Animation Books

25x23.5cm
Hardback
224 pages
350 illustrations in colour and black and white

Cracking Animation
The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation
by Peter Lord, Brian Sibley
foreword by Nick Park

A unique guide to the history and techniques of 3-D animation from Aardman Animations, the most innovative and creative animation studio in the world

The Aardman Studios are the biggest success story in the new wave of British animation. Their initial achievement in creating such characters as Morph has been followed by world-wide fame through unparalleled success in the Academy Awards. No fewer than six Aardman films have been nominated for Oscars in the last decade. Nick Park has received three Academy Awards for The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave, both featuring the characters Wallace and Gromit, and for Creature Comforts.

The first part of this book, written by Brian Sibley, sets out Aardman’s achievements and the history of the studio. At the heart of the book is a guide by Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman, to the process of 3-D animation, culminating in a practical, fully illustrated step-by-step description of how to create effective characters, storyboard and sets, and an entire film.

Making an Animated Film - A Practical Guide.
by Matt West

A practical guide covering every stage of making an animated film. Fully illustrated throughout with 117 Line Drawings &Black & White Photographs.
128 Pages.

If you've ever had an idea for an animated film and would like to know what to do to make it happen, then this is the book for you. Whether you're using a 3d Animation Program, Clay Models or Traditional Pencils and Paper, the skills covered will be invaluable to the novice and the experienced filmmaker alike.

This books covers every stage of making an Animated Film. As the title suggest, it deals with the practical as well as the creative. So as well as finding tips on animating and designing, you'll find advice on drawing up a schedule, planning a budget and organising a sound recording.

Having completed an English degree, Matt West studied animation at the London Animation Studio at Central St Martins College. He has subsequently worked on television series for the BBC, Channel 4, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. He also teaches the Introduction to Drawn Animation at the London Animation Studio. In 2002 he won the BBC Talent Animation Competition and consequently made a short film for BBC3.

The Animator's Survival Kit
Richard Williams

The definitive book on animation, essential for anyone interested in the craft or hoping to practise it.

This is the one book every animator should have on their desk - whether they work in film, computer graphics or video game animation. Richard Williams is the pre-eminent figure in motion picture animation, and he has forged a reputation as an outstanding teacher as well as a top practitioner. In recent years, the Academy Award for animation effects has been virtually guaranteed to go to a student of Richard Williams, whether the movie in question is Toy Story or Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

This book is based on master-classes Richard Williams has been giving to professional and would-be animators around the world over the years. Companies such as Industrial Light and Magic, Disney, and Dreamworks send their animators to study at Williams’ feet as he is generally regarded as the link between the ‘golden Age’ of Disney animation and the new-style computer animation exemplified by Toy Story.

Richard Williams is best-known for his animation of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and for the creation of the title animation for The Pink Panther. He has won three Academy Awards, as well as 250 international awards for his work in feature films and commercials.

Sirens
by Chris Achilleos

The follow up to his first book "Beauty and the Beast", this is his second book with 128 pages of colourful, imaginative and detailed illustrations.

Chris Achilleos's drawings reflect a great love of visualizing the unlimited vistas of the world of fantasy, from Dr. Who and Star Trek, Amazons, Fantasy and Science Fiction.

The Focal Guide to 35mm

All you need to know about 35mm cameras. These cameras come in many forms. There are cartridge cameras, non-reflex cameras and reflex cameras (SLRs).

Learn how they work and know how to use them so that you get much better pictures than ever before.

Basic Film Technique
by Ken Daley

Ken Daley gives a clear and concise account of the essential stages in film production. He takes the reader through all the different aspects of filming, ranging from the idea and script, through shooting, editing and recording to the final show print, and discusses how to handle lighting, sound, actors, wardrobe and location choice.

Animals in Motion
by E Muybridge

The largest, most comprehensive selection of Muybridge’s famous animal photo’s – more than 180 Plates containing over 4000 high-speed shots of 34 different animals and birds, in 123 different types of action. Animals are shown walking, running, leaping and flying. All photos are taken against ruled backgrounds; most actions taken from 3 angles at once 90°,60° and rear. Muybridge’s work has never been superseded as a lifetime reference for animators, illustrators, artists and art directors.

The Human Figure in Motion
by E Muybridge

This is the largest selection ever made from the famous Muybridge sequence high-speed photographs for human motion. Containing 4789 photographs; it illustrates some 163 different types of action and 155 other types of action, some of which are illustrated by as many as 62 different photographs. Taken at speeds ranging up to 1/6000th of a second, these photographs show bone and muscle positions against ruled backgrounds. Almost all subjects are undraped, and all actions are shown from three angles, front rear and three-quarter view.

