character animation books 0

Character Animation Books

Timing for Animation
by Harold Whitaker and John Halas

Prefaced by John Lasseter:

"The principles of timing laid out in this book are more applicable (now) than ever before." 
The Animator's Survival Kit
by Richard Williams

The definitive book on animation, from the Academy Award-winning animator behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Cartoon Animation (The Collector's Series)
by Preston Blair 

" I've been in or near the cartoon business for 50 years and Preston Blair's "Cartoon Animation" played a big role in my education. " (view it on-line : www.freetoon.com) 
Cartoon Animation (How to Draw and Paint series)
by Preston Blair

Walter Foster's classic How to Draw and Paint series provides aspiring artists with an exceptional array of art instruction booksfeaturing all subject areas and media. Each title includes easy step-by-step exercises as well as finished illustrations or paintings that will inspire artistic talent in anyone. 
Acting for Animators
by Ed Hooks, Brad Bird, Mike Caputo (Illustrator)

Acting for Animators covers a lot of ground that doesn't get addressed much in animation school. Sure, we're all told to make the character "live and breathe", but most of the info that follows that admonition is from an art perspective. Hooks draws on his acting training and experience to give a different set of tools animators can use to reach that goal. The information on psychological gestures alone is worth the cost of the book (there's something you don't hear about in your Maya classes). 
The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation
by Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston (Contributor), Cllie Johnston

Equivalent to a Holy relic, this masterpiece of a book has inspired me, not only to appreciate Disney's work, but also the animators and animation in general. If you are considering entering the animation field, in particular working for Disney, then by all means purchase this book and read it thouroughly. 2 of the Old Nine Men, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, wrote this book sometime in the early eighties. 
The Animator's Workbook
by Tony White

This book is one of the best all round books used to learn animation techniques; a perfect text for teachers. Animation techniques are illuminated from squash and stretch, to stop action puppet, to cell painting. Included is a great reference section for finding unique materials and building your own animation stand. This is more than a simple how to do manual. It is a companion to any future artist animator for it opens the reader to the sophisticated path of animation as tool articulate movements rather than simply as a squash and stretch manipulator of cartoon characters. 
Animation from Script to Screen
by Shamus Culhane

Shamus Culhane is one of the world's best animators. He created the walk cycle of the seven dwarfs in snow white. He demonstrated each characters personality walking in a line. All the characters are in synch. Amazing. He explains the basics of animation. This book is a great way to understand the techniques of hand drawn animation

principles of animation 0

Principles of Animation

28 Principles of Animation

This article was given to me by Mark Kennedy (storyboard artist on Hercules and Tarzan). Thank you Mark for all those handouts!!

Often times animators and storyboarders in the industry are able to get handouts from some of the artists who are great teachers. This is an example of such kind of handout that gets circulated among the artists gradually. It took me quite a while to retype and scan the images from this handout. Please don't reproduce this on the internet without permission. (if you'd like to print it out and give it to another animation student, however, PLEASE do!) The entire article from here on out is by Walt Stanchfield (sp?) I included the images in approximately the same spot as they were on the original hand-written article.

This is a wonderful article for not only beginners but also for practiced animators. Please read it.

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28 Principles of Animation

There are some principles of animation that can be consciously used in any scene. We should familiarize ourselves with them for both animation and animation-cleanup.

To illustrate these principles, I have chosen a supposedly simple scene. When the scene is analyzed, it is apparent how far one may go in using these principles.

The action in this scene is quite broad, making the principles easy to find, but they should be applied to subtle scenes also. Rarely in a picture is a character doing nothing- absolutely nothing. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty spend a short time in complete inactivity, but even then certain of these principles were used.

The use of held drawings and moving holds can be very effective, but only if they contain the vitality of an action drawing. Again, the use of these principles makes that possible.

