Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair, Revised Edition! - (Collector's) (Paperback)

About the Book

While animators must first know how to draw, the animation process involves much more than just good drawing skills. Acclaimed cartoon animator Preston Blair shares his vast practical knowledge to explain and demonstrate the many techniques of cartoon animation. Learn the knowledge and skills animators must have, including: How to construct original cartoon characters by developing a character's shape, personality, features, and mannerisms; How to animate movements such as running, walking, dancing, posing, skipping, and more; How to create realistic-looking mouth movements during dialogue, as well as body movements and facial expressions while the character is speaking; The finer points of animating a character, including drawing key character poses and in-betweens.

Book Synopsis

By following the lessons in Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair, you can make any character--person, animal, or object--come to life through animated movement!

While animators must first know how to draw, the animation process involves much more than just good drawing skills. In this new edition, acclaimed cartoon animator Preston Blair shares his vast practical knowledge to explain and demonstrate the many techniques of cartoon animation. Learn the knowledge and skills animators must have, including:

• How to construct original cartoon characters by developing a character's shape, personality, features, and mannerisms
• How to animate movements such as running, walking, dancing, posing, skipping, and more
• How to create realistic-looking mouth movements during dialogue, as well as body movements and facial expressions while the character is speaking
• The finer points of animating a character, including drawing key character poses and in-betweens

Full of expert advice from animation pioneer Preston Blair, and packed with helpful drawings and diagrams, the new edition of Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair is a book no animation enthusiast should be without.

THIS REVISED EDITION INCLUDES:

Chapter 1: Getting Started
Tools & Materials
Drawing Basics
Animation Methods

Chapter 2: Cartoon Construction
Parts of a Cartoon Character
The Body
The Head
Facial Expressions
The Hands

Chapter 3: Character Design & Development
Cartoon Examples
The Cute Character
The Screwball Type
The "Pugnacious" Character
More Animal Characters
Fictional People
Children

Chapter 4: Basic Character Movement
Comics to Life
Line of Action
Rhythm & Design
Basic Movement

Chapter 5: Animation
Principles
Beyond Simple Movements
Rough Sketches
Balance
Paths of Action
Animation Effects

Chapter 6: Animated Acting
Expressing an Attitude
Three Rules for Actors
Body Language
Dialogue

The Collector's Series offers a broad range of projects across a variety of mediums and genres, such as drawing, oil, acrylic, watercolor, cartooning, calligraphy, and others. This series is suitable for beginning to intermediate artists, and each title features in-depth instruction about how to work with the tools of the trade, master techniques, and use newfound skills in practical application.

Review Quotes

"A treasure trove of samples and guidelines to inspire an artist at any level."--Comics Grinder

"Profusely illustrated throughout and comprehensively covering all of the fundamentals of cartoon animation...ideal and unreservedly recommended."--Midwest Book Review

"This is the holy grail of all art books."--Sandbox World

About the Author

Preston Blair (1910-1995) was a native Californian who studied art at the Otis Art Institute, as well as illustration under Pruett Carter at Chouinard Art Institute (now California Institute of the Arts). As a member of the California Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society in New York, he exhibited work all over the country. Preston was a fine artist during the early days of full-length feature animation. For the Disney production Fantasia, he designed and animated the hippos in "The Dance of the Hours." He also animated Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, portions of the classic film Pinocchio, and the famous scene in Bambi when the owl talks about love in his "twitterpated" speech. At MGM, Preston directed Barney Bear short films, and he was well known as the designer and animator of one of Tex Avery's epic shorts Red Hot Riding Hood. Preston later moved to Connecticut, where he produced television commercials, educational films, and cartoons, including TheFlintstones. Before he passed away, he worked as an inventor of interactive TV programs, such as teaching reading through animation and virtual reality games featuring full-sized animated opponents.