When we came across 3D animators,Eliott Belrose and Baptiste Galtier’s, animation test on Instagram recently, we were surprised to find out it was their first foray into stop motion. “It is our first test and experience ever in stop motion, so we were really excited,” Baptiste told us when we asked. The charismatic glimpse of a cute little plasticine rat climbing out of a teacup that looks sketched in chalk moves with subtle, nuanced movements usually seen from someone more well-versed in the medium.

The clip’s caption reads, “Playing around with plasticine last week. I did this quick rough 2d animation with Procreate then we played and animated with clay with @princess_ellie_doll. Its a simple crash test to understand the workflow of a stop motion project.”

Curious as to how he achieved the smooth movements and stylized look here, we asked Galtier about his process. “For this animation, we used Newplast Plasticine, very few tools, and everything was done by hand,” he replied. “We tried a technique that we call, “ronde bosse” in French. It is basically an in-between of 2d and 3d, not too flat, but not in full volume.” This encrusted enamel technique that dates back to the 14th century France explains the unique look and feel of the clip.

“We did this project in order to learn and discover the whole stop motion process and workflow,” he went on. “Our next goal is to create a whole short movie based on the story of this little character.”

We’re looking forward to it!