The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age (Paperback)

by Don Hahn (Author)
Key Phrases: story reel, effects animator, The Lion King, Walt Disney, Chicken Little (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age is a step-by-step introduction to animated filmmaking from one of the foremost producers of animated features. By drawing (sorry!) upon more than seven decades of Disney's classic and beloved animated films, this stunning book explores the role of the directors, story artists, songwriters, and animators who each play an integral role in the creation of an animated feature.

This book includes a special focus on the digital techniques of filmmaking and fresh, behind-the-scenes work from the most current Disney films, including Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and Bolt, as well as showing other forms of animation such as the stop-motion of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Disney Editions (October 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423104765
• ISBN-13: 978-1423104766
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #270,579 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So that's how they do it!, October 8, 2008

By	Gary Gisel (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've long been a fan of animated movies, enjoying the story and the art but also being fascinated by what it must take to get one of these movies from concept to the screen.
The Alchemy of Animation does a great job of pulling back the curtain and explaining the process.

This book would be well worth the price for the plethora of pictures alone. It includes images from all stages of the process from initial concept through the final versions used in the movies. While that is a great reason to buy the book, it isn't the best part. The book is full of insight and information about animation. In particular I appreciated the focus on the story as the key element, regardless of the art form chosen and the way that the differences and similarities between traditional animation, stop motion and computer animation are highlighted.

If you are a fan of animation, or are looking for a great gift to give someone who is a fan I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just like going on an animation studio tour, April 4, 2009

By	Parka (Singapore) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Length:: 0:16 Mins

This book is like a pass that will give you access to a tour in an animation studio. The tour guide here is Don Hahn, who has been in the animation industry for years, directing some popular movies like The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, etc.

Don Hahn brings us down to the production floor, visiting every department, talking about the people and their role in movie production. You may have seen many making-of videos from DVDs but this book is the one stop source to the introduction to animation.

The book introduces the process of animation from idea creation to the ending post production work. It looks at three forms of animation that exist today and talks about how they are created. They are the computer-generated, 2D hand-drawn and stop-motion production.

Included concept art, sketches, set photos, sculptures, storyboards, 3D renders and some discarded ideas are included. This is like walking along studio corridors looking at all the art pinned on the boards.

The roles and responsibilities of every crew working on the film is explained. In a sort of way, it's also a guide to finding what kind of jobs are available in the animation industry. For the longest time, I've been trying to find out what a clean-up artist does and now I know, which is to "clean up" characters making sure they are consistent in style.

For people interested in the animation industry or how animated movies are made, this book provides a very good introductory background.

There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-illustrated overview of the process of creating an animated movie, February 7, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

Legendary animator Don Hahm provides a well-illustrated overview of the process of creating an animated movie. Less a textbook and more an illustrated guide, "The Alchemy of Animation" won't make you an animator, but will give an interested reader an insider perspective of the work flow, as well as the techniques and work that goes into each step of the process. Hahm covers the three major types of animation, illustrating each with many pictures from Disney and Pixar movie. The computer animation section is heavy on recent movies and provides some preview art of the upcoming Bolt! movie. The 2D (or hand-drawn) animation section is fairly light, particularly considering the amount of art history that Disney could draw from. The stop motion section is almost entirely Tim Burton land--Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach- -but both are amazingly well done and classics in the field.