28 Principles of Animation

  The purpose of studying and analyzing a scene like this is to acquaint oneself with the possibilites in the use of the principles of animation. I have listed 28 principles, though there well may be more. At first these will have to be used consciously, then hopefully in time will become second nature. These are the tools of animation and should be incorporated whenever possible. Some of them are accidentally stumbled upon while animating in an emotional spurt, but when the emotions are lax, knowing these principles will enable the artist to animate his scene intellectually, logically and artistically as well as emotionally. 

28 Principles of Animation

Here is a list of things (principles) that appear in these drawings, most of which should appear in all scenes, for they comprise the basis for full animation

-Pose and Mood -Shape and Form -Anatomy -Model or Character -Weight -Line and Silhouette -Action and Reaction -Perspective -Direction -Tension

-Planes -Solidity -Arcs -Squash and Stretch -Beat and Rythem -Depth and Volume -Overlap and followthru -Timing -Working from extreme to extreme

-Straights and Curves -Primary and secondary action -Staging and composition -Anticipation -Caricature -Details -Texture -Simplification -Positive and negative shapes

28 Principles of Animation

An example of the observations that might be made by flipping and studying just these two drawings. By shifting your eyes from one drawing to the other you can see these things happening. Watch the negative shapes also.

... To continue along this line of investigation...

This drawing would be called the "push off". Note that every line and shape on the drawing helps the upward thrust. Even the tail, which is still following the path set up for it by its primary force, the rump, helps by way of contrast and followthrough. Pick any shape on the figure and compare it to drawing #6 on the preceding page. Note how each shape changes to enhance the overall shape and action: the neck, the chest, the legs, the back, etc.

Even though this is just one drawing, there is no doubt about the action that is taking place in this part of the scene. This should be true of any drawing in any scene.

Consider Anatomy Alone:

Aside from its purpose in the scene each drawing can be analyzed for different aspects of drawing. The whole body is a caracature of an animal, but all the parts of a real animal are present i.e., head, neck, back, hips, tail, etc. And each of them work and move in a plausible way.

Anatomy Continued

Anatomy, of course is essential to any drawing whether it has a direct reference to nature or is completely imaginary. Though a character and/or its action may be greatly exaggerated or caracatured, anatomy in a sense remains fairly constant. An elbow is an elbow and only bends in a certain way, and has its limitation. Liberties may be taken but the "reality" of even a cartoon must be kept or it will lose plausibility or credulity. It is not an easy thing to convert one's knowledge of structural anatomy to the cartoon medium.

It has been said that the location of a joint is more important than the joint itself. For instane if an arm shape has been established, it cannot have an elbow bend in an improbable place, no matter how well the elbow is drawn. Compare tiger's arm to that of a real tiger.

Consider Weight

The pull of gravity is one of the most important principles to deal with in animation. Everything has a certain amount of weight and will act and react accordingly. One easy way to lose the attention of an audience is to have feathers falling like bricks or bricks falling like feathers.

A certain humor can be gotten by bending the rules but should only be used where humor or special effect is called for. In shorts cartoons defying the laws of gravity, weight, speed, squash and stretch, etc., is a the rule of thumb. In Disney feature cartoons such flamboyant abandonment must be handled more discriminately.

vedio game animatiom 0

Video Game Animation

Pegboards vs Polygons:
Animating for Video Games

By: Mark Garabedian on behalf of Animation Mentor. For more information about Animation Mentor visit www.animationmentor.com.


The venerable art of animating still images has existed in some form or another since the 1800s. Today, however, new evolutionary offshoots of the artform make the industry more diverse than ever. Video Games in particular, offer a variety of opportunities and restrictions not found in previous forms of animation.

Regardless of the platform, video games offer a cornucopia of rich animation, be it in the Full Motion Video cut-scenes or the abundant in-game engine animations. FMV can be either hand drawn or CG, and is generated in much the same way one would produce content for film or video. With limited or non-existent user input, FMV sequences are mostly employed for narrative purposes. The in-game engine animations are the real source of the mediums' potential. It is here that a talented artist is able to tell a story using body language and limited graphics. "How a character walks (e.g. slouching sadly or bouncing happily) is telling the character's story," points out Sam Yip.

