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The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation Hardcover – Illustrated, October 19, 1995
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The authors, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, worked with Walt Disney himself as well as other leading figures in a half-century of Disney films. They personally animated leading characters in most of the famous films and have decades of close association with the others who helped perfect this extremely difficult and time-consuming art form. Not to be mistaken for just a "how-to-do-it," this voluminously illustrated volume (like the classic Disney films themselves) is intended for everyone to enjoy.
Besides relating the painstaking trial-and-error development of Disney's character animation technology, this book irresistibly charms us with almost an overabundance of the original historic drawings used in creating some of the best-loved characters in American culture: Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Snow White and Bambi (among many, many others) as well as early sketches used in developing memorable sequences from classic features such as Fantasia and Pinocchio.
With the full cooperation of Walt Disney Productions and free access to the studio's priceless archives, the authors took unparalleled advantage of their intimate long-term experience with animated films to choose the precise drawings to illustrate their points from among hundreds of thousands of pieces of artwork carefully stored away.
The book answers everybody's question about how the amazingly lifelike effects of Disney character animation were achieved, including charming stories of the ways that many favorite animated figures got their unique personalities. From the perspective of two men who had an important role in shaping the art of animation, and within the context of the history of animation and the growth of the Disney studio, this is the definitive volume on the work and achievement of one of America's best-known and most widely loved cultural institutions. Nostalgia and film buffs, students of popular culture, and that very broad audience who warmly responds to the Disney "illusion of life" will find this book compelling reading (and looking!).
Searching for that perfect gift for the animation fan in your life? Explore more behind-the-scenes stories from Disney Editions:
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- Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub Iwerks
- One Day at Disney: Meet the People Who Make the Magic Across the Globe
- The Walt Disney Studios: A Lot to Remember
- From All of Us to All of You: The Disney Christmas Card
- Ink & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney's Animation
- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: The Search for the Lost Disney Cartoons, Revised Special Edition
- Disney Villains: Delightfully Evil - The Creation, The Inspiration, The Fascination
- The Art and Flair of Mary Blair: An Appreciation, Updated Edition.
- Reading age10 - 14 years
- Print length576 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level5 - 9
- Dimensions10.66 x 1.4 x 11.39 inches
- PublisherDisney Editions
- Publication dateOctober 19, 1995
- ISBN-100861713230
- ISBN-13978-0786860708
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| Price | $32.63$32.63 | $25.00$25.00 |
| More behind-the-scenes of Walt Disney Animation Studios! | These personal portraits of Walt Disney’s closest creative leaders (from the 1920s to 1970s) offer a fuller picture behind the stories, characters, and magical realms in Disney’s beloved and respected animated films. | This enchanting coffee table book features new interviews with the filmmakers and rare images from the Disney and Burton art collections! |
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
—Tini Sara Anien, Deccan Herald, 2022
One of “My Seven ‘Desert Island’ Animation Reference Books . . . Everything that could have already been said about this book has been said. Suffice to say, if you can own just one book about Disney animation, this is it. The development of the studio’s approach to character animation has never been more clearly documented.”
—Amid Amidi, Cartoon Brew, 2013
One of the “Three books that mean a lot to me.”
—Rob LaDuca, Disney animation guru, Variety, 2008
“Thomas and Johnston, two of Disney's original animators, here give the inside scoop on how the studio created the works that have charmed the world. ‘The text is ambitious,’ said LJ's reviewer (LJ 12/15/81). The ‘authors simultaneously give a history of Disney animation and explain the processes involved in clear, nontechnical terms.’ Along with the splendid text are dozens of color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations. A ‘magnificent volume’ that remains ‘essential for film collections and a feast for the most casual peruser.’
—Library Journal, Reed Business Information, Inc., 1996
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
“Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive.”
