Animation Books

the book was really helpful for preparing myself for recording dates and auditions. it has many useful techniques in it that work amazingly well. I recomend this book for all voice talents cause its a wicked rad book.

Here in Los Angeles the streets are lined with people who can "read copy," but the choice voiceover assignments go to the select few who add something more to the work - believability, personality, and a strong one-on-one connection with the audience. "A camera does not lie," say the authors, "and neither does a microphone."

That's why this book is so valuable. Although trying to teach voiceover skills through a book is inherently challenging -- sort of like trying to teach driving, or violin-playing, that way -- this book is the most successful one I am aware of. It is without doubt the best single resource on voiceover work in print today.

The key is the authors' relentless focus on the internal process of creating great readings, which they call "The Basic Process."

"Ad copy is more than just a bunch of words strung together to promote a product," they write in Chapter 2. "It is very much like a miniature play, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. One or more characters are involved, and it takes place at a particular time and place. You need to discover all those elements and more to act out the copy."

To get in touch with the reality of the copy, the authors detail their Basic Process: "Focus - Visualize - Commit." Using this process "allows you to make the copy your own little drama or comedy with its own life and vitality." Without it, "all your readings will sound alike -- and that sound will be mechanical and lacking in conviction." I don't know how anyone could lay out this crucial principle more clearly. The detailed suggestions for how to follow the Basic Process are both helpful and understandable.

The book offers a wealth of other information as well, including discussions about refining your reads, developing other voices and characters, preparing for animation work, producing a demo tape, finding an agent, handling auditions, and promoting yourself in your market. Throughout the book, voice actors, casting directors, advertising writers, and other industry experts are quoted extensively with helpful advice and entertaining war stories. Practice copy in various genres is provided. And the appendices contain numerous listings of workshops, agencies, and other resources of interest to voice talent. Every chapter offers tremendous value, all of it written with charm, elegance, and a sense of humor.

Anyone serious about a voiceover career should get this book and devour it.

I always recommend this book. Susan Blu has the credentials: she's an accomplished voice talent, a casting director and a voice acting teacher. Along with tips and tricks, there's a great regional listing of agencies, schools and studios with addresses and phone numbers. She knows her stuff and you'd be doing yourself a favor by following her advice in this book.

Word of Mouth is a must-read for anyone interested in voiceovers as a hobby or profession. Susan and Molly hit the target on this one. I had a hard time putting it down on my first reading. In fact, most current VO folks should read this book just to renew their base. Many good observations, suggestions, avenues of interest, etiquette and a good number of leads on several agencies and studios. Plus** Good suggestions on auditioning, making your demo and more!

If you're on your way up - add this reasonably priced referance book to your libary. If you're an established pro - get this anyway to hon your skills and memory.

Here in Los Angeles the streets are lined with people who can "read copy," but the choice voiceover assignments go to the select few who add something more to the work - believability, personality, and a strong one-on-one connection with the audience. "A camera does not lie," say the authors, "and neither does a microphone."

That's why this book is so valuable. Although trying to teach voiceover skills through a book is inherently challenging -- sort of like trying to teach driving, or violin-playing, that way -- this book is the most successful one I am aware of. It is without doubt the best single resource on voiceover work in print today.

The key is the authors' relentless focus on the internal process of creating great readings, which they call "The Basic Process."

"Ad copy is more than just a bunch of words strung together to promote a product," they write in Chapter 2. "It is very much like a miniature play, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. One or more characters are involved, and it takes place at a particular time and place. You need to discover all those elements and more to act out the copy."

To get in touch with the reality of the copy, the authors detail their Basic Process: "Focus - Visualize - Commit." Using this process "allows you to make the copy your own little drama or comedy with its own life and vitality." Without it, "all your readings will sound alike -- and that sound will be mechanical and lacking in conviction." I don't know how anyone could lay out this crucial principle more clearly. The detailed suggestions for how to follow the Basic Process are both helpful and understandable.

