Animation is acting. This is where you learn to act.
Five weeks at Aardman Studios with your own professional training puppet, learning how our characters think, feel, land a joke and hold a room without saying a word.
6 September to 8 October 2027.
- Aardman Studios, Bristol
- Led by Will Becher, Aardman's Stop Motion Lead
- Professional training puppet provided
- £3,710, deposit and payment plans available
- 14 places
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOVING A PUPPET AND MAKING IT ACT.
Most animators arrive able to make a puppet walk. Five weeks later they can make one hesitate, change its mind, cover a lie, or sell a punchline on a single frame.
Weight, timing and mechanics are the starting point. You'll work on dialogue, sung performance, silent acting, comic timing and how a shot carries story, with daily feedback from professional Aardman animators who do this for a living.
You animate every day, in the studio, on professional kit.
"The best way to produce a focused and high level showreel of stop motion character work."
Graduate of our September 2025 cohort
YOUR PUPPET
You'll work with a professional-grade training puppet built to the same standard as the ones on our productions. Proper armature, proper tie-downs, proper replacement mouths.
It behaves like a real character on a real set, which means the habits you build here are the ones you'll use on your first job.
Five Weeks, Week by Week
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
TAUGHT IN THE BUILDING WHERE IT HAPPENS
You're at Gas Ferry Road, learning the approach that made Wallace, Gromit, Shaun and Feathers McGraw work, from the animators who use it every day.
That means real examples, real shots, and honest, supportive and encouraging feedback on your work.
What You'll Leave With
- A focused reel of professional-standard character animation
- Acting and performance skills you can use on any production
- Daily feedback from working Aardman animators
- A place at the graduation screening in the Aardman Cinema
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?
Animators who can already make a puppet move and want to make it act.
That usually means a degree, a foundation course, or a couple of years of your own self-taught work. You don't need any professional credits. You do need to be comfortable animating a character on your own.
New to stop motion? Start with Stop Motion Foundation or Stop Motion 1, then come back to us.
Not sure if it's right for you? Come to an Open Day and meet the team.
Accommodation and travel aren't included.
MEET THE 2026 TUTORS
Led by Will Becher, taught by Aardman's makers
Will started at Aardman making clay wings for Chicken Run. Twenty-five years later he's an Oscar® and BAFTA nominated director (A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon) and was Supervising Animator on Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
As the Academy's Stop Motion Lead, Will leads the course throughout, supported by Aardman animators and crew who teach and mentor across the five weeks.
WE'LL TALK BEFORE YOU COMMIT
Every applicant has a conversation with us. It's thirty minutes, online, informal, and it's as much for you as it is for us.
We'll look at your work, talk about what you want to get out of five weeks, and be honest if we think another course suits you better. £3,710 is a lot of money to spend on the wrong thing.
- Apply. We review applications within two weeks.
- We invite you to an interview. Online, thirty minutes, no portfolio presentation required.
- We come back to you within two weeks.
If a course fills, we'll roll your application to the next date.
WHAT OUR ANIMATORS SAY
"This course was a game-changer for my abilities in stop motion character animation. The weekly tasks built my skills progressively, and I saw a huge leap in my work thanks to consistent, high-level feedback. Learning alongside such a talented cohort created an energy and accountability that accelerated my growth beyond what I expected."
"Nothing can compare to being part of a professionally orchestrated course that makes you feel involved and creatively free. Getting to know everyone on the course and at Aardman has been life-changing. It opened my eyes again to why I chose animation."
"Hands down, one of the most welcoming, fun and fulfilling courses I have ever done."
