The animation world is expanding day by day and with the involvement of the latest technology and artificial intelligence, animation making become easy and sample. It has been more or less a medium of communication since the 1900s and has significant importance as it helps to communicate via videos, films, and cartoons. On Being Animator you witnessed several courses and techniques about animation but today, We will be talking about some of the top recommended animation books for starters that have been making rounds in the animation industry. Reading is an art, and learning animation through reading those books will make it all worth it.
After examining and going through some animation books available in the industry, Our expert animators come up with the top five animation books best for beginners, you’ll find it worth reading here is the list.
Let’s read about them:
The Animator’s Survival Kit ( Top recommended)
What could be the best book for animation than a book that is Academy-Award Winning? Yes, I am very excited to tell you about this very book that has been ruling the animation world that is Animator survival kit book has been read by almost every animator also normal people like you and me to get the knowledge about animation from zero to top-level expert. Written and designed by Richard Williams, who is one of the true innovators and has won 3 academy awards for his participation in the animation industry.
Top Animation Books for Beginners is Animator’s Survival Kit
Survival Kit is no usual animation book, it is overflowing with a good amount of animation material for beginners to learn and dive into the imagination world. There are a lot of chapters full of rich references and diagrams with the instructions are mentioned clearly in the book so that no one stuck at any point. In the very beginning, find a few chapters on history and biography where it comes from, and what was the whole idea of animation creation. Then dive into the classic assignment of the bouncing ball which is considered a hello word in a field of animation and tons of drawing, Illustrations, Basic mechanics of the human body, Different walk cycles for humans & animals from different camera angles and so many amazing examples to convey his point. In short, This book will give you a new perspective to learn and see animation in the world.
The techniques shared in this book are quite handy and easy to learn like how to show weight, Dialogue, and Lips sync your character with an amazing drawing and simple language. book is a real treasure to animators and experts consider a foundation for any kind of education for animation.
Cartoon Animation – Best for Students
One of the best book for students and for those who wanted to wanted to animate with the help of drawings as Animation is all about making good drawings and photographing in a way that looks real in movements. In a sample word, we can say it’s a combination of many still images but as an Animator, you will have to add the feeling to your art to attract the viewers. So to help you out with making such drawings one of Disney animators has come up with this awesome animation book, which aims to help you learn the basics of animation and will teach all the animation-related knowledge.
Best books for Animation Students
Book describes creating original cartoon characters, developing their shape, personality, features, and idea of how to create an animated cartoon. Then in the second chapter, how to animate a character for running, dancing, walking, etc. The third chapter is about the crucial points in character modeling like creating a key, character poses, and all other things in between. The fourth chapter is about facial animation dialogues, creating realistic movements, facial expressions, etc. Finally the last, the fifth chapter talks about the most technical aspects of animation making, like spacing pattern, tinting, background, Environment layouts, drawings, music, sound, and camera.
I must say you’ll enjoy reading and learning animation while having this book.
Acting for Animators – Best Book for Character Animation
Acting for animators is a basic and best book for all the beginners out there and for all the advanced learners to be professional at their skills. Author, Ed hook has been phenomenal when it comes to animation teaching. The power of his writing is so strong that It feels like he directly speaks to you via book and you feel connected to him.
Best Book for Character Animator
In order to explain to you every minor detail from character to physical movements to facial expression, he used classical theories and tries to fill you with all the necessary information so that it is easy for beginners to take a step forward. The new fourth edition comes with a scene-by-scene analysis of animation characters in featured films, it includes Zootopia and the little prince, and also gives the best advice on how to perform well when it comes to visual references. What I love about the book is a dedicated chapter on virtual reality, because that actually going to level up your skill in the animation industry. Plus, as a treat, you’ll find all hooks’ previous films database in one place.
This book is worth reading as it is full of theory and practice of animation, experts says it’s a must book if you’re character animator so Put your hands on this book if you’re a beginner.
Timing for Animation Best book for 3D Animation
When an animation book is up to date, then it makes it all worth it to read and learn about animation. This very book has been revised and give you the new images, techniques, and advice from the world’s animation experts. It was originally published in 1981 but on its 40th anniversary, it got revised to a great extent.
best book for 3d animation Timing for animator
Book is easy to read as you’ll find clear directions lines and vibrant illustrations on each page of the book. Depicts the various procedures and methods to make your characters look as real as possible, Timing for animator also includes digital storyboarding in 2D and 3D, and time for digital productions; you’ll find some interactive games, drawings, television, animals, etc. Taught the usage of after-effects, arrange the animated scenes concerning each other, and also amount of drawing need to be used for maximum dramatic effect.
So in short, everything that you need for your animation skills specially if you’re a 3D animator and want to improve can easily be found in this book; timing for animation.
Let me explain some of the key features of this book:
- Fully revised and loaded with advice from the experts.
- Works on the fundamentals of timing, physics, and animation.
- Overflowing with new techniques, and lots of examples.
- The best ride for novice and expert animators.
Animating Your Career – Guide for Beginners
Animation as a career? How many of us dream about this? I think everyone. Right? Well, this book called animating your career does help in animating careers in the industry. This book is written by Steve hickner, who is a film director at DreamWorks Animation and directed a good number of animated movies like the prince of Egypt and the bee movie. Steve has gained a lot of respect in a industry due to his expert skills so he write a book for absolute beginners as Animating your career which is a proper guide to take you from zero to the expert level in animation. Animating your Career is full of examples, practical work, and techniques for you to learn and apply to your videos.
Best animation book on Guide for Beginners
Being Animator Experts like books that are easy to read and comprehend and this book has all those qualities. It won’t take much time to learn animation after reading plus You’ll get encounter plenty of worlds of wisdom and inspiring stories for an artist like you who is ready to make animation his career.
If you’ve decided to have careers in animation then our recommendation is to start your journey with this experience-filled book.
Conclusion:
These are some of the best books on animation that helped most of beginners to peruse there career in this vast field full of opportunities. Not just stick to the animation and valuable techniques but it also shows the mindset of all the great experts in the animation industry. Doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an advanced level learner, these books will help you go beyond your limits.
It is never too late to start and something is always better than nothing. So take your first step by adding book to your working table what ever suits you well, start reading it, and if at any point you feel distracted or confused, you can easily reach out to the experts of that book.
I have combined all the best books in the animation industry, but still, if you have any questions or if you feel lost, then you’re free to ask me anything. I will try my best to answer.
Best of luck!