The book offers a wealth of other information as well, including discussions about refining your reads, developing other voices and characters, preparing for animation work, producing a demo tape, finding an agent, handling auditions, and promoting yourself in your market. Throughout the book, voice actors, casting directors, advertising writers, and other industry experts are quoted extensively with helpful advice and entertaining war stories. Practice copy in various genres is provided. And the appendices contain numerous listings of workshops, agencies, and other resources of interest to voice talent. Every chapter offers tremendous value, all of it written with charm, elegance, and a sense of humor.

Anyone serious about a voiceover career should get this book and devour it.

This one is the best book i've had so far because it's just as the title says. hands on training books are perfect for learning

As an educator who teaches Digital Imaging on the college level, I have become familiar with hundreds of training texts through the years. This book is excellent in that, unlike so many others, it starts at the beginning. I am not entirely sure why training books and digital courses so often pick up somewhere near the middle when we are all trying to encourage others to surrender to the digital age.

After completing 3 books on Adobe After Effects 7, I think I have a fairly good view of the types of instruction books that are available. "Classroom in a Book" by Adobe, this one by Fahs & Weinman, and "Creative After Effects 7" by Taylor.
My earlier rating of "Classroom in a Book" should probably have been at least 4 stars since it's the best of the 3 (for beginners) that I've read.
This one by Fahs & Weinman is straight forward and easy to follow, but isn't quite detailed enough in comparison to the "Classroom" book.
The book by Taylor mentioned above is so filled with typos that it's virtually unreadable and that's why I rated it poor and is definitely the worst of these 3.
After Effects is a very complicated video software effects program and has a steep learning curve on par with the still image processing program Photoshop. The more time you spend with it and the more instruction you can get, the better.

when you are done with this book, wade into the massive haphazard stew that is the Meyers books. Start with this one though, it starts at the beginning, tells you what you need to know when you need to know it, breaks it down just right. AE is a fairly vast program, and it's easy to become overwhelmed and discouraged, so getting the right book can be the difference between sticking with it or not.

Do you feel a fondness in your heart for old black and white cartoons? Do you know that the original Tom and Jerry were not a cat and a mouse but two loopy guys? If you can answer yes to those questions you will like this book which was originally published way back then.
It's actually full of good information that is still relevant today. I own a number of animation how-to-do-it books and one thing about this book is that all its numerous illustrations are unique and different from any other book. And it covers a few things that I've never seen covered in any other book - like exactly how to draw all the frames for the smoke coming from the tailpipe of an old jalopy. The emphasis of this book is different from modern books and the tone is more bright-eyed and awestruck. It's refreshing to read something written at the very beginning of animation when it was still viewed with amazement.
If watching Betty Boop fills you with warm nostalgia then I think this book will do the same for you.

Maybe I will not read every word of this book, but just knowing it is on my shelf makes me give it 5 stars, being a landmark in the history of animation, also being the book Walt started out with...
For animators then, it was comparable to, what Frank & Ollie's 'The Illusion of Life' is now (if you are looking for THE book on animation, start here), or Preston Blair's book (when there only was one) when I started in animation in the 70's...

This book is the best place to start actually making animation. Equipment construction is explained well enough to start a professional studio. Techniques are clearly described and perfect for students of the art. Extras are the theory of what is funny and why, but mostly, the uses animation may serve in education. Many great old illustrations of walks pepper this volume. If you like to draw in ink, this book is for you.

Some clarification is needed here - this book is a reprint of a book from 1920, and although you might glean some tips on how to animate that are still relevant, this is NOT the book to buy if you're looking to learn the craft - it has been reprinted purely for historical interest. There's nothing here that is not outdated or superseded. If you want to learn animation, the books you really need are Tony White's 'Animator's Workbook', and Richard Williams's 'Animator's Survival Kit'. That said, if you're already a clued-up animator, or interested in the history of the craft, this is a fascinating book, representing as it does the state of the art just a few years before Disney appeared on the scene and set new standards. Historically - wonderful. Instructionally - look elsewhere.

