Animation Books

This book doesn't tell you when to use different effects, transitions, etc, but just how to physically do them in Windows Movie Maker or iMovie. Like literally how to do a wipe or a fade. The cd that comes with it is also really bad and you'll find yourself either laughing at it or bored out of your mind. This book isn't worth the money unless you're someone who's barely ever used computers and needs to know that you much drag and drop an effect to get it to work.

This book starts with the basics. If you've never loaded a movie into your computer (like me) then the authors walk you through those steps. I found it to be a great help. I had never used Movie Maker before and was able to get into it pretty easily. You may need to get a book for iMovie or Movie Maker if you are new to these types of apps (doesn't teach these programs). But I was able to pick it up pretty easily.

This book is a cookbook of digital video recipes; you can skip around the book and choose the effect you want to achieve. The steps are thoroughly explained and easily performed. There are a bunch of creative suggestions sprinkled throughout the book. There are movies samples provided for your use for both iMovie and Movie Maker!

So you are probably wondering what types of effects you can achieve. A few of my favorites include:

Dealing with adverse lighting

Glamour shots

Sporting events

Vintage slapstick

Sound narrating

Rolling credits

The projects are fun and very well written. If you want to learn some new techniques to spice up your home movies then this book is for you. There are directions for exporting for use on DVD, CD-ROM or for the internet.

The CD has a ton of useful tools such as sound files, sample clips for all 50 projects, demo software.

I've got to admit that although I'm intrigued with digital video, I'm just a novice and find the whole video editing process a little intimidating. This book helped me over the hump: I found it to be a great resource for helping me create some cool effects by simply following the step-by-step instructions -- and there are certainly plenty of effects to choose from here. An added bonus is the included CD-ROM, which allowed me to preview each effect before I tried it with my own footage. I would definitely recommend this book.

Great book for walking through the basic, prominent features of AE. The included DVD is a definite plus.

This book is well written and fun to go through. It's a "must-have" for anyone who wants to dive into AfterEffects.

I have only begun working on the 1st 2 lessons. I have done the 1st one several times. It isn't that the book doens't have good information its just that it is often difficult to follow exactly what the writers are telling you to do. The lessons themselves are pretty basic and helpful. I just wish they could be a bit more specific so that I am not having to figure out what layers or project selection I am supposed to make. I have had the same problem with both lesson 1 and 2. I think a DVD lesson would have been better so that there would have been nothing left out of the details. Once you figure out what the writer wants you to select, the book isn't bad.

I have been going through this book for a couple weeks and its cool but i got hung up on chapter 6 today because some of the script for download dosent match up with the downloadable files. would be cool if this book came with a cd. I was hung up for over an hour cuz of some misslabled text. I figured it out...they named buttons wrong. ex. butScript instaed of scriptBut(you will know what I mean if u buy this). this book would be 5 star if it came with a cd but as is I give it a 3.75 star for the lack of cd. I am learnig alot though.

I learned a lot from this book and keep it close and handy. The ActionScript reference in Appendix A is terrific. In fact, I like it better than Macromedia's online reference. My only complaint about this book, and this is the second book I've had this problem with, is that several of the example/sample files downloaded had already been completed. That's very frustrating when you're trying to learn.

This book contains 640 pages of real world examples complemented by a robust website with source code and more. A very complete work and a must have for anyone serious about Flash MX development.

I bought this book out of curiousity used. (.40 Cents) So i figured i can't really loose. For Kids it can help them do something better with their time. It is a Great little book that shows them different creative ways to make animations. I would say for your kids. GO FOR IT. I will share it with mine (down the road when i have them.) Have a Fab Day

Jen

I bought this book out of curiousity used. ... So i figured i can't really loose. For Kids it can help them do something better with their time. It is a Great little book that shows them different creative ways to make animations. I would say for your kids. GO FOR IT. I will share it with mine (down the road when i have them.) Have a Fab Day...

I've read quite a few books on animation, but this seems to be the best for kids of any that I've read. The book covers just about every kind of animation and tells how you can do it yourself. It tells how to do flip book animation, cell animation, clay animation, computer animation, and lots more. The book only devotes a few pages to each type of animation, but it always hits the important points and tells you what you need to know to do it yourself.

The only kind of animation that this book doesn't cover is 3-D computer animation. If the book was just a little bit newer it probably would cover that. It doesn't matter though, because probably few kids have the software to do 3-D animation on their computer.

The book is full of lots of great illustrations and is very interesting to read. If you want to create your own animations you'll really get excited when you read this book.

I think it's pretty sad they don't got a book like this out there for people to pick up and be inspired by when shows like He-Man did a tremendous job for helping domestic animators and writers get started. Shows how much people care about America when the last animation company to keep jobs here are shunned in favor of publishers and big business playing suck-up to red China.

