Animated Performance: Bringing Imaginary Animal, Human and Fantasy Characters to Life

by Nancy Beiman

Overview

Animated Performance shows how a character can seemingly 'come to life' when their movements reflect the emotional or narrative context of their situation: when they start to 'perform'.

The many tips, examples and exercises from a veteran of the animation industry will help readers harness the flexibility of animation to portray a limitless variety of characters and ensure that no two performances are ever alike. More than 300 color illustrations demonstrate how animal and fantasy characters can live and move without losing their non-human qualities and interviews with Disney animators Art Babbitt, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Ellen Woodbury make this a unique insight into bringing a whole world of characters to life.

New to the second edition: A new chapter with introductory exercises to introduce beginner animators to the the world of animated acting; dozens of new assignments and examples focusing on designing and animating fantasy and animal characters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350039629
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/06/2017
Series:	Required Reading Range
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	77 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Nancy Beiman, Professor, Bachelor of Animation, Sheridan College, Oakville, Canada.
Nancy Beiman is a professor at Sheridan College in Oakville, Canada. She has produced, directed, designed, storyboarded and animated for television commercials, specials, features, and new media projects. Her employers have included The Walt Disney Company, Warner Brothers Animation and Bill Melendez Productions.

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher