You can get Armature wires off of the Animate Clay store, I think, but the only art store I go to is Michaels, so I can't help you there.

Also, I think this is in the wrong section.

Bud, there are multiple places to look for the armature wire. The animate clay store has full kits that are pretty intricate and professional Armature Kits. Or you could just look on ebay for your desired gauge of wire. It all depends how much you want to pay and for what level of puppet control you require. One of the most versatile kit that the store offers for a novice animator is the Stop-Mo-Tec armature kit. at just under $100 it has some cool features like independent limbs. what i mean is when the wire in an arm or leg etc breaks (and it will after hours of bending back and forth) you just loosen the joint with an allen key and pull it off. Then just attach the new limb by tightening the nut and smooth the joint and your good to go!

btw, this topic is more suited for the 'tricks of the trade' section :p

any q's and I'd be happy to, along with most other people on this forum, answer to the best of my knowledge. A great reference for any stop mo animator is Marc Spess' book 'secrets of clay animation revealed 3!' it's over 200 pages packed full of info from creating your puppets, animating them, set building and even editing work post shooting. It really is a fantastic book!

Jarrad