DreamWorks Animation has a comprehensive in-house training program which provides a lot of resources for their artists. They provide every incoming artist with a list of the books and resources that they have found most helpful for mastering the art of animation.DreamWorks has generously allowed me to share this recommended list with you. The links take you to more information about each of the books. If the resources are not books, I've added a note about where the links will take you.
Acting and Improv
• Acting for Animators by Ed Hooks
• The Second City – Almanac of Improvisation by Anne Libera
• A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: The Secret Art of the Performer by Eugenio Barba
• Matthew Bain on Movement. Bain is a final layout artist at PDI/Dreamworks Animation and freelance music visualization artist/composer.) (Linked in) (Music visualization on YouTube)
Animation Books
•The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston
• Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive by David Levy
• The Art of Shrek Forever After
• The Art of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
• The Art of Madagascar 3
• The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2
• The Art of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
• The Art of Madagascar 3
• The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2
Color and Painting
Computer Graphics and Visual FX
• Introduction to Computer Graphics by James D. Foley, et al
• Fundamentals of Computer Graphics by Peter Shirley
• Mathematics for Computer Graphics by John Vince
• CG101:A Computer Graphics Industry Reference (2nd Edition) by Terrence Masson
....
Figure and Gesture Drawing
Filmmaking Books
Layout & Composition Books
Animation Websites
Animation Educator's Forum
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Thanks, Angela!
You are a constant source of knowledge and inspiration. Thank you so much for posting these resources!
ReplyDeleteThis post is gold for me. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome list!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot James, that's very generous of you :)
Wow what a list, and I even own a handful! Let me copy&paste this to my amazon wish list...
ReplyDeleteI like that the Color and Painting section consist solely of your books ;-)
Thanks for posting this list. I'll be coming back here for years to come when I need something to read.
ReplyDeleteMonbaum, yes, I'm totally honored that my books are on the list. I had nothing to do with making up the list--it's what they use in-house, and I'm grateful to Angela Lepito at DWA for allowing me to share the list with GJ readers.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if any studios or schools want to order a set of my books for your group, please send me an email (gurneyjourney@gmail.com), and I can offer you group discounts and can sign and personalize them for your team members.
Thanks A LOT for this bilbiography, I really apreciate it. I'ts good to have a good reference of books. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWonderful list. I was surprised though not to see Andrew Loomis anywhere. I have a friend who worked for Disney for many years (starting as an inbetweener on Beauty and the Beast.) When he was helping me with my portfolio to get into art school, he handed me a copy of "Figure Drawing for all it's Worth" and "Creative Illustration."
ReplyDeleteWow what a fantastic list of resources!! Thanks for posting this. More here than I have time to look at.
ReplyDeleteI'm creating graphics for a game. I wish that there was an easier way to create CG. It's not only doing artwork, but concepts & software and animation, & so on! Anyway, I really like all of the helpful art info on this GJ website.
ReplyDeleteAhh, Preston Blair. I had a set of his old, large-format animation books passed down to me from my mother when I was 6 or 7 years old, which I later replaced with a copy of Cartoon Animation. While all the important points were covered there for the most part, I still seem to remember the older set had more drawings and "cheat sheets" that weren't included in the compendium. I'd love to get my hands on another set...
ReplyDeleteThank you for this great list. We have most of these titles at Autistry Studios. The book we use most is your Imaginative Realism. We work with teens and adults on the autism spectrum. Your book helps them take their visions from great ideas to finished pieces. So practical, so pragmatic, so very helpful. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! Thanks for the long list!
ReplyDeleteJust in time to say that you and your website are two things I am grateful for this Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteThank you, James.
thanks for your informations!!
ReplyDeleteWow, really great and helpful log! Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteCool list! I'm an aspiring animator, and I think it's kind of neat how a lot of the books that they recommend are in my own library. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you James. This is a very impressive list. Thank you and Dream Works for sharing. I have to a agree with Dream Works that your books are essential. They are well formatted and informative and are great for reference as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
Nice I also share with you something hope this helpful for you my friends Read the literature from each college on what they need to see for your digital portfolio in terms of number of images, file size (memory kb etc.) and image size (pixels) – all will be different so you might not be able to use the same images for all the colleges you’re applying to. Check that you’ve got enough work that sits in each category if they specify how many of each they want to see – for example in research, development, final images, time based work. Check to see how they want to see time based work in your digital portfolio (video, film, animation), do they want stills or can you upload a link to Youtube, Vimeo or similar? Check it out thanks.
ReplyDelete