For aspiring stop-motion animation makers, there’s surely no better inspiration than Wallace and Gromit. If you’ve always loved seeing these two characters get up to their usual tricks, why not try making your own animation? There are brilliant apps to help you get started, including Aardman Animator from Aardman itself – the producer of Wallace and Gromit.

We asked Aardman director Gavin Strange for his top tips for beginner animators.

“I don’t want to say stop-motion animation is easy, but with all the technology and apps, it is really accessible and there are no risks. Stop-frame can feel like it takes forever, and it does to a degree , because we’re professionals and we get very complicated with lip-sync and multiple puppets and sets. But it can be really rapid. You can shoot five pictures and, when those images are stitched together, as soon as you hit play and watch it come to life it feels magical.”

“You can take inspiration from anything that you see. If you have children, you likely have access to modelling clay, LEGO bricks, toys – you have got everything you need. If you move human beings one frame at a time that’s called pixellation. So you have puppets – you are a puppet. You can just take an object and bring it to life by moving it, making it tip and imbuing it with character.”

“During the day I am a director and designer at Aardman, but at night I create absolutely everything that no one wants me to… I’ve always had the ambition to just make stuff that tickles my fancy in my own time. It was that process that led me into Aardman. I would make live-action films, I would film my skateboarding friends, film my artist friends, make documentaries and I was always a big animation fan… I don’t put off trying different things. If it excites you, try it. Experimentation trumps everything.”

“So many people want to be creative and put themselves off because they believe they can’t be original, but you just have to try and see where you go. That’s how you learn and grow. Someone once said to me, ‘Don’t make it perfect, make it now!’ I’ve never forgotten that. Of course what we strive to do at Aardman is to make it perfect. But in terms of personal growth, especially when you’re new to something, there’s that famous gap between your tastes and your skill level. But that gap will never close until you just start making things – making, trying, doing, breaking.”

“It’s really essential that everyone makes all the mistakes. If I could go back in time I wouldn’t tell myself anything. It’s essential to try, and get it wrong and figure out why things don’t work yourself. You don’t need a grand plan.”

“You and your audience will thank you for keeping your camera steady. With a nice steady camera you can focus on what is in the lens. And grab any lights around you and use light and darkness to tell your story. These two very simple things let people focus on the story you’re trying to tell.”