Animation Books

great book. arrived in excellent condition in good time.

thanks.

The Art of Tarzan has eveything you'd expect in an art of animation book. The book is filled with characters sketches, background art, interesting making of notes, storyboards, great art by John Watkis, and the amazing Glen Keane.
I like how they went with a pure hardback sans dustjacket book design which is different from previous Art of Disney bboks.

When I recieved this book I couldnt believe how much work was infront of me. Thankyou Disney for a wonderful addition to the "art of" books.

I am a student of animation and have enjoyed the art form for a long time. This has led me to collect just about every "Art of" animation book ever published (much to my wife's dismay), but this one is clearly one of the best.

First of all, the visuals are fantastic (as they should be for this type of book). Glen Keane is a master, and any insight into his conceptual art and rough sketches are a real treat! However there is so much more than I have seen jammed into one of these books in quite some time. Sure, other books have storyboards, character development drawings, conceptual art, model sheets, backgrounds, production art, etc., but the quality and quantity of the art in this book is top-notch.

Second, Howard Green does a nice job with the textual additions too. The inclusion of diary / journal entries written during the film's production was also a masterful touch, and really added to the overall "behind the scenes" feeling of the book.

Finally, the production quality of the book itself is impressive. The organization is clean (considering the amount of content involved), the two-page spreads and fold-outs are very nice, and the little things (such as the paper choice for each section introduction) provide an added touch. A fine addition to anyone's library.

Certainly, if you like the movie (or any animated feature), you will cherish this book. I highly recommend it!

I don't know if I'll ever get over this movie - especially if I keep running across books like this one. It is nicely designed, intelligently organized, and chock-full of pre-production art, journal entries, productions stills, photographs and stories of how the film came to be. If you think the movie is incredible, wait until you learn all the behind the scenes stuff. This book chronicles that odyssey in wonderful detail.

Did you know the Tarzan character was animated in Paris, while the rest of the film was being animated in Burbank, California? Supervising animator Glen Keane (arguably the top animator in the field) was living in Paris with his family when directors Kevin Lima and Chris Buck approached him with the offer to supervise the animation of the adult version of Tarzan. One of his stipulations for coming on board was that he be able to stay in Paris and work with the Disney Animation Studio there. Meanwhile, back in Burbank, an entirely different team of animators was working on the rest of the film. The two studios used a computer system called "Scene Machine" to correspond with each other and coordinate characters in the same scene over the 6,000-mile distance.

Keane's journal, sketches, thoughts, stories and photos offer amazing insight into his real-life adventure animating Tarzan. Here's just a taste, from one of his journal entries: "Worked on `Strangers Like Me' sequence. The process is never easy - particularly for this song - at first the route was to teach Tarzan to speak - but it has evolved into Tarzan's quest for knowledge. I went on my own quest - reading books on Einstein's Theory of Relativity - and books explaining physics and great scientific discoveries as in astronomy. I am in awe of the universe and God's perfect design clearly displayed in its breadth and beauty. Tarzan must be in awe and wonder. Joy of discovery. He must have an insatiable thirst to know. The audience should feel the same joy as Tarzan. They should enjoy watching him discover."

Here's another one that sends chills down my spine: "My mind was churning on the scenes I'd been seeing with the animators this morning - and it struck me how real Tarzan is to me. He is not a drawing or even an animated character. He is a living personality with character traits, personal habits and a body language all his own. I could almost see him before me. He is real yet invisible living in my imagination, which is a very real place to inhabit." Good stuff.

The book is probably one third text and two-thirds pictures. It's divided into seven sections, each named after a Phil Collins song from the movie, plus introduction and acknowledgements. Glen Keane's story is just one of many chronicled in the book. If you're a fan of the Tarzan stories, love Disney animation, or are interested in the art of animation in general, you've got to have this book.

Waitsel Smith

I would definately recommend this book to EVERYONE! It is so in-depth about every aspect of digital filmmaking. It has projects and things to think about on every single page. I would have paid $50 bucks for it! In my opinion, it is very cheap for its quality. Also, there are pictures on every page that deponstrate every topic. The pictures really help to open up new ideas in your head. I know they have for me!

Buy it now!

It seemed like there was double the actual pages there was in the book. Everypage has tons of information about everything there is in making short films. I wish the book went into each aspect with more depth because reading this book seemed like a club of information just kept pounding me over the head. It jumps from each technique and tip so fast that it made me want either more examples or more explanation.
With that said, this is definitely for anyone who is interested in making films, even for those who think they know it all. I thought I knew a lot about making films until I read this.

If you know any teenagers who are dying to learn how to make films, get them this book. While it is pretty scant on information (most of it being recycled from giants like Murch and McKee), it is motivational and has lots of fun exercises...and the graphic design is first rate.

Recommended for beginners only.

Purchased this book to polish a 24-minute short screenplay. The story structure and content are solid now, and the characters believable. The lists are an AWESOME source of inspiration. Ready to shoot this Spring. Look forward to the DVD series. BTW, haven't made it through the second half of the book yet, but it looks great.

Sherri Sheridan takes you in her book Developing Digital Short Films through a very spectacular trip in the most interesting design topics which is about films and animation production industry.
While moving through this interesting educational trip, you will find Sherri stands out with her tips, proverbs of famous people and exercises, which is the only way to fully digest the content of the book.

This practice opens your eyes widely to see your favorite movies with a new vision. Every part of the film will remind you with a concept or a principle Sherri has mentioned in this book. Then you will realize how much interesting this filed is. And for sure, a dream to create your own movie comes to mind.

As said, " This book will not make you Steven Spielberg, but it is a good step to start with", this book gives you a strong background in the field of animation.
Not only the people that interest in working in the field of short films who can use this book, but also all who work in the filed of animation, including cartoons and web and digital animation. It will give the key to add a flavor to your animation and create eye-catching ideas with the principles used in film production industry.

This book is divided into three parts that take you step by step to reach by the end of the book to create a complex idea. Enhanced with the exercises after every step. The first part (Digital Storytelling) prepare you to create your own story and develop it to create a story board for your film, in this part you will learn the concepts and principles of creating interesting story and develop it through its stages using its basic elements (Plot, Character, and Theme).
After writing your story, Sherri takes you to the next step in part two (Visualizing Your Scripts) which converts your story into a storyboard ready for production. In this part, you will learn how to use film elements like cameras and locations to well deliver your story target to the audience. This part is very important to learn the principles of filmmaking and animation. However, it is important for all who works in the animation field.
The third part (Creating Digital Short Films for Different Production Styles) is about using different techniques to come up with your film into the production phase applying all what you learnt through the book.

This book provides a great experience for all who work in the fields of films production, cartoon and animation.

Love the stories in this book! I grew up in the Los Angeles area and I wish I had read this book before I moved away. It would have been fun to visit some of the sites Jacobson tells about. The photos are great, too! It's a "must-read" for Hollywood History fans!!

Reading Laurie Jacobson's amazing book "Hollywood Haunted" is a very captivating and thrilling experience to make!
Gosh, I couldn't believe that there were so many mysterious and ghostly stories and backgrounds to Hollywood and all the people involved! I know that "Hollywoodland" isn't the nicest place to be sometimes but all this!!! And with all the paranormal actvities going on!
How Laurie Jacobson has managed to create a book like this is beyond my senses - fantastic! I can just emagine the time and effort it took to "dig out" all the information of all these actors and actresses and their misfortunes and sometimes violent deaths in this, so very special environment. Talk about research!
I deeply recomend this book to all you out there, interested in the spooky histories of Filmland - no one has covered this like Laurie Jacobson!
I give the book five (5) stars without hezitation!!! Thank you!
Chris Lindstrom in Sweden!

Haunted Hollywood has been discussed and presented on cable network, E! And various other channels such as History Channel, A&E, Entertainment Tonight, Unsolved Mysteries and other entertainment news programs. There are many websites, which gives the reader plenty of information. This book contains limited information and falls short of satisfying real ghost enthusiasts. The author could have expanded to include more haunted stories and perhaps more details. The reader could invest his/her money on something else and read from websites.

