Animated Life: A Lifetime of tips, tricks, techniques and stories from an animation Legend

by Floyd Norman

Overview

Since Steamboat Mickey, animators have been creating characters and films that are charming, warm and humorous, allowing people to connect with the animated medium. Animation fans love the characters for a lifetime. This is the legacy of the countless animators and artists who created the classic characters and fun stories, and it is the legacy of Disney Legend, Floyd Norman. Written with wit and verve, Animated Life is a guided tour through an entire lifetime of techniques, practical hands-on advice and insight into an entire industry. This is a vital tutorial in animation's past, present and future for students who are now poised to be part of another new generation in the art form. Apply artistic magic to your own projects and garner valuable insight and inspiration from a True Disney legend. Animated Life is a classic in the making with completely relevant techniques and tools for the contemporary animation or fine arts professional.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780240818054
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/11/2013
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Floyd E. Norman (born c. 1936) is an American animator who worked on the Walt Disney animated features Sleeping Beauty, The Sword in the Stone and The Jungle Book along with various animated short projects at Disney in the late '50s and early '60s. After Walt Disney's death in 1966 Floyd Norman left Disney Studios to co-found the AfroKids animation studio with business partner animator/director Leo Sullivan. Norman and Sullivan worked together on various projects such as the original Hey! Hey! Hey! It's Fat Albert television special which aired in 1969 on NBC. (not to be confused with the later Fat Albert series made by Filmation Associates.) Floyd Norman returned to Disney at one point in the early 1970s to work on the Disney animated feature Robin Hood. More recently he has worked on motion pictures for the Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, having contributed creatively as a story artist on films such as Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. for Pixar and Mulan, Dinosaur and The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Walt Disney Animation among others. He continues to work for the Walt Disney Co. as a freelance consultant on various projects.

Norman had his start as an assistant to comic book artist Bill Woggon who lived in the Santa Barbara area that Norman grew up in. In the 1980s he worked as a writer in the comic strip department at Disney and was the last scripter for the Mickey Mouse comic strip before it was discontinued.[1]

Floyd Norman has also published several books of cartoons inspired by his lifetime of experiences in the animation industry : Faster! Cheaper!, Son of Faster, Cheaper!, and How The Grinch Stole Disney .

He is currently a columnist for the websites JimHillMedia.com and AfroKids.com. He was named a Disney Legend in 2007. In 2008, he appeared as Guest of Honor at Anthrocon 2008 [2] and at Comic-Con International where he was awarded an Inkpot Award.

Table of Contents

Part I: Inside the Magic Factory

Chapter 1: Wonderland

Chapter 2: The Disney Bullpen

Chapter 3: The Assistant Animator

Chapter 4: The Workers' Paradise

Chapter 5: Disney's Night School

Chapter 6: Something About Mary Poppins

Chapter 7: Taking My Best Shot

Chapter 8: The Jungle Book

Chapter 9: Your Host, Walt Disney

Chapter 10: Spotted Puppies and a Bold New Direction

Chapter 11: Transition

Chapter 12: Roy's Camera

Chapter 13: Perfect Partnership

Chapter 14: The Other Floyd

Chapter 15: Monster in the Bell Tower

Chapter 16: Digital Dinosaurs

Chapter 17: Playing with Toys

Chapter 18: Monster's Brawl

Chapter 19: Elephant in the Room

Chapter 20: Inside Man

Chapter 21: Life After Disney

Part II: Tips, Techniques and Animated Observations

Chapter 22: Attending Your Own Film School

Chapter 23: The Vance Advantage

Chapter 24: A Mistaken Notion

Chapter 25: Stay Hungry

Chapter 26: Sacked

Chapter 27: The Crazy Young Kids

Chapter 28: The Perfect Combination

Chapter 29: Endless Development

Chapter 30: Nothing to Lose

Chapter 31: The Wow Factor

Chapter 32: Telling Stories

Chapter 33: In Defense of Mavericks

Chapter 34: The Reluctant Partnership

Chapter 35: Working without a Net

Chapter 36: Marketing Animation

Chapter 37: Racial Politics from a Cartoony Perspective

Chapter 38: Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, and What Might Have Been

Chapter 39: Infinity and Beyond

Workbook