 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(February 2024) |
This is a list of artists (animators, directors and producers) who have created stop-motion animation. Active years by approximation, mostly based on IMDb information and as much as possible concerning work in the field of animation. The original order of the list is based on the first year of activity.
| name | birth-death | country | best known work | years active | main technique | note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladyslaw Starewicz | 1892-1965 | Russian Empire, France | The Tale of the Fox (1930) | 1910-1965 | puppets | pioneer who started with dead beetles, later expressive puppets |
| Willis H. O'Brien | 1886-1962 | United States | King Kong (1933) | 1915-1962 | models | pioneer of model animation |
| Helena Smith Dayton | 1883-1960 | United States | Animated Sculpture (1971) Program of shorts including "Battle of the Suds" | 1917 | Clay animation | Hers films are considered lost, but are very well documented in magazines and newspaper of the time. |
| Oskar Fischinger | 1900-1967 | German Empire, United States | Komposition in Blau (1935) | 1921-1935? | clay (wax) | influential experimental abstract animator, occasionally working with wax (but mostly with paint) |
| Charles Bowers | 1889-1946 | United States | Pete Roleum and His Cousins (1939) | 1925-1941 | started as traditional animator before directing and acting in slapstick comedies with stop motion elements, also directed a few fully animated short films | |
| Hermína Týrlová | 1900-1993 | Bohemia, Czechoslovakia | "Fernando the Ant", "Revolt of the Toys" | 1928-1986 | puppets | "the mother of Czech animation" produced over 60 short films |
| George Pal | 1908-1980 | Hungary, The Netherlands, United States | Puppetoons (1932-1971) | 1932-1980 | puppets (wood) | received honorary Academy Award for his innovative technique, later a live-action fantasy director occasionally using stop motion effects |
| Lou Bunin | 1904-1994 | United States | Bury the Axis (1943) | 1939-1951 | models | pioneer of model animation |
| Ray Harryhausen | 1920-2013 | United States, UK | Jason and the Argonauts (1963) | 1942-2013 | models | assisted George Pal and Willis O'Brien before he became the model animation specialist for many live-action adventure films |
| Joop Geesink | 1913-1984 | The Netherlands | Loeki de Leeuw (1972-2004) | 1942-1984 | puppets | started as set designer, made many stop motion commercials and created Loekie de Leeuw as interstitial program between Dutch TV commercials |
| Walerian Borowczyk | 1923-2006 | Poland, France | Renaissance (1963) | 1946-1988 | objects | multi award-winning and influential surrealistic stop motion animator |
| Jiří Trnka | 1912-1969 | Czechoslovakia | The Czech Year (1947) | 1947-1965 | puppets | multi award-winning puppet animator |
| Břetislav Pojar | 1923-2012 | Czechoslovakia, Canada | To See or Not to See (1969) | 1949-2011 | puppets | multi award-winning puppet animator, started animating for Jiří Trnka, later made shorts for National Film Board of Canada |
| Ivo Caprino | 1925-2010 | Norway | Flåklypa Grand Prix (1975) | 1949-1975 | puppets | went on to create attractions for a theme park after his most successful film |
| Tadahito Mochinaga | 1919-1999 | Japan | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special) (1964) | 1950-1979 | puppets | created popular "Animagic" productions for Rankin/Bass from 1960-1967 |
| Art Clokey | 1921-2010 | United States | The Gumby Show (1957) | 1955-2010 | clay | |
| Jan Lenica | 1928-2001 | Poland, France, Germany | Ubu et la grande gidouille (1964) | 1957-2001 | cut-outs | graphic artist and animation professor, collaborated with Walerian Borowczyk |
| Bill Justice | 1914-2011 | United States | Noah's Ark (1959) | 1959 | puppets | animation director for Disney, responsible for Disney's first stop motion film (nominated for Academy Award) |
| Otmar Gutmann | 1937-1993 | Switzerland, Germany | Pingu (1990) | 1986-1993 | clay | German animator, creator of Pingu |