Uhhh! Jacobson covers a broad spectrum of freaky fright starlitghts on this one. Bella grabbing the wheel of his hearse for one last stroll down Hollywood and Vine. The now Comedy Store that used to be the notorious mob affiliated Ciro's where such a dark specter lurks even a Vietnam vet can still barely talk about it to this day. The house where Sharon Tate saw a vision of her grisly end. And even the Holly Mont haunting's were the famed paranormal investigator Barry Taff couldnt get enough of the ghostly goings on. Especially when a lady who lived blocks from the homes called him weeks after the studies asking why he had left a note in her home when he had in fact left the note in the Holy Mont home. Ahhh, dont read at night or when you are alone in the house!!

I bought this book because I am intimately familiar with Hollywood and it's hauntings and I have met Marc Wanamaker and have seen some his collection of photographs. I was excited to order the book and couldn't wait to get it home.

I have to say that I was disappointed for a few reasons: First: Marc Wanamaker, as owner and founder of Bison Archives, has access to some of the most interesting and detailed photographs in Hollywood history and HH ended up with so few benign photographs and then they were blurry images due to the printing style of the book. Second: the stories were told in such a simple manner with few details. There seemed to be little background research; one of us could have written similar one and two page 'stories' based on what we have watched on television. Third: having worked at a haunted studio and hotel in Hollywood there are many more interesting stories to be told than the ones that were written in HH: for instance: Lionel Barrymore still shows up at the Sunset Marquis, sleeping in beds and scaring bellboys (he lived in one of the Villas many years ago), guests' things disappearing and then reappearing days later, picture frames flying across the room while famous guests are sleeping, etc. At Raleigh Studios there are many stories, like the multiple sightings of a woman in white, flowing gowns walking around the original set of "Ramona" now the studio's cafe. Employees seeing a man and woman in period garb walking down a hallway right past them and then fading into nothing. Stage 5's many sightings, etc. There are many more stories with many more details to be told about haunted Hollywood.

It's a pretty book, and like others have written before me, it is a nice coffee table, fast-glance type of book, but definitely not one for the avid ghost/Hollywood history buff.

My wish would be for a more detailed book with lots more pictures.

I have not gotten all the way through the book - in terms of using the code.

I have read it through.

Very impressed with the level of explanation. Lots of things that never quite clicked now do. Setting up a 2d game engine is a piece of snap.

2 months ago, I was completely new to Java. (I'm getting better now)
The book provides many concepts and technique in game programming.
You'll find it really useful. If you want to learn Java game programming, don't miss this one.

Read also:
Developing Games in Java

This one is easier. But I recommend you read both!

Java has come a long way since books like "The Black Art of Java Game Development", and Killer Game Programming with Java is a great example of how far it's come. The book covers the basics of not only Java and the libraries relating to games, but also the basics of programming games. The book is quite complete, starting with the basics of 2D game programming and moving on to 3D games. The author conveys a genuine excitement in developing games with Java, and makes it simple enough to grasp and understand. The book is very well illustrated, with helpful class diagrams throughout the book.

This book is really worth you money to buy. It has detail explaintion of Java 2D and 3D gamming techniques. However this isn't for beinninger Java learners, it does not include basic syntax of Java language. I strongly recommand this book to all game lovers.

A good descriptive book about sound and graphics programming techniques that go into developing games. Significant number of references on the web mentioned for further research and to complement it. As a seasoned Java programmer other than games, I like that it's written quite clearly on the challenging topics of some chapters.

I purchased this book for a class, it was the textbook we used. It was interesting and seemed to encompass a fair amount of history. I do wish he'd expanded more on the history of computer animation, but it's pretty extensive in and of itself.

The book I ordered was in perfect condition and delivery right away. I got it about half the amount of business days I was supposed to get it. Plus the book isn't mind-numbing to read as it's about the coolest subject ever.

When I think of the history of animation, I tend to divide things into three periods: The Golden Age, noted for early Warner Brothers cartoons and the classic Disney movies such as Snow White and Fantasia; The Age of Mediocrity, where creativity seemed to reach its nadir, as seen most notably in the bland Hanna Barbera cartoons; and the Modern Era, with the resurgence in cartoon creativity, which, starting with The Little Mermaid in the movies and the Simpsons on TV, animation reached a new level of popularity and respectability. Leonard Maltin's book, Of Mice and Magic, shows that my own view of cartoon history is roughly correct but also overly simple: there was plenty of mediocrity in the Golden Age and plenty of decent stuff in the Age of Mediocrity.

Maltin starts off with a chapter about the silent era, when animation was just beginning. Over time, experience would refine the process, but the big leap would occur with sound, in particular with Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie featuring Mickey Mouse. After the silent era chapter, there are chapters that serve as "biographies" of the major animation studios, starting with the biggest of them all, Disney.

The Disney characters are among the most popular in cartoon history (or film history in general). Mickey Mouse may have been the biggest name, but he didn't have much of a personality, so he started being pushed aside in favor of more developed characters, especially Donald Duck, the first major Disney character with any sort of edge. In fact, this is a constant theme in the book: that the weakest cartoons from any studio were the ones that featured characters with no distinct personalities.

Success would often come with the most offbeat and edgy characters, such as Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Popeye and Daffy Duck. But some of the studios had a mercenary nature that would put quantity ahead of quality; probably the worst in the bunch was Terrytoons where good cartoons were the exception, not the rule. Although even Terrytoons would have some memorable characters - in particular, Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle - even many of the cartoons featuring them were not very good (which is why in the world of cartoons, the Terrytoons characters will never outshine even some of the Disney or Warner Brothers second-stringers).

Space limitations prevent me from going as in depth on this subject as I would like, but suffice it to say that after reading this book, I still do feel justified in defining an Age of Mediocrity. It was not that every cartoon in that period was bad, but the good ones were few and far between and classics were very rare indeed. The Age of Mediocrity was filled with bland cartoons that were more cute than funny, often repeated the same gags over and over again, and had few remarkable characters.

What about what I call the Modern Age? It would have started right after this edition of the book was published (1987), so it is understandably, but sadly omitted. Also missing is any real look at TV cartoons, so Bullwinkle, Underdog, Yogi Bear and the Super Friends, among others, are only mentioned in passing. Maltin admits up front that this book won't cover these TV cartoons, nor non-American products, hence the omission of international fare such as the Italian Fantasia-like movie, Allegro non troppo.

The strengths of this book, however, far outweigh the shortcomings. While my opinions sometimes differ from Maltin's on the quality of various cartoons, these are a matter of individual taste (overall, he tends to go easier on the films than I do; for example, he has a more favorable opinion on the UPA cartoons than I do); besides, this book is more of a history of cartoons than a critique of them. In addition to good writing, we gets lots of pictures (only a few in color) and an extensive filmography for all the chronicled cartoon studios.

You probably need to be a certain age (probably at least 30) to fully appreciate this book, as younger readers may not have really grown up with these cartoons and may not have even seen them as adults (and since many of these cartoons were geared only to kids, they would not even have much appeal to those over 10). But if you remember these cartoons and look back at them with fond nostalgia, this is a great book.

Leonard Maltin has a real knowledge of animation and his passion and enthusiasm for cartoons is apparent. The book traces animation from its beginnings at the turn of the century up to modern day. Extensive coverage is provided to all the major cartoon studios and many of the key directors. The illustrations are excellent. Maltin provides a fair amount of detail but not too much to overwhelm the casual fan. Anyone interested in the history of animation or just wants information on which films to see is well advised to pick up this very well written book.

I found this book to be an excellent reference source for cartoons produced to be shown in theaters. However, entitling it "A History of American Animated Cartoons" is not exactly truth in advertising. I think most people (except for perhaps some obsessive purists) would agree that the cartoons produced for television from the 40/50's onward would also be considered American Animated Cartoons. But none of these great cartoons (i.e., Gumby, Beany and Cecil, Clutch Cargo, Hanna-Barbara's Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Pixie & Dixie, and others through the present) are included here in any detail. Also missing from the appendices of studio output are the more obscure products like Warner's Private Snafu and other animation produced for corporate clients. Mr Maltin would do cartoon lovers well by commissioning a second volume to complete the story.

for anyone that wants to have a professional approach to digital video this is a good book.

This book is a top shelf resource. It is useful to both novices and those with more experience. Starting with the very basics, and that does involve some physics, it works its way through virtually all aspects of sound production for digital video.

Do not be fooled. You are not going to learn much to improve the built in recording that comes with your camera. The author is unapologetic in his broad condemantion of the built-in stuff in terms of both quality and usablility. He goes into the reasons and gives a bit of advice on making the most of what you have but this is not what the book is about. Instead, it is about exactly what the title claims. Unfortunately, this is seldom if ever achieved with the built in stuff.

After going over some of the basics of sound and recording, different types of equipment are described in terms of suitability to task and cost. After that, the actual use of this equipment is considered in a variety of situations. The book is not just concerned with equipment and its use, however. There are chapters on editing and even on the use of prefessional talent. In short, the assumption is that you want to get good quality audio for your video production. The author then describes how to do exactly that in a variety of settings. Unfortuately, doing the job sometimes takes a bit more effort than just pushing the record button on the camera. It also take a bit more money although it does not have to take a great deal more. It depends on what type of sound is needed and how you are going to use it.

If all you want is to catch the background sound in a home video, spend your money on something else. If you want to learn how to get the best possible sound for your particular need and preserve that sound to use with video, you need this book.

I've often been taken in by large reference books that promise to be a comprehensive guide to a subject, but turn out to be a lot of filler (screen shots of PC applications, or an excuse for the author to give lots of less-than-useful anectodal stories, etc.)

Not so with Jay Rose's 'Producing Great Sound for Digital Video' book. This informative guide covers a lot of ground, including sound theory, equipment explanations and use, and techniques for sound production including NLE tips, audio mixing, mic use etc. The great thing about this book is it is written with the expectation that your sound production values should be professional, but it's still accessible to hobbyists and those on a budget.

While I think novices to the field of sound engineering (like myself) probably benefit most from this work, I think a lot of the material here is useful to the video production community as a whole. I learned a lot from this, great work.

Audio is really important, and this book will make sure you get incredible sound at every shoot. I really recommend this book!

Where do I start? In a nutshell, this book *IS* the only book to have on sound if your only buying one. No lie. My background... 20 years ago I used to be the "The Amp Dr" fixing commercial PA systems, amps, etc. I have a much better background on sound than most, I was an electrical engineer after that, designing power supplies, and other analog interfaces to digital equipment. Most of that has been dormant for the last 20 years, but I recently decided to make documentaries, and as two of my first projects deal with music, sound seemed pretty important. I got several books on sound, I figure buy six, one has to be good. You can save your money, this book was the one in six.

Knowing audio but NOT audio for video, one of the most important things I discovered is that a professional quality product (video) can only be made with good sound.. If you think you $2 -$10K pro-sumer camera is going to deliver it with the standard mic turn on "auto level", you're really wrong. Half of good sound is the absence of sound, or at least the absence of unintended sound. Insuring good sound is more work than it sounds, but the quality and impact of what I am shooting now is significantly better than before. Otherwise, its' all like home videos, maybe pretty shots and cleverly edited, but still seems like home videos. It all becomes much clearer after reading this book.

When I picked up this book, it was a mental orgasm. Not only does this guy know his stuff, even more importantly, he knows how to communicate it. The way it was written, I was easily able to skip over the stuff I didn't want to review, and go straight for the meat. It is meaty. Almost EVERYTHING I wanted to know was here. I did end up going back just to see how he explained the basics.. great! One of the things I liked about his style, is some authors will tell you something is bad or wrong, with no explanation.. Jay give you good examples.. the CD recording with the book is worth it's weight in , he give examples of proper recording and bad recording (with explanations). You can actually hear it as oppose to read an explanation and take it on faith. Borrow money if you have too.. but buy it.

My message to Jay:
If you read this Jay, I have a few requests. (1) Don't let this book go out of date. Please do you SNR and distortion measurements on some of the new HD cameras. Given the bit resolution is now even less with HDV (12 bits (HDV) vs 16 bits (DV)), I think dual systems are even more important to cover in greater detail. (2) Update with some of the new digital recorders that are replacing DATs (3) Thanks for a great book!

