It is not only the animation community who will mourn the passing of Ray Harryhausen, who died on the 7th of May at the age of 92, but the film world at large. A pioneer of the stop-motion special effect known as Dynamation, wherein animated creatures are blended into a live-action setting, his influence can truly be seen passed like a torch from one generation to the next. As both stars and studios paid their respects, (with Nick Park calling Harryhausen ''one of the true greats, if not the true great of stop motion animation'', John Landis heralding ''a true giant of the cinema'' and George Lucas simply stating that without him,''there would likely have been no Star Wars'') it is near-impossible to underestimate both his talent and his legacy. Indeed, you'd struggle to find a director who doesn't owe a debt to this most revered of visual effects creators . Perhaps best known for his work on Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Harryhausen made his name as an assistant animator for the 1949 film Mighty Joe Young, before crafting the main models for such films as The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (adapted from a short story by his friend Ray Bradbury), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and One Million Years B.C. From there he quickly became the master of stop-motion, his incredible effects breaking new ground and enthralling audiences the world over. Contrary to popular belief, his final film was not the 1981 classic Clash of the Titans but the fairy tale The Story of the Tortoise and the Hare, in which, alongside his usual animator duties, he took on the roles of director and co-producer. Filming began in 1952 and, with the help of young animators Seamus Walsh and Mark Caballero, was finally completed fifty years later. In 2010 he and his wife Diana donated his collection, estimated at around 50,000 models and memorabilia, to the National Media Museum in Bradford. No doubt there will shortly be a special exhibition to ensure that Harryhausen's work, and most importantly, his name, live on. From the myriad mythical monsters that Harryhausen has brought to the screen, below - and in chronological order- are ten of his most eye-catching and iconic. Click NEXT to continue...