How to Make Animated Films

How to Make Animated Films

by Tony White, Kathryn Spencer
Released August 2013
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136139338

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Book description

Sadly the days of the traditional studio apprenticeship in animation are long gone but this book enables the reader to find the next best thing, watching and observing a Master Animator at work. Become Tony White's personal animation apprentice, and experience the golden era of the great Disney and Warner Brothers studios right in your own home or studio. Tony White's Animation Master Class is uniquely designed to cover the core principles of animated movement comprehensively. It offers a DVD with animated movies and filmed excerpts of the author at his drawing board to illustrate the concepts as the work is being created. Tony White's Animation Master Class offers secrets and unique approaches only a Master Animator could share. The book comes out of the author's six years of real-world professional experience teaching animation, and 30 years of professional experience.

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.

Table of contents

  1. Fornt Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Contents
  7. Preface
  8. Introduction
    1. First … A Reality Check
    2. Your Own Personal Animation Course
    3. 2D Or Not 2D?—That Is the Question
    4. However …
    5. Prerequisites for Study
    6. Equipment
    7. Let the Fun Begin!
  9. Acknowledgments
  10. PART 1: How to Be an Animator
    1. 10-Step Foundation Course
    2. Masterclass 1: Animation Basics
      1. Key, Breakdown, and In-Between Positions
      2. Creating Key Positions
      3. Creating the Breakdown Position
      4. Top Pegs/Bottom Pegs
      5. Charting Explained
      6. In-Betweening
      7. Flipping as Opposed to Rolling
      8. Arcs and Paths of Action
      9. Timing and the Spacing of Drawings
      10. Suggested Reading
      11. Assignment 1
    3. Masterclass 2: The Bouncing Ball
      1. Weight, Mass, and Flexibility
      2. Gravity and the Path of Action
      3. Key Positions
      4. Squash
      5. Stretch
      6. Timing
      7. Weight
      8. In-Betweening the Bouncing Ball
      9. Distorting Mass and Volume
      10. The Descending Bounce
      11. Flip Your Drawings … Always!
      12. Final Double-Checks
      13. Suggested Reading
      14. Assignment 2
    4. Masterclass 3: Generic Walks
      1. The Lower Body
      2. Walk Cycle
      3. Shooting a Walk Cycle
      4. In-Betweening on One’s
      5. Testing the Walk
      6. The Upper Body
      7. Suggested Reading
      8. Assignment 3
    5. Masterclass 4: Personality Walks
      1. Hip and Shoulder Rotation
      2. Overlapping Action on the Hands
      3. Overlapping Action on the Head
      4. Rotation on the Head
      5. Keeping Good Balance Throughout
      6. In-Between Placement and Timing
      7. Double-Bounce Walk
      8. Chart Timing and Variation
      9. Observation and Reference Footage
      10. The Animator’s Survival Kit
      11. Suggested Reading
      12. Assignment 4
    6. Masterclass 5: Generic Runs
      1. Key Generic Run Stages
      2. Run Exercise
      3. Additional Pointers for Runs
      4. Head-On Runs
      5. Suggested Reading
      6. Assignment 5
    7. Masterclass 6: Quadruped Walks
      1. Front Legs
      2. Rear Legs
      3. Synching the Legs Together
      4. Adding the Body
      5. Neck and Head
      6. Adding the Tail
      7. Moving Background
      8. Multilayered Backgrounds
      9. Nonwalk Pans
      10. Realistic Quadrupeds
      11. Suggested Reading
      12. Assignment 6
    8. Masterclass 7: Weight
      1. Standard Rubber Ball
      2. Ping-Pong Ball
      3. Bowling Ball
      4. Comparing the Three Versions
      5. The Pose Is Everything
      6. Tips
      7. Suggested Reading
      8. Assignment 7
    9. Masterclass 8: Anticipation
      1. The Benefits of Anticipation
      2. Anticipations Are for Everything
      3. Suggested Reading
      4. Assignment 8
    10. Masterclass 9: Dialog
      1. Body Language
      2. Facial Animation
