Clay animation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each
animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"鈥攎ade of
a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay. The portmanteau term "Claymation"
is a registered trademark in the United States, registered by Will
Vinton in 1978 to describe his clay animated films. While the word is
not considered a genericized trademark, it has become a trademark which
is often used generically in the US, and is the predominent term in the
UK, to refer to any animation using plasticene or similar substance.
