The Animator's Survival Kit (Paperback)

by Richard Williams (Author) "When I was ten years old I bought a paperback book, How to Make Animated Cartoons, by Nat Falk, published in 1940..." (more)
Key Phrases: bottom pegs, top pegs, computer animators, Ken Harris, Milt Kahl, Art Babbitt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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"Williams is miles ahead of anyone in the world of animation."--The New York Times
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"Williams is miles ahead of anyone in the world of animation."--The New York Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (January 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571202284
• ISBN-13: 978-0571202287
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,470 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Graphic Design > Animation
  #3 in	Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Cartooning
  #4 in	Books > Entertainment > Movies > Direction & Production

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate guide on HOW to animate, February 19, 2002

By	Ronnie L. Ashlock (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators (Hardcover)

Any animator looking for a book to help them improve their craft knows that most books on animation usually fall short in so many ways, it's easy to think it's impossible to write a comprehensive and accurate book on the subject (don't even get me started about the abysmal state of computer character animation books). Williams is the penultimate animator's animator and he tells it like it is. Williams systematically demystifies virtually every aspect of animation from simple walk cycles, to breaking joints to dialogue and acting. Along the way, he corrects or eliminates information that is inaccurate or practices that distract (lose the headphones and the rad tunes when you work and watch your quality and quantity improve). Williams also is a great storyteller and writer. His accounts with Milt Kahl, Art Babbit and Ken Harris are gems, giving real insight into the personalities of these ingenious men. Since so much of the book is gleaned from his tutaluge under the now-gone "greats" of animation, any price for this tome is a steal. His gift to the world is this book.

If you want learn to REALLY animate characters with life and believability, get this book.

69 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Legendary Animator Tells it Like It Is, January 3, 2002

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

This review is from: The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators (Hardcover)

Richard Williams is a man who is largely responsible for the revival of the art of animation in the early 1970s. Williams had Disney animator Art Babbitt and Warner great Ken Harris working in his studio in London and training a new generation of animators in the techniques of good character animation, which was not taught at the time in any school or considered an art form.

Williams' long awaited book on animation technique is the logical successor to Preston Blair's CARTOON ANIMATION and it successfully updates some of the weaknesses of that book, particularly in handling dialogue animation. He covers a lot of the same ground that Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston did in their now out-of-print THE ILLUSION OF LIFE.

There is some history, but that's available in other books. What is unique about this book is that Williams writes how surprised he, an Academy Award winning animator with a successful professional studio, was to learn that he needed to learn just about everything over again from Harris and Babbitt. Fortunately for us he is now sharing these priceless lessons with the public.

The most important thing that an aspiring animator will get from this book is: that animation IS an art form, and good animation has nothing to do with whether it is done on computer or on paper. Williams exhorts his readers to 'draw whenever possible' and even though there is a computer modelled figure on the cover of the book, there is not a single piece of computer generated imagery in it. The book is about the bare bones, about creating life in art. Animation is the twentieth century's contribution to world art and deserves to be taken very seriously.

Buy this book.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for animators trying to reach the next level, April 10, 2002

By	William Wira (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I have been a computer animator for 4 years, with a focus on character animation for 1 year. I have been searching for information that will get my work closer to ILM/Pixar quality, and this book has advanced my skills a generation ahead, bringing me much closer to my goal. Richard Williams breaks down all sorts of different walks (maybe a hundred?), runs and motions that imply weight, which is essential for a complete animator. He also gives suggested timings for different types of motions, so you have a starting point for a certain action... you don't have to reinvent the wheel. He has a straightforward style of animating that really improved my workflow, as well. As I act out the motions of a character I want to move a certain way, using Williams's techniques I can now breakdown the important parts of the motion with much more accuracy and efficiency. I read this book while working on a project, and the quality of my shots went up exponentially with every page I read. I now have tons of confidence in my abilities, I can animate better and quicker, and I have an added level of life in my characters that was lacking before. For me, this was a must read. I thank Richard Williams profusely for writing this book, and I recommend it to everybody that wants to animate characters.