Excellent book! I give it 4 stars because it's not an all-inclusive animated movie guide as it fails to mention the Dot character from the 80's, which was released in theatres, and there are few colored photographs.

I would save my money and instead check this book out from the library as I did because it's not worth paying as much as it sells for; unless, you want the whole animated movie guide to keep.

Bottom line: Great reference work, but I'd rather save my money and buy DVDs! :)

Jerry Beck is one the best animation historians out there and his new book proves this once again."The Animated Movie Guide" has a treasure trove of information on numerous animated films, even the most obsecure films get a mention.Jerry Beck KNOWS what is hot and what is not in animated films, so I would definetly pick up the films that get a good review in this book. I'll guarantee you'll find a film or film fact you never heard before, so pick this one up.

My daughter is using this as a resource for Computer Animation classes at the Art Institute of Atlanta

Beware - Jerry Beck's guide to animated feature films is totally addictive! If you want to sleep at night, forget it!
Once you start reading this book, you're compelled to read on to the next film and find out who animated it, who was involved, little stories about the production, and if the film made money...I became totally obsessed!

I loved this book, read it four times. It covered all types of animation
including stop motion. It was organized by decade, by country. There were
many contributors who chose what they were most interested in and I guess
their passion rubs off because it is hard to put down and very informative.
If you want a course in animation history, just read this and save your
tuition money. I don't know how Jerry Beck does it all but we all
benefit from his dedication. Thank you, Jerry. Keep up the good work.

Animation Art is a comprehensive look at the history, development and cultural effects of animation and cartoons.

From the early days up to the latest blockbusters of the 21st century, the authors have covered all concepts, genres and media. Including European, Asian and Canadian cartoons, stop motion, CGI and more.

Beautifully presented with many colour pictures and written by experienced contributors it leaves no stone unturned.

The only disappointment is the amount of text devoted to one of my all time favourites, Tom & Jerry.

Otherwise a comprehensive tome that will provide for anybody interested in animation.

Informative and entertaining,another good effort by Mr. Beck. I recommend this for any fan of animation.

This is a magnificent achievement. Serving as General Editor, Jerry Beck has brought together in a single volume a riveting narrative which examines the history of cartoon, anime, and CGI with stunning full-color illustrations of that history. As he explains in his Introduction, "We have assembled an international team of animation authorities to tell the tales behind the toons. -The story is told in chronological sequence with choice images that enhance its history...From popular Disney characters to obscure personal films, it is all covered: Hollywood hits and Japanese anime, as well as Russian masterpieces and Asian artfilms. Looking it over, it is quite a wild ride." Indeed it is. The material is skillfully organized within twelve chapters which range from "The Origin of the Art" to "The New Century." By no means do I claim to be an expert on the subject of animation art but I presume to observe that I cannot imagine what has been left out. The illustrations are stunning; the prose narrative is crisp and lucid.

In the Foreword, Jeffrey Katzenberg observes that animation art provides a unique opportunity "to remember to know who has gone before, to really know the stories, take lessons from them, and bring that knowledge to the future. My hope is that, one day, other people will feel the same way about about those of us who are making animated films now. While it is an amazing thing to have the opportunity to create films and to bring these enormous enterprises to the world, it is something entirely different and entirely more rare to have our work remembered and considered part of the continuing evolution of an art form." Thanks to Beck, those who work their way through this magnificent volume will not only remember what has been achieved in animation art thus far; they will also understand what can yet be accomplished as others who have yet to reveal themselves through their art.

I highly recommend this volume to anyone interested in animation art, of course, but also to those who have an interest in the creation and evolution of comic books. Also to those who share my high regard for illustrators such as Al Hirschfeld whose art is celebrated in Hirschfeld on Line, now available from Amazon in both book and DVD formats.

If you have ever wanted to play a trivia game using your knowledge of anime, here's your chance. The questions cover a wide variety of subjects, and they are grouped into categories. This makes it easy for you to use the book. And there is snappy banter included with the answers! Most of the comments are quite funny, and some had me rolling on the floor gasping for breath. I can't wait til the next volume comes out!

