Worked Example — Stop-Motion / Claymation (style-driven)

Original worked example by jnMetaCode (MIT). Applies the 5-stage structure to handmade stop-motion / claymation — a style where the imperfections are the aesthetic. Teaches the most important lesson in this library: know when to BREAK a rule. Here we deliberately drop the breath-float (Rule 3) — stop-motion is stepped and locked-off, a handheld sway would destroy the look.

Concept: a small clay creature tiptoes across a handmade set. Swap the character and set, keep the 12fps stepped discipline.

Further reading (inspiration, not copied — all rewritten in our structure): claymation / stop-motion patterns in songguoxs/awesome-video-prompts and zhangchenchen/awesome_sora2_prompt (MIT).

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Variables you need to define first

Variable	This example	Swap for…
`{{character}}`	a round-bellied clay creature	a felt fox / a wire-and-clay robot
`{{set}}`	a miniature mossy forest floor	a tiny kitchen / a cardboard city
`{{action}}`	tiptoes across, then freezes, startled	bakes a lopsided cake / chases a bug
`{{material}}`	matte plasticine with visible fingerprints	wool felt / painted clay over wire
`{{lighting}}`	warm practical desk lamp, soft shadow	cool window light / tiny string lights

The complete prompt (copy-paste ready)

1 · Core theme

handmade claymation | 12fps stepped stop-motion | tactile fingerprint texture | warm practical lighting | charming imperfection, no smooth CG 3D, no motion blur

2 · Character & scene

Character: {{character}}, made of {{material}}. The imperfections are the style, not flaws to hide: visible thumbprints and tool marks in the {{material}}, faint seams where parts join, tiny surface lumps, a subtle wobble and "boil" between frames. Expressive, simple, handmade.

Set: {{set}} — a real miniature, built by hand: visible craft, a bit of glue sheen, slightly uneven scenery, dust on the surfaces. A tabletop diorama, not a render.

3 · Atmosphere & quality

Shot like a real stop-motion set: macro-leaning lens over a tabletop diorama, shallow depth of field, {{lighting}} (practical lamps, soft falloff). 12fps stepped animation — movement advances in small discrete steps with a faint frame-to-frame "boil," exactly like hand-posed animation. Warm, slightly imperfect exposure.

4 · Camera rules

Locked-off or stepped moves only — deliberately NO breath-float. This is the rule break: stop-motion cameras are on rigs, not handheld. Use a static lock-off, or a slow incremental dolly/pan that itself steps frame by frame. A smooth breathing handheld float here reads as CG and kills the handmade illusion.

Sound: No score (or a simple toy-like motif if you must). Production / foley audio — soft fabric/clay shuffles, tiny footsteps, a little squeak, the muffled room tone of a quiet workshop.

5 · Storyboard (3 beats, ~8–10s)

0–3s · Enter (stepped)
Action: {{character}} {{action}} — movement advances in small 12fps
        steps, surface boiling faintly.
Camera: Locked-off wide of the {{set}}, {{lighting}} from one side.
Texture: Thumbprints and seams catch the lamp light.

3–6s · Beat (the little moment)
Action: A pause, a simple expressive reaction — a blink (eyelids posed
        shut then open over 2 steps), a head tilt.
Camera: Slow stepped push-in (no smooth move).
Sound:  Tiny foley — a shuffle, a squeak.

6–10s · Settle (restrained)
Action: {{character}} settles / completes the small action.
Camera: Hold, locked-off.
Close:  No big finale, no sparkle, no smooth swoop. Just the creature
        still, the set quiet, one last faint frame-boil.

Negative prompt (Seedance / Kling — paste into the dedicated field)

blurry, low resolution, watermark, text overlay, subtitles, logo, smooth CG 3D render, Pixar-style smooth animation, motion blur, fluid 60fps motion, photorealistic skin, glossy plastic perfection, perfectly clean flawless surfaces, handheld camera shake, breathing camera float, melting/morphing geometry, oversaturated colors, video-game look, frame flicker, ghosting, jarring hard cuts

Why it's built this way

Break the breathing rule on purpose (Rule 3 exception). Stop-motion lives on a locked rig and stepped frames. The breath-float that anchors every other template here would betray the handmade look — so we drop it and negate "handheld camera shake / breathing camera float" explicitly. The rules serve the genre, not the reverse.
Imperfection IS the aesthetic (Rule 5, taken further). Thumbprints, seams, surface lumps, the frame-to-frame "boil." In other genres flaws add realism; here they ARE the medium. Smooth = wrong.
"12fps stepped" is the load-bearing anchor (Rule 2 analogue). Just as "ARRI + Panavision" anchors live-action, "12fps stepped stop-motion, frame boil" anchors the model to real claymation, not smooth CG.
Restrained close (Rule 6). No sparkle finale, no swoop. The creature going still keeps the handmade charm intact.

Usage: generate the 0–3s enter beat first to confirm the 12fps stepped motion and the clay texture read correctly — if it comes out smooth/CG, strengthen "12fps stepped, frame boil, no motion blur" and re-roll. Keep moves locked-off.

Model: Kling and Seedance 2.0 handle stylized stepped motion well; Veo 3 can do it but watch for it defaulting to smooth interpolation — lean hard on the negative field ("smooth CG, motion blur, 60fps"). Pika is also strong for stylized short-form animation.