How to Make Animated Films and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Trade in Yours
For a £2.05 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading How to Make Animated Films on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

How to Make Animated Films: Tony White's Complete Masterclass on the Traditional Principals of Animation: Tony White's Masterclass on the Traditional Principles of Animation [Paperback]

Tony White
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £28.99
Price: £18.55 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £10.44 (36%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Wednesday, 22 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £16.70  
Paperback £18.55  
Trade In this Item for up to £2.05
Trade in How to Make Animated Films: Tony White's Complete Masterclass on the Traditional Principals of Animation: Tony White's Masterclass on the Traditional Principles of Animation for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £2.05, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more

Book Description

15 May 2009
Become Tony White's personal animation student. Experience many of the teaching techniques of the golden era of Disney and Warner Brothers studios and beyond.all from the comfort of your own home or studio. Tony White's Animation Master Class is uniquely designed to cover the core principles of animated movement comprehensively. How to Make Animated Films offers secrets and unique approaches only a Master Animator could share. Includes hands-on Tutorials, demonstrations and final sample animations. . Whether you want to become a qualified animator of 2D, 3D, Flash or any other form of animation, Tony White's foundations bring you closer to that goal.  The DVD is invaluable, in that readers are not only taught principles and concepts in the book, they are able to see them demonstrated in action in the movies on the DVD.

Frequently Bought Together

How to Make Animated Films: Tony White's Complete Masterclass on the Traditional Principals of Animation: Tony White's Masterclass on the Traditional Principles of Animation + The Animator's Survival Kit
Price For Both: £40.95

Buy the selected items together
  • The Animator's Survival Kit £22.40


Product details

  • Paperback: 510 pages
  • Publisher: Focal Press; Pap/Cdr edition (15 May 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0240810333
  • ISBN-13: 978-0240810331
  • Product Dimensions: 18.9 x 2.5 x 24.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 109,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

"Tony White is a marvelous teacher. He has great love for the art of animation, and also a talent for explaining complex ideas in simple, accessible language." -Nancy Beiman, Professor of Animation, Sheridan College and author of PREPARE TO BOARD! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts

"Tony White's enthusiasm for animation is contagious. His deep knowledge of the medium continues to guide and inspire eager students every year. That's why I'm delighted to see Tony's special brand of expertise made available to a wider audience. Animation enthusiasts will find this book a treasure trove." -Michel Gagné, Artist/Filmmaker

"Tony White offers a wealth of knowledge from his vast, extensive experience in the art of animation. From the basic mechanics to the sophisticated complexities of hand drawn character animation, Tony covers it all." -Don Crum, Professional Character Animator

About the Author

Tony White, renowned animator, director, professor, lecturer, and author, has been in the animation industry for over 30 years, and currently teaches 2D animation and oversees principal animation production classes at DigiPen Institute of Technology. White began his career working with legendary industry professionals like award-winning illustrator Ralph Steadman, animation gurus Ken Harris, Art Babbit (original lead animator on Pinocchio, Fantasia, and others at Disney). He also personally assisted, then directed/animated for Richard Williams (3-time Oscar winner and author of The Animator's Survival Kit). In addition to being the Dean of Fine Art and Animation at DigiPen, White founded and presides over The Animaticus Foundation, which he formed to preserve, teach and evolve the art form of traditional 2D animation.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

4 star
0
3 star
0
2 star
0
1 star
0
5.0 out of 5 stars
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Andre Lawrence TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
*First Impression/ Inspection/ Course Prerequisites
**Overview
--Text
--DVD
***An Important Statement about this course & material by the author.
****Conclusion

* How To Make Animated Films, is a beautiful 500-page, soft cover with a DVD of author Tony White instructing a class on the theory and practical- techniques of animation.

Mr. White makes it very clear there are certain prerequisites that are necessary to have to be able to make full use of this book.
1. One must be able to draw or illustrate (the foundation of this course requires a significant amount of drawing.)
2. Patience and commitment
3. Equipment:
__ Lightbox
__ Peg bar
__ Animation paper
__ Animation pencils
__ Scanner & related software
__ Audio recording device and software (3D animation section)
__ Computer and 3D animation software

To thumb through the book, one would see that this is much more than just a manual on the fundamentals of animation. This is not for the hobbyist. It is quite simply a course for those who're interested in the broader application of animation with an eye on, potentially, working in the film and/or the gaming industry. Hundreds of hand-drawn b/w, color illustrations, film cells (reproduced), photos and diagrams accompany very detailed instructions on application and the industry.

** The book is broken down into the following categories:
. 1. Introduction
. 2. How To Be An Animator (Animation basics/ The Walk cycle/Facial and Bodily gestures/lip sync, etc.)
. 3. How To Make An Animated Film (Exploring ideas/ Concept art/ Storyboards/ Audio recording/ Animatic & Bacher Boards/ Background & Environment layouts/Scanning/Coloring/Compositing/Rendering/Final Edit)

The DVD is a course of the fundamental of only one (1) part of the course: the hand-drawn--2D--aspect of animation.

