival in the UK.

There are also top prizes up for grabs including a tour of Aardman (the world-famous studio behind series like Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep!)

See the invitation below to enter. If you’re a teacher, please feel free to distribute this invite as part of an end of term communication to your students and parents; one of your students could be an award winner!

Fancy having a go at animation over the summer holidays?
Young Animator of the Year are currently looking for film submissions! 
It’s open to all 11-22 year olds across the UK. It’s free to enter and your film can be as short and snappy as you like.
Plus there are top prizes up for grabs including a tour of Aardman (the studio behind Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep!)
Sounds like the perfect summer holidays creative project? 
Time to get doodling, sketching, modelling and making!
Find out more and submit your film by Monday 1st September 2025.

The shortlisted films will be published on the YAY website on Wednesday 1st October 2025, with the winners announced (alongside a screening of their film) at the Manchester Animation Festival this November. If you’re heading to the festival, stop by the MAF Marketplace to say hello to HUE where we will have a table displaying our animation kits including HUE Animation Studio, HUE Clay and the soon-to-be-released HUE Animation Toolbox (spoiler warning!)

Take a look at the YAY website to find out more, watch past winning films and browse some handy resources. We know there is amazing young talent out there so we’d really appreciate it if you could help us spread the word.

Find out more, subscribe to our blog, download resources, contact us or follow us on social media.

From Art Clokey’s Gumby and Will Vinton’s incredible Adventures of Mark Twain, to Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit, modeling clay has become one of the most iconic materials associated with stop motion animation to the point that it has spawned its own subgenre, known as claymation.

There are many benefits to using modeling clay for animation. It’s a versatile material that gives a lot of room to improvise whilst animating and the freedom to sculpt or position your character in any way you choose. It also offers a unique style and look; it can be wonderfully bright and colourful and is usually textured with the signature thumbprints of the artist, adding to its handcrafted charm.

However, once you start working with clay, you’ll quickly discover there are a lot of challenges involved. It turns out that even a simple character like Morph is actually a lot more complex than he first seems! This blog post will provide some tips to get you started working with clay.

Professional animation clay is designed to hold its shape and retain as much fine detail as possible. You will quickly notice that it is much firmer than your average play dough, and at first it might seem quite difficult to create the shapes you want without getting sore thumbs. Don’t worry though, it can be softened; roll the clay between your hands to inject a bit of warmth, squeeze and knead it a little and you’ll soon find it is much more workable.

Mix your clay to get the perfect colour

Looking for a particular colour of clay that can’t be bought? Good news! You can mix existing colours to make your own new ones. In this example, we are trying to create a pink clay by mixing red and white. It’s always good to start with the surfaces of each clay colour touching each other as much as possible; here we are ensuring this by twisting the two clay tubes around each other. 

For the next step, you might assume that the two pieces of clay should be kneaded and pushed into one another. Whilst this is a great way to ‘condition’ your clay when it is cold and stiff, it’s not really the quickest method to blend two colours together. 

Instead, tearing and folding the clay will ensure a quicker, more even mix!

All this friction and contact with your hands may make your clay a bit warm and soft after mixing, so stick in the fridge for a bit if you’re going to be sculpting something intricate!

Creating a base form

You’ll want to consider the shape of the character you are making; what’s its base form and which parts are going to move?

The little head we are making here will remain spherical throughout the sculpting process, so we can layer the clay on top of a core made from a ball of aluminium foil. This reduces the overall weight of the sculpture and means we use less clay. (Yay! More left over for other projects!) 

However, for Clay Hero (from the HUE Book of Animation) we would start with a sphere made completely of clay which will become a more humanoid shape when we tease out the arms and legs from the base form. Making Clay Hero entirely from clay (without the aluminium core) will give us more flexible posing options when it comes to animating, and pulling the limbs and head out from the base form (instead of just sticking them on) will ensure the model is strong and less prone to breakage during animation.

The benefits of using aluminium foil in your sculpt will vary depending on what you are using it for. With an aluminium core the model will retain its shape over time with a solid structure it can adhere to. Without one, there are more options for posing during animation, but take care your sculpt doesn’t gradually morph into an unrecognisable shape (unless that’s what you want!)

Smoothing and sculpting

This is the fun part! When you smooth out the lumpy bits and add detail, your sculpt will really come to life.

Creases, lumps and bumps can be removed by gently poking them with a finger or thumb, the aim being to create a smooth, consistent fingerprint-y surface. It can take a little while to smooth out the whole model, patience is key here!

There are many ways to add details and features to your base shape. You can use your hands to knead out new forms, scrape details into the surface with a sculpting tool or add extra lumps of clay (make sure any extra bits are properly stuck on so that they don’t fall off later!). 

Using multiple colours

It is notoriously difficult to put two different colours of clay together, as they will start to blend into one another and your previously bright, clean colours will become a murky, muddy mess! This can produce some really lovely shades of brown, but is not necessarily what you want. The more the colours contrast, the more pronounced this problem is – making white eyes with black pupils can be a real challenge!

