How to Make Animated Films: Tony White's Complete Masterclass on the Traditional Principals of Animation 1st Edition

I've studied animation techniques from Tony White's two previous books, but this one is the best one yet from this master animator from England. He provides an "over the shoulder" view of animation techniques, and lets you look over his shoulder on how in-betweens are done, how generic walks are created, and so on, as if you are a journeyman learning from the master. He starts off with a 10 part foundation course, with exercises for each section, and moves the journeyman animator into more and more complex animation techniques. I've got a long way go to myself in terms of my animation skills but Tony White sure has helped me along. The accompanying DVD is also very good as you get to literally watch him draw in-betweens in traditional 2D animation style, with pencil and paper! Tony also provides some lecture material on doing walks, both generic walks and walks with personality. His teaching style seems so patient and nurturing, it must be wonderful to takes courses directly from him. This book provides the next best thing!

I bought this book to help me teach an Animation class for 9-12 year-olds, which I was unfamiliar with. (I had only experience with stop motion.) What I liked most about this book (and I didn't get a chance to read the whole book) was that in the first chapter, White explains all of the materials he uses and why, and debates/preferences about some materials. He even tells the reader what stores to find certain materials at, and links to online businesses. I felt the book on the whole was helpful, but this--for me--is what separated it from The Animator's Survival Kit (also a good book).

The book is the last of a trilogy, of sorts. Of course, you don't really need to get to the first two, but White recommends that you do. He comes across as very knowledgeable in the field, giving you tips and tricks to maneuver around seemingly small things (like how you flip through your pencil test), getting the minutiae out of the way for you to focus on the more important aspects of animation.I only have two problems with the book so far. One is that the writing comes across as very slow. I think the book could have moved through the lessons much faster without so many descriptions of the artistic process. Instead, and I think this is reasonable, given that many of us artistically inclined folk are visual learners, White could have included more pictures and diagrams for the reader to follow. The second problem, and perhaps he addresses it in his previous books- I haven't even been all that thorough with this one- is that White doesn't address the technological issue: what programs are best for putting the animation together and how to set up a capture station (you know, scanning your drawings, photographing them...).The book is purely a guide that takes you through the stages of understanding the form and flow of movement in animation. It's incredibly helpful in forming you as an animator, but you may have to seek out other details elsewhere.

I love the Focal Press animation series of books. I haven't been disappointed with any of them. Not only is this a good book for a student, it's also a good book to be implemented in the classroom. At the end of each demo there is an assignment. The dvd is also a great bonus for those who learn better by watching. A great addition to my animation library. Highly recommended.

Very informative great read answered questions about the animation process and hard work that entails. I would recommend this book for beginners.

Great book takes you step by step into producing an animation film. Plus has cd include which makes it so much better you can actually watch what they are teaching you step by step.

Great instructional work, attending classes and this was a must buy for my personal animation library.

This book has some good basic info on hand drawn animation techniques. It is a well thought out course that also acknowledges that most animators will be transfering their work to a computer animation program. Unfortunately, with the exception of the last two chapters it does not devote much time to flowing from paper to the computer. For instance, his drawing of a bouncing rubber ball would likely be done using a combination of drawings (to capture the deformity of the ball as it squishes) and computer tweening (to draw the frames in which ball was the same shape). Until the last two chapters in the book he doesn't really include specific computer techniques in the workflow. There seems to be a large gap between books like this one that teach the basic principles and those that address the abilities of the programs themselves.