Cracking Animation [Hardcover]

Peter Lord (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2004

The adventures of Wallace, a Lancashire inventor with a fondness for cheese, and Gromit, his long-suffering canine companion, have enjoyed incredible success. Cracking Animation reveals their creators and provides a unique guide to making your own 3-D animated films. The first part of the book sets Aardman's achievements and the history of the studio into the tradition of 3-D animation. The main component of the book is a guide by Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman, to the process of 3-D animation, culminating in a practical, fully illustrated step-by-step description of how to create effective characters, a storyboard, sets, and eventually make an entire film. There is no other book that provides the same information in such detail, making it possible for everyone to create their own 3-D animated classic. For fans and enthusiasts of all ages, as well as for serious students of animation, this book is not only a lot of fun - it is essential reading.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Like animation? You'll love this!' - The Times; 'A book that all animators will marvel at' - Computer Arts Special"

About the Author

Peter Lord is the founder of Aardman Animations. Nick Park has received three Academy Awards for The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave. Brian Sibley is the author of numerous books, including The Disney Studio Story and Shadowlands: The Story of C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 2nd edition (September 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 050051190X
• ISBN-13: 978-0500511909
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,028,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful book on stop-motion animation, and on how Aardman Studios make theirs, March 14, 2011

By 

Parka (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation (Third Edition) (Paperback)

Length:: 1:06 Mins

This is sort of a behind-the-scenes book that looks at animation production inside the famous Aardman Studios, creators of successful Wallace and Gromit films, Chicken Run and others.

The perspective is that of Aardman Studios so this book focuses on stop-motion animation. The 3-D in the title means the physical 3D, the actual construction of stuff, as compared to computer generated 3D (only a small section is on that).

The book starts with a long but interesting history of animation, right from the day stop motion was used for films up to the recent releases for Aardman Studios.

The second part jumps into the more technical side of making animation. There are chapters on basic clay animation, model makings, set designs, animating movements and expressions and using CGI. These are all furnished with lots of great pictures and insightful commentary from the staff. It's difficult not to marvel at the ingenuity behind making these animation. There are explanation on the camera tricks used, on how to create enduring characters on paper and in clay, and other production stories.

The final part looks at film making in depth, from scripting to animating, including thoughts given to creating other related content like games and websites. Several films were used as mini case studies, such as the early Peter Lord's Adam, Curse of the Were-rabbit, Chicken Run and other lesser known films.

This is a very insightful book on stop-motion animation, and on how Aardman Studios make theirs. Recommended to fans and enthusiasts.

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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Same book as Creating 3D Animation, April 28, 2011

By 

Stop Motion Maniac "Elroy Jetson" (Toonville) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation (Third Edition) (Paperback)

This book, Cracking Animation, is the same book as Creating 3D Animation except that Cracking is a newer edition. The old edition is 224 pages and this newer edition is 240 pages because it contains the, CGI-Computer Generated Imagery and A Career in Animation chapters. I love the Aardman books because they are some of the most process detailed in Stop Motion book titles. They also do a great job of printing in their titles. Highly recommended for animators.