Animation Books

This is a wonderful, entertaining journey into the past 20 years of animation and visual effects. It's definitely a thrill to see the progress of the art from--from 1987 to 2007 and see how far this industry has changed and improved thanks to visionaries like John Lasseter, Craig McCracken and Brad Bird. It was fun to see articles by people like Lasseter, McCracken and Nancy Cartwright (who is Bart on the Simpsons) as well as toon historians like Leonard Maltin and John Canemaker and indie animator Bill Plympton. I still hang on to my first issue of this important magazine and this hardcover art book is the perfect gift for toon fans--they've included every cover of the magazine (so you have excellent 4-color reproductions of the magazine cover with iconic characters like Roger Rabbit, The Simpsons, SpongeBob Squarepants, Aladdin, Shrek and The Little Mermaid all the way up to The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. I wish Animation Magazine would put out an annual collection of their cool covers and awesome production articles every year!

This is a hefty, high-quality and GORGEOUS book!! It contains 20 years of cover images for Animation Magazine (some really great artwork for animation collectors and fans) and inspiring essays by a lot of animation heavy-hitters. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the history of animation; the fact that it's a magazine collection offers a glimpse of how the industry has developed over the last two decades in an interesting "real-time" sort of way. This is also a GREAT gift for students of animation (I know a couple who keep borrowing my copy!) as well as just plain old fans who want something pretty for their coffee table. Definitely worth adding to your library. A+

Just found it among my old books and loved to see how much work and time I invested in computer animation at the age of 13!!! It is a good book, but when you look at it with 14 years of technology having gone by... well, it is funny and I can't beleive that computers were soooooo basic when I started using them. Now I work on Silicon Graphics machines doing sfx and compositing for TV commercials.

Three years ago, my father gave me this book on Christmas Eve when I told him that at the age of 27 I was already for a career change. I was already a CAD-man and I wanted to do more then just industrial wire frames. I was ready to take my work to new levels and other worlds. Someone in the know suggested this book to him.

This book goes through everything a new comer to Computer Animation and world building needs to know when starting out: What to look for when buying a computer, how software packages stack up against each other, and how functions work.

I read this book that Christmas Day and agian the following weekend there after and have referred back to it ever since. It's one of my most treasured possessions, reminding me the enormous faith my father has in me. And, it's a nice resource...

This is a good book to get someone started and a refresher for 'old timers' like myself. This book in invaluable!

It's too bad this book is out of print, especially since Friz Freleng was in the Warner Brothers studio from 1930 to about 1966. In addition, he created the Pink Panther and many other cartoons with David DePatie (late 1960's to early 1970's) and worked with Walt Disney and MGM in the early days (1920's). That's no small resume, considering he'd been in the cartoon business for nearly 60 of his 89 years. So to Donovan Publishing, it's time for a reprint (especially since there are books about Tex Avery and Chuck Jones still in print)!

What can you do with philosophy? The essays in this collection, written by prominent theorists in cultural studies, demonstrate that the work of philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari can dramatically enrich our understanding of everyday life. Each contributor, using a variety of concepts from the writings of Deleuze and Guattari, animates (engages, enlivens, and illuminates) some aspect of cultural life. The range is surprising and includes animations of Cajun dancing, breastfeeding, adolescence, nation, home, poet Breyten Breytenbach, love in the classroom, and the place of affect in everyday life.

Contributors: Christa Albrecht-Crane, Lawrence Grossberg, Petrus de Kock, Geogory J. Seigworth, Patty Sotirin, Charles J. Stivale, Stephen B. Wiley, J. Macgregor Wise.

This is a fun, full-color, "idea" book which describes a collection of animations which I have built for my O Gauge model railroad layout. The basic ideas, however, are fully applicable to any gauge model railroad. (G thru HO and smaller!) An overview of my layout, and philosophy concerning my approach to developing these animations is provided. In clearly drawn pictures and diagrams, I show how easy it is to build over 20 of these custom animations for your own model railroad layout. The animations embrace use of physical motion, lighting, smoke, sound, and time in various combinations. All may be either directly copied or tailored to complement your individual interests. Some are controlled via very simple, low-cost electrical circuits that are explained in easy-to-understand terms. No previous knowledge of electronics is needed. No critical adjustments are required. Some animation examples include: "burning" railroad ties, children flying a kite and a model airplane, smoke-puffing billboard, flashing car-headlights warning other motorists of a speed trap, playground swing, ballet school dancers, operating bulldozer, a model "Music Hall", moving train in hobby shop window, gazebo band concert, etc. All necessary parts are identified and multiple sources listed for their purchase. Hopefully, the thoughts and creations presented in this book will not just entertain, but will in some way contribute to adding new interest to your own model railroad layout. Enjoy!

This is a pithy and well-presented little book for people familiar with traditional hand-drawn animation who are just starting to venture into the realm of computer animation. Beginning with useful reviews of the leading software packages, Griffin walks you in detail through all the main steps involved in 2D computer animation, from initial planning through to film output, without getting bogged down in program-specific details.

This is not a how-to manual. It doesn't teach any secrets or tricks of computer animation, but gives the animator an excellent understanding of the process from start to finish. The illustrations are well-chosen and enhance the text.

The only criticism is that the accompanying CD is not highly useful. It contains only 2 short sample animations, and the rest are computer program demos, most of which are available in newer versions on-line. A simple list of links would have sufficed and the CD left out to keep the price down.

If you're just venturing into 2D computer animation, this book is an excellent place to start.

This book will be very useful for everyone who going to work with mocap technology. I use it for teaching my students in Moscow University of Culture and Arts. Students like this book too, because this book is very intelligible!

Written by the author of "The Anime Companion", The Anime Companion 2: More... What's Japanese In Japanese Animation? is a reference especially for hardcore fans and casual viewers alike of Japanese animated movies and television shows, usually called "anime" for brevity. Both The Anime Companion and The Anime Companion 2 are arranged encyclopedia-style, but each one has its own list of A-Z entries; they are independent collections of entries gathered over the course of years. Like its predecessor, The Anime Companion 2 consists of entries, each one a few paragraphs in length, that define a specific Japanese geographical location, historical event or thing that often appears in anime and may well be unfamiliar to Western viewers. From the names of districts of Tokyo and other populous cities, to famous historical revolts, to foods commonly eaten in Japan, religious customs, and much more, the entries in The Anime Companion 2 give the casual browser a better understanding of Japanese daily life and culture roots. Entries are listed in alphabetical order according to the Romanized form of the Japanese words, but each one is also written in the traditional Japanese writing system of kanji, both the modern and old forms if applicable. All words that have an entry are in boldface for easy cross-reference, and icons show the reader at a glance the general facet of life that each word refers to: food, geography, religion, etc. The Anime Companion 2 especially focuses upon Japanese historical references, which were more scarce in anime when the first volume was published but seem increasingly common in modern anime, plus the author's sidebars and comments about anime fandom in general are intriguing. Highly recommended, especially for anime and Japanese popular culture fans.

If you are considering buying this book with the intention of a light read, don't waste your time or money. This book goes into depth on Argento's films. The symbolism, the soundtracks and scores, the actors used, the way art plays into the master's stories and so on -- everything is examined by various writers. Even Argento's television shows are looked at. And don't think it's all praise, either. The essays are honest, and each one brings something new to Argento's work.

FAB Press publishes some incredible books on film, and this is no exception. It's a labor of love, like all of FAB's books, and is meant for fans who take their directors/films seriously. Worth it at twice the price.