Sam Yip is a senior animator at Disney Interactive. His portfolio includes such games as "Pirates of the Caribbean Online," "Saints Row," and "Golden Eye: Rogue Agent." A fan of both traditional animation and recent interactive mediums, he believes the major distinction between games and film lies within the mediums' objectives. "The goal of [film] animation is to serve a story/narrative, and in video games, the animation's goal is to serve the game play, so the game player can create his own story."

While voice over and scripted story sequences are common place in today's games, the artist's task is to inject as much personality into the player's avatar as possible. Yip reminds us that "Video game animations will have a lot of body movements such as running, walking, swinging a sword, and a lot of them will be cycled." This is where many genre restrictions come into play. Since a player commands the character, an artist is given the task of creating believable movements that can be transitioned to at a moment's notice. Much of this affects how anticipation is handled.

Anticipation, in both traditional and interactive animation, is how a character physically prepares for a movement. This is a simple process in film and television, since the animator has the storyboard and can prepare accordingly. In games, an animator will be asked to strike a fine balance between instantaneous character response and believable movement.

Technological limitations further challenge this process, such as an engine's frame-rate. "The anticipations in video game animations could be just a few frames," reiterates Yip, "if the frame rate is low and those few frames are skipped, then the player will not see the anticipation at all, which lessens the impact and believability of the animation." This can be overcome by creative planning, and the abbreviation of movements.

Modern games use diverse animation techniques and styles, though the majority achieve 3D through Maya and 3DS Max software. This opens up new considerations. In traditional animation, the focus is placed on the action within the frame, yet video games allow us to view the events from nearly any angle, thus requiring a universal approach and wider attention to detail.

As with theatrical CG, the choice between MoCap and Keyframe exists. Some games require a cartoony style that only time-consuming keyed animation can reproduce, while others benefit from the tangible realism of MoCap, though an extensive cleanup process may be necessary.

Video game animation offers a plethora of exciting opportunities and hurtles. For those involved, this digital playground offers a rich and rewarding experience, creating animation that connects to the audience on a more personal level then ever before. (Most sudios also mostly hire full time, rather than by contract!) For those interested in pursuing a career in this field, Sam recommends, "Find your passion, and just do it."

Mark Garabedian has been an animation aficionado from a young age, having worked his first job mowing lawns in Massachusetts to buy cels. An Emerson College alum, Mark is now a freelance animation writer and member of the Animation Guild, residing in Burbank, California. 

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Pixar Animator Alex Orrelle Speaks Alex Orrelle talks with Israeli Animation Forum members about Pixar, Manex, Matrix 2 and more.

About Alex: Alex Orrelle is a London-born, Israeli-raised animator. He has studied animation at theAcademy of Art College in San Francisco, where he directed a group project CG short called "Freeware". The short won the Alias|Wavefront student competition. Alex went on to work at Manex Visual Effects, as a character animator for the Matrix sequels. His current job is at Pixar, where he serves as bothcharacter animator and storyboard artist. 

Working at Pixar:

hermonir: Hello everybody, hello Alex.

aorrelle: Shalom from San Francisco

Phoebs: How did you get accepted to Pixar?

aorrelle: Getting into Pixar was a three year project. I studied at the academy of art in SF and took Pixar´s short film class there.In that course I got to know the teachers and made it clear to them that I want a job at Pixar... I had to prove myself worthy through working my ass off and exceeding expectations. Even if you are as good as animators at Pixar, it doesn´t mean you have a job there. It´s very much about timing...

morobuse: What is your background? Traditional cell animation? Claymation? Life drawing? Tell us the secret."To get into Pixar you have to be good. There´s no secret."

aorrelle: My background is a lot of drawing. Since I was a kid I would draw, make home movies with my friends and a super-8, and even try to shoot animation. It was very unsuccessful but at least I tried. To get into Pixar you have to be good. There´s no secret. You have to love animation, love talking about it and understand what makes it so appealing...

galrt: Going to schools in the US is quite expensive in local standards. How did you handle it financially if you don't mind me asking?

aorrelle: School was very expensive for someone who can´t work. It´s a privilege I owe to my parents.

Kfiram: I've always wondered how big studios like Pixar divide the work between artists. The general conception is that a modeler does nothing but model, a shading artist does shading alone, the guy in charge of LipSync doesn't animate the body, etc. Is that really the case? And if so, how come you're both character animator and storyboard artist? What exactly do you do anyway?

aorrelle: Great question. Pixar is constantly re-evaluating how artists are defined on a production. So much, in fact, that no two movies are made exactly the same way.Toy story was made by very few people. At that time, the modeler was also an animator, and the shader artist, and layout etc.But since Pixar got successful and the technology more complex, it became necessary to split up people into categories, mainly because the tools are too difficult to master on all separate tasks.I work in the shorts department and when I was hired, the head of story on the current short film was my storyboards teacher from school. So I got to work on the story as well, which is a big bonus for an animator...



Kfiram: Have you worked on "Mike's New Car"?

aorrelle: I just helped with the title animation on that, because I was working on a Buzz lightyear cereal TV commercial at the same time.If you want to search for it - it´s called "Buzz Blasts" and is a 30 second commercial.

hermonir: If people create animations for different characters, how do you keep the characters act the same, consistently throughout the movie? Is there an "animation sheet" for each character where the style is established for different moods, and people refer to it? Or is it just the director´s job to keep everything consistent?

aorrelle: Animators are usually cast shots according to the animators specific strengths, like physical action or subtle emotional acting.There are sometimes, character leads, but no animator is married to one character for a whole movie.It´s all the animators jobs´ to keep animation consistent on characters. That´s why we have dailies - a daily review of the work that´s been done the previous day, when everyone gets to comment on everyone else´s work.

hermonir: What is the animation quota? How much final character animation does an animator produce in a week?

aorrelle: Four feet per week - about three seconds.

Phoebs: Do you use Renderman (Alfred)?

aorrelle: Yes.

hermonir: Pixar animator Victor Navone (creator of "Alien Song") is working on a new short called "Big Bang". I wish my finished films looked half as good as his animatic...

aorrelle: Victor is my office mate. He´s been working on the animatic for six months already and has special permission from Pixar to make it independently.Don´t hold your breath, though. It will probably take him two years to make.

hermonir: Six months? What's taking so long?

aorrelle: He also has a full time job.It´s really tough working at work and then spending nights and weekends on such an involved project.

Personal work:

galrt: is there a place we can see some of your personal stuff?

aorrelle: Sorry - not yet. I´ll have a website later this year, though. I´ll keep you all posted.

Kfiram: What can you tell us about your personal films?

aorrelle: At the academy I made two hand drawn films and directed a CG short film.The first film (for the Pixar animated short film class) is called Soda (3.5 minutes) and it´s about a guy who´s waiting for a subway train and gets in trouble with a soda vending machine.The second was called Lou (3 minutes) and was about a kid in a public urinal, who can´t reach the urinal. A cockroach called Lou tries to make a deal with him...The third, Freeware - you can read all about at ifilm:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilm/product/film_info/0,3699,424515,00.html


Being inside the Matrix

Kfiram: What exactly did you do on the Matrix sequels?

aorrelle: At Manex, I was a character animator on R&D for Matrix 2 and 3, before I moved to Pixar. I also did previsualization, which I really enjoyed. It´s basically rough 3D animation that conveys information about the complex live action shoot before it happens, so the editors can work on it before it´s shot.