Including:
--Animation basics: designing a flip chart for a pendulum and the walk cycle.
--The essential tool necessary for hand-drawn animation: light box.
--The Walk cycle: lower and upper torso.
--The Run cycle.
--The Jump cycle.
--Lip sync.

***In the book as well as the DVD, Mr. White, specifically states the limitations of this packaged course:
"[If] you're ambitious for a serious career in animation and think this book is a shortcut to your professional ambitions, then you're wrong...[What] is presented here is everything about the core principles of movement that you'll ever need to be a good animator, as long as you develop the focus, temperament, and commitment to see it through to its ultimate conclusion."

**** I've been a fine artist and illustrator for more than 30 years and a graphic artist for the past 6 years. This book package comes at a critical time for me as I'm in the midst of finishing illustrations for a children's book that we'd like to make into an animated feature. What Tony White says in these pages is standard for the industry. What makes this book/DVD course exceptional is that it is broken down into simple steps and a thorough explanation. It has been my experience that this field, animation, which can be considered an offshoot of traditional pencil and paper illustration (2D) and computer generated illustrations (3D), requires diligence and for the artist (at least, initially) to bear the cost of materials. The end result is almost always rewarding.

The challenge, herein, is for the artist to use this invaluable information in connection with her/his own goals. As I've gone through this book and watched the DVD, I couldn't help feeling that anyone with a passion for Internet animation, whether for fun or profit, can use this course to develop the necessary background that is needed when working with Adobe Flash Pro CS4 (Mac), other software like Anime Studio Debut 6 (Mac/PC CD) or even Poser 8 (PC/Mac). What couldn't be said but is expected in every field, particularly in this economy, is the skill to market one's talent. All things being equal, this book should be a part of any artist collection.

I'd also like to recommend the following books that would work great with this course:
Elemental Magic: The Classical Art of Special Effects Animation
Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
5.0 out of 5 stars Attention all Animators! 15 May 2013
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
An absolute must have for all levels of animators. You will not regret buying this book. It has helped me better understand the required process of frame by frame animation be it for traditional 2D animation or Digital animation techniques.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.7 out of 5 stars  24 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Tony White's latest book on how to animate films is thorough, detailed and just one of the best books out there on animation. 27 Jan 2010
By Dennis A. Amith (kndy) - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
For anyone interested or curious on how films are animated, look no further as legendary animator has written one of the most complete, concise books on how-to-animate with "How to Make Animated Films" from Focal Press.

The book is educational and utilizes a lot of images to show the reader how things are animated. White's "How to Make Animated Films" is a 10-step foundation teaching the core principles of movement in 2D or 3D animation and utilizes what he teaches at his production classes for DigiPen Institute of Technology in this book.

White breaks down each chapter as "Master Classes" and featured are:

* Masterclass 1: Animation Basics - A chapter about key positioning, breakdown positions, flipping, arcs, timing and space and more.
* Masterclass 2: The Bouncing Ball - A chapter about weight, mass and flexibility. Gravity, timing, mass, volume and more.
* Masterclass 3: Generic Walks - A chapter about the lower body, walk cycle, upper body and more.
* Masterclass 4: Personality Walks - A chapter that goes into the hip and shoulder rotation, double-bounce walk, rotation of the head, balance, timing, etc.
* Masterclass 5: Generic Runs - A chapter about running, head-on runs and more.
* Masterclass 6: Quadruped Walks - A chapter about front legs, rear legs, neck and head, tails, realistic quadruped movements and more.
* Masterclass 7: Weight - A chapter about using a rubber ball, ping-pong ball, bowling ball and comparing them.
* Masterclass 8: Anticipation - A chapter about the benefits of anticipation and more.
* Masterclass 9: Dialog - A chapter on body language, facial animation, lip synching and more.
* Masterclass 10: Final Project - A chapter on staggers, joints, eye blinks, eye brows, gravity and more.

The second part of the book deals with other aspects of animating film such as:

* Film Production 1: Exploring Ideas, Storytelling and Scriptwriting
* Film Production 2: Concept Art, Viz Dev and Camera Maps
* Film Production 3: Character Design
* Film Production 4: Thumbnails
* Film Production 5: Storyboards
* Film Production 6: Filmmaking Techniques
* Film Production 7: Audio Record
* Film Production 8: Animatic and Bacher Boards
* Film Production 9: Background and Environment Layouts
* Film Production 10: Color Script
* Film Production 11: Audio Breakdown
* Film Production 12: Block in Key Poses
* Film Production 13: Placement and Timing
* Film Production 14: Two-Dimensional In-Betweening
* Film Production 15: Rolling, Flipping and Pencil Testing
* Film Production 16: Clean-Up
* Film Production 17: Scanning
* Film Production 18: Background and Environments
* Film Production 19: Coloring
* Film Production 20: Compositing
* Film Production 21: Rendering
* Film Production 22: Final Edit

Needless to say, "How to Make Animated Films" is a very detailed book but White does a great well of explaining the details and along with those details you get examples. And in addition to the book, included is a DVD featuring lectures by Tony White (from the classroom) plus demos that are featured in the Masterclass chapters. From inbetweening to lectures on generic walks and personality walks, these are not several minute lectures, these lectures are 15-25 minutes long.