—Walt Disney
Man always has had a compelling urge to make representations of the things he sees in the world around him. As he looks at the creatures that share his daily activities, he first tries to draw or sculpt or mold their forms in recognizable fashion. Then, when he becomes more skillful, he attempts to capture something of a creature’s movements—a look, a leap, a struggle. And ultimately, he seeks to portray the very spirit of his subject. For some presumptuous reason, man feels the need to create something of his own that appears to be living, that has an inner strength, a vitality, a separate identity—something that speaks out with authority—a creation that gives the illusion of life.
Twenty-five thousand years ago, in the caves of southwestern Europe, Cro-Magnon man made astounding drawings of the animals he hunted. His representations are not only accurate and beautifully drawn, but many seem to have an inner life combined with a suggestion of movement. Since that time, we have been inundated with artists’ attempts to shape something in clay or stone or paint that has a life of its own.
Certain artists have achieved marvelous results: sculptures that are bursting with energy, paintings that speak with strong inner forces, carvings and drawings and prints that have captured a living moment in time. But none can do more than suggest what happened just before, or what will happen after that particular moment has passed. Yet, through all the centuries, artists continued to search of a medium of expression that would permit them to capture that elusive spark of life, and in the late 1800s new inventions seemed at last to make this possible. Along with improvements in the motion picture camera and the development of a roll film capable of surviving the harsh mechanisms for projecting its images, a new art form was born: animation. By making sequential drawings of a continuing action and projecting their photographs onto a screen at a constant rate, an artist now could create all of the movement and inner life he was capable of.
An artist could represent the actual figure, if he chose, meticulously capturing its movements and actions. Or he could caricature it, satirize it, ridicule it. And he was not limited to mere actions; he could show emotions, feelings, even innermost fears. He could give reality to the dreams of the visionary. He could create a character on the screen that not only appeared to be living but thinking and making decisions all by himself. Most of all, to everyone’s surprise, this new art of animation had the power to make the audience actually feel the emotions of a cartoon figure.
What an amazing art form! It is astonishing that so few professionals have investigated its possibilities, for where else does the artist have such opportunities for self-expression? There is a new excitement to the familiar elements of drawing and design when they are shown heroic size on a large screen, but, more than that, the addition of movement opens the way to almost unlimited new relationships in all areas. And the wonders continue on into color.
Even the brightest pigments on a painting can reflect back to the viewer only a limited amount of light. Their apparent brightness is relative to itself, a range from dark to light of about 20 to 1. But with the light intensity of the projection lamp and a highly reflective screen, this brightness factor increases to an exciting 200 to 1—ten times as great! Just as the stained glass window had brought dazzling brilliance after centuries of relatively dull frescoes, the introduction of light behind the film made whole new ranges of color available to the artist. Add to this the potential for building color relationships in sequence for stronger emotional response, and the artist has before him an incredible medium for self-expression. But rewarding as animation is, it is also extremely difficult. Still, once an artist sees his drawings come to life on the screen, he will never again be quite satisfied with any other type of expression.
The unique challenge of this art form was aptly described by Vladimir (Bill) Tytla, first animator to bring true emotions to the cartoon screen. “It was mentioned that the possibilities of animation are infinite. It is all that, and yet very simple—but try and do it! There isn’t a thing you can’t do in it as far as composition is concerned. There isn’t a caricaturist in this country who has as much liberty as an animator here of twisting and weaving his lines in and out. . . . But I can’t tell you how to do it—I wish I could.”
Bill was speaking to a group of young animators who had been asking how he achieved his wonderful results on screen. He answered simply, “To me, it’s just as much a mystery as ever before—sometimes I get it—sometimes I don’t. I wish I knew, then I’d do it more often.
“The problem is not a single track one. Animation is not just timing, or just a well-drawn character, it is a sum of all the factors named. No matter what the devil one talks about—whether force or form, or well-drawn characters, timing, or spacing—animation is all these things—not any one. What you as an animator are interested in is conveying a certain feeling you happen to have at that particular time. You do all sorts of things in order to get it. Whether you have to rub out a thousand times in order to get it is immaterial.”
Conveying a certain feeling is the essence of communication in any art form. The response of the viewer is an emotional one, because art speaks to the heart. This gives animation an almost magical ability to reach inside any audience and communicate with all peoples everywhere, regardless of language barriers. It is one of animation’s greatest strengths and certainly one of the most important aspects of this art for the young animator to study and master. As artists, we now have new responsibilities in addition to those of draftsman and designer: we have added the disciplines of the actor and the theater. Our tools of communication are the symbols that all men understand because they go back before man developed speech.
Scientist and author Jane Goodall reports that even lesser primates, such as the chimpanzee, have a whole “complex nonverbal communication based on touch, posture, and gesture. . . .” These actions vary from an exchange of greetings when meeting to acts of submission, often with the arm extended and the palm turned down. When a top-ranking male arrives in any group, “the other chimps invariably hurry to pay their respects, touching him with outstretched hands or bowing, just as courtiers once bowed before their king.” Miss Goodall describes how a lone male passing a mother and her family responded to her greeting with a touch, “as chimp etiquette demands, then greeted her infant, patting it gently on the head while it looked up at him with big staring eyes.”
Some two hundred more signs that clearly display chimpanzee emotions include preening, embracing, charging, kissing, and pounding. Chimps are apt to fling their arms around each other for reassurance, throw things in anger, steal objects furtively, and scream wildly with excitement. Most of these expressions of feelings and language symbols are well known to man, whether they are buried deep in his subconscious or still actively used in his own communicative behavior.
Dogs, too, have a whole pattern of action not only clearly understood by other dogs but by man as well. Even without using sounds, dogs can convey all the broad spectrum of emotions and feelings. There is no doubt when a dog is ashamed, or proud, or playful, or sad (or belligerent, sleepy, disgusted, indignant). He speaks with his whole body in both attitude and movement.
The actor is trained to know these symbols of communication because they are his tools in the trade. Basically, the animator is the actor in the animated films. He is many other things as well; however, in his efforts to communicate his ideas, acting becomes his most important device. But the animator has a special problem. On the stage, all of the foregoing symbols are accompanied by some kind of personal magnetism that can communicate the feelings and attitudes equally as well as the action itself. There is a spirit in this kind of communication that is extremely alive and vital. However, wonderful as the world of animation is, it is too crude to capture completely that kind of subtlety.
If in animation we are trying to show that a character is sad, we droop the shoulders, slump the body, drop the head, add a long face, and drag the feet. Yet those same symbols also can mean that the character is tired, or discouraged, or even listless. We can add a tear and pinpoint our attitude a little better, but this in the extent of our capabilities.
The live actor has another advantage in that he can interrelate with others in the cast. In fact, the producer relies heavily on this. When he begins a live action picture, he starts with two actors of proven ability who will generate something special just by being together. There will be a chemistry at work that will create charisma, a special excitement that will elicit an immediate response from the audience. The actors will each project a unique energy simply because they are real people.
By contrast, in animation we start with a blank piece of paper! Out of nowhere we have to come up with characters that are real, that live, that interrelate. We have to work up the chemistry between them (if any is to exist), find ways to create the counterpart of charisma, have the characters move in all believable manner, and do it all with mere pencil drawings. That is enough challenge for anybody.
These problems would seem to create considerable difficulties for achieving the communication claimed for animation. How can it work so wonderfully? It does it in a very simple way through what we call “audience involvement.” In our own lives, we find that as we get to know people we share their experiences—we sympathize, we empathize, we enjoy. If we love them, we become deeply concerned about their welfare. We become involved in their lives.
We involve the audiences in our films the same way. We start with something they know and like. This can be either an idea or a character, as long as it is familiar and appealing. It can be a situation everyone has experienced, an emotional reaction universally shared, a facet of someone’s personality easily recognized, or any combination of these. But there must be something that is known and understood if the film is to achieve audience involvement.
In the great days of radio, there were many programs presented in such a special, intimate way that they drew the listening audience into their stories completely. The mystery programs were particularly good at this, using voices that reached out to you—and good sound effects: heavy breathing up close to the microphone, echoing footsteps, a creaky door: you were held spellbound. The broadcasts were projected through symbols into your imagination, and you make the situation real. It was not just what you heard, it was what the sounds made you believe and feel. It was not the actor’s emotions you were sensing anymore. They were your emotions.
Fortunately, animation works in the same way. It is capable of getting inside the heads of its audiences, into their imaginations. The audiences will make our little cartoon characters sad—actually, far sadder than we could ever draw him—because in their minds that character is real. He lives in their imaginations. Once the audience has become involved with your character and your story, almost anything is possible.
For a character to be that real, he must have a personality, and, preferably, an interesting one. He must be as comfortable as an old shoe, yet as exciting as a new spring outfit. Spectators can laugh at a gag, be dazzled by a new effect, and be intrigued by something completely fresh, but all of this will hold their attention for barely ten minutes. As Charlie Chaplin said of his own beginnings in the movie business, “Little as I knew about movies, I knew that nothing transcended personality.” In addition to gags and effects, there must be a point of entry through which audiences can identify with the story situation, and the best way is through a character who is like someone they have known. He can be more heroic, or bigger than life, or “meaner than sin,” but basically he has to be human enough for the audience to understand him and identify with the problems he faces in the story.
The great American mime and artist Angna Enters used to give her class the assignment of writing a postcard under imagined circumstances, because it is an action devoid of any interest whatsoever without the addition of personality. But once a strong personality is introduced great possibilities suddenly become apparent.
To begin with, it helps to develop a situation in which your imagined personality can function. Say that you are starting out on a tour; it is morning and the bus is ready to leave. You have been urged to hurry up, but just then you remember that you forgot to put the cat out before leaving home! You must write a quick note to your neighbor who has the key, asking her to take care of things. Now, how would you write the card? If you have chosen a nervous, insecure, and disorganized personality in the first place, you will have almost unlimited bits of business to show all facets of the character—the confusion, the panic, the fear of being left behind, the inability to phrase words so that they make any sense, the flutter of imminent chaos, the desperation.
Or suppose the person writing the card is highly indignant because a computer insists that he has not paid a certain bill and has just sent him his last notice. Now the words must be chosen with care. The computer and the company that has been stupid enough to own it must be told off in uncertain terms. There will be no recourse from the incisive accusations you are setting down. You could be gleeful, enjoying each cruel word. Or you could be triumphant as you think of better, stronger, more biting words. Or you could be trembling with rage at the whole idea of the terrible effrontery of this mechanical age.
Suppose the writer were lovesick and writing to his dream girl—probably the third such note that morning. A silly smile might become fixed on his face as he reveled in each sugary word. With half-closed eyes and heavy sighs, he would gaze into the space seeing a momentary vision of her precious face. There would be kissing of the card when he was finished, even a reluctance to drop it into the mailbox until he had sighed one last time and kissed the beloved name just once more.
It is easy to see how the development of an individual personality in a story situation can make even the dullest action become entertaining. . . .
Product details
- ASIN : 0786860707
- Publisher : Disney Editions; Subsequent edition (October 19, 1995)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 576 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0861713230
- ISBN-13 : 978-0786860708
- Reading age : 10 - 14 years
- Grade level : 5 - 9
- Item Weight : 6.28 pounds
- Dimensions : 10.66 x 1.4 x 11.39 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #20,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Animation Graphic Design (Books)
- #12 in Art of Film & Video
- #15 in Movie History & Criticism
- Customer Reviews:
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About the authors

Oliver Martin "Ollie" Johnston, Jr. (October 31, 1912 – April 14, 2008) was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death from natural causes. He was recognized by The Walt Disney Company with its Disney Legend Award in 1989. His work was recognized with the National Medal of Arts in 2005.
He was an animator at Walt Disney Studios from 1935 to 1978, and became a directing animator beginning with Pinocchio, released in 1940. He contributed to most Disney animated features, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia and Bambi. His last full work for Disney came with The Rescuers, in which he was caricatured as one of the film's characters, the cat Rufus. The very last film he worked on was The Fox and the Hound.
Johnston co-authored, with Frank Thomas, the reference book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, which contained the 12 basic principles of animation. This book helped preserve the knowledge of the techniques that were developed at the studio. The partnership of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston is fondly presented in the documentary Frank and Ollie, produced by Thomas' son Theodore, who in 2012 also produced another documentary, Growing up with Nine Old Men, included in the Diamond edition of the Peter Pan DVD.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Janke at English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this book informative and helpful for learning about animation. It includes beautiful illustrations and photographs that support the text. Readers appreciate the information on history and technique of animation, finding it interesting and valuable. They describe it as a treasure for Disney fans and an excellent read for entertainment artists.
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Customers find this book helpful for learning animation principles. It covers the basics and includes many pictures on each page. Readers say it provides an excellent overview of Disney creations and helps with creating their own animated stories. The book provides a solid foundation in animation basics and offers great advice.
"This is the ultimate book if you love Disney Animation!..." Read more
"...They were my favorite part overall. Helped a lot with my animation journey." Read more
"My daughter is a 14 year old artist this book is a must read for young animators" Read more
"...It covers the various aspects of the animation process, and the history of Disney animation...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's artwork. They find it visually appealing with colorful illustrations and photographs that support the text. The book includes behind-the-scenes photos from Disney films and highlights on certain artists. Readers appreciate the detailed yet entertaining history of the history, as well as the organization and usefulness of the book.
"This is the ultimate book if you love Disney Animation! The concept art is stunning, and there are so many cool facts I did not find in any other..." Read more
"...The book is extremely well written, wonderfully illustrated . . . but will cost you part of your life to read word for word...." Read more
"...It has photos from production of Disney films and short highlights on certain artists. They were my favorite part overall...." Read more
"...Packed with colour images and an absolute bounty of reference text, it is a joy to own." Read more
Customers find the book informative and useful. They say it provides a great insight into what Disney animators used. It teaches the fundamentals of animation, timing, and storytelling. The book is comprehensive, colorfully illustrated, and a must-have for anyone interested in or in love with the world of animation.
"...I think the lessons learned in animating are good lessons for life. Look for what is inspirational and moving...." Read more
"This is a wonderful and insightful reference for anyone interested in cartoon illustration and beyond...." Read more
"...A real treasure of information ! came right on time. great stuff ." Read more
"...This is a most comprehensive, colourfully illustrated document of the why's and wherefore's of Disney animation. While it goes into..." Read more
Customers find the book covers a lot of history and technique of animation. They say it's a great textbook with interesting information and illustrations. The stories about how things were back then are interesting, and the interviews are amazing. The book goes into considerable detail and has pages of stories, principles, and materials. It's a good combination of written information and pictorial sketches of the animation.
"...The concept art is stunning, and there are so many cool facts I did not find in any other book. This might be my favorite book of all time!" Read more
"...Anyway about the book . . . It’s great history. Walt Disney doesn’t actually invent anything . . ...." Read more
"...why's and wherefore's of Disney animation. While it goes into considerable detail, it is strictly speaking not a manual as such. It is..." Read more
"...It covers so much of the history and technique of animation, and is a great textbook for anybody wanting to learn or study the craft, or who just..." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They find it an excellent purchase and a valuable archive.
"This is a beautifully organized and very useful book that is well worth purchasing...." Read more
"...It’s huge and a great buy!" Read more
"...I bought it for him. I had to pay import taxes but it was well worth it." Read more
"...quality hardcover full of illustrations and wisdom that I feel are priceless...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's value. They find it a treasure for Disney fans and a good purchase for collectors. The book covers amazing Disney creations and is a terrific resource on art and animation.
"...an art/animation background, I still find this book a must-have for any Disney enthusiast...." Read more
"Bought as a gift. They loved the artwork and story. Best buy for any Disney buff." Read more
"...is also very beautiful, turning it into a piece of art, and a treasure for Disney (and animation in general) fans!" Read more
"...on amazing Disney creations." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's entertainment value. They find it detailed yet entertaining, fascinating, and a must-read for anyone interested in the entertainment industry. The book keeps readers engaged and is a joy to own.
"...Keep moving, and keep people engaged. Make something beautiful that people feel a part of...." Read more
"...with colour images and an absolute bounty of reference text, it is a joy to own." Read more
"This is a very detailed, yet entertaining, history of the history and techniques of Disney animation...." Read more
"...I'm barely through this book and loving every min of it. It's amazing to see how far we have come reading this book." Read more
Customers have different views on the book's weight. Some find it heavy and thick, while others say it's bulky and heavy. The paper quality is a concern for some readers.
"...I went to library to find books about animation, and I found this huge heavy book, considered to be like the "Bible" for animators, I borrowed that..." Read more
"...My only qualm with the book is that it is bulky/heavy...." Read more
"...Definitely a very heavy book. The cover is beautiful and so is the detailing of the hardcover. Overall happy with purchase ❤️" Read more
"...Published by Abrams the book quality is excellent. It is heavy and of coffee table size...." Read more
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024This is the ultimate book if you love Disney Animation! The concept art is stunning, and there are so many cool facts I did not find in any other book. This might be my favorite book of all time!
- Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2015Wow what a whopper of a book. I really enjoyed “The Magic Behind the Voices” a who’s who of animated character vocals – and this book on Disney animation seemed like a great follow up. It was. It was for me also surprisingly BIG, and at well over 500 pages a big effort to actually read.
I read this for the history with no intention of becoming an animator. However my doodles have improved a lot since I've been reading this.
I didn’t grow up with Disney movies. When I was a kid in the 70’s Disney was in kind of a slump with their animated films. I even remember reading something somewhere about how they would never get back the old magic. But I was still affected by Disney. I was in their “Record Club” for a short while. We also somehow had little plastic Disney character figures to play with (Kids - this was before Wal-Mart and China and the Internet) I still got to see Disney Illustrations everywhere and imagine the movies that were so famous in our culture.
Then later when Disney got it’s magic back (after this book was written) I went out on a date with a girl to see Beauty and the Beast. And then got married to that girl and we lived happily ever after. And we had kids that grew up with Disney on video. So I got to see what I missed. Thank you Disney you have made my life a dream come true! Ok it wasn’t all you.
Anyway about the book . . . It’s great history. Walt Disney doesn’t actually invent anything . . . but his workers do and he creates a whole new industry and world looking for magic . . . that “golden moment” that takes an audience to another place and leaves them feeling good. The book is extremely well written, wonderfully illustrated . . . but will cost you part of your life to read word for word.
I think the lessons learned in animating are good lessons for life. Look for what is inspirational and moving. Creative teamwork can bring results no one imagined. Keep moving, and keep people engaged. Make something beautiful that people feel a part of. The character and the story are the driving and meaningful factors.
So I feel happy and sad. Sad because maybe deep down I thought there was some real magic in Disney. Happy though, that the magic they were going for was after all, life. And life is pretty special.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2024I've read a few books on animation and practically every one has mentioned this book, and I honestly wished I read it first!
This book acts as the history of character animation at Disney. On tip of that, also has notes on character animation and how to do it! It has photos from production of Disney films and short highlights on certain artists. They were my favorite part overall.
Helped a lot with my animation journey.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2024This is a wonderful and insightful reference for anyone interested in cartoon illustration and beyond. Packed with colour images and an absolute bounty of reference text, it is a joy to own.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2024My daughter is a 14 year old artist this book is a must read for young animators
- Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2025I already have a digital copy of this book, but I wanted to keep a physical one. This, along with Richard Williams’ The Animator’s Survival Kit, is one of the essentials.
The cover of the book could have been sharper, but the print quality inside is great.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2024.A real treasure of information ! came right on time. great stuff .
- Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2024I had an earlier version of this book (originally called "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life") that mysteriously disappeared from my garage where I had temporarily stored it. I remembered poring over it and studying it and marveled at the creativity and craftsmanship of the Disney animators. For years, I went without replacing it, until I looked it up on Amazon and ordered it and now it's part of my library once more - along with other Disney artwork books, as well as books of the great American illustrators and designers. I had the pleasure of meeting a few of the Nine Old Men before they passed away and only wish I had this volume under my arm at the time, so they could have autographed it.
If your child shows any aptitude at drawing or illustration or longs to get into animation as a career, I would highly recommend this book to study and refer to time and time again. As an erstwhile illustrator and someone who made a successful career as a graphic designer and marketing professional, it's critical that even if your child longs to be a computer graphics wizard or Pixar-worthy artist, that they learn to master basic drawing skills, so they can bring relatively flat interesting 2d characters to very believable and dynamic full 3d life. This book may light a fire under them and give them the inspiration they need or are looking for.
Top reviews from other countries
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FabríciaReviewed in Brazil on December 14, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Uma obra imprescindível para quem se interessa por Animação!
Comprei para meu filho, acadêmico de Cinema de Animação. Foi um dos livros essenciais recomendados no curso. Ele adorou este livro que, além de ser imprescindível para quem estuda Animação ou trabalha na área, é um deleite visual. Com uma qualidade gráfica excelente, chegou bem embalado e em perfeitas condições, apesar de ser uma compra internacional. Recomendo!
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AntonioReviewed in Mexico on September 20, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Excelente libro
Tiene mucha información , la calidad es buena y te ayuda bastante a cerca de la animación.
Subhrajit MitraReviewed in India on December 23, 20245.0 out of 5 stars A must-buy book
I am reviewing this book after 5 months of purchasing it, and it’s truly a must-buy for anyone passionate about animation and creativity. The illustrations of life are beautifully crafted, capturing the essence of animation and offering profound insights that can inspire artists at all levels. This book is not just a guide but a source of motivation to improve your workstyle and approach towards creative projects. However, I was quite disappointed with Amazon’s packaging. For such a valuable and delicate item, better care should have been taken to ensure its safe delivery. Overall, a highly recommended read!The media could not be loaded.
I am reviewing this book after 5 months of purchasing it, and it’s truly a must-buy for anyone passionate about animation and creativity. The illustrations of life are beautifully crafted, capturing the essence of animation and offering profound insights that can inspire artists at all levels. This book is not just a guide but a source of motivation to improve your workstyle and approach towards creative projects. However, I was quite disappointed with Amazon’s packaging. For such a valuable and delicate item, better care should have been taken to ensure its safe delivery. Overall, a highly recommended read!5.0 out of 5 stars A must-buy book
Subhrajit Mitra
Reviewed in India on December 23, 2024
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Sutter CaneReviewed in France on May 25, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Superbe ouvrage
Livre indispensable pour les amoureux des premiers disney et les animateurs, dessinateurs 2D.
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JanonReviewed in Spain on February 2, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Bien maquetado y buenos materiales.
He comprado el de tapa dura. Libro más grande de lo esperado, bien maquetado y con buenos materiales. En perfecto estado. Para mí cumple con lo esperado, a pesar de que lo consideraba caro antes de recibirlo. Encantado y sorprendido a partes iguales.







