Foreword by Lynn Johnston
Preface: Driving the Jet Plane
Chapter 1: Animation’s Basic Movements: The Bouncing Ball and the
Pendulum
Outer Space: Defining and Distorting Volumes
Inner Space: Defining and Distorting Time
A Brief History of Time
Acting: The Beginning
The Line of Action and the Arc
Chapter 2: Designs That Animate
'Look Ma, No Hands!' Animating Snakes, Worms, and Other
Crawlers
An Introduction to Thumbnails
Good Actors: Designs That Animate
Chapter 3: Setting the Stage: Character and Story Context
Don't Just Do Something...
Every Move You Make: Analyzing the Character
Character Volume, Size and Movement
Chapter 4: Is Sex Necessary?
Masculine and Feminine Character Acting
The Ages of Man (And Woman)
An Introduction to Dialogue Animation
Chapter 5: Animal Actors
Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better? Creating Animal Characters
Flights of Information: Animating Winged Characters
Portraying Animal Qualities in Human Characters
Chapter 6: Fantastic Performance!
Natural Inspirations for the Supernatural
Floating Worlds: The Weightless Actor
Chapter 7: The Performer as Object
Moving the Furniture: Bringing Inanimate Objects to Life
Material Girl: Fabric and Cloth Characters
Chapter 8: Double Timing: Animating Character Interactions
Staging and Composition Changing Leads in Multiple-Character
Scenes
Jazz Hands: Acting Out Your Scenes without Using Your Body
Potemkin Villages: Crowd Scenes and How to Fake Them
Chapter 9: Character Development Over Time
Character and Story Arcs
Inspiration and Reference
Index
Acknowledgements
A fascinating guide to the process of bringing animated characters to life through believable performances, well-developed personalities and effectively explored relationships and motivations.
Nancy Beiman, Professor, Bachelor of Animation, Sheridan College, Oakville, Canada.
Animated Performance by Nancy Beiman is an instant classic...
Beiman's new book concentrates solely on character animation and
she knocks it out of the park. It is a thorough, step-by-step
examination of the art, aimed at the advanced student or
professional animator who already knows the basics. It's 232
oversized pages, loaded with solid information based on a lifetime
of professional experience. I highly recommend this book to anyone
doing, or attempting to do, character animation on any level.
*Jerry Beck, www.cartoonbrew.com*
[Nancy Beiman's] imagination-based exercises are where this book
really shines. They're great. Every five or 10 pages, Nancy adds a
clear, concise, well-planned and thoughtful exercise that directly
relates to the preceding text. They are the kind of exercises that
appear to have been developed by an excellent teacher after years
of hands-on knowledge in the classroom. I'd love to try them
all.
*Fran Krause, Animation World Network*
A beautiful 234-page instructional text that should inspire both
beginners and long-term experts in animation. Packed with amusing
illustrations, inspiring anecdotes and lively examples, Beiman’s
book acts as the kind of teacher we all wish we had in school.
*Ramin Zahed, Animation Magazine*
Nancy Beiman's Animated Performance is a personal, professional and
historical introduction to the animation process. It's a top notch
primer. In fact, I would recommend first time animation students
begin with this text (and Miyazaki's Starting Point) before
proceeding to Tony White or Halas & Whittaker and then Williams.
Right there you'd have a solid three year course of study.
*Asterisk Animation*
Animated Performance demonstrates once again that Nancy Beiman is
not only a tremendously talented artist, but also an immensely
gifted teacher. The Disney artists of the Golden Age would have
loved this book. The New Generation will be thankful to have
it.
*Didier Ghez, Editor of the Walt's People book series*
Once again Nancy Beiman has come through for aspiring animators
with an inspirational text on what it takes to really be an ‘actor
with a pencil’!
*Bill Matthews, Training & Recruiting Manager, Walt Disney Feature
Animation (Retired)*
Veteran animator Nancy Beiman has harvested a lifetime of lessons
from her Hollywood mentors, added inspiration from her favorite
entertainers, a pinch of her own illustration, and distilled it all
down into a wonderfully whimsical yet concise how-to of the
animator’s art. A must-have for the serious student of
animation.
*Tom Sito, animator, author of 'Drawing the Line: The Untold Story
of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson'*
Nancy Beiman's new book Animated Performance should find a place on
the bookshelf of anyone who creates character based work, whether
it's animation, illustration, comic art, writing or
portraiture.
*Elliot Cowan, www.elliotelliotelliot.com*
If I had to select one book, today, that I would recommend people
read to learn about the art of animation, I’d probably pick Nancy
Beiman’s latest tome. It’s a bona fide gem. This book does as its
title suggests, it shows you how to get a *performance* out of your
characters.
*Michael Sporn, www.michaelspornanimation.com*
This book is an excellent reference work for creating your own
animations.
*Sonja Molnar, University of Salzburg, Austria*
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