How to Draw Story Cartoons
by Walter Foster 23

A step-by-step method for drawing cartoon characters. Learn how to lay-out your drawings for reproduction. Get tips on how to make your cartoons more professional. draw straight lines with a brush or ruling pen and how and why to block-in your drawings before inking.

Cartooning Book One: Animation 1
by Preston Blair (HT26)

World-renowned animator Preston Blair invites you into his cartoon world and shows you how to draw a variety of animated characters, with tips on using lines of action and creating realistic motion. You’ll find a wealth of delightful characters to inspire you. Discover the different cartoon "types": cute, screwball, goofy and pugnacious.

Cartooning: Animation Basics
by Walter Foster (HT25)

Walter Foster invites you into his cartoon world and shows you how to draw a variety of animated characters, with tips on using an animation board and drawing action cycles. Discover how to develop a character, from head, hand and body construction to facial expressions and gestures.

Cartooning Book One: Cartooning 1
by Jack Keely with Carson Van Osten (HT269)

Jack Keely (with some help form Carson van Osten) invites you into the cartooning world and shows you how to create a variety of lovable characters – from a perky puppy to a personable toaster! Learn the foundations of cartoon character construction, starting with just a few basic shapes. Find special techniques to help you embellish your cartoons with effective props and backgrounds.

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Cartooning: Character Design
by Sherm Cohen (HT291)

Accomplished cartoonist Sherm Cohen invites you into his whimsical world and shoes you how to design a variety of unique cartoon characters. In this book, you’ll learn how to construct the head and body shapes of a character as well as techniques for creating an array of personalities and expressions.

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Brian Lemay Books

Brian has worked in the animation industry for the past 21 years. He worked as an assistant animator on the feature film, Rock and Rule, character designer on the original Inspector Gadget series, and layout artist on Ewoks and Droids, Smurfs, Flintstone Kids, Laser Tag and Punky Brewster. He was the layout supervisor on Carebears and Teddy Ruxpin, and an animator on Y's the Magnificent and other short films. Brian has also worked as an illustrator for various advertising agencies whose clients included, Kellogg's, Nestle's Quik, Barbie, McDonald's, and Burger King.

Brian Lemay was the Co-ordinator of the Classical Animation program at Sheridan College from 1996 - 2000. He was also an Instructor teaching Storyboarding, Layout, Character Design, Animation, Background Painting and Life Drawing from 1988 through 2000.

Animation - The Basic Principles

All the basic principles of animation are here, clearly explained with lots of illustrations and make 'em yourself flipbooks and a CD with 45 Quicktime movies of each of the examples.

There are 24 different example based assignments in this book for you to do. If you're trying to get into an animation school or just learning how to animate so you can do some of your own Flash animation, this is a must have book! Over 300 pages

Designing Cartoon Characters for Animation Vol 1

As an animator, you need to know how to draw cartoon characters in a 3-dimensional way, making them look solid and real. This book is a level above most other "How to Draw Cartoons" books that deal primarily with drawing for comic strips or comic books. If you wish there were some books that really go through the whole process on a professional level, then this is the book for you! Designing Cartoon Characters for Animation deals specifically with fully animated cartoon characters, which require much more three-dimensional drawing skills

Designing Cartoon Characters for Animation Vol 2

This is an 8 lesson manual that takes you through the processes of designing your own cartoon characters step-by-step. Each lesson is layered to take you through the process in a very deliberate way. If you really want to take your drawing skills to a higher, more professional level, then this is the book for you!

Layout & Design made Amazingly Simple

This book is a comprehensive study of all areas that are directly related to the process of layout within an animated cartoon. Within the animation studio the layout department has become more and more important in series productions especially for studios that send their work over seas to be animated. This book covers all the departments that deal directly with the layout process. Each chapter clearly covers all the theory and applications involved.

Included are several background layout examples, along with more complex layout theories. You will find many visual examples as well as easy to understand explanations. This book gives you all the technical and artistic theories involved. This book is becoming the industry standard for educating people interested in becoming layout artists.

Advanced Layout & Design Workbook

This book is an extension of Layout And Design Made Amazingly Simple. The examples within the book show the progression of the character development, location design, storyboarding, and layout from the rough conceptual stage through to the final production packages.

You'll find this book incredibly helpful if you're trying to put together a portfolio for a College application or for a studio job application. As a matter of fact there are a few studios that have recommended this book for those people who were applying for jobs in the layout department.

Layout Examples

This book contains over 250 background layout drawings. The drawings are based on the location suggestions from Section Four of 'The Advanced Layout and Design Workbook'. From these 40 locations I've drawn a series of thumbmail sketches to show you a variety of different possible angles and compositions. Each one is thoroughly explained as to why I did them. There is also a final layout clean-up chosen from one of the thumbnails. I also explain why I chose the final layout, how I did the drawing and any little tricks or cheats that I did with the perspective.