Japanese animated movies, called "anime", have received wide popular attention with the American movie-going public, and have long had an enthusiastic following among film buffs and students of Japanese popular culture. In the Anime Trivia Quizbook, Ryan Omega offers more than 400 questions that range from the very easy to the very difficult. Fortunately, he also provides the answers. The Q & A covers all the major anima genres, from giant robots and space aliens to silent samurai and "fan service" girls. From Ah My Goddess to Zetsuai and all the anime epics in between, Anime Trivia Quizbook is enhanced with sidebars, cells, and more! This is a "must" for all dedicated anime fans everywhere!

For those of us who like details, this book certainly questioned most of them. A very humorous book with comments for even the wrong answers, and a great guide for whether or not you are just starting anime or have become very obsessed with it. A variety of topics include romance, math, sci-fi, merchandise, etc. I can't get enough of this book! It contains all the current anime and puts your brain to work, but if you don't feel like doing that, the answers are easily accessible. A well-worth buy.

I was going to take this book to a party with my friends, but I missed the party because I was laughing so hard reading it! I was skeptical at first of the subtitle, "From Easy To Otaku Obscure," I thought, "Pshaw, what Sailormoon and Dragonball Z trivia probably." But no! It was a pleasant surprise to find references to lesser-known anime series' such as the Legend of Basara and Weiss Kruez, two of my personal favorites. I loved the Games section, Japanese anime-style RPG and fighting games are highly underappreciated in Western literature about contemporary Japan. When I met the author at a local bookstore, we had fantastic discussions about everything from the cultural and social implications in Final Fantasy to male and female sexuality in anime. It's refreshing to meet another anime otaku who has the brainpower left to discuss things intelligently. Everyone, including the smallest Pokemon fan to the otaku who's been watching anime since Astro Boy, should buy this book!

This book helps ease the monumental transition from Avid to FCP. It is definitely a must for anyone going through the change, but becomes less useful once you get the hang of FCP. Once you are through the transtion, then get the book Final Cut Pro 5 for Mac, which answers the rest.

This book I could only find used, it is not easy to come by...

If you are ever forced to quickly learn Final Cut pro for the odd job where Avid is not a viable option, or you want to start editing your on stuff on the cheap, buy this, read it and practise it for a week and you will be a Pro at Pro, knowing everything there is to know, at least, where to find it and whether it is doable or not. It is a book written by an Avid editor for Avid editors who have to go through the same learning curve. You can be very surprised going through it on how similar the two editing systems are and most of all, how quickly you can synthesise the information and make it second nature. I fervently recommend this book being so well written, going always to the point and covering everything properly.

As an Avid editor and now learning FCP, I can recommend this book for helping to understand where everthing is. This book is a must unless you want to tear your hair out. If you know how it feels going from Media Composer to DS, then you will understand why you need this book and I might add others.

We have been an Avid only edit house for years, but reciently purchased two Final Cut systems. Most of the transition was pretty easy, but trying to figure out how to do some of the things in FCP that we did in our sleep on the Avid slowed us down a bit. This book draws great parallels between the two systems.

Apple Training Series: iLife 04
By Michael Rubin
ISBN: 0321256069

Book Review by Al Simukonis, Tucson Macintosh Users Group

Peachpit Press has published a guide to Apple's iLife '04 Programs. The book's author is Michael Rubin.

Michael Rubin self-describes this book as "not so much a training manual as it is a way to show you how to enrich your world by weaving digital audio, photos and videos into many aspects of your life." He promises to skip entire areas of functionality of the programs in order to teach "media literacy" in your life using the iLife programs: iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and Garage Band. He also promises to explain how to share your completed vision with friends, family and clients through iDVD and the web via .Mac.

