Chroma Clay
The Professional’s Choice for Claymation and Sculpture
Chroma Clay is a wax-based modelling clay specifically formulated for the high-stakes world of stop motion animation. Whether you are a professional studio working on a feature-length production or an independent artist mastering the art of Claymation, our clay provides the structural integrity, pigment density, and frame-by-frame reliability you need to bring your characters to life.
Why Choose Chroma Clay for Stop Motion?
Unlike standard hobbyist clays, Chroma Clay was developed as a modern, high-performance successor to discontinued traditional brands like Newplast. It is designed to solve the common frustrations of animators:
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Exceptional Frame Stability: Our formula is made to hold hold a pose. It won't sag or droop under LED studio lighting, ensuring your character’s holds its position perfectly between every click of the camera.
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Professional Wax-Based Formula: Chroma Clay remains permanently pliable. It never permentally hardens, allowing you to refine your sculpture over days, weeks, or months.
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Fully Meltable & Castable: A game-changer for puppet fabrication. All 23 colours can be melted and poured into silicone moulds for replacement animation (mouth shapes, hands etc..) or to mix custom, repeatable tones.
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Vibrant Pigments: We use high-density pigments that stay clean on your hands and tools, ensuring sharp transitions between colours on your puppets.
Made for Every Level of Production
Animation Studios
Optimise your workflow with our 130g bars, which are designed for easy portioning and melting. Chroma Clay is the trusted Newplast alternative, offering a refined finish which looks great in 4K.
Professional Sculptors & Model Makers
Because it is a non-setting modelling material, it is the ideal medium for fine artists, sculptors and animators alike. It's great for intricate character maquettes as it holds fine detail, from fingerprints to fabric textures superbly.
Education & Workshops
Safe, reusable, and easy to manipulate, Chroma Clay is the perfect tool for teaching the fundamentals of animation and 3D design in schools and universities across the UK.
Pairs well with
Peace of Mind 30 day return policy
Knowledgeable friendly staff
Express Shipping available
PayPal & Cards accepted
Chroma Clay
If you have any questions, you are always welcome to contact us. We'll get back to you as soon as possible, within 24 hours on weekdays.
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Chroma Clay FAQs
Is Chroma Clay the same as Newplast?
Following the closure of the Newplast Factory, Animators have been looking for an alternative.
Newplast was a traditional Plasticine, which under went a chemical reaction during its manufacture. This reaction fixed the properties of Newplast meaning that although it would soften when worked, it couldn't be melted.
Chroma Clay offers the best qualities of Newplast, but is wax based. This means it shares a very similar aesthetic but because the manufacturing process is different and doesn't require a chemical reaction, Chroma Clay retains the ability to be melted.
The way that Newplast was manufactured would often lead to inconsistencies, colours would often vary wildly from one batch to the next and some batches would be much drier and harder than others. Aardman had to rework the Newpast that they used, adjusting the colour and adding additional oil to make it just right for their productions.
Chroma Clay was developed as a modern replacement for Newplast, whilst addressing the problems. It offers a similar firmness and feel but with meltability for casting and a more consistent pigment distribution across batches.
How do I soften Chroma Clay for animation?
Chroma Clay starts as a firm modelling material. By simply handling the clay, the warmth of your hands will quickly bring it to a buttery, pliable consistency.
The temperature of the area that you are working in will also affect the firmness of the clay. In cold conditions, Chroma Clay will become hard quickly and is much more difficult to soften. In hot conditions, it may become too soft. Normal room temperature will yield the best results.
Can I mix the colours?
Yes! Because Chroma Clay is wax-based and meltable, you can blend colours by hand or melt them together to create infinite custom shades for your production.
Does Chroma Clay dry out or shrink over time?
No. As a non-drying, non-setting modelling material, Chroma Clay will never harden, crack, or shrink, regardless of how long it is left on your Animation Stage. This is a critical feature for professional stop motion productions that may take months or even years to complete. You can leave your characters on-set overnight and return to find them in the exact same condition, ready for the next frame. When you’re finished, the clay can be reclaimed, melted, and reused for your next project, making it a sustainable and cost-effective studio staple.
Can Chroma Clay be used with a wire or ball-and-socket armature?
Yes, Chroma Clay was specifically formulated for Stop Motion Animation. It works well with both wire and professional ball-and-socket armatures. Its wax-based formula provides great adhesion to your armature, minimising slipping or sliding during the frame-by-frame animation process.