Many people may not have the chance to go to a professional school that teaches animation but fortunately Tony White does a great job in providing those interested in animation in learning the core basics of animation through this book.

If you are a person who wants to get into animating and wants to learn from one of the best, purchasing "How to Make Animated Films" by Tony White is an affordable way to do so. Detailed, educational and thorough, "How to Make Animated Films" is definitely recommended!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A good start for newcomers to animation 18 Dec 2009
By Grant Beaudette - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Learning animation takes a lot of study and practice, and if you're just starting that learning process and don't know much about animation yet, a book like The Animator's Survival Kit--Revised Edition: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators might confuse you since it's more theoretical than practical.

How to Make Animated Films doesn't go into nearly the depth Richard Williams does, but it's a lot more practical and hands-on. For someone just starting out this is probably a good book to cut your teeth on before moving on to more advanced books like Williams'.

This book covers the entirety of the animated filmmaking process. The first half teaches basic animation techniques- inbetweens, bouncing balls, walks, lip sync, etc...- while the second half of the book focuses on animated filmmaking, some of which is similar to live action filmmaking as well as animation-specific concepts like layouts, color scripts, cleanup, and the like.

Even though this book is presented as a "one stop shop" for making animated films, getting the most out this book hinges on reading Tony White's previous two books- The Animator's Workbook: Step-By-Step Techniques of Drawn Animation and Animation from Pencils to Pixels: Classical Techniques for the Digital Animator. Both are needed to make up the depth that's lost in order to cover all of animated filmmaking in 470-some pages.

I personally think there's a lot more White could've taught about animation before moving on to making a film with it. Things like drag, follow through, overlap, etc... aren't mentioned much.

The included DVD is a decent supplement to the instruction in the book. They help explain in video what White is teaching in text, although it could've gone further. The bouncing ball and flour sack exercises aren't even covered on the disc. And it would've been nice if it included the two films that're often cited in the book rather than two student pieces.

If you've studied animation for a while, even if just in reading some books, feel free to skip this one. But if you're completely new to animation, How to Make Animated Films is a good starting point and you can graduate on to other books later.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A heavy weight instruction book 11 Dec 2009
By John A. Suda - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Even though contemporary animation is predominantly made by digital means, Tony White's book, "How to Make Animated Films," makes it clear that traditional principles of animation including hand drawing are still important. The book promotes itself as a complete master class of the traditional principles of animation teaching techniques made famous in the golden eras of Disney and Warner Brothers. As White states, such techniques are still in use by contemporary producers like Pixar and animators like Hayao Miyazaki. He makes the case that the core principles of animation never change and basic skills such as drawing ability and understanding of classical principles of art - perspective; anatomy; composition; light, color, and tone - will always underlie quality animation.

The book has two parts: How to Be an Animator, and How to Make Animated Films. White emphasizes 2-D skills as the best way to study and master core principles even if later those skills will be combined with 3-D skills using digital tools. Employers now, he says, expect animators to be versed in traditional principles even as they apply their skills to producing materials directed to popular productions, especially in the game making area.

Each chapter includes chapter assignments and suggestions for further reading. Part one contains chapters on animation basics like key positioning, motion, weight, anticipation, and dialogue. A handful of chapters deal specifically with drawing walking scenes - generic, with personality, quadruped walking, and the like. There is a segment on selection of necessary tools and equipment. Part two focuses on film concepts like meaning, conceptual ideas, thumbnails, storyboards, framing, transitions, staging, and continuity. All the essential film processes are covered - background and environment, audio coordination, scanning, coloring, compositing, rendering and editing. Every topic is shown in a step-by-step manner by text descriptions and explanation and with extensive illustrations.

The book is lavishly produced with heavyweight paper, multiple color illustrations on most pages, is nicely laid out, and has sidebar tips and notes sprinkled throughout. The book is unusually weighty, in the physical sense, at nearly 3 pounds!

White is an experienced animator, director, author, and educator and writes well and enthusiastically; he is in love with the animation process. If anything, he is a bit too hyped, judging by the excessive use of exclamation points, sometimes after every sentence in a paragraph! Regardless, he is a competent instructor and the book is useful even for raw beginners although some professionals wanting to become more adept at animation will be rewarded, as well.

There is a good index and six appendices, most dealing with the author's businesses and projects. The best ones include sample exposure sheets and production folder suggestions, and the glossary. There is a DVD included filled with animated movie samples and filmed excerpts of lectures.
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges