 | | |
| Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts | 
 enlarge | Author: Nancy Beiman
Publisher: Focal Press
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $25.05
You Save: $14.90 (37%)
Buy New/Used from $25.05
Avg. Customer Rating:  (24 reviews)
Sales Rank: 63731
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 7.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 0240808207
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.4334
EAN: 9780240808208
ASIN: 0240808207
Publication Date: March 2, 2007
Release Date: March 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
Excellent and very inspirational! April 8, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm just an amateur artist and animator wannabee... but I have found this book to be very inspirational and am now finding new characters just flowing from my pencil tip (or tablet stylus :-P ) so much easier now... Nancy is a top-notch artist and is equally a top-notch teacher as well.
I wish I could have given this 10 stars! No story-artist should be without it. April 7, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is an absolute must have for anyone aspiring to create a story (truly in any medium)! I simply cannot put into words how informative this book is on the entire creative process of preproduction (where the real film is made).
It is written in a light, easy to read tone that does not "preach" or lay iron-clad rules and steps on the reader. Instead, it fully explains the creative preproduction process (from blank page - to production start) in an open manner that leaves the reader room to grow and apply these methods to their own ideas.
To say that this book is inspirational is the pure truth. Just during the initial reading, new life was given to old story ideas that I have had floating around unsure how to start, amidst a savage attack of several new ideas that just started flowing from applying the methods learned here!
I can easily see how this book should become required reading for Concept Design and Animation Classes, as well as for anyone thinking of putting together a story and characters for any medium (animation, live-action, games, literature, comics). Just be prepared for the flood of creativity this book will unlock!
An electrifying boost to anyone's creativity March 26, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book does more than teach, it inspires. It has tremendous information and ideas to get your creative mind in gear and keep it going. Nancy Beiman reminds us in every chapter and illustration of the fun that goes in creating artwork and ideas for animated projects. And she is a cornucopia of information, tricks of the trade, technical and historical knowledge.
If you ever wanted to pick the brains of an experienced, gifted animation artist and get their valued knowledge all at once, this is the book.
Prepare for way more than boarding! March 21, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Lucky reader, prepare for alot more than boarding when you open this gift of knowledge that Nancy Beiman has disguised as a book! You will be taken on a journey beginning with the very first spark of an animator's desire to create -- the why's, who's and how's, from initial concept and character choices, locations, lighting, color palette, acting, posing and all the way through staging and pitching and even use of sound-- and by the time Nancy is through with you, not only will you be inspired and psyched to, you will have the tools you need to communicate a story told with your own unique characters and perspective.
Nancy Beiman is a brilliant animation artist whose love of the medium is obvious in every drawing and every word on the page. She is also clearly a gifted educator, who has generously poured out on these pages her lifetime of experience. The text is dense with information and insight, take care to read every word because gems appear where you may not even expect them. In a chapter on Creating Character Contrasts in Design for instance, Nancy's description of Charlie Chaplin's performance as two characters in his classic film "The Great Dictator" sent chills down my spine. Here, the contrast was not in design, for the characters were identical except for costume, but in acting--which is the heart and soul of animation. She literally reawakened my own animator's soul-- reading her final no-nonsense statement on the subject, that this was a film that "all animators should study" sent me promptly to my computer to add renting to the top of my To-Do list!
There are insights and strategies, tips and tidbits for professional and beginner alike. There are sections on topics I've never seen written about before, such as the importance of shading on storyboard panels as a way of focusing the eye of the viewer, complete with expert visual examples. There are humorous anecdotes and snippets of interviews with legendary animation artists. There are amusing and inspiring quotes that open each new chapter. But my favorite quote of all, one of a select few capped with an exclamation point when she wants to make sure we take notice and don't forget, comes from Nancy herself:
"Animation is not reality. It's much better!" And being invited into this world of animation as seen by Nancy Beiman, is best of all.
From Christopher Hart March 17, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
To say that this book is invaluable to all animators is to grossly understate its worth. Nancy Beiman has collected, through her extensive notes and exclusive interviews, information, both humorous and insightful, of the methods used by the true masters of animation. This includes everyone from the "golden age" of animation right up to the current crop of firebrands.
Nancy is a fountain of exuberance, passing onto the reader, through humorous drawings and writing, all her witty observations. It is no wonder she is a teacher at prestigous art colleges, as well as a directing animator, with credits such as Disney features to boast of.
"Prepare to Board" teaches the artist how to think visually, which is the heart of creative film making.
An excellent tool, and a compelling read for all animation enthusiasts.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |