The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation


Frank Thomas - 1981
    The authors, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, worked with Walt Disney himself as well as other leading figures in a half-century of Disney films. They personally animated leading characters in most of the famous films and have decades of close association with the others who helped perfect this extremely difficult and time-consuming art form. Not to be mistaken for just a "how-to-do-it," this voluminously illustrated volume (like the classic Disney films themselves) is intended for everyone to enjoy.Besides relating the painstaking trial-and-error development of Disney's character animation technology, this book irresistibly charms us with almost an overabundance of the original historic drawings used in creating some of the best-loved characters in American culture: Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Snow White and Bambi (among many, many others) as well as early sketches used in developing memorable sequences from classic features such as Fantasia and Pinocchio. With the full cooperation of Walt Disney Productions and free access to the studio's priceless archives, the authors took unparalleled advantage of their intimate long-term experience with animated films to choose the precise drawings to illustrate their points from among hundreds of thousands of pieces of artwork carefully stored away.The book answers everybody's question about how the amazingly lifelike effects of Disney character animation were achieved, including charming stories of the ways that many favorite animated figures got their unique personalities. From the perspective of two men who had an important role in shaping the art of animation, and within the context of the history of animation and the growth of the Disney studio, this is the definitive volume on the work and achievement of one of America's best-known and most widely loved cultural institutions. Nostalgia and film buffs, students of popular culture, and that very broad audience who warmly responds to the Disney "illusion of life" will find this book compelling reading (and looking!).Searching for that perfect gift for the animation fan in your life? Explore more behind-the-scenes stories from Disney Editions:The Art of Mulan: A Disney Editions ClassicWalt Disney's Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub IwerksOne Day at Disney: Meet the People Who Make the Magic Across the GlobeThe Walt Disney Studios: A Lot to RememberFrom All of Us to All of You: The Disney Christmas CardInk & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney's AnimationOswald the Lucky Rabbit: The Search for the Lost Disney Cartoons, Revised Special EditionDisney Villains: Delightfully Evil - The Creation, The Inspiration, The FascinationThe Art and Flair of Mary Blair: An Appreciation, Updated Edition

The Mad Art of Caricature!: A Serious Guide to Drawing Funny Faces


Tom Richmond - 2011
    He examines what really makes a caricature successful, what to look for in a face, and how to draw it. Readers also learn how to apply this skill, whether it's drawing live, theme-park-style caricatures, or creating caricature for publication work. Loaded with everything from basic theories and drawing instruction to professional tips and tricks, this book contains something for novices and experts alike. The Mad Art of Caricature! is the most comprehensive and complete how-to guide on the art of caricature ever published. With over 500 illustrations, it's the definitive guide to the art of caricature.

Unnatural Talent: Creating, Printing and Selling Your Comic in the Digital Age


Jason Brubaker - 2013
    While the publishing industry struggles to adapt to the rapidly changing digital world, independent artists now have the ability to build a successful and lucrative brand completely on their own with a little hard work and some Internet savvy. Now there's nothing stopping you from getting your book in front of thousands or even millions of people. Suddenly you can't blame anyone for not giving you a chance. You can only blame yourself for not trying. So roll up your sleeves, sharpen your pencils and fire up your Internet because we are about to make and sell comics! Jason Brubaker's graphic novel reMIND raised over $125,000 in pre-order sales on Kickstarter, won the Xeric Award and made ALA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens List. This book is a collection of his thoughts, strategies and practical lessons developed during his experience writing, drawing and self-publishing reMIND.

Creating 3-D Animation


Peter Lord - 1998
    From Aardman Studios in Bristol. England, winners of three Academy Awards, comes the most thorough book on the subject, and the first to include complete instructions for making a 3-D animated film.Aardman is one of the foremost 3-D animation studios in the world, acclaimed for its short films, TV series and commercials. The studio has created a host of well-known characters, the most famous being Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit. But the history of 3-D animation spans Hollywood triumphs as the 1933 King Kong, 1991's Terminator II, and 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas, and includes such creatures as the California Raisins.The main focus of this exciting book is a guide to the processes of 3-D animation, culminating in a practical, fully illustrated step-by-step description of how to create effective characters and sets, and make an entire film. There is no other book that provides this same information in such detail, making it possible for everyone to create their own 3-D animated classic.

Walt Disney's Fantasia


John Culhane - 1983
    Noted film historian John Culhane tells the story behind the creation of Fantasia, using never-before-published material and a wealth of memorable illustrations, including actual frames from the classic film.

The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms


Christopher Finch - 1973
    0-8109-4964-4$60.00 / Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age


Michael Barrier - 1999
    Coyote, Donald Duck, Tom and Jerry, and many other cartoon favorites. Beginning with black-and-white silent cartoons, Barrier offers an insightful account, taking us inside early New York studios and such Hollywood giants as Disney, Warner Bros., and MGM. Barrier excels at illuminating the creative side of animation--revealing how stories are put together, how animators develop a character, how technical innovations enhance the realism of cartoons. Here too are colorful portraits of the giants of the field, from Walt and Roy Disney and their animators, to Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. Based on hundreds of interviews with veteran animators, Hollywood Cartoons gives us the definitive inside look at this colorful era and at the creative process behind these marvelous cartoons.

Animation Now!


Julius Wiedemann - 2004
    We've rounded up about 80 of the world's most prominent artists/studios and arranged them from A to Z, including examples and descriptions of their work as well as biographies, filmographies, bibliographies, lists of awards received, and contact information. Profiles of the world's best animation schools are also provided.

The Anime Machine: A Media Theory of Animation


Thomas Lamarre - 2009
    Thomas Lamarre contends that the history, techniques, and complex visual language of animation, particularly Japanese animation, demands serious and sustained engagement, and in The Anime Machine he lays the foundation for a new critical theory for reading Japanese animation, showing how anime fundamentally differs from other visual media.The Anime Machine defines the visual characteristics of anime and the meanings generated by those specifically "animetic" effects-the multiplanar image, the distributive field of vision, exploded projection, modulation, and other techniques of character animation-through close analysis of major films and television series, studios, animators, and directors, as well as Japanese theories of animation. Lamarre first addresses the technology of anime: the cells on which the images are drawn, the animation stand at which the animator works, the layers of drawings in a frame, the techniques of drawing and blurring lines, how characters are made to move. He then examines foundational works of anime, including the films and television series of Miyazaki Hayao and Anno Hideaki, the multimedia art of Murakami Takashi, and CLAMP's manga and anime adaptations, to illuminate the profound connections between animators, characters, spectators, and technology.Working at the intersection of the philosophy of technology and the history of thought, Lamarre explores how anime and its related media entail material orientations and demonstrates concretely how the "animetic machine" encourages a specific approach to thinking about technology and opens new ways for understanding our place in the technologized world around us.

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing Comics: How to Create and Sell Comic Books, Manga, and Webcomics


Comfort Love - 2015
    With advances in technology, the increased connectivity of social media, and the ever-increasing popularity of the comics medium, successful DIY comics publishing is within your reach. With The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing Comics, creators/instructors Comfort Love and Adam Withers provide a step-by-step breakdown of the comics-making process, perfect for any aspiring comics creator. This unprecedented, in-depth coverage gives you expert analysis on each step—writing, drawing, coloring, lettering, publishing, and marketing. Along the way, luminaries in the fields of comics, manga, and webcomics—like Mark Waid, Adam Warren, Scott Kurtz, and Jill Thompson—lend a hand, providing “Pro Tips” on essential topics for achieving your comics-making dreams. With the insights and expertise contained within these pages, you’ll have everything you need and no excuses left: It’s time to make your comics!

Zentangle 4: 40 more tangles


Suzanne McNeill - 2011
    It's all fun so get inspired and tangle something! Learn to color with chalks, watercolors, pencils and pens; add bling with glitter, jewels, and sparkly inks.

The Art of Pixar


Amid Amidi - 2011
    From classics such as Toy Story and A Bug's Life to recent masterpieces such as Up, Toy Story 3, and Cars 2, this comprehensive collection offers a behind-the-scenes tour of every Pixar film to date. Featuring a foreword by Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, the complete color scripts for every film published in full for the first time as well as stunning visual development art, The Art of Pixar is a treasure trove of rare artwork and an essential addition to the library of animation fans and Pixar enthusiasts.

Avatar The Last Airbender: The Art of the Animated Series


Michael Dante DiMartino - 2010
    Join series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino for an unprecendented behind-the-scenes look at hundres of pieces of concept, design, and production art--most of which Nickelodeon has never before released to the public--as they take you on a guided tour through the development of this smash-hit television series. Learn how Avatar: The Last Airbender took shape, from the very first sketch to the series finale, and beyond!

Timing for Animation


John Halas - 1981
    This reissue includes a new foreword by John Lasseter, executive vice president of Pixar Animation Studios and director of 'Toy Story', 'Toy Story 2', 'A Bug's Life' and 'Monsters Inc.' He sets the wealth of information in this classic text in context with today's world of computer animation, showing how this is a must-have text if you want to succeed as a traditional drawn, or computer animator.Learn all the tips and tricks of the trade from the professionals. How should the drawings be arranged in relation to each other? How many are needed? How much space should be left between one group of drawings and the next? How long should each drawing, or group of drawings, remain on the screen to give the maximum dramatic effect? The art of timing is vital.Highly illustrated throughout, points made in the text are demonstrated with the help of numerous superb drawn examples. 'Timing for Animation' not only offers invaluable help to those who are learning the basis of animation techniques, but is also of great interest to anyone currently working in the field and is a vital source of reference for every animation studio.John Halas, known as the 'father of animation' and formerly of Halas and Batchelor Animation unit, produced over 2000 animations, including the legendary 'Animal Farm' and the award winning 'Dilemma'. He was also the founder and president of the ASIFA and former Chairman of the British Federation of Film Societies.Harold Whitaker is a professional animator and teacher. Many of his former students are now among some of the most outstanding animation artists of today.

The Art of Spirited Away


Hayao Miyazaki - 2001
    Features commentary, color stills, sketches, storyboards, and illustrations used to envision the rich fantasy world of the film. Also includes a complete English-language script.