Welcome to the Animation Book List!

 

Here are some of the books that have helped me... It is really to your advantage to try and get these books. They are the closest thing to getting inside an animator's head and asking his brain for help. Thanx to Eddie Bowers for the extra information and books! They are sorta kinda in order of our favorites. We added some recommendations to give you a better idea what the books are about, but I would suggest flipping through the books in person if you can.  The prices approximations shown below are usually what the books sell for in retail, to give you an idea of what kind of investment you'd be making. :)

 

Since this page was created a while back, people have been asking where they can get the books, alot of booksellers in your area might not have the one you're looking for.  If you have a hard time finding it, I suggest purchasing it through Amazon.com. You can order securely online through this page, and shipping is fast  Often their prices are surprisingly actually cheaper than book sellers in my area. (sometimes 15 to 40 percent) Give it a try!

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

	Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life  By Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston Hyperion Press  ISBN 0-7868-6070-7
	If I can recommend that you buy one book for animation, it would be this one.  It is the only book that is regularly cited and recommended by my teachers at Calarts, and probably the most informative all around.  A very large book... I've found that the more I better I get at understanding animation, the more informative the book is.  It's been out of print for a very long time and was just recently reprinted. I say get it while it's here. Must Have. Arguably the best book on drawn animation ever published. They've also done Too Funny For Words, about cartoon gags; Bambi: The Story and the Film, which goes into the making of the film from their standpoint as animators; and The Disney Villains. Thomas and Johnston worked as animators on all the major Disney features through The Fox and the Hound. There is also a documentory about them called Frank and Ollie.  ------ Eddie
	Some Disney Stores and Barnes and Nobles carry this book. It is usually around $40 to $60.  or Order online at

 

	"Animation" & "How To Animate Film Cartoons" (also compiled into "Cartoon Animation") By Preston Blair Walter Foster Publishing
	These are a great place to start. They look rudimentary, but in fact you might not really understand half his tehcniques until you really start animationg more complicated subjects. Buy these.  I must suggest though that people not copy directly from the books... They are a great starting point and explain a ton of stuff that other books don't touch on, but people should learn, and then apply the techniques in new ways instead of animating exactly like Blair. ----Aimee  Must Have. These two books are in print and inexpensive. Probably the best investment in animation books you'll make. They tend to get a bum rap because they are they are so small, but there is tons great information and examples here. ---Eddie
	You can find these in artsupply, craft and animation stores. Paperback...Very Cheap. Probably about $8 each. Paperback Compilation is about $35.  or Order online at

	"How to Draw Batman" By Ty Templeton Walter Foster Publishing
	On the surface it looks like one of those lame little "draw it step by step... here's a circle...that's his head".  But don't be fooled, its really a very insightfull how to book by the the artist for the Batman Animated comic.  He covers stuff like having strong sillouette, good poses, line quality, its a great book... and also deals with making perspective easier.  It's great, grab a copy if you can, I think you'll be pleasantly suprised.
	You can find these in artsupply, craft and animation stores. Paperback...Very Cheap. Probably about $8.  or Order online at

	"Designing Cartoon Characters For Animation"  & "Layout and Design Made Amazingly Simple"  By Brian Lemay (Sheridan College Text books.)
	I have never actually seen these books, I'll take Eddie's word for it.  Some people have tried to get them from the email address... I'm not sure whether they were able to contact Mr. Lemay or not.. -----Aimee If you want to do Cel/2D animation GET THESE BOOKS. These are a must have for animation students. They cover topics I have not seen in any other published book, like line quality and creating good model sheets. -----Eddie
	$25 and $35 (respectively) You can order them from the author.His email is blemay@pathcom.com

	Digital Character Animation  By George Maestri published 1996 by New Riders  ISBN 1-56205-559-3
	As well as providing an excellent grounding in character animation techniques it contains many do-it-yourself exercises and comes with a CD-ROM to help you out.----Eddie
	Usually about $50 .  or Order online at

	"The Animator's Workbook"  By Tony White Watson-Guptill Publications
	I don't own this one... it's similar to the Preston Blair books, but I personally think the Blair ones are better, but there's some stuff in here that's not in the Blair books, so check it out if you have a chance.----Aimee
	You .  or Order online at

	"Animation from Script to Screen " By Culhane St. Martin's Press
	This book tell how to master the "quick sketch" technique and how to market yourself and improve your skills to professional level. He shows some tricks of the trade (like the fact that you should never number drawings while actually drawing.)------Aimee  A good "how-to" book by a veteran of Disney, Fleischer, Lantz and TV commercials. It's not only about animation and animating, but about the creative process in general. I think the animation projects in it are lame, but subtituteing them with something of your own works well. -----Eddie
	You can find this at Barnes and Nobles and animation supplies usually for about $25 or $15.  or Order online at

	"Timing For Animation" By Harold Whitaker, John Halas Focal Press
	I have not read this one. It's about the mechanics of timing and drawing. Expensive. Authors are from Halas and Bachelor studio in England.----Eddie
	Currently Out of Print

Drawing Book List

	"The Human Figure In Motion"  & "Animals In Motion"  Eadweard Muybridge Dover
	These are invaluable to me. I was animating a walking peice the other day at a strange angle... and guess what book I ended up figuring out the motion from? If you are actively animating you should own these books to supplement your research... Bottom line. ----Aimee  They are a collection of photograghs from the last century (some of them) that show movement in sequence, such as walking, running, etc, and though all the women's movement is very Victorian and strange, the men's movements and animal movements are very useful. ----Eddie
	These are usually only available at animation supply houses.   Order the Human Figure In Motion online at  Or Order Animals in Motion

	THE VILPPU DRAWING MANUAL By Glen Vilppu
	I've heard alot of really good things about Vippu, some of my classmates here highly recommend him. -----Aimee one hundred and sixty pages of instructive drawings and text, in full living black and white, from the American Animation Institute's master instructor GLENN VILPPU. The manual is a twelve-chapter basic drawing course covering gesture, construction, anatomy and lighting. It is the same material Glenn teaches at the AAI, Disney and Warner Bros. Feature Animation.-----Eddie
	To order, send $39.95 (CA residents add $3.30 sales tax), plus $3.00 shipping per copy to: Vilppu Studio, 2884 Calm Garden Road, Acton, CA 93510. Make checks available to Glenn Vilppu. For information: phone/fax (805) 269-1736; email gfin5@aol.com.

	The Natural Way to Draw  By Nicolades Houghton Mifflin
	He gives actual exercises to improve your ability to concentrate on art and "see" better. The exercises are intense and not of the casual reader. Unless you're willing to do the work though, don't bother buying it.-----Aimee  A famous "how-to-draw" book recommended by people like Culhane and Chuck Jones. This is a good companion book to "Drawing On The Right Side of the Brain". ----Eddie
	Usually about $20 in book stores and animation supply houses.  or Order online at

	"The Artist's complete guide to facial expression"  By Gary Faigin Waston-Guptill
	A Great book about the minute details of facial expression, and what muscles do what. It's also a great book for learning to draw heads/faces in in general. It's kind of like Dynamic anatomy for the face.----Eddie
	.   Order online at

	Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.  By Betty Edwards Jeremy P. Tarcher
	This book is great for anyone,even people not interested in drawing at all. I've read it more than 4 times and each time I read it I get better. The book shows you how to use the right hemisphere of your brain. (the creative side) I really recommend this to almost anyone.-----Aimee  Terrific book on how your brain works with regard to visual processing. Probably the fastest way to learn how to draw what you see. Very good book for animators of all types. The biggest mistake a computer animator can make is thinking that you don't have to be able to draw. Get this book to learn to draw, but also to learn to *see*.------Eddie
	Usually really easy to find at any good book store or art supply house.  or Order online at  or Order the Paperback

"Art Of" Book List

 
 

	Batman: Animated By Paul Dini, Chip Kidd and Bruce Timm
	Oh, this book is so gorgeous... tons of storyboards character designs, everything.... all in that wonderfull Batman style. You'll find stuff from the original series as well as the more recent designs for the later seasons... And the have info on the toys that were made for the series as well, its wonderfull. -----Aimee
	You can find this one at good bookstores or the Disney Store.  or Order online at