This book is marvelous, the only reason it is hard to find is 1/it was published back in 1993. 2/the publishers shut down very shortly after publishing it, the copyright owners of the book were originally going to re-publish it through someone else due to that small tiny company shutting down strait away but they never bothered to in the end which is why only a very tiny amount of copies still exist. I was lucky that someone sold there old copy in the used and new section of Amazon.com and when recieving it was just like new. It gives you episode guides to nearly all their shows, but some do not have guides. but believe it or not SPORT BILLY is my life time favourite but through my experience he was not a very high rated show, not even as much as Tarzan who was a poor rating him self in the 80's after it finished airing in the 70's. I have bean looking for a sport billy guide for years and no site on the net has one which made me think this book will tell me some stuff about sport billy and it's creators but no way is it going to have an episode guide, then when it arived sport billy had an episode guide which I was really amazed about, which can only mean not one private fan who have put their own sites up with a-z series index's and guides have got hold of this book yet, which makes me think it is even more limited in prints than I thought originally which makes sence being it took me 4 years to come across a copy.

I searched for this title on Amazon because it was mentioned and pictured in the documentary on BCI's DVD release of Filmation's FLASH GORDON animated series. With BCI getting ready to release many more old Filmation shows on DVD, isn't it about time to re-release this title? I urge the original authors, Michael Swanigan & Darrell McNeil, if they read this, to contact Amazon about making this title available to the public again. Although I never got a chance to read this book, the rating given above is for Swanigan & McNeil's other book, HANNA-BARBERA'S WORLD OF SUPER ADVENTURE, which I have and recommend. It too has been long out-of-print and should be reprinted and expanded with even more illustrations.

This book provides an insider's look at how animation is done on computers. It goes into many of the basics, but nevertheless, is not for complete beginners, since it assumes from the beginning that you've got some conception of how animation works and are familiar with some of the vocabulary. However, if you've worked a little with Flash, or have read books like 24 Hours to Flash, you should be able to follow along with this book. Much of the real content of the book is in chapters 2, 3, 4, and 6, where Wagstaff explains the behind-the-scenes details of how professional animation is done, and what makes the difference between a believable animation and a hack-job. Most of the remaining chapters provide brief descriptions of software tools that can be used for various animation tasks. These latter chapters, are of, course, already out of date, but the materials in the preliminary chapters are so well done that the book is well worth the price and will be for years to come.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a must have for anyone who wants to make things move on a computer screen. Yes, the book is named "Animation on the Web" but it's full of wonderful information useful for anyone involved in Multimedia development, computer presentations, etc. Highlights include excerpts of an article on animation by John Lasseter, director of "Toy Story" and a brief but wonderfully funny section on applying Newton's laws of motion to Wile E. Coyote. Part of what I do involves multimedia development, and I expect this will be pretty dog-eared and beaten up by the end of the year. As I said, it's fun reading and chock full of great information.

I bought this book because a lot of people want animation on their web sites, and I needed to learn to do it. I didn't have any idea how to do more than a slide show, or know why I would even want to. After reading this book, I'm now an animation fan, and am designing my web sites with animation in mind. I can now make intelligent decisions about when to use what type of animation, and what tools and techniques to use.

It's obvious that the author is extremely knowledgeable in both traditional and computer animation, and he relates his knowledge well. He starts the book with a solid introduction to the techniques animators have been using for decades. He refers to these techniques as he goes on to discuss both general computer animation and web animation. He believes that in the not-so-distant future, web animation will be similar to today's CD-ROM animation, and he writes with this in mind.

The book is very well organized with chapters on many topics such as cell animation, video, 3D graphics & animation, QuickTime VR, etc. He completes each topic with a thorough overview of software tools, and walkthroughs of various techniques. He covers both Mac and Windows, noting which applications are available for which computers.

Martin Hash has brought 3D Character animation to the desktop at a price nearly anyone-- even an artist!-- can afford. This book is not just a book-- and it's more than just "flying logos." It's the complete software package that will enable you to make broadcast and cinema-quality 3D animations --FEATURING CHARACTERS-- far in advance of packages that cost thousands or tens of thousands. With Animation: Master, you truly can make your dreams a reality.

Simple and intuative to work with, but proffesional all the way, AM98 ROCKS!

Hash's Animation: Master is, for the price, one of the best modeling and animation tools around. Sometimes it seems to be a bit unstable, though, and shuts down without you being able to save your work. I am not sure if this is a problem with the software or a problem with my system but it happens only with AM. In either case I have learned to save often. Over all I would have to say that unless you want to spend $2,000 dollars for 3D Studio Max you can't do any better. Also you may want to check out Jeff Paries "Animation:Master Handbook". It comes with a demo that has pretty much every function that the real thing has for about 1/4th of the price. It will let you get your feet wet in 3D animation and give you the chance to see if this program is for you.

Yes, the lack of glossy photos & impressive models is a little disappointing but the accompanying CD makes up for it. The book is well written, easy to follow, & entertaining. It covers subjects not in the original 2002 book. I especially like the chapter on inorganic modelling - very useful.
If you want to learn how to use Animation Master - you need this book.

Animation Master is an excellent and affordable entry into spline modeling. Unlike other, more expensive, animation programs, the Animation Master from Hash is fairly intuitive. This book is an excellent tool as an introduction and snapshot of the continuously refined Animation Master program. The next step is joining the community online, which I have yet to do.

