3D Printed Bears Come Off the Stairs and Dance in DBLG’s Latest Stop-Motion Animation

December 4, 2014 by Sarah Goehrke 3D Design 3D Printing

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DBLG’s original 3D models of Bears On Stairs

I’ve been enthralled with stop-motion animation since I saw my first Wallace and Gromit cartoon in the early ’90s. More recently, the 3D printing world has also fallen in love with stop-motion animation. We’ve taken a look at 3D printed stop-motion animation before, and it just keeps getting better.

Back in April, London-based design firm DBLG premiered Bears On Stairs, their stop-motion celebration of 3D printing and movement. The minute-long video utilized about 50 3D printed figures of bears and stairs (and, importantly, bears on stairs) to create a smooth animation. The printing process took them about four weeks.

And now? They’re back. Both DBLG and their 3D printed bears are back, and this time the bears are coming off the stairs.

The bears are coming off the stairs

“To kick off the festive season and to get you in the party mood,” said DBLG, “here’s a little treat we created on our 3D printer! Enjoy!”

For Bears Off Stairs, the creatures are a bit less grizzly — they’re getting their groove on. The bears are off their quadruped stance and standing on their hind legs to get into the party spirit. Working with the animators at Blue Zoo, DBLG brings the bears.

Bears: ready to dance

Each of the bears had to be individually 3D printed, shot in place, and then replaced with a similarly posed bear to give the illusion of movement between quick takes. No word from DBLG how many bears were created for Bears Off Stairs, but there is a decent amount of variety in the little dance moves.

I admit I’m especially fond of these bears because their dance moves remind me of a cross between a bear scratching its back against a tree and my own weird dance moves. While I often say that I can’t dance, the same moves (plus the back scratch move) look pretty rad when performed not just by bears, but by 3D printed bears captured in stop-motion… it’s almost the ever-popular “Dishwasher” move, just with a little less wrist motion and a bit more full-body bounce.

The bears are pretty impressive, and if this doesn’t get you ready to shake your own tail, I’m not sure what will. Let us know what you think about 3D printed figures in stop-motion animation over at the Bears Off Stairs forum thread at 3DPB.com. Check out Bears Off Stairs: