4.72

5

Jul 30, 2011

After reading this, I quit my job and went back to school to learn all about animation! Interesting, up-to-date, "complete" and very useful guide.

4

Sep 02, 2015

I read this for my Basic Animation class. I wouldn't say I read every page, but enough that I will count it. It's mainly illustrations but that's probably the best learning tool for this subject. Mr. Williams clearly knows his stuff when it comes to animation. He worked with all the greats, including the Old Men of Disney and he knew some of the other greats like Tex Avery. This is a must for animation students and those who want to explore the technical side of animation, and it's a good I read this for my Basic Animation class. I wouldn't say I read every page, but enough that I will count it. It's mainly illustrations but that's probably the best learning tool for this subject. Mr. Williams clearly knows his stuff when it comes to animation. He worked with all the greats, including the Old Men of Disney and he knew some of the other greats like Tex Avery. This is a must for animation students and those who want to explore the technical side of animation, and it's a good reference text for would-be animators, even if you don't officially take classes. ...more

5

Apr 05, 2017

This book has a great deal of Richard Williams in it and it's absolutely amazing. Of course it does a fine job explaining all the notions necessary to grasp the basics of animation but ultimately, what makes it so enthralling to read is getting to enjoy Richard's perception of the craft and see it manifest through the pages. This is especially true if one gets the chance to watch the accompanying DVDs while reading the book. Warm and mellow in its speech but unmistakably driven and passionate, This book has a great deal of Richard Williams in it and it's absolutely amazing. Of course it does a fine job explaining all the notions necessary to grasp the basics of animation but ultimately, what makes it so enthralling to read is getting to enjoy Richard's perception of the craft and see it manifest through the pages. This is especially true if one gets the chance to watch the accompanying DVDs while reading the book. Warm and mellow in its speech but unmistakably driven and passionate, The Animator's Survival Kit is both an excellent guide and a beautiful celebration. ...more

5

Sep 05, 2018

ULTIMATE BOOK ON ANIMATION.
iF YOU WANT TO BECOME AN ANIMATOR, THIS IS practically available everywhere. :)

Just get it! Just practice it! Get good doing your great! This book is the only of it's kind, thank you to Richard Williams, I will forever be reading this.

5

Jun 10, 2014

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in learning animation. I always refer back to it while working. Priceless tips by an animation mastermind.

5

Jan 23, 2020

As well as an extremely useful handbook for aspiring animators, this is a fascinating read for any animation buff! Williams is a master of his craft and presents clear and step-by-step examples of what he is trying to teach. He constantly references gods of the medium like Milt Kahl and Bill Tytla for reinforcement of a point or an example of a technique, which gives the impression of a rounded point of view. As well as informative, I found this book to be engaging and humorous.

If I were to give As well as an extremely useful handbook for aspiring animators, this is a fascinating read for any animation buff! Williams is a master of his craft and presents clear and step-by-step examples of what he is trying to teach. He constantly references gods of the medium like Milt Kahl and Bill Tytla for reinforcement of a point or an example of a technique, which gives the impression of a rounded point of view. As well as informative, I found this book to be engaging and humorous.

If I were to give a few criticisms of the book it would be a) inconsistency in visual presentation, b) slight disorganization and c) a male-centric view of art and the human form.

a: Williams presents animations frame-by-frame, but can do this from right to left OR left to right, seemingly randomly. Sometimes examples span one page and sometimes they run across two before dropping to the next row of frames. Everything is clearly numbered and this doesn't hinder learning much, but I frequently found myself reading examples incorrectly and briefly becoming confused.

b: the book can jump around in ideas and methods. It feels a bit stream-of-consciousness at times, which is maybe not ideal for a technical handbook.

c: Williams acknowledges once that an example may not be politically correct, and this is his example of recognizing one particular man's walk as a 'gay walk' to reinforce his idea of walk cycles being important for characterization. However, there are many unacknowledged examples of female characters which are objectifying, generalizing or othering in some way. These do not diminish the book's importance as a learning resource and did not make me overly uncomfortable, but there are several moments throughout the book which made me pause and say "...seriously?" He presents examples of exclusively male animators (granted, most of the "greats" were men and animation has been a male-dominated field for most of its history). This book generally just falls into the common trap that art/medicine/history studies do, in presenting maleness as the default setting.

Notice that these criticisms don't decrease my 5-star rating. This book does what it means to very well and was incredibly fun. As a beginning animator and a superfan of the medium, I learned SO much. Highly recommend. ...more

5

Jul 23, 2018

Full of beautiful and helpful illustrations! There's so much information, I almost want to reread it so I can reinforce what I've learned.

3

Jan 30, 2019

I doubt I'll ever become an animator but I sure did learn a lot from this book! And now I appreciate more the effort that goes into making animations.
Can't say I enjoyed the whole journey, though. For someone studying the subject or working in the business the book is surely a gem, but a layman like me might find the countless pages on 'how to make a character walk' quite a slog to go through...