A:M has been growing in size and power since it's first introduction a bit over twenty years ago. It's now a full blown 3D annimation package. Because it was first designed for pretty low powered systems (when other packages ran on workstations) it has a legacy of being easy to use.

In terms of an annimation package easy is a relative term. In doing annimation you still have a lot creation to do. Unlike a simple picture, you have to program everything that you see on the screen. This includes not only the people and monsters but every blade of grass.

The book is basically tutorial in nature. That is, it describes what you want to construct and then leads you through the process of making it appear on your screen. As with most software books this one starts out with very simple things, but by the time you finish you're worked with virtuality of the addresses. As far as I can tell, this is the one book available on the A:Mstucture

A:M quite inexpensive for a full blown annimation software system. A:M has a suggested list price of $299 (Amazon's price is $229).

If you ever needed to look up an anime OVA or movie title, be it the original Japnese title of it's English translation, you could probably find it here. I've only noticed one omission, but found a lot of other titles I've never heard of.

If you're looking for the perfect companion to keep you informed in the anime movie buisness, then this is the book for you. Not only does it contain titles on every anime movie or series between 1983 to 1995, but it also gives you your money's worth of information. From important people that had to do with the anime, to translations for beginners, a short summary of the anime, references to other anime, and side notes to keep your interest. Every anime that this book has recommended is a must see. This is a great book if you're looking for an anime but don't know whether or not to see it. It still brings a tear to my eyes.

The Anime: movie guide, has a wonderful display of illustrations, reviews and information protruding from its pages. Although it is in great need of an update now, it has a wonderful selection of top ten lists, a very well made index and even a few helping words to get the new anime fan started. An excellent layout and page format. The only area I disliked was the way the categories were placed, I felt the icons on The Complete Anime Guides were much easier to use. Despite this negative area, The Anime: Movie Guide by Helan McCarthy is truly a book in which all anime fans should partake in.

Review of iLIfe 05

This book does NOT go into all the details of an application, instead it shows you several projects and how ordinary folks would complete them with the iLife applications. It has a DVD with photos, etc. on it so you can work step by step through the book. It is a great book for beginners, but may not be technical enough for experienced users.

It begins with how to import music into your Mac, transfer the music to your iPod, burn a CD of this music, make a movie and finally burn a DVD.
The chapter on iTunes also shows you how to get the names of songs, change names of songs, create playlists, etc. A good basic beginning.

The iPod chapter gives you the basics including name limitations for songs so you can see them on your iPod, and even the kind of cable connections you need to play your iPod songs through a stereo.

There's a chapter on good photographic techniques and this includes importing your photos directly into iPhoto from your digital camera. It does NOT go into detail about how to import from your camera if you don't want a direct import into iPhoto, but does tell you how to import a folder of photos.

Basic iPhoto tools are clearly explained, including what happens to the original when you crop, eliminating red eye and a very detailed section on making an iBook. It describes the steps to making a simple slide show which is great for beginners. The next chapter, however, goes into more depth and teaches you to make a more sophisticated slide show including special effects such as the Ken Burns effect.

It has a good discussion of why you would want to use iMovie in certain situations instead of iPhoto to make slide shows. Using still photos to create an iMovie is detailed, step by step including how to add titles and music.

Want to make a time lapse movie of that cactus starting to bloom? Don't have a digital camera but do have an iSight. This book will tell you how and explain what kind of transition & times to use.

Editing tips, the cable needed to connect your camcorder, using the timeline and finally adding narration are illustrated in an easy to understand format.

There's a set of extensive examples of how to add audio recorded on your camcorder into a movie and synchronizing it with the movie.
He also explains how to record using the built in microphone on your Mac.
There's an extensive chapter giving hollywood hints on how to take videos with your camcorder.

Garage band with explanations of the major functions and an example of combining sounds is quite detailed.

The DVD chapter explains how to make a DVD, the difference between a slide show made with DVD versus iPhoto, and finally how to burn a DVD.

This book is part of the Apple training series. Peachpit publishes all of the Apple Pro Training series which is the official training curriculum for Apple Pro applications.
This book is a very beginner how-to book for iLife '05 and is the only Apple certified guide to iLife. The author has not published anything else for Peachpit, but has written 3 other titles, dealing with video editing, one of which is in its 4 edition. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is just starting with iLife, especially those new to Apple. It is a very basic book written in plain language and it takes you from not knowing how to do much more than open the program to being able to perform frequently used and much needed functions. You can even get new lessons online as the program is updated. For the most part, this book is just getting right down to business, but there are a few dry humor lines included. I am somewhat new to iLife and I felt like this book was a great help and I have already recommended it to a few friends. The "note" sections are very helpful if you have not played with many apple programs. There are a lot of clear graphics and each lesson is step by step, it doesn't take long to get through the book. You can do the lessons at your own pace and take weeks or just a few hours. There is only one thing that I wasn't thrilled with; the "note" sections contain most of the troubleshooting for the lessons and in some of the lessons it would ask you to perform a task and then wait until 3 tasks later to tell you how to access that particular command if it is not readily available. So, like I said, just a small error in order. Other than that minor glitch, I love it and completed it over the course of a week; I think it probably took about 8 hours total.

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 manging 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.