The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age (Disney Editions Deluxe

by Don Hahn

The Alchemy of Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age is a step-by-step introduction to animated filmmaking from one of the foremost producers of animated features. By drawing (sorry!) upon more than seven decades of Disney’s classic and beloved animated films, this stunning book explores the role of the directors, story artists, songwriters, and animators who each play an integral role in the creation of an animated feature.

This book includes a special focus on the digital techniques of filmmaking and fresh, behind-the-scenes work from the most current Disney films, including Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and Bolt , as well as showing other forms of animation such as the stop-motion of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peac h.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Drawing, Film

144 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2008

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even if you're not interested in animation, this is a great book for breaking down massive creative projects into increments & building teams to make things happen. Best book I've read in a while that tackles best practices on story breakdown & development.

[Susanna Sturgis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know nothing about animation, so when a significant character in my novel in progress turned out to be not only an animator but an animator who wants to get a visual artist interested in the subject, I started my research. This was the first book I found, and it's an excellent, lavishly illustrated introduction to what goes into making an animated film, old style (2-D), new style (computer-generated 3-D), and "stop motion" style. I came away with a pretty solid grasp of the production process and, most important for my purposes, an idea of the different tasks and jobs involved. It seems my character specializes in visual effects animation, though he's also interested in character animation. I didn't know the difference before I read this book.

[Tracey]

All About the Mouse interview - Christmas gift 2008

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little book on the animation process. While it didn't really blow my mind with anything earth-shattering (that's what having a Disney podcast and an animation production manager for a best friend will do for ya) there were some nice visual representations of different processes that I can guarantee will make animation easy to understand and accessible for anyone interested to learn more. I was particularly interested in a visual representation of a production schedule for a 2D film, and found myself flipping back to that page quite a bit.

(I also took a photo of it, of course -- gotta keep that knowledge with me!)

Highly recommend for anyone who knows nothing about the Disney process and wants to change that. Disney Adult approved ✅

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

borrow

[Parka · Rating 4 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

This book is like a pass that will give you access to a tour in an animation studio. The tour guide here is Don Hahn, who has been in the animation industry for years, directing some popular movies like The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, etc.

Don Hahn brings us down to the production floor, visiting every department, talking about the people and their role in movie production. You may have seen many making-of videos from DVDs but this book is the one stop source to the introduction to animation.

The book introduces the process of animation from idea creation to the ending post production work. It looks at three forms of animation that exist today and talks about how they are created. They are the computer-generated, 2D hand-drawn and stop-motion production.

Included concept art, sketches, set photos, sculptures, storyboards, 3D renders and some discarded ideas are included. This is like walking along studio corridors looking at all the art pinned on the boards.

The roles and responsibilities of every crew working on the film is explained. In a sort of way, it's also a guide to finding what kind of jobs are available in the animation industry. For the longest time, I've been trying to find out what a clean-up artist does and now I know, which is to "clean up" characters making sure they are consistent in style.

For people interested in the animation industry or how animated movies are made, this book provides a very good introductory background.

[Thia Reads A Lot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon!

Recommended to people who want to know how animated movies are made generally, "beginners" if you will

Divided into Acts 1, 2 and 3 of production, plus "Overture" and "Epilogue"
Starts with 3d animation, before exploring 2d and stop-motion
Defines a lot of job in the industry
Includes a glossary at the end
Written before the release of the Princess and the Frog (the last 2D animated feature film made by Disney)

"Regardless of technique, nowhere is there more magic, wonder, and illusion than in a fully animated feature film." p. 11, Overture

Includes artwork from:
- Fantasia
- Peter Pan
- Lilo & Stitch
- Meet the Robinsons
- Ratatouille
- Wall-e
- Tarzan
- Nightmare Before Christmas
- Frankenweenie
- and many more

[Russell Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent initial overview to animation film production. Does a good job of describing the core roles within an animation production by using examples from popular movies. Broken into thirds, with the first part focused on CG animation, then part 2 is 2D animation, finishing off with stop motion animation.
More of a coffee table book than a good reference text, but was valuable for me.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book for young artists interested in pursuing a career in animation or animation fans of all ages!

[τλιϓλ · Rating 5 out of 5]

رحلة جميلة ورائعة بين طيات هذا الكتاب، من البداية ولاتزال الرحلة مستمرة لصنع السحر والخيال والإنطلاق في عالم إبداع لا حدود له.
حقا كتاب جميل للغاية، صغير الحجم، قليل الصفحات لكنه يحوي الكثير.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about the creation of CGI, 2D and stop-motion animated films, filled with gorgeous artwork from nearly every single Disney classic and more.

[Ananggadipa Raswanto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a great deal about animation production process. This book was gold, exactly what I need. thanks @ratiiih_ !

[Saskia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have read this sooner, it's easy to follow, very inspiring and motivating as well as helpful for storytelling in general. Loved it. ♡