Timing for Animation [Paperback]

Harold Whitaker (Author), John Halas OBE (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240517148 | ISBN-13: 978-0240517148 | Publication Date: March 6, 2002

Written by two internationally acclaimed animators, this classic text teaches you all you need to know about the art of timing and its importance in the animated film. This reissue includes a new foreword by John Lasseter, executive vice president of Pixar Animation Studios and director of 'Toy Story', 'Toy Story 2', 'A Bug's Life' and 'Monsters Inc.' He sets the wealth of information in this classic text in context with today's world of computer animation, showing how this is a must-have text if you want to succeed as a traditional drawn, or computer animator.


Learn all the tips and tricks of the trade from the professionals. How should the drawings be arranged in relation to each other? How many are needed? How much space should be left between one group of drawings and the next? How long should each drawing, or group of drawings, remain on the screen to give the maximum dramatic effect? The art of timing is vital.

Highly illustrated throughout, points made in the text are demonstrated with the help of numerous superb drawn examples. 'Timing for Animation' not only offers invaluable help to those who are learning the basis of animation techniques, but is also of great interest to anyone currently working in the field and is a vital source of reference for every animation studio.

John Halas, known as the 'father of animation' and formerly of Halas and Batchelor Animation unit, produced over 2000 animations, including the legendary 'Animal Farm' and the award winning 'Dilemma'. He was also the founder and president of the ASIFA and former Chairman of the British Federation of Film Societies.

Harold Whitaker is a professional animator and teacher. Many of his former students are now among some of the most outstanding animation artists of today.

* New foreword by John Lasseter of Pixar and 'Toy Story' fame
* Benefit from the expertise of two internationally acclaimed animators
* All you need to breathe life into your animation at your fingertips

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Halas and Whitaker's 'Timing for Animation' was, and still is, without a doubt, the best book for students of the art of animation. I can't recommend it highly enough."
Bob Godfrey, Oscar winning leading animated filmmaker and author.

"Secrets of 'action timing' lucidly explained and demonstrated by two of Britain's most highly respected and adept practitioners. An essential primer for both traditional and C.G. animators."
Ken Clark, animation historian and writer

"...this is the only publication devoted wholly to one of the most vital concepts in the art of animated film... The book is a vital source of reference for students as well as every studio and every animator... Buy it! You won't be sorry!"
Pat Raine Webb, The Dope Sheet, ASIFA (www.asifa.net)

"The principles of timing laid out in this book are more applicable (now) than ever before."
John Lasseter, Academy Award-winning director and animator, Pixar Animation Studios.

"Timing for Animation is a great book - it's saved me many times. It's also easy to keep around for reference, it's not a huge coffee-table bible sized book made to impress. It just gives the facts, numbers and formulas and a few drawings to illustrate. Made by animators for animators."
Webster Colcord, www.webstercolcord.com

"...anyone already studying or working in animation (as well as self taught computer animators) will find this book indispensable both to study and for reference."
MC Rebbe, www.thetechnofile.com

"A must-have for an animator's reference library"
Amazon.com review

"This is a must buy for future animators!"
Amazon.com review

"This is the bible for any serious animator. Although it was principally written for 2D animation, this book has crucial information for any animator (2D, CGI or model animation). It explains simply and clearly how to time a walk or a run; how to give your character a sense of weight; how force is transmitted; the effects of friction; spacing -and much more. The new foreword by John Lasseter puts these traditional skills in today's context, and gives praise where it is due. Every animator, would-be animator, animation studio and animation course should have this book."
Amazon.co.uk review

"If you only ever buy one animation book in your life - get this one. Timing for Animation gets down to the nuts and bolts of what animations about, and that's timing. Buy it!"
Amazon.co.uk review

From the Publisher

Learn all the tips and tricks of the trade from the professionals. How should the drawings be arranged in relation to each other? How many are needed? How much space should be left between one group of drawings and the next? How long should each drawing, or group of drawings, remain on the screen to give the maximum dramatic effect? The art of timing is vital. Highly illustrated throughout, points made in the text are demonstrated with the help of numerous superb drawn examples. 'Timing for Animation' not only offers invaluable help to those who are learning the basis of animation techniques, but is also of great interest to anyone currently working in the field and is a vital source of reference for every animation studio. John Halas, known as the 'father of animation' and formerly of Halas and Batchelor Animation unit, produced over 2000 animations, including the legendary 'Animal Farm' and the award winning 'Dilemma'. He was also the founder and president of the ASIFA and former Chairman of the British Federation of Film Societies. Harold Whitaker is a professional animator and teacher. Many of his former students are now among some of the most outstanding animation artists of today.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press (March 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240517148
• ISBN-13: 978-0240517148
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Timing for Animation, April 1, 2003

By 

T. Schott "tschottoon" (TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Timing for Animation (Paperback)

Well, after waiting so long for this book to come back into print it turned out to be an overall disappointment. I found "Timing..." to be remedial and overpriced. True, timing itself is crucial to animation as with all acting, however this book offers nothing I didn't already learn from "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life" or Preston Blair's How-To books, which I cut my teeth on.
If you are an animator who already owns every other book on the subject and you have 30 bucks burning a hole in your pocket then this book is for you. However, if you don't own the 50 other great animation books by Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Richard Williams, Eadweard Muybridge, John Canemaker, Brian LeMay, Jeff Kurtti, Preston Blair, Chuck Jones, Tony White, Culhane, Finch, Schneider, Adamson, Rebello, Green, and Hart to name a few; then please go buy one of theirs.
This one is going back for a refund. Sometimes you just have to say "The Emperor is Naked."

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book to have, but WAY OVERPRICED..., April 27, 2005

By 

G. Cepeda (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Timing for Animation (Paperback)

I'm downgrading this book partly because it's overpriced and frankly I wish the drawing style in it were different.

It's still a nice book to have and covers some specific timing and staging problems that a lot of other books don't, but it's not the end-all and be-all for animation timing that it gets hyped up to be.

I still don't understand why this book was out-of-print for so long in the US and why it's so ridiculously overpriced now. It's really a $15 or $20 book at most, but the publishers are charging $30!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must buy for future animators!, March 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Timing for Animation (Hardcover)

Although I don't own a copy of this book, I've read most of it. Just as the title says, this book focuses on one of the most important aspects of animation: timing. It's well written and full of exercises and techniques that will help you improve your timing. I've heard that some animation schools use it as a textbook. If you're thinking about a career in the animation industry, this book is a must buy. However, it's pretty hard to find since it's out of print. I think that it's worth the extra effort to own a copy.