Why does Laika choose not to patent its groundbreaking stop-motion
Chapter 1

Skeletons, muscles, and tiny lungs

Chapter 2

A forest in a warehouse

Chapter 3

Millions of faces, one frame at a time

Chapter 4

The epic scale of Wildwood

YOUR GOAL

Master of Behind the tiny scenes of Wildwood

Ch 3 · Millions of faces, one frame at a time
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007skaty Laika uses voxel 3D printing to create stop-motion puppets.

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007skaty Wildwood Puppet Faces

Print a new smile for every single frame (every frame) / Magnet clicks in and we do it again (do it again!)

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To keep a craft alive, we must share our methods, not guard them.

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007skaty The process of 3D printing expressive faces for stop-motion puppets.

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The jetpack on a puppet's back

007skaty Turning precise knobs on the puppet's back-mounted jetpack allows animators to tilt and rotate characters in tiny increments.

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The magic of voxel printing

007skaty Cartoon characters explain how 3D printers mix voxels to mimic human skin

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Wildwood Face Finder
BETA

007skaty Match replacement puppet faces to discover how stop-motion animators create realistic facial expressions.

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Fun Fact

No secrets here: Laika refuses to patent its custom 3D-printing technologies, actively encouraging rival animation studios to copy their methods to help stop-motion survive.

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Glossary
replacement animation (noun)
An animation technique in which physical parts of a puppet are swapped out between frames to depict movement or change of expression. For LAIKA's film Wildwood, artists utilized over 142,000 3D-printed faceplates to execute this process.

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Gossip

Which innovation is coolest?

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Quiz

What is a three-dimensional pixel called in advanced 3D printing?

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007skaty Laika shares its 3D-printing animation technology with other film studios.

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Quiz

What is the name of the mechanical rig on a puppet's back used for micro-adjustments?

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Quiz

How many voxels can Laika's advanced printers pack into a single cubic inch?

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Quiz

Which movie held the previous record for most 3D-printed faces before Wildwood?

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Quiz

Which other studio used Laika's shared technology for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio?

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Quiz

What physical mechanism is used to snap replacement faces onto a puppet's head?

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Quiz

Approximately how many 3D-printed faces were created for Wildwood?

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Quiz

Why does Laika choose not to patent its groundbreaking stop-motion inventions?

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