Creating 3-D Animation : The Aardman Book of Filmmaking

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Summary: Cracking Good Book, Gromit!
Review: Aardman is one of the most admired animation studios around, known by animators and regular people alike as the creators of beloved clay animation characters like Wallace and Gromit, and the "Creature Comforts'" pent-up zoo cat ("I need space!"). This book will be devoured like candy by anyone wanting a closer look. The text provides a well-rounded animation primer, but it's the pictures that really make this book such a valuable reference. Clay characters are removed from their backgrounds and depicted clearly in frame-by-frame movement sequences that demystify even the complex animation sequences. It also offers practical advice on building characters and other handy tips for animation production. If you are doing clay animation of your own, you'll refer to this book again and again. In the UK this book is titled "Cracking Animation" for the cheese-loving Wallace's favorite complement.

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Summary: A must for animators and the curious.
Review: An excelent overview of clay animation and techniques. For anyone who has tried claymation and feels alone in the attempt this is an excellent book.

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Summary: An Excellent Resource
Review: For anyone interested the process of stop-motion animation, whether a fan, or a would-be professional. Lots of great pictures, tips on lighting and cameras. The photos show how well detailed the models are, and the models themselves can provide inspiration to model makers of all kinds.

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Summary: A great place for beginners, but lacks depth.
Review: If you are a first-time animator, or are just starting out, this book is a good place to start. It provides a good overview of the animation process, with plenty of pictures and examples. It covers equipment, lighting, techniques, models, sets, and performance. It also covers the history of animation. In depth. In great depth. In fact, about one-third of the book is dedicated to the history of animation. That's all well and good, but I was really wanting (and expecting) quite a bit more in some of the other areas. For example, the section on models and modelmaking gives several examples of Aardman models, and briefly describes the processes involved in making them. Although there are many helpful hints in these pages, I would have liked an in-depth description for at least one of the models. I want to know what tools I need, what supplies I need, and step-by-step instructions for building a simple model with a wireframe skeleton. Unfortunately, the pages that described that were replaced by 50 pages of history. If you are interested in animation, and need a place to start, 'Creating 3d Animation' is great for beginners. On the other hand, if you are looking for answers to the many problems that face 3d animators, you may be disappointed.

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Summary: A More Accurate Historical Account of Stop Motion
Review: no comment

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Summary: Excellent beginner's animation book
Review: This book provides an insight into animation, allowing an early start with advanced techniques. A must have if just to look how they did their great films.

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Summary: Excellent--- Saved me from messing up a project!
Review: This book was excellent! It saved me from totally [messing] up a research project on Animation I am doing. Though they only describe how they really make their professional films, and how to do it with stuff like their custom armatures and foam latex, which i had NO WAY to get my hands on, It helped overall.

Rating:
Summary: You've gotta get this!
Review: This is one of the finest books on clay animation and stop action filmmaking. Hits right to the heart of Aardman studios art!