BrideofWire.com Online Store

Bride of Wire Studio has created a unique line of products for the stop motion animation community.

The graphic for these items was developed over the course of a few months.

I was trying to create an icon that would represent stop motion animators but not be specific to one type of the form.

I decided to focus on the animator and animator's tools.

The initial sketch was of one of my surface gages. The gage is the tool used to assist the animator position the model from frame to frame.

From that drawing I turned my attention to positioning the character of the animator. Since animators work behind the camera that's where the figure was placed. An animator's performance comes out and is transferred to the model through one's hands, so I wanted them to be prominent. I have the camera lens as a transitioning device through which the animator's work behind the camera comes through to the viewer. The viewer is located in the position of the model waiting to be moved by the animator, both literally and figuratively.

Some other inspiration was naming the camera after J. Stuart Black, noted as first developing the technique in 1907.

I chose purple for the color of the lens, because purple is often associated with magic and stop motion definitely has that magical quality.

I further wanted to pay tribute to two men who had influence in my life, Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen. They are visualized as the light reflections in the face of the lens. Mr. Harryhausen has often referred to the snowball effect that stop motion has had on younger generations.

Finally, I incorporated my name in the serial number on the lens as a way to sign the work without making it overt.