Hey Dhilly, it definitely is possible to use real smoke, fire and even explosions using things like fireworks in stop motion. The way it is usually done is by filming those things against a black background. Then keying out the black so only the light is able to come through in the shot. It's the same process used in green screen, but of course you'll need to use some editing software. That way you can overlay the live action onto the animation you've made.
If you want to do it in a safe way there are free stock videos you can grab over here:
www.pexels.com/search/videos/explosion/
You can also use programs like Blender to create those effects. This is a video tutorial on hw to do it:
[video]
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I put up a new article in the news section. If you haven't seen Blink-182's Christmas video, it's really well done.
It was said that on January 1st, the COPPA rules on YouTube would take effect. We are supposed to lose our video comments due to the changes, but... Show more
Merry Christmas everyone and happy new year! Hopefully everyone will get the chance to be creative in 2020!
I think the term is persistence of vision. I might be wrong but some people can get by with 14fps and it can look good to them. To me it's a bit low unless there's some kind of blur. One person I know thinks 30fps is the gold standard, but I think that's a bit too much. Mainly because if you have to animate so many additional frames it takes forever. The right balance is definitely somewhere around the 20 range you picked in my opinion.
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Hey Lukas, nice to see your work here again. You guys and gals did a really top notch job. It looks like you all had fun too. When I was a kid I made a similar Christmas tree with presents around it one time, it feels nostalgic 
20fps will make a huge difference in smoothness compared to 10. I believe the minimum for smooth animation is somewhere around 14-16, if you shoot on 1's. With the ginger bread family, I did notice the drooping. If I remember right they used some sort of foil inside the Gumby puppet to prevent that. Either way, great job and thanks for sharing!
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I have updated our forums a bit to make posting photos easier. I increased the file size limit, dimensions and number of photos allowed per post. I... Show more
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Do you want to show off your latest stop motion project? You can post drawn or digital design sketches, photos, or other art for us to talk about. You can also ask questions that you need answers to. Members can then see your work and give you their opinions, advice or offer support.
How to Post Your Stuff:
Post your work in our forums right here in our latest created thread so we know show it during our live broadcast. Copy and paste your links and video URLs right into the post. If at all possible, please don't use copyrighted music or clips in your videos or YouTube will give us a strike.
To post your photos in the forums, first make sure to press the Action button, then click Reply. This gives you the special options for posting attachments, such as your photos.
feedback1.jpg
Next, click the Attachments button, then the + Add Files button to select the file on your computer for upload.
feedback2.jpg
Finally, click the In Message button for your attachment to show up in the message body for everyone to see.
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Do you want to show off your latest stop motion project? Or maybe you want some helpful ideas or have questions about how to build a puppet or build your sets? That's what this Feedback section is all about.
You can post drawn or digital design sketches, photos, videos, kickstarter or other campaigns for us to talk about. You can also ask questions that you need answers to. Members can then see your work and give you their opinions, advice or offer support.
How to Post Your Stuff:
Post your work in our forums right here in our latest created thread so we know show it during our live broadcast. Copy and paste your links and video URLs right into the post. If at all possible, please don't use copyrighted music or clips in your videos or YouTube will give us a strike.
To post your photos in the forums, first make sure to press the Action button, then click Reply. This gives you the special options for posting attachments, such as your photos.
feedback1.jpg
Next, click the Attachments button, then the + Add Files button to select the file on your computer for upload.
feedback2.jpg
Finally, click the In Message button for your attachment to show up in the message body for everyone to see.
Read More...