If you are interested in improving your code to be more maintainable, flexible and gaining a better understanding of Object Oriented Programming (OOP) this is a good book to have. The core concepts are explained in readable language and the code examples are for the most part well-written.

I did notice one criticism of another reviewer is that the book did not address Flex UI components or MXML. Flex is certainly beyond the scope of this book and there are many excellent books on Flex 2+ that will better explain the concepts of programming in Flex. This book is about ActionScript 3 and so it mainly addresses the classes available in the flash package. That does not mean that you cannot apply the concepts from this book to a Flex application however Cairngorm and PureMVC are the patterns most Flex developers gravitate towards and so they would be a better starting point for someone interested in that development platform. For those patterns a developer would likely find the internet to be the best resource for tutorials and information however both of those design patterns are based on core concepts explained in detail in this book so it can give you greater understanding and make the learning process easier.

Even if Flex is your primary area of interest this book can help with understanding many of the underlying core concepts of programming in ActionScript 3 and given the right understanding you can create a Flex application with little or no MXML.

The section on events is worth purchasing the book. It is well-written and is one of the better if not best explanations on the subject as has been pointed out in other reviews.

This book served really well as a review to some of the GOF patterns. I already understood the patterns covered, looking at the Actionscript implementations was still somewhat helpful.

I bought the book for its coverage of Actionscript events, which is really the key to creating great apps with Actionscript and Flex (WARNING: all of the examples assume you're building Flash applications, which are similar but not identical to Flex apps). And for its coverage of E4X, Actionscript 3's new XML format. Those two chapters are gems, and I wish I could have bought them in pamphlet form.

Although written specifically for ActionScript this book really helped me further my understanding of design patterns and how to apply them to all my software development projects. Additionally, the the last few chapters cover some advanced ActionScript topics like E4X. Recommended for any experienced developer interested in design patterns.

This book is clearly written by authors who "think in ActionScript 3" and it's written at the perfect level for folks who already understand design patterns but want some guidance on how they apply (or don't) in AS3.

If you are looking for an introduction to Design Patterns, this book does a decent job of that but it generally assumes you have a bit of understanding in that regard. The HeadFirst book (java) walks you through application evolution which really makes the case for why the patterns are useful. The HeadFirst book also includes exercises that really make the concepts sink in and teach you to recognize when each pattern applies. However, the head first book is very much a java book. Similarly, the original design patterns book by the Gang of Four (GoF) is about design patterns in C++.

This book, however is written clearly from the perspective of an ActionScript 3 (AS3) programmer. In some core ways, AS3 is very different than Java and even more so with respect to C++. The event model is baked into the language and asynchronous programming is a different style. Also, XML and XPath are native constructs in ActionScript 3, not libraries like they are in other languages. These differences (among others) imply that some of the original GoF and Java patterns manifest themselves differently and some patterns don't apply at all. This book doesn't merely take the Java or C++ idioms and make them run under ActionScript 3. They've totally re-thought them and presented the ones that are appropriate for AS3 in a way that is probably ideal for AS3. They've also left out or provided alternatives for the traditional ones that are not appropriate considering the language differences. For instance, the observer pattern is one of the core GoF and HeadFirst patterns. However, it doesn't show up in this book. Instead, there is a chapter on "WORKING WITH EVENTS" which is the native AS3 construct that essentially takes the place of the observer pattern. In contrast, the O'reilly book happily shows you an AS3 translation of the GoF/HeadFirst observer pattern and never tells you to use the built-in event structure instead.

Not only do the authors demonstrate their "thinking in AS3" at the level of design patterns but their code examples include lots of little AS3 specific idioms. AS3 still shows it's dynamic language roots in subtle ways and these authors play to that strength. For instance, a dynamic class inherited from the Proxy class includes a method called, getProperty(). In chapter 4, they override this method and use it in combination with E4X (the native XML capability), to provides an elegant way to build a generic application settings framework that you can use in any application without modification. If your XML settings file changes, the class will appear to magically change its interface. The chapter is about the Singleton pattern but I learned about dynamic/Proxy/getProperty() and E4X idioms as a side benefit.

