Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 36-38 of 38
 An inspiration! April 19, 2009
J. Ferguson
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
One of my huge dreams when I was younger was to work at the Disney Animation Studios and work under (and hopefully alongside:) animation greats like Mark Henn, Glen Keane, and Andreas Deja. That never happened and I pursued other things, but I've always wondered what it would have been like if I had:) This book kind of makes you feel like you're there...sitting next to the greats and listening, learning and drawing alongside all the animation heroes who have also been taught by Walt Stanchfield. Many of those same animators' drawings adorn the text and give glimpses into the teachings and notes that fill every page. The text itself is quite amazing...informational and extremely inspiring. I've become a bit rusty in many areas of drawing, but this book helped me remember why I ever (as a boy) wanted to pick up a pencil in the first place. It might sound a bit dramatic (and perhaps it is) but cracking open this book made me remember drawing superheroes at 3 am in the morning on an old dusty table in a closet sized room... drawing mickey mouse in Biology class and trying (in vain) to draw a successful flip book with my typing paper. Drawing was often fun in those day... and was more about adventure and exploration and expression than the often goal-oriented and perfectionistic ruts that I've often walked in since. So maybe it sounds silly, but this book kind of helped make drawing fun for me again...and kind of helped breathe new life into an art form that I had placed on a dusty shelf. There's such a wealth of information that one could easily read the book several times and not get it all, but what's great about this book is it's kind of written as if Walt Stanchfield himself is coming alongside you and helping you along on this journey of art (and specifically drawing). Each lesson is rather quick and usually concentrates on one point (gesture, or variety, or not copying a pose but feeling it from the inside out). One can read it in gulps or in small increments and still gain a wealth of information and encouragement. I can see that an animator especially would enjoy this book, but I bought this book as mainly a drawing help aid and the lessons contained within would apply to any artist. So if you love to draw...or want to draw better, I would definitely recommend this book. I doubt you'll be disappointed. (Note: As a youngster I submitted a portfolio to Disney for review. Their training department sent me a packet of drawings for my help and inspiration drawn from the likes of Walt Stanchfield, Glen Keane and Andreas Deja. Many of those same drawings and hundreds more are contained within these pages. They are amazing to see).
A must have for any aspiring Disney animators April 13, 2009
M. Gabriel (Los Angeles, CA USA)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
These two volumes are a master class in Disney style animation thinking. Essentially, a goldmine of what we learned here at Disney as young animators trying to follow in the shoes of the masters of the craft of character animation. I was lucky enough to have been taught every one of these lessons from Walt himself over my thirty years and running as an animator/story man/director/designer at Walt Disney Studios. I only wish you all could have met the man who brings this wealth of knowledge to these pages. He made you feel good just being around him. He was never dour or sour or in any way unhappy. If he was, he hid it completely from us. He was the coolest "old guy" you could ever hope to be taught by. Athletic, youthful in every way, passionate, inquisitive, searching and digging for the answers all the time. He stayed hungry for improvement his entire life and we all try to emulate that to this day and make our teacher and friend proud of us for trying. You will not only most definitely be a better artist after reading these volumes I practically guarantee you will be a better person for having gotten to know Walt Stanchfield and his way of looking at life and art as one. We all feel this way at Disney, believe me.
The other half of the set-be sure to get both! April 5, 2009
Nancy Beiman (Ontario, Canada)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
The first volume of DRAWN TO LIFE covers mainly basic gesture drawing, while the second volume explores how to 'push' the action and create distinct personalities in gesture sketches. These two books are a wonderful addition to the library of animation.
Showing reviews 36-38 of 38
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