The book is divided into 14 chapters which consist of projects that introduce the reader with audio capabilities of iTunes, progress to still and moving visual expression using iPhoto and iMovie. Final lessons detail how to combine digital sound and vision into a usable and interesting slide presentation or a movie. These later chapters also show how to easily distribute your created vision and message using hardware and software .

The beginning of each chapter lists the goals (i.e. familiarity with using iTunes) that it intends to achieve in that section, the tools necessary to complete the goal (i.e. a personal music CD or an optional camcorder), and the estimated time it will take to complete that section. Lessons range from a 15 minute iPod introduction to 90 minutes for many of the others. To complete every lesson should take about 15 hours.

The book is very well laid out, has very clear illustrations of screen shots you should expect to see on your own computer, and photos of hardware you will be using. There is a logical progression to the lessons that builds on previously gained knowledge and experience.

If you have the iLife programs, at least a G3 Mac with FireWire and at least system 10.2.8 (minimum 10.2.6) with 256 MB Ram, 1024 x 768 resolution, QuickTime 6.4 (the latest version at this moment is 6.5.1) you can begin. Other recommendations are a 600 Mhz G3 for Garage Band, a 733 Mhz G4 for iDVD, iSight, a digital camcorder, a digital camera, a tripod, a .Mac account. If you have all this equipment this excellent book will show you how to use all of it to express yourself well. If you do not have all this hardware do not let it scare you away from the book.

I found that there are three ways to approach this informative iLife familiarization guide.

The first, of course, is to have a computer with a DVD burner and player, all the camera equipment he covers, and the $100 or so per year dot Mac account that allows you to easily share your creations with the world via the web. After you finish the very clearly explained features of the software and hardware in your arsenal, you will have a core of media knowledge that will give you the potential of being the next George Lucas.

The second way is to go through the book using only the 4.2 GB of photos, video clips, and music on the included DVD. This should be downloaded onto to your hard drive, so a hard drive with sufficient free space is necessary. The full iLife program, Michael advises us, takes an additional 4.3 GB if it is not already on your computer. With limited hard drive space you can get by 250 MB if you only use iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie. An Apple with a DVD player (and preferably burner) is essential for this option.

The examples in the book and the DVD are shown from the perspectives of a student with a school project, a father shooting his daughter's birthday party and a ceramics studio owner who wants to show customers a technique via a video presentation.

The third way, if you are not ready to invest in all the hardware and software that this book covers, is to go through it using only hardware you already have. For example, first I read the book cover to cover. That was a very clear introduction to the potential available to me with my little iBook and the iLife software. I had already played with iTunes, and have a substantial collection of digital photos on my hard drive, but do not have a DVD player on the iBook. Instead of using the photo examples on his DVD player I was able to substitute my own pictures in his lessons. It took a little imagination to substitute his ceramics demo for my cactus garden, but the principles of the program remain the same regardless of the actual images used. If you do not have your own photo collection you can often find legally downloadable images on the internet that you can use for this purpose.

The scope of this book is quite vast. Digital cameras, theories and practice of good composition and lighting, image manipulation, creating books, organizing digital photo albums, creating slide shows with music or narration, making videos from still pictures or camcorders, time lapse photography, theory and use (or not) of pans, tilts and zooms, burning DVD's and creating your own music with Garage Band are all covered. It is like a semester in college taken at your own pace.

One of the best quotes in the book is "editing is not about throwing out bad material. Editing is about building something interesting and watchable" .

With time and practice this book shows any media non-professional how to use the Macintosh and the iLife programs to achieve this goal relatively easily. It does this clearly, logically and interestingly. After the versions of these software programs change this book will not be obsolete because the principles of good audio-visual presentation will remain the same.

If good communication is a necessity or a hobby or if you simply want to know how to get more personal enjoyment from the music and visual capabilities of the Macintosh take a good look at this very well-written book.

