The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators

I've spent the better part of a year working on my first animation project with very little prior experience. Having always been fascinated with the process, working from my own ability has been a long but rewarding task but I finally hit a hard limit where I just wasn't able to easily visualise a way to make my character movements more natural. This book is transformative to the point that I bought sticky tabs to mark important sections and have almost ran out nearly a quarter of the way through the book. It explains core concepts behind traditional animations and how to time them, but most importantly in my case it breaks down walk cycles and assorted character movements, the thought processes to use while visualising them and the methods of presenting them in an easy to read, often humourous and incredibly illuminating way. I can't gush about the presentation enough. It never weighs you down with jargon and the illustrations are divine and immediately informative. If you have any interest in improving your animation ability I just haven't found a simpler way than reading this book.

A truly excellent, comprehensive and easy to follow book for anyone interested in art and animation. Written by one of the chief animators for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", this book is filled with fun anecotes and informative step-by-step breakdowns of the process, showcasing character design, turnarounds, physics and proportions along with helpful chapters on the fiddly subject of perspectives. Whether you're a professional looking for a good reference book, an amatuer looking to upskill or even a complete beginner in search of guidance, this book will not steer you wrong! 10/10 Would highly recommend!

5 stars straight up. I bought this after growing a fascination with 2D animation and decided to have a look. It really has the very basic stuff here, which is just what I was looking for. Some of the formulas I took a while to get my head around but it is done very well and super clear. This book is a must for anyone thinking about making their art "move". It will show you the basic but it will show it very well and in depth. If you don't get the foundation stuff well then you will be making life very hard on yourself. This book has everything and more in it to get you started. I have already done the bouncy ball and am a little reluctant to start doing the walk cycle at the moment but I understand how to do it. Once you follow the formula you cant go wrong. The only problem is that I am not used to drawing "real" things so I will struggle a bit on that note. I usually draw detailed abstract images but I can still use this and learn how to draw properly. Oh and by the way, this book is very large and heavy.

This is one of those books that every lecturer who teaches any kind of animation will tell you to buy, not suggest, TELL YOU TO BUY. A large section of the book explains animation history and some guide lines (no music!) before breaking down different walk cycles and then moving on to other various things that can be animated. THIS BOOK IS A MUST HAVE FOR ANY LEVEL OF ANIMATOR (as even the legendary animators rules are altered in this book at some points). Additional edit: Looking back after a few years I can honestly say the book has really stood by me. There are other books I'd recommend such as Eric Goldberg's Animation Crash Course, Frank and Ollie's Illusion of Life and Nancy Beiman's Animated Performance but this still remains an essential book to have. I feel that I should also mention what I found was the best way to read it. Read every page and don't turn to the next until you feel you fully understand the point he is trying to get across to you. Richard Williams does a great job of showing you how something can be done and then showing other ways in which it can be done. It is about making an animation your own, so really try and get a feel for how his examples work and how it may vary from character to character while reading. If you do, you will get so much from this book.

It was a present for a relative, he very happy with the information. It is very heavy, in case you need to travel with it.

I currently use this book to get advice when i run into new methods for animation. Most if not all techniques are in this book. And all broken down very simply for ease of learning. If you're gonna get this book for long term, get the hard cover for protection (and keep the sleeve elsewhere). It's a big book so think wisely if you'll have space to open and use it. I honestly recommend ordering it even if you haven't the slightest clue where to begin. and if you are a veteran animator, it will come in handy for quick advice, especially if you gather a little rust.

As a keen hobbyist looking to turn pro I thought it about time I started learning from the best, and one of my first stops was this highly recommended manual of esoteric knowledge; ancient secrets noted down by the man who knew the masters of animation personally. As a computer 3D animator, I wasn't terribly sure if it would be of significant use to me, but most of my fears were unfounded, and the info here is helpful whatever your chosen medium. I have to say that the most fascinating part is the historical info provided by Richard, of both his own exploits and those of the master animators he learned from. These guys drew the cartoons we all grew up with and love, the Tom & Jerrys, the Road Runners, the golden age Disney films, and they discovered not only the best ways to bring inanimate oblects to life, but to give them wieght and character at the same time. Richard has distilled their pearls of wisdom so that anyone who wants to can learn the ins and outs of animation. The drawings are nice and clear, the explanations easy to understand and you can practically animate the figures just by moving your eye across the page, they're so well done. While it undoubtedly concentrates on the 'classical' animator using pen and ink to make his mark, his character animation tips, timing sheet info and action design hints are invaluable for computer character animation. The man says himself that you have to be good enough with your chosen tool (pen or computer) to be able to stop worrying about how you're doing something and concentrate on the performance itself, what you're making your character do. Thus, most of his theory concentrates on performance and not drawing technique, a boon for the computer artists among us. Overall I'd say this book was a damn good buy. It's well made, clear, concise, interesting and full of hints, tips and ideas that are obviously gleaned from many years experience in the trade. He himself learned from the masters and applied what they taught him, might we not do the same?

I'd managed to finish half of the book already. I highly recommended this book. No matter if you are, animator, motion graphic designer, illustrator, hobbyist or change your career. This is the book that you'll need. I'd graduated from fine arts and I'd know nothing about animation. This book might take a while to learn and adjust, but I have always kept re-read them. I got to learn from the basics, like storyboarding, animatics and background art. There is free animation software you can learn from either in Blender, Storyboarder, OpenToonz, Pencil2D etc. Keep learning, imply your knowledge and get serious!

The book arrived without damage, it is heavy book and so useful for artists who want to begin to learn animation from zero, I saw a video about the book before buy it, I'm so excited to begin learn animation for add new skill on my art career.

Ich musste für eine Hausarbeit einen Zeichentrickfilm bzw. Animationsfilm zeichnen und schätzte mich nicht zu den besten Zeichnern. Seit Richard Williams liebe ich Animation. Dieses Buch deckt alles ab, was man als Animator braucht, es wurde mir selbst von einem Animator empfohlen. Dieses Buch begleitet mich überallhin und ist mittlerweile mein stetiger Begleiter auch jetzt in der 3D Animation. Alleine, dass dieses Buch neben mir liegt bereitet mir schon Freude. Es sind alle, wirklich alle Animationsregeln perfekt erklärt. Das schönste dabei ist, dass jede Regel, alles Vorgaben und Inhalte begeleitet sind von Richard Williams Anekdoten und Erinnerungen, wie es dazu kam, wie er es gelernt hatte, warum es Sinn macht. Wie er Fehler beging und wie wir sie vermeiden können. Weil ich jetzt ein Buch habe mit dem ich absolut und sofort erkennen kann, was ich wie animieren muss und warum es einfach anders nicht geht. Selbst wenn das eigentliche Verständnis für Perspektiven und den eigentlichen Bewegungsapparat nicht da ist hilft dieses Buch. Dieses Buch besteht eigentlich aus mehr Bildern als Text. Die extended Version beinhaltet noch zusätzlich Tieranimation auf zusätzlichen 30 Seiten ca. Von Squash und Strech zu Weight und Arcs. Es ist wirklich alles drin. Zuerst kommt es einem so vor, als wäre das Buch zu 70% aus nur Walkanimationen bestehen, aber es sind Beispiele für wirklich alles da drin, was ein Animator schnell mal nachschlagen könnte. Es gibt mittlerweile das Buch als DVD Ausgabe mit den Animationen in Bewegung und Richard delivers an dieser Stelle exakt auf den Punkt, wie im Buch. Ich habe mich erst einmal über Dick Williams erkundigt, bevor ich mir dieses Buch gekauft habe. Zu der Zeit gab es auch noch die alte Auflage ohne Extended Inhalt und ich war mir nicht sicher welche ich mir auch noch von beiden holen soll. Vielleicht hatte er nicht das Glück sein Monsterprojekt mit "The Thief and the Cobbler" fertig zu stellen, aber nachdem ich die Doku "The thief who never gave up" gesehen habe war dieses Buch ein Instakauf, den ich niemals bereuen könnte. Den durch meine Informationen die ich einholte um dieses Buch zu kaufen fing ich an Animation für mich zu entdecken. Wer animieren will und ein Buch braucht welches ihm sofort auf den Punkt genau vorzeichnet, wie es steht mit diesem Buch auf der richtigen Seite und supported jemanden, der sich nicht hinter besserwissertum versteckt, sondern wirklich weiß, nein eher lebt, was er dort schreibt.

The go-to book for learning animation and for animation reference, great print quality, lots of information, and beautiful drawings. Get the Extended Edition, as that one has even more information (about 382 pages), which is fantastic! Highly recommended!

Este libro te ayuda a saber animar de manera teorica, enseñándoles lo que son los Keyframes, los In-between, los 12 principios de animación, entre otras.

Qualquer pessoa que esteja remotamente envolvida com animação já poderá aprender alguma coisa com esse livro, não importa o nível de habilidade. Ele ensina coisas básicas, avançadas e dá um pouco de contexto na história de Richard Williams, ou seja, está completíssimo. A única coisa que eu gostaria de comentar negativamente é que ele veio danificado, e isso ficou aparente na parte de baixo de todas as páginas. Ficaria tudo perfeito se ele fosse embalado com um pouco mais de carinho. :,)