The Animator's Survival Kit



The Animator's Survival Kit is a critically acclaimed animation book and DVD set made by master animator Richard Williams, the animation director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the creator of The Thief and The Cobbler. The book is a culmination of 30+ years of research and experience, full of invaluable technical information on animation, not so much about how to draw it as to how to move the stuff. As such, the book has recieved excellent praise from those in the industry.

An Expanded Edition of the book was released in 2009, and it also exists as an expensive live class, and as a 1000$ 16-DVD set. -


 * Animation Bump: Richard's book is intended to allow animators to do this on their own whim. The promo CD that comes with the book also has a very impressively animated sequence, which Richard claims took around a year to make!
 * Berserk Button: In the "Unplug" lesson, Richard sets off Milt Kahl by asking him if he listens to music while drawing.
 * Furries Are Easier to Draw: Richard quotes Roger Rabbit animator Robert Graves on how this resulted in him falling into formula drawing.
 * Gag Penis: Somewhat featured by his demonstration of a male walk compared to a female walk.
 * History of Animation: Gives a quick rundown of it early in the book.
 * Impossible Hourglass Figure: Despite demonstrating a perfect knowledge of anatomy, damn does he love his implausibly proportioned women!
 * Mickey Mousing: Directly referred to at one point.
 * NSFW: Some of the images in his book are nude pictures.
 * Rotoscoping: Discouraged by Williams in the book, claiming that live action footage should only be studied enough to where human animation can be done on your own, instead of falling back on it as a crutch.
 * Shown Their Work: William's book is unmatched in how knowledgeable it is about animation articulation.
 * Stock Footage: Some animation of the Witch from The Thief and The Cobbler is reused. This is strange, considering how Richard disowned The Thief and The Cobbler.
 * The Twelve Principles of Animation: Gives very specific advice on how some of the principles work. It even mentions The Illusion of Life at one point.