When blair put the book together in he used the characters he had animated at disney and mgm to illustrate the various basic principles of animation. In laying out o run or walk for animation, it is these that ore determined first, this sets the speed, site of character, etc. Preston erwin blair october 24, 1908 april 19, 1995 was an american character animator, best remembered for his work at walt disney productions and the metrogoldwynmayer cartoon studio. Prestons one heck of an animator and with a little patience and practice you can pull of some great stuff with what youll find in cartoon animation. First published at the height of blairs career in the.
It is the text animation resources drawing course is based upon. Preston started as a fine artist and exhibited in the california watercolor society and the american watercolor society in new york. Preston blairs animation book is the best how to book on cartoon animation ever published. Preston blairs animation is the book on character animation basics. The new copy i just bought is smaller in format, thicker and the illustrations are larger and clearer. Preston blair gallery site with movements decomposition from muybridges book. Recently, stephen worth posted the 1st edition of preston blairs animation book on the animation archive project blog. April 12, 1791 october 18, 1876 was an american journalist, newspaper editor, and influential figure in national politics advising several u. Oct 25, 2008 recently, stephen worth posted the 1st edition of preston blairs animation book on the animation archive project blog. Animation is the process of drawing and photographing a. He finally found a copy in a collection of material that belonged to. Blairs animation career began in 1931 when he began work with walter lantzs studio where he helped draw the series oswald the rabbit. Instruction preston blairs advanced animation with images.
Cartoon animation edition 1 by preston blair 9781560100843. He is better known, however, as an author of animation instructional books for. Cartoon animation collectors series preston blair on. After sketching from it i noticed some of the drawings are directly lifted from different mgm model sheets. It is the text animation resources drawing course is based. By following his lessons, you can make any characterperson, animal, or objectcome to life through animated movement.
He finally found a copy in a collection of material that belonged to legendary animator, dave tendlar. Nov 26, 2010 every animation student should have a copy of how to animate by preston blair a book thats trained countless animators over the decades. Preston blairs animation 1st edition cartoons, comics. This tutorial, among all of the others, will help me tremendously. Every animation student should have a copy of how to animate by preston blair a book thats trained countless animators over the decades. In cartoon animation, acclaimed cartoon animator preston blair shares his vast practical knowledge to explain and. November meeting felix the cat and walk cycles va viper. Preston blair s animation 1st edition recently, stephen worth posted the 1st edition of preston blair s animation book on the animation archive project blog. Written by preston blair, an animator for both disney and mgm during the golden age of animation, this book talks about animation, creating cartoon characters, and depicting their actions. Blairs animation books are still in print in their revised forms and continue to influence aspiring animators to this day. This first edition uses mgm characters as opposed to the generic characters used in later printings. I had this book when i was a kid, dreaming of becoming an animator some day.
Animation by preston blair and how to animate film cartoons by preston blair. When blair put the book together in 1947, he used the characters he had animated at disney and mgm to illustrate the various basic principles of animation. While he talks about animation principles towards the back of the book, dont write off this book as being useless to anyone else. In cartoon animation, acclaimed cartoon animator preston blair shares his vast practical knowledge to explain and demonstrate the many techniques of cartoon animation. A good book not that you asked for oneif you wish to learn the principles and fundamentals of animation is preston blairs cartoon animation another good book is disneys illusion of life but thats more theoretical. Preston blairs book advanced animation is one of the best books on the subject.
Preston blair began his career in animation with walter lantz and charles mintz in the 1930s before joining the walt disney studio later in that decade. I actually gave up on it many times before sitting down and doing them. Preston blair 1908 1995 animated some of the most iconic scenes at disney and mgm. Animation historian, jerry beck, whose excellent blog cartoon brew is in the bookmarks of just about everyone in the animation business, has been hunting for a first edition of blairs landmark book for many years. Hakes animation cel of duck from animator preston blairs. He left disney after the 1941 strike for metrogoldwynmayer. Ross lynch fires pucks all over the place as he teaches jay how to be a hockey goalie in the special skills season finale. Cartoon animation advanced animation by preston blair. Preston s one heck of an animator and with a little patience and practice you can pull of some great stuff with what youll find in cartoon animation. I bought this to replace the same book purchased years before. Then the rest of the is the position of the bock foot on the contact drawing determines the speed more thon any other single factor. Mar 31, 2014 preston blair cartoon animation posted on march 31, 2014 by houghridge rhythm in animation is based on the wave principle, the line of beauty curve an s shape, animates as a wave into the opposite z shape and back, the wave is pushed or manipulated from one side to the other. Discover book depositorys huge selection of preston blair books online.
The son of the political journalist of the same name, blair grew up in washington, d. A native of redlands, california, blair began his animation career in the early 1930s at the universal studio under walter lantz and bill nolan. Because im going to not only tell you about the preston blair bookbut im gonna guide you through it, fundamental concept by fundamental concept. For the disney production fantasia, he designed and animated the hippos in the dance of the hours. Preston blairs animation was one of the first books that i added to my animation library many years ago. Let worldrenowned animator preston blair introduce you to the magical world of cartooning and animation. Animation corner 5 cartoon animation by preston blair. This book along with jack hamms figure drawing book is the only book i constantly reread and practice. Aug 19, 2015 preston blair 1908 1995 animated some of the most iconic scenes at disney and mgm. February 19, 1821 july 8, 1875 was an american jurist, politician and soldier. This book gives an overview of the animation process with careful detail for action, expression, emotion, different types of characters, and so much more.
He animated characters for fantasia notably mickey mouse and hyacinth hippo and also worked on pinocchio 1940 and bambi 1942. He represented missouri in both the house of representatives and the senate, and was active in preventing the state of missouri from being absorbed into the confederacy at the beginning of the civil war. The collectors series books offer a selection of popular projects form bestselling titles. Lots of stuff in the animators survival kit is copied from it. In the future, i would like to have a career in cartooning and animation, so seeing this is very influential to my future and techniques. Preston blair preston blairs animation book is the best how to book on cartoon animation ever published.
The pioneers of the art of animation learned many lessons, most through trial and error, and it is this body of knowledge that has established the fundamentals of animation. He went on to produce two more books and all three have been combined into a 224 page book called cartoon animation collectors. Animation historian, jerry beck, whose excellent blog cartoon brew is in the bookmarks of just about everyone in the animation business, has been hunting for a first edition of blair s landmark book for many years. Cartoon animation by preston blair is the original and still best as far as im concerned. He was an american character animator, most noted for his work at walt disney productions and the metrogoldwynmayer animation depa.