Elemental Magic: The Art of Special Effects Animation

by Joseph Gilland

Create amazing animated effects such as fiery blazes, rippling water, and magical transformations. Animation guru Joseph Gilland breaks down the world of special effects animation with clear step-by-step diagrams and explanations on how to create the amazing and compelling images you see on the big screen. 'Elemental Magic' is jam-packed with rich, original illustrations from the author himself which help explain and illuminate the technique, philosophy, and approach behind classical hand drawn animated effects and how to apply these skills to your digital projects.

Genres: Art, Design, Nonfiction, Drawing, Reference

328 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2009

Reviews

[Zel Polev · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has lot of information. However, I didn't really like it. I mean it was alright, it has lots of good information but the way it was communicated left a lot to be desired. I liken the experience of reading this to listening to a very very knowledgeable person who may or may not be a genius. However, this person, while knowledgeable, isn't a good instructor. I felt like the information wasn't presented in a good way. I think it was only halfway through the book where the good instructions started.

Maybe a large part of it is that I was looking for something in this book that it wasn't intended for. It does deal with elements but its main thing was animation. However, I felt like it was missing the basics. I picked this book up to learn about the elements and how to draw them. This book jumped over that. It felt like those joke step by step drawings where there was a big leap from Step 2 to Step 3. I wanted to learn about patterns of water and fire and what the forms were for each element. The information was there but it was a bit frustrating to read, which is why I don't really look at this book favourably.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

Joseph Gilland is an animator with over 30 years of experience. He has worked with Disney and other studios on movies like Lilo and Stitch, Mulan among many other titles.

When he wrote this book, there wasn't any book dedicated to classical hand drawn special effects animation. It's great to be able to highlight the work done by special effects artists, who are usually the unsung heroes of animation — if their work is good, nobody notices!

This book focuses more on dealing with liquids, fire, smoke, explosions and (other-worldly) magic. The chapters are broken down into the order of covering design concepts, discussing scale and perspective, then moving to breakdown the energy, action path and timing.

Joseph Gilland presents his topic with examples on his own, complete with tips and common mistakes to avoid. You'll learn stuff like how animators can remove details and yet keep things realistic. For example, when dealing with liquids, he would talk about the different factors that affect animation, like water density, force, gravity, viscosity, after splash, etc. The various examples include the simple water droplet to creating waves on which surfers surf on.

There's also a chapter on props. These are stuff like breaking branches, falling leaves, moving fabric, crumbling clay, etc. Animating special effects is essentially animating energy. Throughout the book, there are a lot of detailed explanation on how different elements and objects interact with one another.

While the book is on classic hand drawn animation, there are also some non-technical writeup on how you can use computers to aid in creating these effects.

Elemental Magic is a tremendously helpful resource that aims to help animators think through their approach before execution, to save time and effort without sacrificing quality. Even if there are other special effects books out there, this one definitely stands on its own.

It's highly recommended guide for animators.

[Nozomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very, very useful. I often re-read chapters again and again while i'm working. It saved my work. Love it. Must to have in your library if you are an animator.

[Adam Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of valuable information for animators, it’s beautifully written and conveys the information of moving images on a static page well.

The main focus is on energy and fluid motion, which is carried throughout the book, and is well reinforced by each type of special effect in its own way.

If I had one negative thing, it would be that occasionally it is difficult to read text over images.

[Jaysen Huculak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good coverage of the attention to detail and spirit of effects animation. Lots of historic reference. Not a step by step how to guide, more of a philosophy behind it kind of book. He goes over issues with digital effects a lot and I found reading text over the images to be a bit hard. Still really liked the book.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author was obviously knowledgeable and had a point of view. I liked his idealism and work ethic, and his love for his work.