Mr. Rubin covers each of the iLife products -- iPod (2 chapters), iPhoto (5 chapters), iMovie (5 chapters), GarageBand (1 chapter), and iDVD (1 chapter). Each chapter covers a specific set of tasks in a step by step manner. And, with nearly every step, he provides explanatory material -- things to look out for, hints, tips, etc. Furthermore, he not only tells you what to do but why you are doing it. By the time you complete the chapters about an application you are well-grounded in how to use it because he has explained all of the basic tasks as well as some of the more arcane features of the program. He even devotes an entire chapter to camcorder shooting techniques. I purchased this book primarily for some instruction in using iMovie. By the time I completed the iMovie chapters I felt comfortable in my ability to shoot digital video, import what I shot to the computer, edit the clips, add sound effects and music, and put it on a DVD. The publisher also includes a disc with the book that has every photo clip, video clip, and sound clip you need to complete the exercises. In many cases the disc also includes a file with the finished project so that you can compare what you did with a professionally completed sample. This is absolutely the best book of its kind that I have ever used. The publisher, Apple, Mr. Rubin, and everyone else involved in this book's production should be very pleased with the result.

Book: "Apple Training Series: iLife `04" (377 pages)
Author: Michael Rubin
publisher: Peachpit Press, 1249 Eighth St., Berkeley, CA 94710
published: 2004
price: $29.99
Phone number of company: 1-800-283-9444
Pros: easy to read, nicely organized, great color illustrations, excellent index, overall very helpful for the beginner or advances iLife user
Cons: no real cons; ideally, I would like to have seen a second CD included that would have allowed people with OS 9 to get a sample of the iLife lessons

This book was of particular interest to me to review since I will soon be using Apple's iLife '04. This an awesome program with 5 subparts: itunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and GarageBand. I wanted a good overview of all five, and was very pleased with what I found. It was easy reading, and its organization, a series of 14 lessons, allows you to learn at your own pace. The book also comes with a CD that you play to work along with the lessons. For me, I had to skip that part for now but certainly will be using it next month after I get my G-5 and begin using OS X (required for iLife). But even without it, the book alone is great for introducing the power and relative simplicity of iLife '04. The great illustrations and index also help a beginner, and would be very useful too to advanced users of iLife. I particularly liked the nice organization and clear writing style of the book, with each section ending with a review of what you learned.
This book is set up as if you were three different people learning about the various parts of iLife '04, namely a parent with a 12-year-old daughter, a high school student, and a small-business owner. Through those people and their needs, you get a real hands-on understanding of what the program can do for you. In all, you learn to 1) create custom CDs and play them on an iPod or a regular stereo system; 2) organize and use still images from your digital camera to create great photos and books of photos, plus slide shows; and 3) create movie DVDs combining still photos with music, special effects, titles, narration, music, and more. Finally, you learn to upload your slide shows and videos to the Web and burn DVDs. Additionally, there are nice "extras" at various logical places in the book, like tips on using your digital camcorder.
Below are the names of the 14 lessons, which further show the progressive nature of the learning process this fine book offers. In all, I would highly recommend this book. It is a great learning tool and well worth the money.

Lesson 1: Making a Custom CD from your music collection
Lesson 2: DJ a Party with your iPod
Lesson 3: Shooting Digital Snapshots and putting them in your Mac
Lesson 4: Organizing and Refining your photos
Lesson 5: Printing and sharing your photos
Lesson 6: Adding motion and effects for a dynamic slide show
Lesson 7: Making a time-lapse video
Lesson 8: Shooting and assembling a very simple movie
Lesson 9: Adding narration to your dynamic slide show
Lesson 10: Shooting with Hollywood-style techniques for better videos
Lesson 11: Editing and finishing a professional-looking movie
Lesson 12: Creating unique music for your projects
Lesson 13: Putting your slide show on the Internet
Lesson 14: Burning DVDs of your videos and slide shows

This is the official Apple Training Guide to the iLife software packages.

Apple doesn't include much documention with their iLife products. This book is a quick and easy way to learn these packages. As an Apple certified product, this is the book used in the Apple Training and Certification program. You can use it by yourself at your own pace where it's broken down into fourteen lessons.

