Animation Survive Kit

Richard Williams is a man who is largely responsible for the revival of the art of animation in the early 1970s. Williams had Disney animator Art Babbitt and Warner great Ken Harris working in his studio in London and training a new generation of animators in the techniques of good character animation, which was not taught at the time in any school or considered an art form.

Williams' long awaited book on animation technique is the logical successor to Preston Blair's CARTOON ANIMATION and it successfully updates some of the weaknesses of that book, particularly in handling dialogue animation. He covers a lot of the same ground that Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston did in their now out-of-print THE ILLUSION OF LIFE.

There is some history, but that's available in other books. What is unique about this book is that Williams writes how surprised he, an Academy Award winning animator with a successful professional studio, was to learn that he needed to learn just about everything over again from Harris and Babbitt. Fortunately for us he is now sharing these priceless lessons with the public.

The most important thing that an aspiring animator will get from this book is: that animation IS an art form, and good animation has nothing to do with whether it is done on computer or on paper. Williams exhorts his readers to 'draw whenever possible' and even though there is a computer modelled figure on the cover of the book, there is not a single piece of computer generated imagery in it. The book is about the bare bones, about creating life in art. Animation is the twentieth century's contribution to world art and deserves to be taken very seriously.

Reviews:
The ultimate guide on HOW to animate, February 19, 2002
Reviewer: Ronnie L. Ashlock (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
Any animator looking for a book to help them improve their craft knows that most books on animation usually fall short in so many ways, it's easy to think it's impossible to write a comprehensive and accurate book on the subject (don't even get me started about the abysmal state of computer character animation books). Williams is the penultimate animator's animator and he tells it like it is. Williams systematically demystifies virtually every aspect of animation from simple walk cycles, to breaking joints to dialogue and acting. Along the way, he corrects or eliminates information that is inaccurate or practices that distract (lose the headphones and the rad tunes when you work and watch your quality and quantity improve). Williams also is a great storyteller and writer. His accounts with Milt Kahl, Art Babbit and Ken Harris are gems, giving real insight into the personalities of these ingenious men. Since so much of the book is gleaned from his tutaluge under the now-gone "greats" of animation, any price for this tome is a steal. His gift to the world is this book.

If you want learn to REALLY animate characters with life and believability, get this book.
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Wonderful, Informative, Creative and Technical, January 5, 2006
Reviewer: Kerrigan Marois (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
This book is absolutely amazing. I cant believe the amount of knowledge between each chapter. And when you begin to put these simple techniques into practice you open up a whole new world. You can breathe life into old cycles and ideas that you thought were good before too. The only crit I have here is that even though these skills can transfer to 3d, there is no real technical advice. Otherwise this should belong on every animator's book shelf!
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A must have for any animator!!!, November 30, 2005
Reviewer: Norhanimator (New York City) - See all my reviews
I cannot reccomend this book enough. When I bought this book, I went home and threw away all my other animation books. This is the only one you will ever read. Richard Williams draws on a lifetime of experience working with some of the world's greatest animators and presents his knowledge with a beautifuly designed book.
Rather than a dull "text book" or technical manual feel, this book reads like you are sitting down at a drawing table right next to the author. If you are an animator- or even just interested in the art of animation, do yourself a favor and get this book!

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