Claymation is a painstaking art form that produces some fantastic works. It’s an art style that gave us films like Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the Wallace and Gromit films. And the best thing of all is that you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to create one.
As long as you have the time, patience, skill, and will, you can tell a great story using Claymation, and that’s exactly what the creators in this article have done. All of the videos are independent Claymation creations based around surfing. Many of them don’t have a lot of views, likes, or subscribers, so if you do check them out, be sure to show them some love!
Jungle Woogie Surf
- Creator: Woogie Production
- Length: 33 Seconds
A wonderfully bizarre creation that takes viewers through a surreal day at the beach, one that involves snakes, sharks, and tube riding before culminating with a wipeout and a beaming smile from the happy surfer.
There’s a lot of movement and color in this piece, and it makes for a fun and engrossing story, albeit one that spans just 33 seconds or so.
If you’re new to Claymation, remember that each scene needs to be painstakingly created and snapped before moving on to the next image. Many pictures and many hours of work are involved in every second of action, and if you keep that in mind when watching the film, you’ll realize just how impressive those barreling waves are.
Surfer Toys Attack Teahupoo
- Creator: Xtreme Video
- Length: 2 Minutes 36 Seconds
This is the longest video on this list and it’s also the one that has received the most attention, with nearly 350,000 views at the time of writing.
It’s a stop motion piece that uses an outdoor setting and plastic/LEGO characters. As with the video above, there is a lot of movement here, but the creators have used different materials, seemingly preferring a mix of cotton and vinyl to create the tumbling and breaking waves.
The first three-quarters of the video are fast-paced panning shots, depicting surfers using wide shots to showcase the realistic crashing waves. The final part of the video takes you closer to the action, providing a third-person view.
Cool Surfing Claymation (Brian Prioletti)
- Creator: Animations Elmhurst
- Length: 25 Seconds
Surfing penguins, swaying trees, bobbing clouds, and a 2D side-scrolling perspective reminiscent of classic platform games—that’s “Cool Surfing” by Brian Prioletti.
At the time of writing, there are just 3 views on this video and we’re pretty sure that 2 of them are us. It’s a travesty, and this fun little video deserves way more attention.
Surf Claymation Film
- Creator: Sprague199
- Length: 50 Seconds
A 50-second video that depicts a surfer paddling and riding breaking waves against a setting sun. A young woman (credited as “chick”) watches on in admiration and then horror as the surfer encounters a shark and seemingly falls head-first into its gaping mouth. But when she looks again, the surfer has wrestled control of the shark and is riding it.
If you have ever dreamed of swapping your shortboard for a shark and riding those waves on the back of a great white, this is the video for you!
This cool Claymation was made by Connor Sprauge and Henry Harte and was first published back in 2014. The description states that it was made as part of a school project.
Epic Surfing Stop Motion
- Creator: Blockbuster Inc.
- Length: 1 minute 24 Seconds
A LEGO-based stop motion that premiered in August 2020 and features a surfer who stops for a burger and then goes for a surf over waves made of tissue paper. The surfer encounters a shark and is caught in a violent attack—it’s okay though, as we’re spared the graphic violence.
Epic Surfing Stop Motion is a creative little project credited to Zek W and published on a channel that has a couple of other stop motion videos.
Surfing Stop Motion
- Creator: Freddy23F
- Length: 1 minute 39 Seconds
Surfing Stop Motion begins with a depiction of an old VW van struggling to start. Once it gets going, Going up the Country by Canned Heat kicks in and the surfer stops for a brief “surfing chat” with a friend. A surfing montage follows and then the credits roll.
Surfing Claymation
- Creator: Dextar Muskens
- Length: 12 Seconds
- Video Link: Click Here
A fun little video that proves you don’t need a lot of equipment to make Claymation. It spans just 12 seconds of runtime and utilizes a single clay surfer and the edges of a rug.
Claymation Surfer
- Creator: SmesClaymation
- Length: 10 Seconds
A simple and sound-less video of a surfer who wipes out and then scrambles back on his board. It was first published in 2021.
More Information
Unfortunately, there are not nearly as many Claymation surfing films on YouTube as there should be. It’s a trend that never was and may never be, one that has somehow become lost in the maelstrom and overlooked in favor of tacky trends like “3 AM Challenges”, fake pranks, and drama videos.
But every time you watch and like one of these videos, you’re supporting the creators who devote hours to making them a reality, so start watching, liking, and sharing!
If you want to learn more about the process of creating surfing Claymation videos, check out this interesting video from Cliff Creativity. He is a gifted YouTuber who presents a fun little Claymation video of a surfer riding waves in a glass, and then shows a quick montage of how it was made.
It likely took many hours to create, film, and edit, but it takes just 59 seconds to watch!
