How to make an AI claymation short
Quick answer: The Claymation visual style in SceneMixer draws everything as hand-pressed clay figures and miniature sets, fingerprints left in, without a single frame of stop-motion. Choose it in Step 1, keep the cast small and the sets simple (a kitchen, a garden, a shop), and lean into what clay does best: gentle comedy, small worlds and expressive faces.
Brief for AI Create: A claymation short: an elderly sheep who runs a tiny tea shop gets her first customer in a year, a nervous wolf who only wants a scone; a three-minute comedy, one room, one twist.
Why clay works
- Small worlds. One room, a garden, a street of shops: miniature sets look their best close up.
- Expressive faces. Write the reaction (“her eyebrows shoot up”), not the feeling. Describe the cause.
- Gentle comedy. Pauses and small gestures land well; give them their own shots. One shot.
Set it up
- Visual Style Claymation, fixed once you continue; scene and costume cards switch to drawn pictures to match. Visual styles.
- Scene Style for the world around the set: Pastoral Healing, American Small Town, Nordic Minimal.
- Animals are characters with a voice. Non-human characters.
- Type Film for a single short, TV Series for a run of episodes.
The tea shop, shot by shot
| Beat | Shot to adapt |
|---|---|
| The shop | [Shot 1] 4s: Wide shot, a tiny clay tea shop, a bell over the door, three empty tables. |
| The bell | [Shot 2] 2s: Close-up on the bell jingling. |
| The wolf | [Shot 3] 3s: Medium shot. @Wolfram, a tall grey clay wolf in a knitted scarf, ducks under the door frame. |
| The line | [Shot 4] 4s: Close-up on @Wolfram. @Wolfram (very polite): Just one scone, please. I'm not here to eat anyone. (voice: Wolfram) |
| The sheep | [Shot 5] 3s: Close-up on @Mrs Woolly, eyebrows shooting up, teapot frozen in mid-pour. |
Make it in SceneMixer, start to finish
- Script: paste your own on Upload Script, or write the brief above in AI Create and let it draft the episodes.
- Step 1: Type Film; Scene Style Pastoral Healing, American Small Town; Costume Style Soft Everyday; Visual Style Claymation; Target Region; dialogue language; 16:9 Landscape. Then read the script.
- Step 2: a small cast of clay characters with one mark and a voice each; the shop or the garden as a location. The first 15 setup images on an account are free.
- Storyboard: generate episode 1 first (free on your first drama) and read it before you render anything. One place per segment.
- Video: render on the default tier at 10 credits a second, fix single shots instead of whole episodes, then put the episode together and post.
| Part | What happens | Shots |
|---|---|---|
| Set-up | The empty shop. | 2–3 |
| Arrival | The wolf comes in. | 3–4 |
| Misunderstanding | Everyone hides. | 4–5 |
| Twist | The wolf is the new baker next door. | 3 |
| End | Two cups, one scone. | 2 |
FAQ
How do I make a claymation video with AI?
Choose Claymation as the visual style in Step 1, keep the cast and sets small, and write the story as short shots.
Is it real stop-motion?
No. It is generated video in a clay look: hand-pressed figures and miniature sets, fingerprints included.
Can animals be characters?
Yes. Give them a sheet and a voice.
Which stories suit clay?
Gentle comedy, small worlds, one-room stories and children's tales.
Can I make a series?
Yes. Choose TV Series as the type.
Can I copy a famous clay character?
No. Known characters trigger the IP check.
Vertical or landscape?
Either; 16:9 Landscape for a short film, 9:16 Portrait for feeds.
Can the visual style change later?
No. It is fixed once you continue past Step 1.
Updated October 31, 2026