5 great books for 3D animators

Andy Price | Competitions | Opinion | 05/08/2011 10:35am

Are you an animator looking for inspiration? Some expert tips? Check out our list of the best books for animators

The printed word may well be struggling today, but judging by the amount of 3D-related literature we get sent here at 3D World, books are still an important resource to many of you

Of course, technology like the Kindle is both contributing to the decline of, and propping up the hard and paperback industry, so, no thanks to the text message, we don’t have to fear for worldwide illiteracy just yet.

With this in mind, we’d like to present a list of our favourite animation books.

Whether you want to learn a new technique, get some tips from the professionals, or to simply find some good old fashioned inspiration, this selection should help you on your way.

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01 The Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard Williams

Even though this book is more focused on traditional animation than any of the others on this list, it’s one of the most important, teaching the fundamental skills that apply to both traditional and computer animation.

Covering pretty much everything an overview of animation demands: techniques, advice, tips, tricks and information on animation history, many artists list this book as one of their favourites.

Best known as the animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Williams has a wealth of experience, which he shares in The Animator’s Survival Kit.

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02 The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects by Isaac Kerlow

At 512 pages, it’s pretty expansive, and up to date – currently on its fourth revision, it contains much of the latest technologies.

The book uses a step-by-step technique to take the reader through the whole process of creating a 3D animation, using examples from some big names including Pixar, DreamWorks, Framestore, ILM, Blue SKy and tonnes more.

Aimed at any animator from student to professional, there should be something for everybody in here.

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03 Ideas for the Animated Short: Finding and Building Stories by Karen Sullivan et al

We’ve been in the business of talking to top 3D artists and studios for over 10 years now, and if there’s one thing they want to see in a showreel is a story.

The last thing they need is another generic reel that demonstrates the key skills, but without any zing. You need to grab their attention!

Perhaps Ideas for the Animated Short will help. Written by educators Karen Sullivan, Kate Alexander and Gary Schumer, this book is great for students, focusing on building the skills to develop story ideas specifically for an animated short.

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04 Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right by Jason Osipa

In animation, as in life, when someone talks we look at the face, unless you’re short has little dialogue, in which case facial modelling because even more important.

Learn how to make your characters act out your story to the best of their ability by perfecting facial modelling and animation in the book Stop Staring.

The book covers basic techniques like squash and stretch, lip syncs etc. but it is also up-to-date, covering how to automate processes using Python scripting.

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05 How to Write for Animation by Jeffrey Scott

This may be knocking on a bit now (well, 2002, but that’s a century in this business right?) but it doesn’t matter, because the principles of writing for animation in this book are pretty timeless.

Describing how to work on a plot from scratch, this book has proved inspirational for many animation writers and artists working on their own projects.

The book covers absolutely loads, from writing outlines, scripts and dialogue, to how to write a presentation and pitch your project.

Posted on Friday, August 5th, 2011 at 10:35 am under Competitions, Opinion. You can subscribe to comments. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.