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Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair, Revised Edition!: Learn techniques for drawing and animating cartoon characters
By following the lessons in Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair , you can make any character—person, animal, or object—come to life through animated movement!
While animators must first know how to draw, the animation process involves much more than just good drawing skills. In this new edition, acclaimed cartoon animator Preston Blair shares his vast practical knowledge to explain and demonstrate the many techniques of cartoon animation. Learn the knowledge and skills animators must have, Full of expert advice from animation pioneer Preston Blair, and packed with helpful drawings and diagrams, the new edition of Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair is a book no animation enthusiast should be without.
THIS REVISED EDITION
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Tools & Materials
Drawing Basics
Animation Methods
Chapter 2: Cartoon Construction
Parts of a Cartoon Character
The Body
The Head
Facial Expressions
The Hands
Chapter 3: Character Design & Development
Cartoon Examples
The Cute Character
The Screwball Type
The “Pugnacious” Character
More Animal Characters
Fictional People
Children
Chapter 4: Basic Character Movement
Comics to Life
Line of Action
Rhythm & Design
Basic Movement
Chapter 5: Animation
Principles
Beyond Simple Movements
Rough Sketches
Balance
Paths of Action
Animation Effects
Chapter 6: Animated Acting
Expressing an Attitude
Three Rules for Actors
Body Language
Dialogue
The Collector’s Series offers a broad range of projects across a variety of mediums and genres, such as drawing, oil, acrylic, watercolor, cartooning, calligraphy, and others. This series is suitable for beginning to intermediate artists, and each title features in-depth instruction about how to work with the tools of the trade, master techniques, and use newfound skills in practical application.
While animators must first know how to draw, the animation process involves much more than just good drawing skills. In this new edition, acclaimed cartoon animator Preston Blair shares his vast practical knowledge to explain and demonstrate the many techniques of cartoon animation. Learn the knowledge and skills animators must have, Full of expert advice from animation pioneer Preston Blair, and packed with helpful drawings and diagrams, the new edition of Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair is a book no animation enthusiast should be without.
THIS REVISED EDITION
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Tools & Materials
Drawing Basics
Animation Methods
Chapter 2: Cartoon Construction
Parts of a Cartoon Character
The Body
The Head
Facial Expressions
The Hands
Chapter 3: Character Design & Development
Cartoon Examples
The Cute Character
The Screwball Type
The “Pugnacious” Character
More Animal Characters
Fictional People
Children
Chapter 4: Basic Character Movement
Comics to Life
Line of Action
Rhythm & Design
Basic Movement
Chapter 5: Animation
Principles
Beyond Simple Movements
Rough Sketches
Balance
Paths of Action
Animation Effects
Chapter 6: Animated Acting
Expressing an Attitude
Three Rules for Actors
Body Language
Dialogue
The Collector’s Series offers a broad range of projects across a variety of mediums and genres, such as drawing, oil, acrylic, watercolor, cartooning, calligraphy, and others. This series is suitable for beginning to intermediate artists, and each title features in-depth instruction about how to work with the tools of the trade, master techniques, and use newfound skills in practical application.
128 pages, Paperback
Published November 3, 2020
About the author
Preston Blair
28 books21 followersAn American character animator, most noted for his work at Walt Disney Productions and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation department.
A native of Redlands, California, Blair began his animation career in the early 1930s at the Universal studio under Walter Lantz and Bill Nolan. He later moved over to Charles Mintz’s Screen Gems studio, and in the late 1930s moved over to the Disney studio. At Disney, Blair animated cartoon short subjects, Mickey Mouse scenes in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” section of Fantasia, and the hippo-alligator dance in Fantasia’s “Dance of the Hours” sequence. He also did some work on Walt Disney’s Pinocchio and Bambi.
Blair left Disney after the 1941 Disney animator’s strike, and was hired to work for Tex Avery’s unit at MGM. There, he became particularly noted for animating the titular female character in Red Hot Riding Hood. “Red” later re-appeared in more Avery cartoons, including Swing Shift Cinderella, Little Rural Riding Hood, Uncle Tom’s Cabana and the Droopy cartoons The Shooting of Dan McGoo and Wild and Woolfy, with animation by Blair. In the late 1940s, Blair teamed with Avery animator Michael Lah to direct several Barney Bear cartoons.
Blair continued his career in animation into the 1960s, working on The Flintstones at Hanna-Barbera. He is most noted, however, as an author of animation instructional books for Walter Foster Publishing. His first book, Animation, was published in 1948 and originally included images of the famous MGM & Disney cartoon characters he had animated, who were redrawn to obscure their origins in the second edition of the book. Blair would write many more animation how-to texts over the next forty years, culminating with 1994’s Cartoon Animation, a 224-page book which compiles most of the content from all of his books.
