THE ILLUSION OF LIFE, THE ANIMATION BIBLE

The number one book on animation is THE ILLUSION OF LIFE: DISNEY ANIMATION (1981). By legendary animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, it is required reading in most animation courses and has been reprinted many times and is still available. More than a mere “how-to” book on animation, of which there are many (of varying worth) this book gets into the most important aspect of animation: how an animator thinks, or rather should think when approaching and doing animation, character design and so on. They knew that animation is born in the mind, not in the pencil.

 

The book took many years to write and research, and during this period, Frank and Ollie asked people they knew, myself included, what they thought should be included in the book. The result was a balanced wide-ranging book that is worth re-reading every five years or so. There is a lifetime of learning in this book, and new insight and understanding comes with such a revisitation as our own experience and artistic maturity grow.

 

It took a few years for the book to find its reputation. Letters I received from Frank and Ollie sometimes reflected their frustration with their publisher on some points during the book's ear;y years, but the its virtues and reputation eventually overcame those considerations.

 

There is a funny story that occurred a couple of years or so after the book was first published. Both Frank and Ollie were going through my collection of original Disney animation artwork at my place in Montreal. They signed any artwork that was their own, and made comments on others that were quite interesting to witness: “Oh, there's one by XXX. He wasn't very good but I never saw anyone work as hard as he did and he became a lot better afterwards.” was one memorable comment. 

 

Then, all of a sudden, they let out a whoop and a holler, as they used to say, when they got to a drawing I had of Snow White's bed. “YOU'VE goit it!” they said.They got all excited and explained that they had known that there was just one finished detailed drawing of the bed that the dwarfs carved for Snow White in an elaborate sequence that was not finished for the final film. They had wanted to use it in their book but could not find it in the studio archives. Then they started to laugh at the irony that they searched high and low for it when a phone call to Montreal would have located it for them. 

 

Frank and Ollie went on to write three more books on animation that were noteworthy in their own right, but their first, THE ILLUSION OF LIFE, is the one that will likely forever remain THE book on animation.