The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation

For those who love Disney, and their animation, this book gives a history of the early days of animation that shaped this empire. The artwork is amazing and I love to look at it over and over. We had a copy of this while our children were growing up that literally fell apart from use. Now we have a new copy to share with our grandchildren. Love it!

The authors are two of my favorite animators, so high expectations were definitely met. I love their stories about how things were back then, gives great advice, amazing interviews. Would highly suggest this book to animators everywhere.

If I were a bona fide artist/cartoonist, this would be a 5+ rating, but, sadly, I am not. There is so much here that is basic to animation in general that it is a gold mine even for me. The principles of animation are laid out, explained and exemplified. The processes of animating are shown extensively.
I am not an artist, but I love digital animation and the principles here are applicable in any animation setting.
There are a couple of documentary movies that go well with this - -one is about Ollie and company and the other is about Disney Studios in general -- pre-digital age.

Love the service, price, delivery and the quality of the product.

I would recommend this book to any aspiring artist or animator.
The book was a gift for my daughter.
She is in third year fine arts at the local University.
She was fascinated by the hundreds of illustrations and techniques.
Bravo

The book is great and something I have wanted for a long time. I'm an animator and so this is an important part of my collection. Only problem is that it was listed as being in "perfect condition." It was not. Several pages were bent and the inside cover page was torn. The only other thing wrong--not a problem with the vendor--this book is big and very heavy which makes reading it cumbersome. I have a PDF version on my ipad which I prefer to use for study purposes.

If any of you are animation students... GET THIS BOOK. This was one of our required textbooks and it was really helpful. What I used the most was the "12 principles of animation" section. They explain the animation principles extremely well, since they were the guys who invented them
The downside to this book is that it's HUGE. It's very heavy and was a pain dragging to and from class, but the content alone makes it worth

Many call this book the closest thing to an absolute Bible for animation. I'm personally inclined to agree.

However, the first thing you need to know is that this book is not an instruction book. Neither this book, nor any other book, contains enough information to transform you from layman to professional in one fell swoop. While it does contain invaluable information on animation, I promise you that you still have to work at it to perfect your ability.

That being said, the book does contain information that deals in all facets of animation, and, sometimes, on the wider scale of dramatic and literary techniques relating to the visual medium. Since animation is essentially a unification of film, acting, drawing, and writing, techniques from all four are important. This book does contain the twelve principles of animation - essentially, several key elements to any good animation, which are employed by any good animator, in anything from Disney's "Steamboat Willie" to Pixar's "Up."

Speaking of Pixar, I would recommend this book to those interested in 3-dimensional animation as well - an art form that is built on the principles of the 2-dimensional.

Overall, this book is brilliantly written. It can be witty at times, and is written in a voice that is both interesting and insightful. It relates animation back to its roots in human nature and psychology, exploring why it has various effects on people.

The attentive reader will glean from this book not only a better understanding of the logic and technique behind animation, but perhaps a better ability to create his or her own animations, as well as a better knowledge of the history of Disney's animation (as an aside, this book is largely about Disney's animation form. Thomas and Johnston try to include examples from outside Disney history, but as they are largely speaking out of experience, and as they needed to keep the book down to a manageable length, they cut some major animators from the book, or only acknowledged them briefly).

I have, for several years, been a member of various computer animation lists, and that's where I'm coming from with this review. This is the one book which has consistently come up on those lists when dealing with general issues (the Principles of Animation, etc), simply because it is the best. It is not the best tutorial book, since it is not written as a tutorial: it is a history of Disney. If you want a tutorial on computer animation, go elsewhere. But that will probably NOT be as much help to you as reading this book, because after reading this, you will be inspired. I think this is why people are so religeously fervent when speaking about it - not because they found it useful for the large number of techniques and tips which are slipped in throughout (though very many of them are out of date or not applicable in the computer animation world), but because the book inspires. I thought it was expensive, but after I bought it and read it the first time, I realised it was cheap at the price. It is gorgeously produced, and filled with colour pics and examples of what it talks about. Worth buying if you are into animation, or if you are interested in the history of Disney.

Equivalent to a Holy relic, this masterpiece of a book has inspired me, not only to appreciate Disney's work, but also the animators and animation in general. If you are considering entering the animation field, in particular working for Disney, then by all means purchase this book and read it thouroughly. 2 of the Old Nine Men, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, wrote this book sometime in the early eighties. I read this in the early nineties. I was such a good read it amazed. Not only what they were writing about, but how good the writing was. It was humerous, witty, profound and informative in such a way that is easy to retain the knowledge which I found immediately applicable. By far the one book that has stood the test of time beyond all of Disney's "The Art of (Insert Movie Here)" books. Thomas and Johnston give step by step process of how Disney complete a picture from the inception of the first idea to the finalized product on Sunset Boulevard at the El Capitan. I cannot comment on this book enough and cannot reccomend this book highly enough. Five stars is the max, but I can say, of all the books I have read, no other book has inspired me more in my readings, and no other book I treasure more than this one. I say, the earlier edition of this book may have better prints and color, but its not the pictures that matter completely (however nice they are), its what the animators pass on to another animator. Inspiration for motivation and creativity.

