Editorial Review
This is the one sourcebook that cartooning and animation enthusiasts have been clamoring about for years! A time-tested classic, this tried-and-true reference is often used as a textbook in cartooning workshops, and beginning and professional cartoonists alike are known to have copies of Cartoon Animation in their libraries. In this comprehensive title, famed animator Preston Blair shares his expertise on how to develop a cartoon character, create dynamic movement, and coordinate dialogue with action. Topics include character development, line of action, dialogue, timing, and, of course, animation! This valuable resource provides all the inspiration and information you need to begin drawing your own animated characters.
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Customer Reviews
I Love Animation 
2008-02-18
I am taking Web design and Animation. My professor suggested that i review this book. She is right the animation is wonderful and i would recommend it to anyone that is inspired by animation and perhaps want to make it a career.
Highly recommended 
2007-12-27
This book is a must for all would be animators. I have dabbled with cartoons for years but this book helped me bring them to life, I used the walk sequences as templates and dressed them with my own characters, thus enabling me to focus on the character and not worry about the position of the legs.
There is plenty of help and advice on character building, movement, mouth shaping for speech, hands, expressions, I could go on but I won't.
If there is nothing in this book to help you.........then you should be working for DISNEY.
Really good books for animation student 2007-05-13
hmm i think its the best book for learning to draw and animate cartoon characters
, complete with guided and many2 example and illustration.
I read it in one go. 2007-05-01
It was like reading a comic book, only I was learning a lot reading this one. An artist cant help but appreciate the art work by Mr Blair present in the book. I went through the alligator and hippo sequences like a million times. Masterpieces !
Just by examining the brush strokes and stuff you get to know so much, the discussions on character building etc are a bonus. I wont be able to agree with anyone saying there are hard and fast rules for character building but yes what I read in the book WORKS, like a character with no chin does look like a screwball.
Later the discussions on sequencing became a little monotonous and its then that I realized I wasn't reading a comic book but they really were redundant at two three places. Animation techniques discussions are simply great. So are drawing and scene building ones. All in all I learnt a LOT ! Could be because I didn't know a lot but I'm really happy that I bought this book, I couldn't afford to not have this masterpiece.
All animators should have this book! 2007-04-05
I bought this book several years ago, around 1999, and for its price (or whatever) it's the best book an animator can begin with. Along with The Illusion of Life, it is a must have book for all animators. It taught me the differences between the "cute" types and the "screwball" types, showed how the stopwatch and metronome are used, and even a few things about clean-up. If you love cartoons, by all means GET THIS BOOK!
Not exactly what I expected, but it's good. 2007-03-12
This is the one sourcebook that cartooning and animation enthusiasts have been clamoring about for years! A time-tested classic, this tried-and-true reference is often used as a textbook in cartooning workshops, and beginning and professional cartoonists alike are known to have copies of Cartoon Animation in their libraries. In this comprehensive title, famed animator Preston Blair shares his expertise on how to develop a cartoon character, create dynamic movement, and coordinate dialogue with action. Topics include character development, line of action, dialogue, timing, and, of course, animation! This valuable resource provides all the inspiration and information you need to begin drawing your own animated characters.
Great!!! 2007-01-12
Along with THE ANIMATION SURVIVAL KIT and the OZAMU TEZUCA collection ( that are the #1 for really learn animation on the step by step and really detailed explanation and views), this one is the last complement remaining to complete the collection that I already had finished. YOU HAVE TO GET THIS ONE and go and get the ones I mentioned, just after that you will have the complete tutoring, teaching, and best of the best animation books ever NO MORE BOOKS ARE NEEDED after complete this collection I told you!!!
Simply the Best Drawing Book out there 2006-11-12
Since I'm an animation student, I kept thinking to myself, I needed to buy an animation book and I bought this one simply because of the price. This book is a great book for drawing because it teaches one to draw the basic shape of the character first and then add more details and then define the contours last. Whereas most art books especially begining ones will teach one to do a pure contour line drawing.
In addition to learning to draw the characters, this book has animation cycles, timing, and other gesture, and other basics of animation. A book that is so invaluable that this statement is an understatement.
Great book 2006-11-06
This book covers from creation of a character until its 2D animation. A great guide, even to me, a 3D animator student.
Great basic book for animation 2006-03-23
I got this book for my first traditional animation class and have found it to be very useful! Blair explains and shows how to draw actions of both humans and animals in all different types of cycles (walk, run, sneak... etc cycle). A great book to help you get started on learning and understanding animation.