If I had one complaint about this book, it's a minor one and it's a complaint that I also make about the Java language and I'm now starting to regularly make about Adobe's recommendations with respect to AS3 class interfaces. Like C# and Python and other more recent languages, AS3 has a construct for turning public property references into get/set function calls without changing the calling code. This book shows you that style of coding as well as the Java recommended getSomeProperty/setSomeProperty style but it recommends that you never use public properties in your class interfaces. In my mind, the main advantage to having the get/set function language feature is that you can start out with public properties and later change them to accessors methods without breaking the calling code. The reason we don't recommend that you have public properties in java is that there is no language feature that allows you to later add accessor methods without breaking the calling code. In Java, the lessor of two evils is to have you always create them up front. I see no reason to live with the same evil in AS3. However, this is minor nit and now that you've read my explanation here, you can ignore the recommendation. :)

I highly recommend this book. If you have the least bit of experience with design patterns and are now coding in AS3, just get this book. If you are totally new to the concept of design patterns, then you may want to get the HeadFirst book AND this book.

At first when I thought about buying this book I was not sure to what to expect but I did see Joey Lott's name on it and thought it had to be worth it. Well it seems that this is exactly what I have been looking for. As a developer I come across many common problems that haunt me through every application I create, from passing data throughout the application to proper encapsulation.

This is a must have for your library. I have been working with Actionscript 3.0 for close to a year now and I will now have this book close to my side at all times.

Joey Lott(who never disappoints me) and Danny Patterson give a clear comprehensive explanation of design patterns for developers. Not only do they explain them but also clean examples on how and why you would use them.

The only reason I do not give 5 stars is there is a lot of syntax errors especially in the code snippets. Since I am a little more advanced in Actionscript I was able to catch them with little effort but a novice programmer may not.

Like having an instructor walk you through with examples.

I really like this book because the author leads the reader step by step and he gives lots of examples. The appendix part at the end of the book is very helpful. Although there are parts that are not-so clear, if you follow it through it'll be clear at the end. I would definitely recommend this book for somebody who just started using actionscript.

This is a good book and well worth its price. I especially liked the smartclip chapter and the keyboard has been very busy with me putting what I learned to good use. If you are a game writer this may be an excellent book for you also. There is a caveat here, however. The book is filled with errors, references that aren't there, missing flas, flas with "work" already done when they are meant to be the ones readers practice with. No doubt this was due to deadlines. Still [sigh]. This is a good book for getting used to writing your code from scratch. No references to the "normal" actionscript mode, so you more or less have to type away. Not a bad thing. If, however, you are the kind of person that is very "linear" and do not do well when you have to figure out why something doesn't work when you did ALL the steps correctly - this may not be the book for you.

after read this specific book on actionscript, a miracle is happen. Now i'm able to understand this strange-but-exciting language. Now I'm able to read other book on programing with actionscript.
True this book doesn't have a lot of picture, but please bear in mind that this book is teach you how to think, hear and talk in Actionscript language instead of how to draw picture in flash

Livingston does a good job of introducing action script to those who have had little previous exposure to it. In particular, his examples tend to be interesting. I agree with him in that to get to know action script well its best to use expert mode so that all of the scripting must be typed in--though it can be a lot of typing. The one thing that keeps this from being a great book is that in the last two-thirds of the book the examples can be tricky and the example fla's on the CD are not necessarily in the state the book places them in--most of the time they have stuff that you won't learn about until later so it interferes with the current example. I was particuliarly disappointed with the 4th chapter that the author states is the hardest, yet the major example is mixed up...I finally skipped it.

I absolutely love 50's (and early 60's) animation styles, so based on the other reviews here I eagerly awaited this book. It was a huge letdown.

First of all, the majority of content here is biographical information about the artists who created this art. As such a nice piece of scholarship and research, and giving these artists their just rewards is a Good Thing. But that's basically all there is.

Yes, there are some images, even quite a lot, but the artwork isn't large or arranged in a manner to make any sense (other than as biographical material). There are a few tantalizingly good images, but the vast majority are small, rather pedestrian and, oddly enough, not particularly indicative of the style of the period.