Animation and employment tips

morobuse: What is the common mistakes with young inexperienced animators and how can one avoid them?

aorrelle: The most common mistake of inexperienced animators is shutting themselves at home and not showing their work for critique, thinking that they´ll figure it out themselves.The second mistake is showing their work to EVERYONE, including their mother and never finishing the film.

jhones: From your experience, when creating a film intended to impress a potential employer - should I try to show a great deal of technical control, have a unique animation style and work on some complex models, or should I create something loose with a good idea?"The things you´re not good at - you don´t like doing anyway."

aorrelle: The only way to impress an employer is to show what you´re good at. In the unlikely chance that you are an incredible designer,modeler, shader, animator, rigging artist, cinematographer AND lighter - it will take you too long to make a film by yourself, to get a job.It´s important to get a feeling of what you are strong at, so you can keep working on your strength - instead of trying to work on what you´re not naturally talented at.You´ll find out quickly that the things you´re not good at - you don´t like doing anyway.Example - if you love animating - you should make a very simple scene, even a film (IF you like making films. Not everyone does...). then your potential employer knows what to look at. Having a ton of effects, lights and camera moves usually makes people here detect that you´re trying to distract them from bad character animation.

3Dennis: Do you think drawing ability is important for work on visual effects? If I can't draw, what can I accomplish?

aorrelle: Just learn to draw.There´s no excuse not to know how to draw. As good as you are at effects and modeling and animation - you can´t see half your mistakes if you don´t understand good composition, good design and appealing shapes.It´s just a fact. Sorry. I can recommend some books if you´re interested...

talotan: After writing dozens of scripts, and acknowledging that I'll never find the time to actually make them (as long as there's "real" work), I've come across a really astonishing script. The question is, should I try to involve outside sources to help with the production? If so, will I still have creative control?

aorrelle: The answer is tough: You can´t get anything off the ground alone - you need people who have what you´re missing. As far as creative control, if you´re afraid of someone walking in and taking over - you should be so lucky to at least get the funding for it. It´s a negotiation. Like peace! You have to make "tough concession" for the other side to have any reason to help you.If you get the money for it yourself - you can control it. 

Introduction to 3D Art 0

Introduction to 3D Art

So, you wanna be a 3D artist?

Introduction to 3D Art 
3D art is created by manipulating polygon meshes and molding them into objects, characters, and scenes. 3D art is used in everything from print ads, to web sites, television, movies, video games, and beyond. 

So, what does it take to be a 3D artist? Well, obviously, you must have an eye for art. Most people who begin learning how to do 3D have some kind of background in drawing and sketching. Indeed, it's not unheard of for 3D studios to hire artists who have no experience in 3D art, based solely on the strength of a pencil drawing portfolio. Sculptors, who were previously limited to animatronics and claymation to enter the realm of live-action art, also tend to have an easy time making the transition to 3D. 

Even if you don't have formal art training that goes beyond the few classes you took in high school or college for the "easy A," you can still do great work in 3D. 

Useful Traits of a 3D Artist 

1. Patience. 3D artists need to be patient. Many beginners unfairly compare themselves to established artists possessing years of experience. While it can be a great motivator, and valuable source of inspiration, to examine another's work, don't obsess; 3D art is a diverse subject, and requires a lot of dedication and practice to get acceptable results. Some say that 3D is like Go, the ancient game of strategy: it takes minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master. 

2. Sharp. 3D attracts a different breed of artist. 3D artists tend to have a strong background in computers, compared to non-digital artists. Experience in computer programming is common in 3D circles, though certainly not required. 3D artists have an eye for detail, and are extremely resourceful and self-sufficient. Oftentimes, problems you encounter in 3D won't have any analogy in traditional art, and may be no one around to help. 

3. Hard work required. If you want something easy, pick up a pencil and paper and start doodling. 3D art is not nearly as immediate in regards to results. One can spend, hours, days, and even weeks perfecting a 3D model before ever moving onto texturing, animation, or final renders. 3D art is unique in that it can require a broad array of skills, from drawing to acting, to successfully bring together a finished piece. The payoff is that, entering the 21st century, 3D artist are perhaps the most sought-after creative workers. 

4. Accepting of criticism. Eventually you'll feel motivated to submit your art for review by other artists. 3D artists can nitpick like no one else in the world, so be prepared to have even the slightest errors pointed out to you in exacting detail - especially if you're attempting to recreate anything remotely realistic. If you intend to work in a studio one day, your ability to accept criticism in stride will be crucial to the overall success of the team. 

