Building an Animation Library/Essential Books and DVDs

Animation 1; Learn to Animate Cartoons Step by Step by Preston Blair

Hundreds of drawn examples and plenty of practical technical advice from a Disney and Warner Bros. veteran. This book is a must.

The Illusion of Life – Disney Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston

The story of Disney animation by two artists who were there for all the great films. It’s a textbook in ‘how to animate’ as well as a history. Pricey, but worth every penny. Beautifully illustrated, too, with plenty of color and b/w finished drawings and production sketches.

Character Animation Crash Course! By Eric Goldberg

A short but good text from the Disney animator who gave life to the Genie in Aladdin and who directed the “Rhapsody in Blue” sequence from Fantasia 2000. Book includes a DVD with animated examples of various principles explained in the text. A good supplement to Blair.

Animation Unleashed: 100 Principles Every Animator, Comic Book Writer, Filmmaker, Video Artist and Game Developer Should Know By Ellen Besen

Addresses the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how’ of animation. A well illustrated and extremely thoughtful guide to the philosophy that drives every good animated film.

How to Cheat in Adobe Flash: The Art of Design and Animation by Chris Georgenes

A well illustrated how-to manual for getting the most out of Flash animation. Includes DVD.

Human Figure in Motion and Animals in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge

19th century sequential photographs by a pioneer of photography. Contains a wealth of visual information. Includes DVDs with jpegs and animations.

Other good books about animation and the craft of film

Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898 – 1928 by Donald Crafton

Animation did not begin with Mickey Mouse! Know your history.

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin

A detailed and entertaining studio by studio history of animation in America.

Paper Dreams: The Art & Artists of Disney Storyboards by John Canemaker

A lavishly illustrated book of the artwork behind the Disney films.

Animation: Walt Disney Animation Studios, The Archive Series

Facsimile drawings from Disney’s vast achives. Nothing but great pictures!

Story: Walt Disney Animation Studios, The Archive Series

Facsimile drawings from Disney’s vast achives. Again lots of great pictures!

The Five C’s of Cinematography; Motion Picture Filming Techniques by Joseph C. Mascelli

All that you need to know and more about making the camera come alive.

The Conversations; Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje

Insightful interviews with a master of sound and visual editing.

Understanding Comics and Making Comics by Scott McCloud

These two books do not deal directly with animation and/or film, but they do dissect how to tell a story with pictures and words. Many film schools use comics as a way to discuss storyboarding, and many comic artists turn to film for compositional inspiration. In fact, these two books are required reading in many film programs.

Essential DVDs

Before Mickey; an Animated Anthology

Dozens of animated shorts from 1898 to 1928. Know your history! Accompanies the book of the same name.

Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

This is the film that set the standard for realistic animation. A classic.

Popeye the Sailor: 1933 – 1938

Max Fleischer was Disney’s most serious competitor in the 1930s, and this collection of 60 short films is the perfect antidote to Disney’s earnest and idealistic realism. Urban, surreal and very well drawn.

Looney Tunes Golden Collection and Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2

Warner Bros. is to Disney what Jim Carrey is to John Wayne. Featuring Bugs, Daffy, Tweety, Elmer, the Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote and others. Includes the great film, “What’s Opera, Doc?”

School House Rock!

A wonderful blend of music, drawing and instruction from the 1970’s.

Animation Greats

A collection of 8 short films from the National Film Board of Canada, our neighbor to the north. This collection showcases their most famous films from the 60’s to the 90’s.

The Best of Ren & Stimpy

John Ks’ cult cartoon from the early 90’s, the show that single-handedly saved animation from Saturday morning mediocrity. (Death to Scooby Doo!)

My Neighbor Totoro

Miyazaki is a poet among animators. While the subtexts of his films do not always translate well from East to West, they are beautiful and haunting.

Final Note

Animation is first and foremost a kind of film making, and two of the greatest film makers were Stanley Kubrick (USA/UK) and Akira Kurosawa (Japan). Their best movies - “The Shining,” “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “The Seven Samurai,” to name a few - are masterpieces of visual narrative. Study these films and you will learn volumes about composition, pacing, editing, lighting, dialog, use of music, etc. Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarrantino are excellent contemporary filmmakers, but they would be the first to acknowledge their debt to Kurosawa and Kubrick and to point you in their direction.