One way to avoid this is to use a solid alternative to soft clay. Using air drying or oven-hardening clay for things like eyeballs and teeth is a great way to avoid contamination, and it also makes it much easier not to smudge or smoosh any delicate little details. Oven-bake clay is especially great because it has the exact same lumpy, fingerprint-y look as modeling clay. Popular brands of oven bake clay include Sculpey and Fimo.

Keep your clay clean

You should always look for ways to keep your clay from getting grubby. Modeling clay is usually oil-based, and can be quite messy. It will get everywhere if you’re not careful!

Cleaning your hands is the first step to avoiding the dreaded clay contamination. Your clay will always want to suck up any dirt on your hands and it will also leave an oily, coloured residue which can become an issue if you are working with several different clay colours. Before you touch any clay, your hands must be dirt-free and then cleaned regularly as you work. Professional clay animators often use wet wipes to do this. A slightly soapy damp cloth also works (and is a little more environmentally friendly!)

However, even with clean hands, clay is an absolute magnet for dirt. You never realise how much dust there is in the air until you unwrap some modeling clay! When you’re not using your clay, it’s important to keep it safe from dust. Cling film is a great solution for this although you should try to use a minimal amount to avoid plastic pollution. 

Animation tips

Be ready to re-sculpt your character as you animate. Clay is a great material that can be moved and positioned in all sorts of ways, but there is a limit and it can tear apart if your character is bending and twisting a lot. It can also slowly deform as you animate. If you don’t pay attention, you’ll suddenly find your character has two big, amorphous blobs where the legs used to be!

For an extra cartoony look, use replacement sculpts if you want your character to squash and stretch into drastically different poses.

Sculpting your replacements beforehand is a great way to save time while animating. This transformation in Clayvolution was prepared before the camera was even set up! The ball and human shapes were carefully sculpted, then a spare blob of clay was used to animate the rough shapes in between as the ball morphs into a humanoid.

Remember: clay is a truly glorious material for stop motion, but can be quite challenging to work with at first. Don’t be disheartened if your initial attempts are not what you were hoping for. Practice makes perfect!

To make your claymation journey even smoother, the HUE Animation Studio kit is a fantastic all-in-one stop motion solution for budding animators aged 7+. It includes everything you need to start creating your own stop motion masterpieces at home including a flexible HUE HD camera and intuitive stop motion software that makes animating a breeze.

And now, with the launch of HUE Clay, claymation just got even more exciting! Specially designed for stop motion, HUE’s modeling clay was previously known as Newplast. It is firm yet malleable and holds its shape beautifully during long shoots, all while maintaining that classic, handcrafted claymation look. You can find both the HUE Animation Studio kit and HUE Clay at huehd.com where you’ll also discover more resources, tutorials and creative inspiration to keep your animations full of life.

Happy animating! 

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We have some very exciting news to share with our customers and followers today! We are thrilled to announce that HUE is sponsoring the Stop Motion category of the 2025 Young Animator of the Year UK (YAY UK) competition

At HUE, we’re passionate about sparking creativity in young minds through HUE Animation Studio and HUE Clay. That’s why we’re so excited to support the YAY Awards, a fantastic celebration of the rising stars of animation and the power of imaginative storytelling.

YAY UK is the biggest animation competition for young movie makers living in the UK, offering a platform to share their work, get noticed by industry pros and have their films screened at the prestigious Manchester Animation Festival (MAF)! 

Co-created by Tom Box, co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation Studio, the initiative is a collaboration between ACCESS:VFX and MAF that seeks to “discover, support, and celebrate the brightest animation stars aged 11 to 22”, creating animated films in 2D, 3D and with stop motion animation. 

Films entered into the competition will be judged by top talent from across the UK animation industry including directors, producers, animators, and creatives from the likes of Aardman and Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). The winners will be revealed at the Manchester Animation Festival on 9th November 2025, where the nominated animators will have the opportunity to meet some of the judges.

This year’s theme for the animation is UNEXPECTED. Animators are welcome to use this word as inspiration but incorporating the theme is not mandatory, and submissions will not be judged based on how closely they relate to it.

Entries will will be judged using the following scoring criteria:

• Quality of the animation skills.
• Clarity of the storytelling.
• Quality of the design.
• Quality of the overall film.

The competition opened for entries on 12th May 2025, and full details on how to get involved can be found at younganimator.uk. 

Key YAY UK dates for your diary:

• 12th May 2025: YAY UK competition opens for entries.
• 1st Sep 2025: Submission window closes.
• 1st Oct 2025: Shortlisted films and prizes announced on younganimator.uk. 
• 9th Nov 2025: Winners announced at MAF.

If you know any budding animation superstars this truly is their time to shine, so share the word far and wide with your fellow teachers, parents and friends today! 

Find out more, subscribe to our blog, download resources, contact us or follow us on social media.