Types of 3D Art
As mentioned earlier, 3D is a broad subject, and a typical finished picture will be composed of several - perhaps dozens - of hours of work in an array of skills. What follows is an overview of the subjects you'll need to learn to be a well-rounded 3D artist. 

Modeling - No, you won't be strutting your stuff on the catwalk anytime soon. At least, I hope you won't. Modeling is the act of creating a 3D mesh, whether the end result is a bug-eyed alien or a teacup. How you get to that finished model depends largely on the methods that make the most sense to you. 

Animation - Animation is the process of taking a 3D object and getting it to move. Animation comes in a few different flavors. There's keyframe animation, where the animator manipulates the objects on a frame-by-frame basis, similar to old hand-drawn cartoons. Other methods of animation include placing objects on splines and setting them to follow the path of the curve, or importing motion capture data and applying it to a character rig. Yet another way to animate is to use your 3D application's built-in physics engines, such as when your scene requires that objects fall. 

Texturing - Texture artists make models look pretty. Without some kind of texture art, everything will be variations of solid colors. The most common and accurate way to create a texture for a model is to "unwrap" the mesh (flatten it out) and paint over it in an application such as Photoshop. The final texture is then "wrapped" over the original mesh again. Depending on how a model is created, each section may have its own texture, i.e., a separate texture for hands, one for arms, and one for the torso of a character, all made to blend together seamlessly. 

Rendering - Rendering an image is typically the last step in any workflow pipeline, and is perhaps the most important part. It is a step often overlooked or glossed over by beginners, who are more focused on creating models and animating them. There are many aspects to creating a good final render of a scene, including attention to camera placement, lighting choices which may affect mood and shadows, reflections and transparency, and the handling of special effects, like fluids or gasses. 

Everything else - There are many other aspects to creating a good final product. Scenes must be correctly staged, usually working from a pre-visualization rendering, or a quick pencil sketch. Character models must be properly rigged for animation, an art in and of itself. In many big 3D firms, there may be a handful of artists whose sole purpose is to rig up models created by modelers for the animators to work with. Finally, most major software packages allow extensions on the base program in the form of plugins. Programmers may build in features necessary to complete a particular scene or style of animation. 

Your First Steps in 3D 
The first step in becoming a great 3D artist is to understand the concepts of 3D modeling, and how to create a model that will eventually be useful for animation. Later, you will need to learn the principles of animation, and how to bring your skills together in a fully rendered scene. 

3D art is a complex topic that can take months or years to learn. It is also an extremely rewarding venture, and one that is increasingly useful as art is increasingly created on computers. Digital art, and specifically 3D art, is still in its infancy when compared to traditional forms of art. The landscape is constantly changing, and, as a 3D artist, you will have to change with it. Perhaps, one day, your creations will mold the future of 3D art. 

Let's get started!

Below are a few schools that offer relevant 3D Art courses.


Digital Media Arts College

The BFA program in Animation focuses on the preparation of the artist to meet the challenges of tomorrow's production workplace. Through a strong foundation in traditional visual and performance arts, students develop their digital content creation skills within a classical framework. During this program students study foundation art skills; including illustration, painting, photography, sculpture and film making, as the prerequisites to an equally diversified animation core curriculum.

Take classes in artist-designed labs and facilities. Learn from experts in digital artistry. Work with industry-standard animation tools, 3D software, and imaging technologies, and one of the only Motion Capture studios in the Southeast U.S. All at Digital Media Arts College 

The Art Institute Online-this school offers courses that have been tailored to let the aspiring video game designer have loads of fun while making baby steps towards imaging and animation. With courses like Motion Capture, 3D Animation, Low-Polygon Modeling,Game Level Design and Character Development, among others, you are definitely on your way to completing a portfolio that will not just wow your would-be employers but your future market as well. 

The Game Art & Design program concentrates on the artistic side of games - not computer programming. This unique program is your first step toward becoming an artist and designer in the multi-billion dollar game design industry.