Animation from Pencils to Pixels: Classical Techniques for the Digital Animator (Paperback)

~ Tony White (Author)
Key Phrases: pegs flipping, pose test animatic, inbetween drawings, Fringe Benefits, Spirited Away, Warner Brothers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From traditional to computer animation, from film to gaming, a great text for all who teach."
- Robert Adams, Walt Disney Productions/Warner Bros

"All encompassing"
- Brian Martin, FOX NET Animator

". this book is . a well-written, smart tomes that makes you wish the author was one of your teachers in school. Because the book resonates with wisdom that comes with spending years in the trenches of Toon Town, it should be a must-read for anyone who wants to brave the waters of digital animation. Overall, it's a handsome companion to White's earlier primer, The animator's Workbook." Animation, Nov. 2006

Book Description

Just add talent. This comprehensive book gives today's digital animators all the lessons they never had - classical animation techniques used by the most original animators of our time.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (August 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240806700
• ISBN-13: 978-0240806709
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #130,787 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview by an excellent author., August 15, 2006

By	Nancy Beiman "Northernexpress" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

The long-awaited sequel to Tony White's ANIMATOR'S WORKBOOK is worth the wait.
ANIMATION FROM PENCILS TO PIXELS is unique among animation books since artwork from White's short film ENDANGERED SPECIES is used to illustrate most of the sections of the book, though some student work is also included. Some material from THE ANIMATOR'S WORKBOOK is repeated, mainly in the sections that deal with action analysis. White has included valuable chapters on Flash and vector-based 2D animation. While drawing is clearly his first love there are also chapters on CGI '3D' animation written from the perspective of a professional animator.
The massive book (over 500 pages long) is readable and easy to navigate. Images are large and well-placed (this has been a notable failing in many animation how-to books.)
It's quite ambitious to incorporate preproduction, production, and post in two media into one volume. If you want a good, well written overview of animation production in the 21st century, this is the book to get.
I would like to see ENDANGERED SPECIES on a full DVD copy; the PDF format in the original edition is a bit hard to play on this computer.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Students!, February 14, 2007

By	John Eyley "Mossie Slap" (Brisbane, AUS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Students of animation! This book is essential for your home or studio shelf. Animation From Pencils to Pixels is a comprehensive overview of animation production for the digital animator. As a text book it covers the lot - the mechanics of animation, funding your projects, the traditional aspects (yes, they're still important), new tools and methods, the business and copyright of your work, getting the concept and where to go with it. It is a classy tome well laid out and encourages you to read on easily. Other books on animation go into more depth concerning the specifics in animation but for an overall appreciation of the art and industry you can't go past this one. It is a good companion book to The Animator's Survival Kit (can I mention that?) which has more depth on the nitty-gritties of animated movement. My only criticism is the "I, I, I...." stance of the author. But with the profile and experience that Tony has there is a lot here to learn from, while in the early years of discovering the art of animating.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No need for this book though, November 25, 2007

By	Harmonybee (United States) - See all my reviews

The Animator's Workbook will do you just fine.
This book does go over the tried and true traditional principles and how they are implemented in the digital animation environment.
Let's face it there are hundreds of Animation Software Suites to choose from. I doubt this book will cover them all only the most well know and popular Animation Software packages.

You are better off Just buying a user's manual if you already own the software mentioned in this book and get a more thorough book on Animation. The few software suites this book mentions are Toonboom Studio,Adobe Flash(formerly known as Macromedia Flash). I don't remember all the details.

However if you are an absolute newbie to digital animation this book is a nice start in the right direction.

Don't get me wrong Tony White knows his stuff I just don't think this book will reveal much of anything new about animation if you are experienced with Animation Software and the logic behind it's interface.

I recommend you borrow this book from a library before you decide to buy it.