Aardman Animations, the makers of the popular stop-motion films Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep may have to stop production of their films. The maker only had one supplier for their special modeling clay, and that has been closed since this year.
When supplier Newclay Products announced in March that it was closing the factory, Aardman Animations decided to take immediate action and buy up all remaining stock of clay – a specific type that is not made anywhere else – so that they could continue their work for a while. According to TheTelegraph the stock would have been just enough to make a new one Wallace and Gromitto make a film. If the animators want to make more films in the future, they will really have to look for a different type of clay.
Newclay Products was run from a factory in the British town of Newtown Abbot, by husband and wife team Paul and Valerie Dearing. The couple had attempted to sell their business before retirement but were unable to receive any viable offers, forcing them to close their factory. The couple’s clay, a nylon-reinforced, air-drying clay, was ideal for animators because it doesn’t require baking or glazing. This made the clay perfect for creating characters that require frequent customization.
It’s a great legacy to be a part of
“It has always given us both enormous satisfaction that Aardman used our product. They thought it was the best material of its kind in the world,” Paul Dearing said in a response. “It’s an amazing legacy to be a part of, to look back and think that all those beautiful characters they created were made with our clay and that our company was such an important part of the artistic process. We are very proud of it, although we did not always get the credit for it because as a supplier we were so behind the scenes.”
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