The author sets great store by "unconventionalism", but in point of fact the art of the 50's and 60's did become conventional -- it became its own convention. And this kind of historical perspective is sorely missing here, in large part due to the way the material is organized (it's strictly a studio by studio look -- no timeline or growth of the art is presented in any way. Each studio is given a page or two, and the studios are listed alphabetically).

If you are into cartoon history *facts* then this book will be a goldmine of information for you. If, like me, you are more interested in the visual aspects of the art then I'd strongly recommend skipping this and spending the money either renting or buying some of the cartoons from that time period that are available on DVD (contrary to the author's opinion, much of the stuff IS available: once again, his bias towards the unconventional means that he overlooks the majority of work of that time period).

If you are a cartoonist, or animator, or aspiring to be either one, this is the book to have. Hurry before it's out of print!!!

Cartoon Modern by Amid Amidi is a book who's time has come. As an artist
and a baby boomer, this book brings back warm memories of my youth sitting
in front of the T.V.(back then Cartoons only happened on Saturday.)
So these images have a fond connection to a developing mind at an age
that soaks it all in, from English ONE to Gerald McBong Bong. Just a note,
I do have 3 of the original Gerald McBong Bong and find genius in the
illustrations, so timely, to have all these illustrations and works of art
is like having bell bottoms popular again! I have been trying to find
other Gerald McBong Bong tapes at flea markets, yard sales, etc. So how curious
to see Gerald McBong Bong in the stores again. I bought two different D.V.D.s
my fingers and opened it up and all the wonderful illustrations were turned
into a over intense experience of the story, packed with friends and parents, noises,more friends,all packed
into a 1/2hour show. This tells me two things, our children need more attention
grabbing, multi-tasking everything, which means when we were children , T.V.
had been out for just a few years and there were no computers, hi-def,
cell phones, I Pods, e mail, in fact I don't think the first computer game "Ping
,pong was , but years away. This book is wonderful in it's simple ,
but great art and illustration, when life was not so erratic. I also want
to let the cartoon fans know that this book is packed with tons of color. I always want a read a review that lets me know there is color ,
I am a colorist, in my art, and I do think we may see some of these cartoon
images in bits and pieces in our art today. It's a good thing.

This book is so much more than I thought it would be. An incredible source of art, artists and companies, this book is an essential for those who respect animation in general. Incredible reference for the price!

This book covers a vital an oft-neglected period in animation history. When I first laid eyes upon it, in a bookstore, I think I audibly gasped. It is that beautiful. Do not hesitate to purchase this book, which incidentally, won the Theatre Library Association Award for outstanding book in the area of film or broadcasting. Hopefully, there'll be a sequel.

Good review of the history of stop motion and a great introdutction into making stop motion movies, though not too deep. Some explanations are rather short and not everything is explained. Good price and quality.

Aardman is one of the most admired animation studios around, known by animators and regular people alike as the creators of beloved clay animation characters like Wallace and Gromit, and the "Creature Comforts'" pent-up zoo cat ("I need space!"). This book will be devoured like candy by anyone wanting a closer look. The text provides a well-rounded animation primer, but it's the pictures that really make this book such a valuable reference. Clay characters are removed from their backgrounds and depicted clearly in frame-by-frame movement sequences that demystify even the complex animation sequences. It also offers practical advice on building characters and other handy tips for animation production. If you are doing clay animation of your own, you'll refer to this book again and again. In the UK this book is titled "Cracking Animation" for the cheese-loving Wallace's favorite complement.

no comment

This book was excellent! It saved me from totally [messing] up a research project on Animation I am doing. Though they only describe how they really make their professional films, and how to do it with stuff like their custom armatures and foam latex, which i had NO WAY to get my hands on, It helped overall.

An excellent book for fans of Aardman and those wanting a basic overview, but only fair for those looking for detailed information on how to create their own stop-motion films. Susanah Shaw's book comes closer to being the "bible" for puppet animators. But there are at least 6 crafts involved in stop motion, each deserving of a book in themselves, so no single volume can cover it all in detail. Worth buying, but don't expect it to be the all-in-one answer.