Create a concept for your film and a storyboard for how the specific shots will be executed. Storyboarding sequences you will film in advance helps ensure continuity. Play the shots to the audience, so that they will be "eye-level" with the characters rather than looking down on them from above.
Artists generally create clay characters by sculpting clay around an armature, a wire skeleton constructed to holds the clay together that allows the characters to have moving body parts. You can purchase armatures premade or craft one with wire, including wire from hangers. Make the figures large so they will register to the audience.
Design the characters with an eye toward frequent movement; a top-heavy character will fall over, and long limbs will droop without having wires inside. Use toothpicks or needle tools to make holes in the clay figures. Use a dull knife to make notches in the clay. To create hair, use a pasta maker for creating clay strings.
Because of the need for constant lighting and object placement, choose a workspace that remains undisturbed for long periods. Avoid using a wood or pained surface to stage your production because the clay might stick to them. Instead, use a plastic board if you need to move the "set" or a plastic tale for improved stability. Secure objects and set pieces to the surface with glue, screws or nails.
Careful lighting is vital to control shadows. Clear the background of darkness and add backlight. You can rely on a series of lamps, but place them far enough away from the clay figures to avoid a meltdown.
Choose a wide-angle lens so the audience won`t feel too distant from the clay subjects. Select a lens with a short focal length (a prime focal length of 16, 22 or 10 mm) so more of the foreground and background are in focus. Place your camera on a locked tripod and hold the tripod down with sandbags on the legs. Handle the clay figures carefully to avoid smudging them during filming.
Many filmmakers now make hybrids of computer animation and claymation, using technical advances to create more realistic mouth movements.
Film your characters against solid green or blue backgrounds. Remove these backgrounds in post-production and replace them with another background, a process called chroma-keying. You can use wires to position characters and remove the wires later as well. In post-production, edit the images together to make sure movement is seamless. After chroma-keying and editing the footage, add music or sound synced with the images. Add any titles and graphics.