Introduction: Animation Camera Stand or Copy Stand on the Cheap!
When looking for a way to photograph my hand-drawn animation at home, I was forced to deal with the fact that:
1) Animation stands and copy stands are expensive.
2) I'm poor.
The DIY solution needed to be sturdy enough but cheap enough to do the job at home without much trouble, set-up, or take-down.
So I came up with this improvised solution that seems to work pretty well. Total cost, if you already own an animation pegbar and a point & shoot camera it costs less than $10!
You need:
1) Animation pegbar (if you're animating, if not, just get some white card stock to put on the floor.)
2) 2" C-Clamp
3) Masking tape
4) 5" or 6" Angle Brace
5) A point & shoot digital camera with a zoom lens (awesome if you have a remote shutter for it)
6) Nuts or washers.
7) A 1/4" x 1/2" coarse thread bolt that will screw into your camera.
Simply clamp the brace to a table. Then insert the bolt and attach the camera with nuts and washers to ensure it sits tightly, pointing down. Tape your animation pegbar to the floor, set up a lamp, adjust the position and zoom of the camera and you're good to go. If you have a remote shutter, even better, you don't have to risk moving the camera when you press the shutter manually.