| Jim Danforth | 1940 | United States | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) | 1959-1993 | models | worked for Art Clokey, George Pal, Ray Harryhausen and others |
| Jean-Michel Kibushi Ndjate Wooto | 1957 | Republic of the Congo | Muana Mboka (1999) | 1957–present | objects | pioneer of African animation |
| Jan Švankmajer | 1934 | Czechoslovakia | Meat Love (1989) | 1964–present | objects | influential surrealistic stop motion animator working with various materials and objects |
| Kihachirō Kawamoto | 1925-2010 | Japan | Shisha no sho (The Book of the Dead) (2005) | 1968-2005 | puppets | puppet designer and animator, independent director, trained under Tadahito Mochinaga and Jiří Trnka |
| Jackie Cockle | 1950 | UK | Timmy Time (2009-2012) | 1976–present | animator, creator of Timmy Time, creative producer for Bob the Builder | |
| Mike Jittlov | 1948 | United States | The Wizard of Speed and Time (1979, 1989) | 1977–present | mixed | independent special effects animator, created short stop motion films for Disney |
| Phil Tippett | 1951 | United States | The Empire Strikes Back (1982) | 1977–present | models | developer of go motion, creature animator for the original Star Wars trilogy |
| Peter Lord | 1953 | UK | Morph (character) (1977–present) | 1977–present | clay | co-founder of Aardman Animation |
| David Sproxton | 1954 | UK | Morph (character) (1977–present) | 1977–present | clay | co-founder of Aardman Animation |
| Jiří Barta | 1948 | Czechoslovakia | The Pied Piper (1986) | 1978–present | puppets | multi award-winning puppet animator, started at Jiří Trnka's studio |
| Brothers Quay | 1947 (twins) | United States | Street of Crocodiles (1986) | 1979–present | puppets | multi award-winning and influential stop motion animators |
| Richard Starzak | 1959 | UK | Rex the Runt (1991-2001) Shaun the Sheep (2007-present) | 1983-present | clay | |
| Tim Burton | 1958 | United States | Corpse Bride (2005) | 1982–present | puppets | director/producer occasionally working with stop motion |
| Dave Borthwick | 1947-2012 | UK | The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993) | 1984-1993 | mixed | co-founder of bolexbrothers, later directed CG animation |
| Nick Park | 1958 | UK | Wallace and Gromit (1989–present) | 1985–present | clay | creator of many popular clay animation films and series |
| Henry Selick | 1952 | United States | The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) | 1991–present | puppets | director of several popular animated features with puppets |
| PES | 1973 | United States | Fresh Guacamole (2012) | 2001–present | objects | Known for his “substituted objects” style; creator of the shortest film ever nominated for an Oscar, and most-viewed Oscar short in history |
| Adam Shaheen | 1964 | UK, Canada | Life's a Zoo (2008-2009) | 1992-2017 | founder of stop motion studio Cuppa Coffee Animation | |
| Adam Jones | 1965 | United States | Sober (1992) | 1992–present | puppets | guitarist for Tool, responsible for their stop motion music videos |
| Corky Quakenbush | United States | MADtv (1995-1997) | 1995–present | |||
| Eric Fogel | 1969 | United States | Celebrity Deathmatch (1998-2002) | 1997–present | clay | animator director occasionally working with claymation |
| Q. Allan Brocka | 1972 | Guam, United States | Rick & Steve (1999, 2007-2009) | 1999–present | puppets | |
| Suzie Templeton | 1967 | UK | Peter and the Wolf (2006) | 2000–present | won Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2008 | |
| Jim Jinkins | 1953 | United States | JoJo's Circus (2003-2007) | 2003–present | puppets | animation director (best known for Doug ), occasionally working with stop motion |
| Shubhavi Arya | 1998 | India | Adventures of Malia (2015) | 2015–present | cutout | multi award winning animation director, aged 16 when she completed her first award-winning animation |
| Katherine Taylor | 2000 | United States | The Peace of Wild Things (2022) | 2019-present | puppets, paper cutouts, fabrication, clay | Fine Artist with focus in Animation and Textiles |
| Eric Leiser | 1982 | United States | Imagination_(film) (2007) | 2007-present | puppets | animation director and animator (best known for Imagination (2007) |