A very comprehensive book about the development of Disney animation. Hundreds of drawings that show how individual characters were developed, what makes characters appealing, what worked and what didn't, how the animators came up with ideas, how to draw sequences -- this book covers every aspect of animation. It's more than a history of the Disney company, it shows how the individual departments (animators, inkers, stylists, storymen, sound studio, etc) worked together to create a 80-minute film that is made up of 460,000 finished cels, 2.5 million total drawings (including sketches), and takes an average of 3 and a half years to make. Examples come from all Disney films, such as Cinderella, Peter Pan, Jungle Book, etc. and show drawings, sketches, paintings, the animators who created the characters and pretty much everything one wants to know about animation. It is a wonderful book.

Not a professional animator, I bought this book as a young teen when I was into Classic Disney Animation, along with it's companion volume. I lost both of them in a house fire, and so when I saw The Illusion of Life at the Disneyland Gallery I put several other Disneyland items down to buy it. This book is that good!
Now that I do hand drawn line animation I have found this book to be very helpful and informative. It may not answer all your questions, but it brings up issues you have never thought of, and these small touches are what made Disney animation king for so many years. If you don't want your work to look like Saturday cartoons for the rest of your life, this is a must have.
With both color examples of the layers of animation along with many black and white examples of character movement, this book is for both the professional and Disney fan. More geared toward the professional than the Disney glossy books "The making of..." Illusion will be held dear on your bookcase for years to come.

This book is a masterpiece. I have several impressive Disney books of this style on my shelf, and this kills all of them.

My version was printed in 1981. This means is has nothing later than "The Rescuers," although I see from the store's site that there's a "revised 1995" edition floating around. I think that's merely a reprint, and does not substantially rework the text to include animated features released since 1981.

It's huge, about the size of an unabridged dictionary. If you're looking to learn about cell animation and how the Disney animators got around several thorny problems, go no further. Also hundreds of incredible glossy pictures, including conceptual sketches, background paintings, line drawings, and a whole lot else.

As any animation student or fan would know, this IS the book he or she would admires and stares for hours. "The Illusion of Life" is not just a history book about the Disney studio, but it goes beyond the history and concept; it goes in deep into storytelling, character animation, background design, concept/script illustration, character design, and many more. The greatest thing about this book is the author and writer, FRANK THOMAS and OLLIE JOHNSTON!!! Two of the veteran and master of Disney animation. They have been working with Disney since Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan... the 40s and 50s! The writing is also very descriptive and easy to understand. Not only they get to the point, they also reveal several secrets and tricks in animation.
I strongly suggest every animation fan and animator to get this book. It is expensive, but not rare to get. It is one of a kind! And do get it before it runs out of print!

I have yet to read(well...fully..properly..) or for that matter even buy it(this book),but I have seen it in a local bookstore and are dying to get it.It is hellishly expensive,but I have my beady eye on it.
I have flipped through it many times ,and even read a paragraph or two,and I have to say,it is the best book on Disney and/or animation I have ever seen,and it is what I have been looking for ,for a long time.
Strictly speaking it is not a animation handbook,it is not supposed to be,but there is more than enough info on the why's and wherefore's of animation technique and principles to wet the appetite of any animator or lay person,and provide precious insight into the magic of Disney animation.
There is hundreds of photos,diagrams,demos,and stills within the book that will leave any serious animation fan sallivating..and gasping in wonderment....and I haven't even got the book yet..I can't wait to get it..it IS THAT GOOD !!!
This is NOT a book to be overlooked anytime soon.It is a MUST HAVE BOOK!!
Get it soon,get it today,get it NOW!!

The art of Disney is incredible. Inside this book you will find vibrant color cells, story board art, sketches and so much more. It walks you through the animations of Disney from the beginning of Mickey and Snow White and shares the stories of the artists, the triumphs and the pains of hand animation. It is now becoming such a lost art, and you can truly appreciate every pen stroke in this book. If you love Disney or Animation, this is a must have in your collection.

Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston were two of the greatest character animators to walk the Earth. They were two of Disney's Nine Old Men, and helped to developed the "principles of animation." This book is authored by these two great men of animation. It explains the principles of animation one by one, and also over views the history of animation from its conception to the glitz of the Disney days. No animator should be without this gem of a book! It is absolutely brilliant!!!!