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| The Animator's Survival Kit | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Animator's Survival Kit |
| Author | Richard Williams |
| Illustrator | Richard Williams |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Animation |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Pub date | 2001 |
| Pages | 352 |
| Isbn | 9780571202286 |
The Animator's Survival Kit is a comprehensive manual on character animation written and illustrated by Richard Williams. The book synthesizes decades of professional experience at studios, workshops, and productions associated with figures and institutions such as Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, UB Iwerks, and Fleischer Studios, presenting practical techniques used by animators working for Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Aardman Animations, and Studio Ghibli. It is widely cited across textbooks, curricula, and studio training programs influenced by practitioners like Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, Norman McLaren, Chuck Jones, and Hayao Miyazaki.
The book offers a detailed survey of animation principles distilled from Williams's collaborations with producers and directors such as John Lasseter, Tim Burton, Nick Park, Terry Gilliam, and Robert Zemeckis. It situates classical techniques alongside modern practices developed for projects at Richard Williams Animation, feature work related to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and training methods connected to institutions like the National Film Board of Canada, California Institute of the Arts, Royal College of Art, RIT, and Sheridan College. Reviews and endorsements reference contributions from critics and historians associated with Sight & Sound, Animation World Network, The New Yorker, The Guardian, and The New York Times.
Organized into chapters covering timing, spacing, weight, and gesture, the book draws on examples reminiscent of sequences by animators such as Milt Kahl, Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Brad Bird, and Richard Williams's contemporaries like John Canemaker and Paul Wells. Sections discuss walk cycles and acting techniques with references to performances by actors and directors including Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando, Laurence Olivier, and visual artists such as Eadweard Muybridge, Thomas Eakins, Leonardo da Vinci, and Eadweard Muybridge. Diagrams and drawings echo pedagogical approaches seen in materials by Preston Blair, Ward Kimball, Les Clark, and instructional traditions from European Animation Academy practitioners and studios associated with Zagreb Film and Soviet animation luminaries like Yuri Norstein.
First published by Faber and Faber in 2001, later editions and expanded releases included an accompanying DVD and an animated online course produced with collaborators linked to Channel 4, BBC, IFP, and digital distributors used by YouTube, Vimeo, and iTunes. Special editions and reprints reference collections in libraries such as the Library of Congress, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art, and archives like Academy Film Archive and Margaret Herrick Library. The book has been translated into multiple languages with distribution through publishing networks including Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, and regional houses in markets like Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Japan.
Critics and practitioners from festivals and organizations—Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Cannes Film Festival—have cited the work as influential. Academic citations appear in journals and textbooks associated with Routledge, Oxford University Press, MIT Press, and syllabi at University of Southern California, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths, and Columbia University. Animators who trained on the text include alumni of Disney Feature Animation, Blue Sky Studios, Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Cartoon Network Studios, and independent collectives such as Laika Entertainment and Studio Ghibli-inspired workshops. Awards and professional recognition tied to the book reference ceremonies hosted by BAFTA, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Annie Awards.
The manual is used as a core text in courses at California Institute of the Arts, Sheridan College, Ringling College of Art and Design, School of Visual Arts, Carnegie Mellon University, and department programs at USC School of Cinematic Arts and RIT College of Art and Design. Studios integrate its exercises into onboarding and mentorship programs at Pixar Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, Industrial Light & Magic, and boutique houses like Titmouse, Inc. and Cartoon Saloon. Workshops and masterclasses inspired by the book appear at venues hosted by MoMA, BFI Southbank, The Animation Workshop, and professional gatherings such as SIGGRAPH and CTN Animation Expo.
Richard Williams, known for his direction and animation supervision on films connected to figures like Mel Brooks, Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, and productions tied to Aardman Animations collaborators, compiled the manual reflecting his teaching work and studio practice. His career intersected with institutions and mentors associated with Walt Disney, National Film Board of Canada, and independent animators such as Stan Brakhage and Norman McLaren. Honors and retrospectives of Williams's work have appeared at festivals and museums including BFI, MoMA, Annecy, and ceremonies by BAFTA.
The book fostered subsequent resources including video tutorials, online courses, and companion texts by practitioners like Mark Simon, Glen Keane, Ebooker, John Lasseter-inspired curricula, and scholarly analyses published by Routledge and Palgrave Macmillan. Its methods influenced animated features and shorts associated with studios such as Pixar, Disney, Aardman, Laika, and independent auteurs like Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Satoshi Kon, and Nick Park. Collections and exhibitions referencing the manual appear in archives of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art, and university special collections.
Category:Animation books Category:Richard Williams