Animate a doll or figure

What can I use instead of modeling clay or pipe cleaners if those materials are hard to find?

If you don't have modeling clay, use playdough, air-dry clay, or crumpled foil wrapped in tape for the rolled body, and replace pipe cleaners with bendable straws, floral wire, or twisted aluminum foil for the arms and legs.

My puppet keeps falling over or the animation looks jumpy—what should I check or fix?

Make sure the craft stick or toothpick support peg is taped firmly to the cardboard base, widen the base or add extra clay for balance, keep the phone on a stable surface as instructed, and move the puppet only tiny amounts between photos to prevent jumpy frames.

How can I adapt this activity for younger children or for older kids who want more challenge?

For younger children, pre-roll the clay body and let them press beads and decorate while an adult inserts pipe cleaners and tapes the peg, and for older kids add jointed wire limbs, more detailed backgrounds, and use a stop-motion app to adjust frame rate and onion-skinning for smoother animation.

What are some ways to extend or personalize our puppet animation beyond the basic steps?

Extend the story by decorating the cardboard or shoebox lid with painted scenery, make additional puppets with different clay bodies and pipe-cleaner limbs, create paper or found-item props, and record voice lines or sound effects to add when you play the stop-motion before sharing on DIY.org.