Stop Motion animation whilst not as popular as the other forms of animation have been quite successful in several animated features such as, Wallace and Gromit and The Nightmare before Christmas.

This animation method uses figurines or models to create a feature film. It is based upon the principle of making small adjustments to the models and figurines or characters and photographing the frame to emulate movement.

Figurines and models are commonly made out of clay due to their ease of positioning, however stop motion characters have taken other forms such as paper cutouts as demonstrated in South Park. Creating different expressions or movement often requires changes to the characters, for example in clay based stop motion animation, several heads were often created so they could be interchangeable to demonstrate different emotions.

The process of stop motion animation is long and tedius due to the minute changes that must be made for each frame. However it does allow for a unique feel to an animated feature from a design and viewing perspective.

The average time for the development varies depending on the length of the feature, however The Nightmare Before Christmas was developed over 3 years