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Inside Squashy SoftwareClay-squashing secrets revealed
People are often asking me how I produce the graphics for my games, so I thought you might appreciate a bit of a "behind the scenes" look at how I go about things. There's actually not much to tell, really. But what there is to tell is of course very exciting. Hold on to your hat - you're about to be afforded a glimpse into the daredevil existence of the clay animator.
Firstly, I should point out that it is all done with clay. People often wonder if I render my graphics using 3d models made to look like clay, but there's nothing so high-tech involved. I think it's important in a way, that everything you see in the games is a real thing that I made with my hands and stuck on my desk.
The setup is pretty simple - some would say primitive. Some would even say crude, but that's going too far and now I'm offended. Basically, the models are made out of clay - typically either Jovi Plastilina or Van Aken Clay (the Jovi is easier to work with and is more consistent at different temeratures, but the Van Aken photographs better and also can be melted down and re-set).
If a model has to do a lot of complicated action, I'll give it a skeleton made of wire and air-hardening polymer gunk, but normally they're just solid clay. Usually they are made in full colour, but sometimes I'll use grey ones and colour them afterwards on the computer, as I did with all the models in Platypus.
Below you can see a bunch of my game models in action. Look at them go! Although actually, they don't move at all. That's where the magic comes in, see?
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