Editorial Reviews
Product Description:Animation designer Tom Bancroft brings his knowledge and experience to this fun and accessible book on character design. From Snow White to Shrek, from Fred Flintstone to Sponge Bob Squarepants, it is the design that communicates a character's personality even before a single word of dialogue is spoken. Bancroft, who designed the character Mushu, voiced by Eddie Murphy, in the Disney animated feature film, "Mulan," begins the book with time-tested design concepts, then explains how to work with a script, about character hierarchy (treating important characters, and lesser characters differently), how to maximize a pose and expressions, and ultimately, how to finish a character that sparkles. At the end of each chapter are exercises to help the reader hone his skills. Bancroft also explains how these lessons can be applied to different industries: film, TV, video games, and graphic novels. The book will include practical advice from professionals in each of these industries, including Mark Henn (director of animation, Disney's "The Little Mermaid"), Peter DeSeve (character designer, "Ice Age"), J. Scott Campbell (Wildstorm/DC Comics), Rob Corley (feature animator, "The Lion King", "Aladdin", "Lilo and Stitch"), Butch Hartman (creator, "Fairly Oddparents"), Jack Davis (MAD magazine), and Bill Amend (cartoonist, "Fox Trot". The introduction is written by Glen Keane (Walt Disney).
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
Great Inspiration, October 12, 2008
By
WoodieIt's valuable to know how a professional approaches character development. I believe that initial hurdle of creation is an obstacle for many artists and this book helps get over that. Working without a model is very intimidating. If you are in this situation, this book will help a lot. There is a reason those animated characters are so appealing and funny. This author tries to tackle that difficult subject. This book is definitely worthy to own. The way you tell a good book is by the knowledge you walk away with and your desire to extend that knowledge in your own way.
Creating Characters with Personality for film, September 20, 2008
By
Gregory Franke (Groton, CT USA)
This is a very light book on the subject of using cartoon techniques to inject personality into animated characters. The author's background in the Disney film animation studio made the book something less than I was looking for. I still found the Disney approach to character creation usefully laid out. That I was looking for the Pixar or Hayao Miyazaki's approach is irrelevant. This book is plenty of material for somebody doing light animation stories.
Now I Know Why, August 25, 2008
By
Jeffrey D. Sherwood (Idaho)
I've read several how to draw books. So far the the most instruction I've ever gotten was "do this, then do that." The books never explained why. This book explains why. The reason why you start out with simple shapes was probably the biggest "Oh yeah! OK!" moment for me and there were several other momnets.
The book is very well narrated. I actually read through this like a story book, the first time. It is easy to follow and at the end of each chapter there are homework assignments to help you get going. The assignments are a little tough, so you are expected to know how to do a few things, but I haven't met a how to draw book that started with "This is how you draw a line."
I personally love Anime and Manga and that is the style of art I try to emulate. With this book it doesn't matter what style of art you are trying to master, you will get help from this book.
excellent resource for anyone wanting to improve character design skills!, August 23, 2008
By
Norman75This book by Tom Bancroft was a very entertaining and helpful read. I am not a professional in the field of animation or illustration, but I am trying to learn how to improve my skills in the area of character design in hopes of moving into this field in the future. This book does an excellent job of covering all the different facets involved in designing and bringing to life a drawing with real personality. It teaches the basic principles needed to convey character types, emotion, and personality with many helpful examples.
The two best "stand-out" features of the book to me are the guest artists who each come from a different field of "cartooning"; whether it be humorous cartooning, tv animation, comic books, or feature film animation, to name a few. It was very interesting and informative to read these professional's take on designing the same character, and to see how each artist approached it. The other "stand-out" feature was the progression of assignments given throughout the book. These really helped me get a feel for what a real assignment could actually be like for a character designer. They were very helpful in allowing me to think through the process of designing each character for the "script" provided in the assignments.
All in all, my hat's off to Tom and company for a wonderful resource for aspiring professionals and hobby artists alike. Definitely a wonderful investment!
A great book for animators and cartoonists of all levels, June 9, 2008
By
John Joyce (Dublin, Ireland)
As an aspiring cartoonist with my own cast of characters on my Captain Cockle website I found this book an excellent and yet simple guide to creating characters that leap out of the page. The inclusion of guest cartoonists, many of them very famous in their own fields, is a great idea and adds depth to the book. If you have a limited budget and are confused by the huge variety of "how to" books on cartooning, I would strongly recommend this one as an essential starting point.