I totally recommend this book to anyone who has even the slightest dream of becoming an animator.

5

Jun 14, 2017

excellent reference. i also recommend watching the videos for more understanding

5

Jan 07, 2018

Probably the best book out there for animators who are looking for animating tips.(specially beginners) Great book i thank Mr Richard Williams for this great book and sharing his experiences with the world Probably the best book out there for animators who are looking for animating tips.(specially beginners) Great book i thank Mr Richard Williams for this great book and sharing his experiences with the world???????? ...more

5

Oct 04, 2018

The first book to get as an aspiring animator. Amazing value and fun to read.

5

Jun 10, 2019

Magnificent! I learned a lot from this book!

It's a must have and read for any animation professionals, student, hobbyist, or enthusiast!

5

May 06, 2019

Oh neat! This is on here! lmao 500/5 excellent to read through and reference eternally.

5

Mar 17, 2019

Wow wow wow. I learnd so much! Im definitely going to use this when I practice animation. Great book for anyone interested or studying animation

5

Sep 01, 2018

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It's a good book

5

Jan 11, 2020

This book always blows my mind. The amount of knowledge Richard Williams had and to sit down and document all of that is astonishing to me.
An absolute must have if you are doing animation.

5

Aug 03, 2019

Ok, I didnt manage to finish it, but Ive read around 260 pages and I've stopped because I feel I am not at a proper level to actually proceed the book. I will continue reading it, its really good and helpful. :) Do yourself a favor and read it if you want to animate.

5

Nov 18, 2018

THIS Lovely ginormous book was gifted to me by my brothers girlfriend. and it was what I wanted for so long. THANKYOU!!!!

I have to say it gives you the basics of practically everything to do with movement, proportion, body language, facial expressions. This is really helpful.

4

Aug 19, 2019

I just finished it for the same week and i really enjoyed it. I loved how at first the storylines didn't seem to have anything to do with each other but slowly details were revealed to show how they are all connected.

5

Jul 20, 2019

This book breaks down how the pioneers of animation created and honed the classic movement style of the 30's and 40's. Easy to follow and fun to read, with tons of reference illustrations on just about every page.

5

Nov 30, 2017

This is a great book on learning to execute very commonly used techniques in animation. Although I never practiced anything the book taught me, it has given me a much desired dose of knowledge on how many of my favorite 2-D animated films were made.

5

Dec 03, 2019

This is actually my favorite book of all time (no, like, really, this is the one book I would read for the rest of my life if forced to pick one) so I'm surprised I haven't reviewed it yet?! How to even begin to describe how wonderful and useful Williams' wisdom and drawings are? Just read it. You won't regret a second of it.

3

Nov 10, 2018

More pictures than text, reading through this book helped prepare me to succeed in my animation class. I was able to add tips and tricks from the book that helped set my animation a level above other first time animators in the class. Hearing the many approaches of animators gave me confidence in trying out new and different ways of animating. While one shouldn't include a walk cycle in their portfolio, one does need to excel at a walk cycle in order to achieve better animation.

4

Oct 06, 2017

Williams is obviously working from a very specific tradition of animation and targets people who animate in a studio context rather than people who want to do it on their own, but most of the advice here translates and only some of it is clearly bad (like the stagger vibration thing; it's certainly true that that is/used to be a very common way of doing it, but the only reason I know that is because it stands out like a sore thumb every single time).
I just don't understand why every man in Williams is obviously working from a very specific tradition of animation and targets people who animate in a studio context rather than people who want to do it on their own, but most of the advice here translates and only some of it is clearly bad (like the stagger vibration thing; it's certainly true that that is/used to be a very common way of doing it, but the only reason I know that is because it stands out like a sore thumb every single time).
I just don't understand why every man in animation has to be a piece of shit. ...more

5

Dec 08, 2018

An important book for animators and animation enthusiasts. This has been a useful and faithful tool for me as an animator. I often refer to it. There's information on the different cycles and variations of them such as run, walk cycles. Learned so much about arcs, acting, body language, twinning, facial expressions, lip sync, etc. Everything is broken down and explained through pictures, drawings, and written explanations in a way that is fun and engaging. There is a lot of information geared An important book for animators and animation enthusiasts. This has been a useful and faithful tool for me as an animator. I often refer to it. There's information on the different cycles and variations of them such as run, walk cycles. Learned so much about arcs, acting, body language, twinning, facial expressions, lip sync, etc. Everything is broken down and explained through pictures, drawings, and written explanations in a way that is fun and engaging. There is a lot of information geared towards 2d animators however many of it translates over to 3d animation. Also enjoyed the history and insight into the industry. ...more