DreamWorks' Animation Resources

This is a reblog from http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.ch.
I could, however, also call it "My Christmas wishlist" ;-)

DreamWorks' Animation Resources

DreamWorks Animation has a comprehensive in-house training program which provides a lot of resources for their artists. They provide every incoming artist with a list of the books and resources that they have found most helpful for mastering the art of animation.

DreamWorks has generously allowed me to share this recommended list with you. The links take you to more information about each of the books. If the resources are not books, I've added a note about where the links will take you.

Acting and Improv
• Acting for Animators by Ed Hooks
• The Second City – Almanac of Improvisation by Anne Libera 
• A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: The Secret Art of the Performer by Eugenio Barba 
• Matthew Bain on Movement. Bain is a final layout artist at PDI/Dreamworks Animation and freelance music visualization artist/composer.) (Linked in) (Music visualization on YouTube)

 

Animation Books
•The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston 
• Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive by David Levy 

• Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard Williams 

• Animation: From Pencils to Pixels by Tony White 

• Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair 

• Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men by John Canemaker 

• The Disney Villain by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston 

• The Disney That Never Was by Charles Solomon 

• The Art and Flair of Mary Blair by John Canemaker 

• Disney’s Art of Animation by Bob Thomas 

• Disney’s Animation Magic by Don Hahn 

• Batman: Animated by Paul Dini, Chip Kidd 

• The Art of Shrek Forever After
• The Art of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
• The Art of Madagascar 3

• The Art of Kung Fu Panda 

• The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2

• The Art of How to Train Your Dragon

• The Art of Rise of the Guardians 

• Character Animation Crash Course! by Eric Goldberg 

• Computer Animation – Expert Advice on Breaking into the Business by Dale K. Myers 

• Ideas for the Animated Short by Karen Sullivan, Gary Schumer, and Kate Alexander 

Color and Painting

• Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney

• Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist by James Gurney

Computer Graphics and Visual FX

• Introduction to Computer Graphics by James D. Foley, et al 
• Fundamentals of Computer Graphics by Peter Shirley 
• Mathematics for Computer Graphics by John Vince 
• CG101:A Computer Graphics Industry Reference (2nd Edition) by Terrence Masson 

• The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects by Isaac Kerlow 

• Principles of Three Dimensional Computer Animation by Michael O'Rourke 

• The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) by Ron Brinkmann 

• Creating 3-D Animation : The Aardman Book of Filmmaking by Sibley and Lord

• Inspired 3D Short Film Production by Jeremy Cantor and Pepe Valencia 

• Digital Lighting and Rendering (2nd Edition) by Jeremy Birn

• Special Effects: The History and Technique by Richard Rickitt 

• Visual Effects in a Digital World by Karen E. Goulekas....Glossary by the same author

• Introduction to Computer Graphics by James Foley, Andries van Dam, Steven K. Feiner, John F. Hughes, and Richard L. Phillips 

Figure and Gesture Drawing

• Drawn to Life - Walt Stanchfield's books by Don Hahn 

• Spirit of the Pose by Karl Gnass 

• Evoke - The Art of Dave Pimentel

• On the Art of Drawing by Robert Fawcett 

• Robert Fawcett:  The Illustrator’s Illustrator by David Apatoff 

• Animal Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger 

• Human Anatomy for Artist:  The Elements of Form by Eliot Goldfinger 

Filmmaking Books

• Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen by Steven Katz

• The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media by Bruce Block

• In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch 

• The Five C's of Cinematography by Joseph V. Mascelli  

• Animals in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge  

• The Human Figure in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge 

• Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography, DVD 

• Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know by Jennifer Van Sijll

Layout & Composition Books

• Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee

• Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder

• Paper Dreams: The Art and Artists of the Disney Storyboards by John Canemaker

• Composing Pictures by Donald Graham 

• Bill Peet: An Autobiography by Bill Peet  

• Directing the Story: Professional Storytelling and Storyboarding Techniques for Live  Action and Animation by Francis Glebas 

• Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts by Nancy Beiman 

Animation Websites

ASIFA Hollywood

Animation Archive Podcasts

AWN

Cartoon Brew

Animation Nation

Animation Physics

Siggraph

Animation Podcast

Flip Animation

Gallery Nucleus / Artists

Speaking of Animation

Storyboard Art

Stuart Ng Books

Educational Sites

Animation Mentor

ACME Animation

JRA Webinar

I Animate

Rigging 101

Schoolism

Gnomon School

LAAFA

The Animation Academy
Concept Design Academy

Animation Guild

Armory Arts

Animation Educator's Forum

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Feel free to bookmark this post and share the list with others on your blog, Twitter, or Facebook

Thanks, Angela!