Preston Blair was the brother of artist Lee Everett Blair and the brother-in-law of artist and designer Mary Blair. He died on April 19, 1995.
A native of Redlands, California, Blair began his animation career in the early 1930s at the Universal studio under Walter Lantz and Bill Nolan. He later moved over to Charles Mintz’s Screen Gems studio, and in the late 1930s moved over to the Disney studio. At Disney, Blair animated cartoon short subjects, Mickey Mouse scenes in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” section of Fantasia, and the hippo-alligator dance in Fantasia’s “Dance of the Hours” sequence. He also did some work on Walt Disney’s Pinocchio and Bambi.
Blair left Disney after the 1941 Disney animator’s strike, and was hired to work for Tex Avery’s unit at MGM. There, he became particularly noted for animating the titular female character in Red Hot Riding Hood. “Red” later re-appeared in more Avery cartoons, including Swing Shift Cinderella, Little Rural Riding Hood, Uncle Tom’s Cabana and the Droopy cartoons The Shooting of Dan McGoo and Wild and Woolfy, with animation by Blair. In the late 1940s, Blair teamed with Avery animator Michael Lah to direct several Barney Bear cartoons.
Blair continued his career in animation into the 1960s, working on The Flintstones at Hanna-Barbera. He is most noted, however, as an author of animation instructional books for Walter Foster Publishing. His first book, Animation, was published in 1948 and originally included images of the famous MGM & Disney cartoon characters he had animated, who were redrawn to obscure their origins in the second edition of the book. Blair would write many more animation how-to texts over the next forty years, culminating with 1994’s Cartoon Animation, a 224-page book which compiles most of the content from all of his books.
Preston Blair was the brother of artist Lee Everett Blair and the brother-in-law of artist and designer Mary Blair. He died on April 19, 1995.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 17, 2020
As I started reading this book I had an overwhelming sense of deja vu. That is because I own an old copy of Cartoon Animation (which I dug out to compare) from 1994.
The new book, however, is far more streamlined and up to date. There are a few pages on tools and materials as well as the basics in scene composition that were missing from the old version.
It was also set out in a much more succinct manner. It still has all of the old pictures but they are compiled in a far more logical order and shrunk from a 2 page A3 spread to one page of A4, while this makes the drawings smaller it doesn't in any way decrease the quality of the art. It also has the added effect of shrinking the book down from its quite hefty proportions of 1994 to an easily portable A4 book.
The updated version also has more in colour sections and looks far less 'busy and easy to understand.
I much prefer the new version and will look into updating my own copy.
The new book, however, is far more streamlined and up to date. There are a few pages on tools and materials as well as the basics in scene composition that were missing from the old version.
It was also set out in a much more succinct manner. It still has all of the old pictures but they are compiled in a far more logical order and shrunk from a 2 page A3 spread to one page of A4, while this makes the drawings smaller it doesn't in any way decrease the quality of the art. It also has the added effect of shrinking the book down from its quite hefty proportions of 1994 to an easily portable A4 book.
The updated version also has more in colour sections and looks far less 'busy and easy to understand.
I much prefer the new version and will look into updating my own copy.
January 26, 2021
---Amazing Animation Resource---
I received a reviewer's copy of Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair from the publisher through NetGalley, and here are my thoughts.
This book is just what a young (or old!) animator needs in order to better understand the art of animation. Even with all the automated computer-animation software around these days, I believe there is tremendous value in learning the "ancient" technique of drawing animated characters by hand.
Humans and animals, body and facial expression (the mouth action section is fantastic!) are all covered.
The drawings are full of the enthusiasm and talent of the late author, and it's such a gift that this is being republished in 2020, in a well laid out, beautiful edition.
I received a reviewer's copy of Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair from the publisher through NetGalley, and here are my thoughts.
This book is just what a young (or old!) animator needs in order to better understand the art of animation. Even with all the automated computer-animation software around these days, I believe there is tremendous value in learning the "ancient" technique of drawing animated characters by hand.
Humans and animals, body and facial expression (the mouth action section is fantastic!) are all covered.
The drawings are full of the enthusiasm and talent of the late author, and it's such a gift that this is being republished in 2020, in a well laid out, beautiful edition.
December 24, 2020
From an author like Preston Blair, one of the classic Disney animators, you surely get very precious information about character animation. Very essential, he reassumes the most important know-how, such perspective, fortshortening, character buildup from basic shapes, expressions, motion etc. It is of very easy comprehension, richly illustrated, but as it does not go in depth, should be integrated with other books. This one serves as a very useful handbook to keep in mind the most important principles recommended from one of the masters of animations. The classic stile of the Disney characters of our childhood is a joy to the eye and the heart.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews