Welcome
to September's Newsletter! Siggraph
and
Comicon
filled our days with travel and book signings last
month. And, September brings even more great things
for Redd the Clown and the Thinking
Animation Book!
"A
must read for the modern animator."
Being a professional animator, I was anxious to read
this book. I finally got hold of a copy and was
really impressed. The stage is set with a well
researched history of the dynamically changing world
of animation. Then the title theme comes into play
in a very authoritative explanation of the art and
craft of CG animation, with its roots in the
traditional methods. What I liked was that the
techniques discussed are not limited to any
particular software package. A smart decision by the
authors, as this book is not likely to ever go out
of date. Adding spice throughout the book are
anecdotes by various pros in the business, which are
often quite humorous. THINKING ANIMATION is a must
read for both practicing and armchair animators."
"Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap
Between 2D and CG deals with a great deal more than
animation, in either form, with humor and
experience.
An introduction by Richard Taylor
poses the question, “How does one become an animator
who is adept at the latest technological advances,
yet still create with the spirit and freedom of
traditional hand-drawn animation?” Or as the authors
put it “The Digital Age is here. No, seriously, put
down that pencil or you’re fired.”
Libby Reed started out at Walt Disney Studios in the
‘50s on Sleeping Beauty as a painter. She has worked
at numerous commercial studios, spent 16 years as a
fashion illustrator and wound up at Film Roman as a
color designer under Phyllis Craig. We are so happy
she likes the book!
click here
for more of this review...
...Sarah
Gurman at Animation
Magazine had this to say:
"Animators Angie Jones and Jamie
Oliff deserve
kudos for pitching in for CG cause with their timely
offering from Thompson Course Technology Thinking
Animation: Bridging the Gap between 2D and CG,
which serves up methods for bringing the chutzpah
and finesse of the 2D tradition to the 3D world."
"Addressing all animators from the traditional
toon-heads who are dragging their feet into the
digital age to the CG trailblazers who now have to
hang with the new crossovers, Jones and Oliff
explore all of the elements that add up to quality
toons and take special care to recognize the
innovators who pushged the medium to new levels over
the years."
click here
for more of this review...
"Dig out that Toy
Story piggy-bank,
because when you do get this book, I guarantee, you
will have wished you would have bought it
sooner."
"Here is just a few of the chapter titles just to
entice you with:
Plot and Premise, Growth and Character Arcs,
Orchestration and Back Story, Storyboards,
Animatics, and Pre-Viz, Memorable Characters, Flaws
and Emotions, Character Bio, Stereotype vs
Archetype, Believability and Credibility,
Motivation, Design, Handling Textures, Thinkibng and
Planning, Reference and Acting, Gesture and
Thumbnails, Graph Editor, Posing and Layering,
Breaking the Rig, Using Breakdowns, In-Betweening,
Overlap and Secondary Motion, Creating Principal and
Secondary Characters, CG tools, Pushing your
Animation, Motion Capture and Acting, Body
Structure, Psychological Gesture, Power Center,
Workflow, Dailies, Communication, Mass Production
and Outsourcing.
This is just a sample of whats packed into this
book. No subject is glossed over, the text is well
written in a clear and precise manner that can be
applied instantly. Each subject includes
contributions from well known people in the field
who explain how it works for them in the real world
of animation, given the present circumstances in the
industry.
click here
for more of this review...