The lessons are aimed at the practical use of the packages, not some esoteric project just made up to show off the software. It starts off discussing audio. Then it moves to mnaging still images, printing still images, and finally moving images, i.e. video.

From his background in the motion picture business, the author has written some very interesting pages on how to use Hollywood techniques in your own movies.

This is the most complete iLife book.

I've watched the Japanese version of "Mewtwo Strikes back" and this book fits it to a perfect T! The BEST adaptation of the movie that I've seen! And to qoute another reviewer, it shows to the readers that Mewtwo is NOT a shallow villian, but more of a tortured philosopher who cannot realize the value of his unnatural life. Takeshi Shudo weaves a tale of a Pokémon-esque Frankenstein, if you will. In the origonal Mary Shelley version of Frankenstein, the monster escapes its master to find others, but doesn't understand why people fear it. it is confused and lashes out in self-defense, the humans labeling it as a "mosnter". They persue it, mainly because they are afraid of something they cannot understand. When i first saw the movie, I related it to the tale of Prometheus, the Greek Titan. The scientists were playing god. They were dabbling in a power that wasn't meant for them. It seemed natural for their creation to turn on them. Though, Mewtwo destroyed them in self-defense and because he was confused.

Blinded by rage and hatred and filled with confusion and emptiness, Mewtwo joined Giovanni, and eventually turned on the human also because he was being used.

I will not speak more of the plot, but I'll say this: This book is a much better adaptation than the actual novelization. If you're looking for a tale of creation, betrayal, and the value of life regardless of one's birth, then consider this book. The art is gorgeous, the story is unforgettable. Kudos to Takeshi Shudo! Domo arigatou for the great story!

Finally, an ACCURATE translation of Mewtwo Strikes Back. The book, the dubbed movie, all of them were severely altered from the true version. However, in the Art book you can finally read true quotes from Mewtwo Strikes Back and see that Mewtwo was no longer such a shallow villan, but rather a tortured philospher who could not realize that value of his unnatural life.

Mewtwo Strikes Back

This book would be enjoyed by someone who likes monsters. In the beginning, Ash, Misty, and Brock go out for a picnic. Meanwhile, Mewtwo is in a lab. Mewtwo is upset when he learned that he was a clone. He used his psychic power to destroy the lab. Mewtwo escapes and form a blue shield to protect himself from the flames. Later, Mewtwo rebuilds the lab that he destroyed and called New Island. Meanwhile when Misty, Brock, and Ash are having their picnic, Mewtwo tells Dragonite to deliver a hologram to Ash Misty, and Brock. The invitation is to come to New Island to see the world's best trainer.But the world's best trainer is really Mewtwo. I think that the movie was better than the book because the movie has the sound of the actors and battle sounds. The movie had more kick to it.2\2\00

This is a lot more accurate than the novelization of Pokemon: The First Movie. It includes a lot of art and pictures from the movie and also includes some quotes on the bottom of the pages from the different scenes. Has both the movie, and Pikachu's Vacation. I was a little concerned about it until I bought it. The book had proven me wrong. It was a lot better than I had expected and it's a book that any Pokemon fan might want to get . An excellent book. 5 stars.

Whether you're interested in 2D or 3D, Preston Blair is an excellent source for animation principles. It's a shame it's Out of Print and only available through scalpers who apparently care neither about good animation nor passing on Mr Blair's wisdom accessibly - it's all about the bottom line for them. At over $5.00 a page (I wouldn't mind paying Mr Blair this much directly, but not some scalper), check your library instead. Or write to the publisher and ask them to put it back in print. Great book though! Bad scalpers, shame!

Preston Blair does it again - another fine instructional guide on animation.

I wish his books never went out of print -- It was challenging to find the predecessor to this book (Animation I).

I want know about Animation .

I was facinated as the artist/author gave me a glimpse into the style and technique that Walt Disney and his crew of animators developed to create Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, et al. It was really ground-breaking stuff in its day. Explained well; illustrated well.