Cutout animation puppets can be created out of about anything Puppet composed of several independent parts, (i.e. head, neck, chest, upper arm lower arm hand etc.) held together through some kind of jointing system The parts are moved slightly each frame, no need to drawn anything, simply pose the character or object for each frame Makes for more efficient animations Cutouts are best for broad actions that are not dependent on fine details: A large arm wave instead of a wave consisting of the fingers moving. Simple concrete story elements Figures themselves are nor changed or deformed

Example 1 Example 2 Paper is a common choice but you could use other materials such as felt, cardboard, a sturdy but flat material is best, paint can be applied to surface to create textures Jointing: Cutout usually utilize some kind of Jointing: Could be tape and thread, metal fasteners at joint, or simply lay objects on top of one another and gravity will hold it together Overlays: Separate parts that lay over another part and can be replaced for example: various mouth shapes or eye shapes could be used to give expressions

Emile Cohl Influential animator, created early cutout films Terry Gilliam Famous for Monty Python animations Created unique style often imitated Evelyn Lambart Worked with Norman McLaren at National Film Board of Canada Created multiple cutout animated films Sheldon Coen Look for overlay usage Yuri Norshteyn Award winning Russian Animator Still uses cutout animation today Quoted as saying he refuses to work with computers and computer-animated films “makes him ill” Jib Jab Studios Famous for political satire cartoons in cutout style

En Route, Emile Cohl first paper cutout animation 1910 En Route Claire de Lune Espagnol, Emile Cohl, 1912 Claire de Lune Espagnol cutout pieces of the moon Monty Python’s Flying Circus opening, Terry Gilliam, 1969 Monty Python’s Flying Circus opening Good demonstration of different forms of cutout and overlays (replacement mouths, overlays, cutout parts) The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, Evelyn Lambart, 1980 story-telling with cutout moving pieces, overlays, backgrounds The Sweater, Sheldon Cohen, 1980 The Sweater Look for where cutout animation (overlays) are used Hedgehog in the fog, Yuriy Norshteyn, 1975 Hedgehog in the fog Award winning Russian animator Still using cutout animation today Quoted as saying he refuses to work with computers and computer-animated films “makes him ill” Other examples today Early South Park (early episodes) New episodes created with Autodesk Maya made to look like cutout style Jib Jab Studios: Political Satire, Geo. W. Bush Jib Jab Studios