Advanced Animation

Advanced Animation by Preston Blair is a technical guide for professional and aspiring animators. The book outlines fundamental principles and techniques for creating animated characters and movement. The text contains detailed breakdowns of animation concepts like squash and stretch, timing, and exaggeration through step-by-step instructions and illustrations. Blair draws from his experience as an animator at Disney and MGM studios to demonstrate methods for achieving fluid motion and expressive character performances. The book remains a core reference for animation artists since its initial publication in 1947, influencing generations of animators in traditional hand-drawn and digital mediums. Its focus on universal animation principles makes it relevant to contemporary animation production. This manual distills complex animation concepts into clear, actionable instruction while emphasizing the importance of observation and artistic fundamentals. The underlying message stresses how technical skill must serve creative expression.

Readers value this book as an instruction manual for classic cartoon animation techniques. The clear step-by-step breakdowns of character construction, movement, and expressions make complex animation concepts accessible to beginners. Likes: - Detailed examples of how to draw animated sequences - Focus on practical techniques used in golden age animation - Quality of illustrations and diagrams - Simple explanations of advanced concepts Dislikes: - Some find the character designs dated - Limited coverage of modern animation methods - Brief sections could use more depth - Book binding quality issues in newer printings Ratings: Goodreads: 4.3/5 (421 ratings) Amazon: 4.6/5 (289 ratings) "The construction methods Blair teaches are fundamental building blocks that apply to any style," notes one Amazon reviewer. A Goodreads review states: "Worth getting for the walking sequence breakdowns alone." Several readers mention using it as a reference guide throughout their animation careers.

The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams A step-by-step guide to animation principles with frame-by-frame breakdowns from a master Disney animator.

The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston Two of Disney's Nine Old Men share the 12 principles of animation through studio examples and character studies.

Timing for Animation by Harold Whitaker, John Halas This technical manual breaks down the mathematics and physics of movement in animation with diagrams and examples.

Character Animation Crash Course by Eric Goldberg A Disney animator presents animation techniques through character-based exercises and professional workflow examples.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards The fundamental drawing concepts in this book build the observational skills needed for successful character animation.

🎨 Preston Blair worked as an animator for Disney on classics like Fantasia (1940), specifically animating the famous hippo dancers in "Dance of the Hours" 📚 The book was first published in 1947 and has remained continuously in print, becoming one of the longest-running animation instruction books in history ✏️ The character designs and principles taught in the book heavily influenced anime and manga artists in post-war Japan, helping shape the development of these art forms 🎬 Blair's character construction methods introduced in the book were adopted by Hanna-Barbera studios and became fundamental to their signature animation style 🖌️ Many of the original drawings in the book were based on characters Blair animated at MGM, including designs from "Red Hot Riding Hood" which he directed in 1943