Character Animation Books

Timing for Animation
by Harold Whitaker and John Halas

Prefaced by John Lasseter:

"The principles of timing laid out in this book are more applicable (now) than ever before."
The Animator's Survival Kit
by Richard Williams

The definitive book on animation, from the Academy Award-winning animator behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Cartoon Animation (The Collector's Series)
by Preston Blair

" I've been in or near the cartoon business for 50 years and Preston Blair's "Cartoon Animation" played a big role in my education. " (view it on-line : www.freetoon.com)
Cartoon Animation (How to Draw and Paint series)
by Preston Blair

Walter Foster's classic How to Draw and Paint series provides aspiring artists with an exceptional array of art instruction books featuring all subject areas and media. Each title includes easy step-by-step exercises as well as finished illustrations or paintings that will inspire artistic talent in anyone.
Acting for Animators
by Ed Hooks, Brad Bird, Mike Caputo (Illustrator)

Acting for Animators covers a lot of ground that doesn't get addressed much in animation school. Sure, we're all told to make the character "live and breathe", but most of the info that follows that admonition is from an art perspective. Hooks draws on his acting training and experience to give a different set of tools animators can use to reach that goal. The information on psychological gestures alone is worth the cost of the book (there's something you don't hear about in your Maya classes).
The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation
by Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston (Contributor), Cllie Johnston

Equivalent to a Holy relic, this masterpiece of a book has inspired me, not only to appreciate Disney's work, but also the animators and animation in general. If you are considering entering the animation field, in particular working for Disney, then by all means purchase this book and read it thouroughly. 2 of the Old Nine Men, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, wrote this book sometime in the early eighties.
The Animator's Workbook
by Tony White

This book is one of the best all round books used to learn animation techniques; a perfect text for teachers. Animation techniques are illuminated from squash and stretch, to stop action puppet, to cell painting. Included is a great reference section for finding unique materials and building your own animation stand. This is more than a simple how to do manual. It is a companion to any future artist animator for it opens the reader to the sophisticated path of animation as tool articulate movements rather than simply as a squash and stretch manipulator of cartoon characters.
Animation from Script to Screen
by Shamus Culhane

Shamus Culhane is one of the world's best animators. He created the walk cycle of the seven dwarfs in snow white. He demonstrated each characters personality walking in a line. All the characters are in synch. Amazing. He explains the basics of animation. This book is a great way to understand the techniques of hand drawn animation.