9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just like going on an animation studio tour, April 4, 2009
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.
(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
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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
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.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent introduction to animation techniques., November 14, 2008
Don Hahn's ALCHEMY OF ANIMATION is an introduction to and explanation of pre-production and production methods used in stop motion, hand drawn, and CGI animated films.
I recommend it to students of animation who may still be wondering which medium to concentrate on; all three are fascinating. The book is brief, reasonably priced, and very easy to read. It also contains excellent illustrations.
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