	The Art of the Lion King.  By James Earl Jones, Charles Finch
	Like all of the "art of" books there's lot of pictures, storyboard art, rough animation, and insight into how the movie was made.  The book is probably one of the most attractive in my opinion, and one of the main draws for me was the good amount of Chris Sanders storyboard art in it.  If you like seeing the preproduction work like I do, you'll love the book.  -----Aimee
	I've seen this book on sale at a few bookstores for really cheap,  but its now out of print, get it while you can.

	Disney's Aladdin: Making of the Animated Film By John Culhane
	This is my favorite 'art of' book, for the reason that it has just SO much rough animation in it (my favorite part of the preproduction work).  You'll find a ton of rough Glen Keane stuff for Aladdin as well as gorgeous roughs by the other animators on the film.  Mine is well-loved. -----Aimee
	You can find this one at good bookstores or the Disney Store.  or Order online at

	The Art of Mulan.  By Jeff Kurtti
	Another one of the "art ofs"  Some of the stuff in here is very well done, if you like Mulan, you'll like the book. (once again some lovely stylized storyboard art by Chris Sanders).  I just don't really care for the artwork or entire style of Mulan, so it isn't my favorite book.  There's some really interesting completely asian styled early production work in here that is great. -----Aimee
	You can find this one at good bookstores and the Disney Store.  or Order online at

	The Art of Hercules: The Chaos of Creation By Stephen Rubello
	This is one of my favorite of the art of books, simply for the ton of research that went into making the film Greek looking, you see more of that in this book than in the Mulan book, in my opinion, plus some of the rough animation they show of Megara, Hades, as well as early character designs for the Titans are just great!  Cool book. -----Aimee
	You can find this one at good bookstores and the Disney Store.  or Order online at

	Disney's The Art of the Hunchback of Notre Dame By Stephen Rubello
	Has some really interesting early development work for the gargoyles, Frollo and Esmerelda as well as alot of really aweinspiring building paintings.... once again, if you liked Hunchback, you'll love this book, it has a ton of really great preproduction stuff. -----Aimee
	You can find this one at good bookstores.  or Order online at

	Disney's The Art of Pocahontas By Stephen Rubello
	Once again, tons of great stuff from Pocahontas, alot of the early character designs are really interesting, especially the early drawings of Pocahontas, there's also a huge amount of gorgeous charcoal storyboards and rough animation by Keane in here.  -----Aimee
	You can find> Transfer interrupted! or Order online at

	The Prince of Egypt: A New Vision in Animation By Charles Solomon
	I was kinda dissappointed by this book... the movie has some lovely preproduction art that I was able to see when I visited Dreamworks, but they just dont have that much rough animation or character stuff in here.  There's a bunch of screenshots, but I've seen the movie, I dont want to see more screenshots.  The saving grace of this book is a really lovely collection of artwork by some of the storyboard artists, they have a really awesome style that makes the book worth buying. (really its that good) -----Aimee
	You can find this one at good bookstores.  or Order online at

	Disney's The Art of Animation from Mickey Mouse to Hercules By Bob Thomas
	This book is exactly like the other "Art of Animation" book by Bob Thomas, only instead of the Beauty and the Beast supplement, it has a Hercules one in the back.  If you're a fan of Hercules, you'll find artwork in here that wasn't in the full "Art of Hercules" book by Stephen Rubello. The information about the films other than Hercules in here is pretty rudimentary though. -----Aimee
	You can find this one at good bookstores.  or Order Hardcover online at

	Disney's The Art of Animation from Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast By Bob Thomas
	The majority of the book is spent giving a basic overview of the animated films so far... BUT there's a large section on the art of Beauty and the Beast, and since a full book for BATB was never made, its very worth the purchase.  Gorgeous rough work and character development drawings by Baxter, Deja and Keane. -----Aimee
	You can find this one at good bookstores.  or Order Paperback online at