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The Animator's Survival Kit 2nd Edition

by
Richard Williams (Author)
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Richard Williams (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars 463 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0571202287
ISBN-10: 0571202284
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 342 pages
  • Publisher: Faber & Faber; 2 edition (January 7, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0571202284
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571202287
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 1 x 11 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (463 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsJust do it!
By Christopher T. Donnelly on March 17, 2010
Format: Paperback
I took about 5 days to get through this book. It is clear that Mr. Williams knows his craft. It is written well enough, beginning with simple examples and progressively getting more complicated. By the time you reach pg.300, you'll get into the more fun stuff. At times he does preach a little, and drops some names to emphasize his point, but I overlook that knowing he's trying to drive the concept home.

For example, the author spends a lot of time discussing the 'walk' and proceeds to show you as many ways of doing it as to put one to sleep. In hindsight though, it's all for a good cause. He specifically says that if the animator masters the walk cycle, the rest will fall into place. Other area's discuss dialogue, snaps and whips, as well as accents and anticipations.

Perhaps the best part was the beginning, where he takes time to talk about equipment, forms and animation charts....this goes a long way into helping us to understand the industry language when faced with later examples.

I give this book four stars, not because I found flaw with the text, but because the publisher hit a great pet peeve of mine. Included in the book is a brief CD that talks a little about Richard and his 16 DVD set....the CD was glue dotted to page 379, right on top of a series of drawings. Of course, this led to the page being a bit ripped when i went to pull it off (gently even...having faced this before). When are the companies going to learn that Cd's and security strips should be affixed to the inside cover? This one was blank....

My own area is 3d animation using Maya, but it was my investigation into 2d animation that led me to this book. I am really looking forward to drawing out some frames and will find this to be an invaluable reference in the future. Thanks Richard....great job.

Chris
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe ultimate guide on HOW to animate
By Ronnie L. Ashlock on February 19, 2002
Format: 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.
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5.0 out of 5 starsLets say..
By Juliana P on August 10, 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Length: 0:36 Mins
i made this in like 5 minutes with my ipod, so dont kill me.. i know it gets a little uncomfortable to watch when i turn the device.

this is not a "review".. its just a better "look inside", in my opinion this is a must have for every animator..
i think amazon should allow besides reviews, also accept "look inside" videos so you will really know what you are buying
12 Comments 175 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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5.0 out of 5 starsBest book on animation out there
By Salgado Maria Eugenia on September 8, 2011
Format: Paperback
I bought this book a year ago and took time to write the review so I could compare with others out there.
This is BY FAR the best book on animation out there with thousands of drawings demonstrating the basic and advanced concepts of animation. What differences these book from the others is that this one has more drawings than words.
In my opinion when trying to learn drawing and animation a drawing is better than million words.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Legendary Animator Tells it Like It Is
By Nancy Beiman on January 3, 2002
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
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.
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