ABSTRACT
Every animator can benefit from having a personal library of reference material, whether to brush up on the fundamentals, to further familiarize ourselves with specific software processes, or as a means of exploring entirely new avenues. Assuming most will have started off with such obligatory tomes as The Illusion of Life (Frank Thomas/Ollie Johnson) and The Animator’s Survival Kit (Richard Williams), here are a few personal recommendations that deal with the practice of animation itself. Obviously, when it comes to building up your own resources, you’ll wish to consider which animation role (writer? director? producer?) you’re best suited to, which medium (stop-motion? 2-D? computer-generated [CG]?) you dabble in most, what type of project (short? feature? interactive?) you wish to pursue, and which software (I’ll stop asking one-word questions now) you gravitate toward. While I could put together a book’s worth of book recommendations—from cultural histories and critical analyses to specific software walkthroughs—when it comes to the territories this book has covered, the following should further assist you on your journey, whichever direction you wish to go:
Animation: The Mechanics of Motion
Author: Chris Webster
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240516660
Timing for Animation
Authors: John Halas and Harold Whitaker
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240521602
428 Action Analysis for Animators
Author: Chris Webster
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240812182
Action and Performance for Animation
Authors: Derek Hayes and Chris Webster
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240812397
Acting for Animators
Author: Ed Hooks
Routledge
ISBN: 978-0415580243
Stop-Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation
Author: Susannah Shaw
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240520551
Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts
Author: Nancy Beiman
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240818788
Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation
Author: Hans Bacher
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240520933
Ideas for the Animated Short
Authors: Karen Sullivan, Kate Alexander, Aubry Mintz, and Ellen Besen
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240818726
Make Toons That Sell (Without Selling Out)
Author: Bill Plympton
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240817798
Directing for Animation
Author: Tony Bancroft
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240818023
429 The Game Narrative Toolbox
Authors: Tobias Heussner, Toiya Kristen Finley, Jennifer Brandes Hepler, and Ann Lemay
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-1138787087
Digital Storytelling
Author: Carolyn Handler Miller
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0415836944
Hybrid Animation
Author: Tina O’Hailey
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0415718707
The Foley Grail
Author: Vanessa Theme Ament
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0415840859
Designing Sound for Animation
Author: Robin Beauchamp
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240824987
Voice-Over for Animation
Authors: Jean Ann Wright and M. J. Lallo
Focal Press
ISBN: 978-0240812182
