Does anyone have a good solution to leaning problems seen in PVC anime figures?

Question

Have been experiencing such phenomenoms for quite some time. I keep them away from direct sunlight, but the problem persists. Need some good advice from the experienced here. Thanks! =]

Answer 1

By "PVC" anime figures, do you mean the always-flexible clays that are often used for stop-motion animation? (like Plastalina, etc.), or using ordinary heavy kids' "modeling clay", or are you using polymer clays (then just not baking them)?... or what?

All those clays will be affected by the temperature of the air (and your hands, etc.), so you'll want to keep them as cool as possible while using them (or storing them) by having the lights and other heat sources farther away, using cooler lights, using an air conditioner, etc. You could even put them in the refrigerator or freezer for awhile if they begin to soften too much.

You might just need to buy a better brand of clay though, since they vary in how stiff they are, etc. I think that Van Aken's Plastalina is one of the best (and their site also has lots of tips, etc.).
http://www.clayanimator.com/english/clays.html
(If you're using a polymer clay though, FimoClassic or Kato Polyclay brands would be the stiffest when raw... and they can be "leached" a bit to make them even stiffer:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/Conditioning.htm )

You might also get some help from using armatures under the parts of the clay that you'll never need to bend, or putting an armature there that will bend but still provide some support.

There are various sites and groups online for clay animation though that might help... try some of these for "claymation":
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=claymation


HTH,

Diane B.