It is known for films and television series made using stop motion and clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring its plasticine characters from Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep, and Morph.

After some experimental computer-animated short films during the late 1990s, beginning with Owzat (1997), Aardman entered the computer animation market with Flushed Away (2006).

[5] Aardman was founded in 1972 as a low-budget project by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, who wanted to realise their dream of producing an animated motion picture.

Aardman also created the title sequence for The Great Egg Race[8] and supplied animation for the multiple award-winning music video of Peter Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer".

Lord and Sproxton began hiring more animators at this point; three of the newcomers made their directorial debut at Aardman with the Lip Synch series.

[19] Referring to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, Park was quoted as saying, "Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal.

"[20][21][22] On 1 October 2006, right before the release of Flushed Away, The New York Times reported that due to creative differences, DreamWorks Animation and Aardman had decided to end their contract.

[27] In April 2007, Aardman signed[28] and in 2010 renewed[29] a three-year deal with Sony Pictures to finance, co-produce and distribute feature films.

For example, The Aardman Award at the UK's Animex Festival in Teesside provides story consultation to a promising young animator for their next film.

[33] From December 2008, Aardman also started posting various flash games on Newgrounds, the majority of which are based on Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.

[35] In the same year, the headquarters of the studio moved into a new building, designed by Alec French architects, in Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, although work needing large-scale sets is still carried out in sheds in Aztec West and Bedminster.

Backers of the project would receive a variety of rewards, including early access to the new animations and a small box of clay used in the production, depending on the individual's level of funding.

[41][42] From 29 June 2017 to 29 October 2017, an exhibition entitled "Wallace and Gromit and Friends" was shown at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne.

A report on this exhibition was shown on Australian ABC News Breakfast on Wednesday, 28 June, featuring an eight-minute interview with producers Lord and Sproxton.

On 9 November 2018, Aardman Animations announced that Lord and Sproxton would be transferring majority ownership of the company to its employees in order to keep the studio independent.

On 9 August 2021, it was announced that Gurinder Chadha was directing a musical claymation feature set in India, telling the story of an elephant dreaming about becoming a dancer.

[58] The Daily Telegraph initially reported that the studio may not be able to produce new films afterwards due to a lack of clay, but Aardman later released a statement clarifying that it would find a new supplier.

Emma Hardie was to take up the newly created role of Executive Commercial and Brand Director, and would be responsible for overseeing the financing, distribution, licensing, marketing, and planning of the studio's animated intellectual property.

Peter Lord was also stepping down from Aardman’s executive board to focus on a slate of individual projects as the Creative Director and would act as an ambassador for the company and British animation.

[61] On 8 March 2024 Aardman and the BBC announced a new collaboration called Things We Love, based on the studio's Creature Comforts films, set to air throughout 2024.

[63] On 22 September 2024, Cartoon Network announced on Twitter that they had recruited Aardman to work on an Over the Garden Wall special alongside series creator Patrick McHale to celebrate the miniseries' 10th anniversary, set for release on 3 November 2024.

Aardman's Steve Box directed the animated music video for the Spice Girls' final single as a five-piece, "Viva Forever".

Similarly, Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire, a BBC Bristol/Comic Relief production, was directed by Richard Goleszowski, creator of Rex the Runt.

Its sequel, Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe, was directed by Peter Peake, whose directorial credits for Aardman include Pib and Pog and Humdrum.