Secrets of Digital Animation sets out to demonstrate and showcase a range of cutting-edge work, new techniques, and influential practitioners within all forms of contemporary animation, from anime to flashware, and from animated shorts to machinima, offering creative hints and tips from the genre masters. This book offers young practitioners, and those interested in broadening their skills, an insider’s view of the fast evolving work of animation; showcasing professionals and their creations, working methods, and inspiration, along with jargon-busting explanations and easy to follow demonstrations. Stunning examples of finished work are shown alongside conceptual drawings and works in progress. The book contains practical advice and case studies that explore the professional techniques behind designing innovative characters and fantastical worlds, and bringing them to life.

Whether a novice curious about the cartoon production process, a visual arts student who has not yet experienced that big break, or a seasoned professional looking for valuable insight, Secrets of Animation is the go-to guide for creating the perfect pitch. Secrets of Animation will help readers discover how to tap into their creativity to develop something personal yet universal. If you really want to learn how to animate, then you should get this book.

Animation doesn't come with instructions; Rowland B. Wilson demanded guidelines. Trade Secrets offers a never before published peek into the personal journals of Rowland B. Wilson (1930-2005), a legend in the world of Cartooning, Advertising, Illustration and Animation. Trade Secrets is a compendium of tips, tricks, philosophies and techniques garnered over a lifetime of professional animation and artistry. Study one-on-one with a mentor whose Walt Disney film credits include The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, Atlantis and Treasure Planet. These writings represent the quintessential refresher for fine artists and animation professionals, and are vital tutorials for students who are now poised to be part of another new generation in the art form. Have a seat and let an amiable, respected mentor reveal his keys to success. Develop your professional creative toolset with a focus on foundational animation techniques. Inspiration in your pocket; Trade Secrets includes a digital pocket guide, filled with charts and diagrams as well as helpful tools and tips.

So you want to create animation! Where do you start? With an idea. This creative, exercise-packed guide contains examples and idea-generating activities. What tools do you need? Your computer, simple software programs, and your imagination. This book will tell you how to utilize these tools. Must you spend your life savings on your set-up? No. The author's charts and project timelines will guide you and make the overwhelming simple, and keep your shopping lists manageable. With Animation in the Home Digital Studio, amateurs and animation students alike can learn how to create a variety of computer animations: from puppet to clay to pixilated, drawn and cartoon. This book contains a CD-ROM loaded with animation clips and exercises. The book's 8-page color insert illustrates stills from the work of independent animators around the world. The book's guide to resources contains a comprehensive list of contests, shows, societies, organizations, e-zines, and more. Steven Subotnick takes a personal approach to animation. His book is for artists, amateurs, professionals, students, and anyone who wants to use animation as a means of expression. It explains how to create a variety of animations: from puppet to cutout, and from drawn to object animation. Subotnick covers the use of popular software products, including Macromedia Flash, Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe Premiere®, Digidesign ProTools Free, and others.

Based on the author's own notes compiled over 18 years, this work is intended for both animation students and professionals. This manual is a learning tool focusing exclusively on the work of animators. It provides all the keys to understanding the principles of motion and how to transfer them to characters, whether drawn or modeled, 2D or 3D, or human or animal. Julia Peguet explains the principles of physics applicable to any motion (animation curve, momentum, rebound, etc.) and provides practical tips for stabilizing a puppet, animating a character's mouth and eyes, or even making a character stand out with a particular gait. Sketches and photographs illustrate technical recommendations step by step. Exercises and boxes containing tips and notes are also provided.

Just add talent! Award-winning animator Tony White brings you the ultimate book for digital animation. Here you will find the classic knowledge of many legendary techniques revealed, paired with information relevant to today's capable, state-of-the-art technologies. White leaves nothing out. What contemporary digital animators most need to know can be found between this book's covers - from conceptions to creation and through the many stages of the production pipeline to distribution. This book is intended to serve as your one-stop how-to animation guide. Whether you're new to animation or a very experienced digital animator, here you'll find fundamentals, key classical techniques, and professional advice that will strengthen your work and well-roundedness as an animator. Speaking from experience, White presents time-honored secrets of professional animaton with a warm, masterly, and knowledgeable approach that has evolved from over 30 years as an award-winning animator/director. The book's enclosed downloadable resources presents classic moments from animation's history through White's personal homage to traditional drawn animation, "Endangered Species." Using movie clips and still images from the film, White shares the 'making of' journal of the film, detailing each step, with scene-by-scene descriptions, technique by technique. Look for the repetitive stress disorder guide on the downloadable resources, called, "Mega-hurts." Watch the many movie clips for insights into the versatility that a traditional, pencil-drawn approach to animaton can offer.