      3. Lip Synching
      4. Two-Character Dialog
      5. Further References
      6. Suggested Reading
      7. Assignment 9
    11. Masterclass 10: Final Project
      1. Staggers
      2. Successive Breakouts of Joints
      3. Eye Blinks
      4. Eyebrows
      5. Always Gravity!
      6. Conclusion
      7. Suggested Reading
      8. Assignment 10
  11. PART 2: How to Make an Animated Film
    1. Production Challenge
    2. Film Production 1: Exploring Ideas, Storytelling, and Scriptwriting
      1. Meaning and WTF?
      2. Assignment
    3. Film Production 2: Concept Art, Viz Dev, and Camera Maps
      1. Concept Art
      2. Camera Map
      3. Assignment
    4. Film Production 3: Character Design
      1. Style
      2. Personality
      3. Attitude
      4. Proportion
      5. Head Heights
      6. Silhouette
      7. Detail
      8. Process
      9. Warm-Up Exercise
      10. Assignment
    5. Film Production 4: Thumbnails
      1. Assignment
    6. Film Production 5: Storyboards
      1. Process
      2. Final Check
      3. Assignment
    7. Film Production 6: Filmmaking Techniques
      1. Framing
      2. Transitions
      3. Staging
      4. Continuity
      5. Crossing the Line
      6. Assignment
    8. Film Production 7: Audio Record
      1. Guide Track
      2. Final Track
      3. Assignment
    9. Film Production 8: Animatic and Bacher Boards
      1. Bacher Boards
      2. Animatic Process
      3. The Animatic Is Your Film Bible
      4. Check Your Scene Timings
      5. Assignment
    10. Film Production 9: Background and Environment Layouts
      1. Distance and Perspective
      2. Focus of Attention
      3. Silhouetted Action
      4. Process
      5. Dividing the Layout
      6. Pose Test Animatic
      7. Assignment
    11. Film Production 10: Color Script
      1. The Right Time to Do the Color Script
      2. Process
      3. Professional Approach
      4. Size of Artwork
      5. Don’t Ignore the Color Script!
      6. Four Valuable Tips
      7. Assignment
    12. Film Production 11: Audio Breakdown
      1. Assignment
    13. Film Production 12: Block in Key Poses
      1. Assignment
    14. Film Production 13: Placement and Timing
      1. Assignment
    15. Film Production 14: Two-Dimensional In-Betweening
      1. Assignment
    16. Film Production 15: Rolling, Flipping, and Pencil Testing
      1. Flipping
      2. Full-Scene Flipping
      3. Pencil Test .
      4. Assignment
    17. Film Production 16: Clean-Up
      1. Line Quality .
      2. Shapes, Dimensions, and Volumes
      3. Assignment
    18. Film Production 17: Scanning
      1. Peg Bar
      2. Secure the Field Guide Scanning Area
      3. Scanner Size
      4. Assignment
    19. Film Production 18: Background and Environments
      1. Compositional Color Values
      2. Horizontals and Verticals
      3. Light Source and Contrast
      4. Perspective and Lines of Focus
      5. Verticals in Panning Shots
      6. Light Against Dark, Dark Against Light
      7. Areas of Greatest Contrast
      8. Use Your Eyes
      9. Assignment
    20. Film Production 19: Coloring
      1. Flat-Colored Backgrounds
      2. Imported Background Artwork
      3. Assignment
    21. Film Production 20: Compositing
      1. Layers
      2. Transparency
      3. Cycle Animation
      4. Depth of Field
      5. Titles and Effects
      6. Assignment
    22. Film Production 21: Rendering
      1. Screen Format Ratio
      2. Resolution
      3. Frame Rates
      4. Assignment
    23. Film Production 22: Final Edit
      1. Scene Edit
      2. Music
      3. Sound Effects
      4. Final Audio Mix
      5. Music and Effects Track
      6. Assignment
  12. APPENDIXES
    1. 1: About the Accompanying DVD
    2. 2: About the Desktop Academy
    3. 3: About the Animaticus Foundation
    4. 4: About the DigiPen Institute of Technology
    5. 5: Exposure, Exhibitions, and Festivals
    6. 6: Exposure Sheets and Production Folders
    7. 7: Glossary
  13. Index

Product information

  • Title: How to Make Animated Films
  • Author(s): Tony White, Kathryn Spencer
  • Release date: August 2013
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136139338