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Essential Reading for Animators and Animation Enthusiasts

A dizzying catalog of books detailing the craft, art, and history of animated films. This list was compiled from a variety of sources, but mostly from GoodReads. I made this list for personal reference but I hope this is helpful for anyone interested in animation :)
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Page 1 of 9
The Animator's Survival Kit (Richard Williams)
The Animator's Survival Kit
1
Richard Williams
Cartoon Animation (Preston Blair)
Cartoon Animation
2
Preston Blair
Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life
Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life
3
Acting for Animators (Ed Hooks)
Acting for Animators
4
Ed Hooks
Timing for Animation (Harold Whitaker)
Timing for Animation
5
Harold Whitaker
Character Animation Crash Course (Eric Goldberg)
Character Animation Crash Course
6
Eric Goldberg
Frames of Anime (Tze-Yue Hu)
Frames of Anime
7
Tze-Yue Hu
Starting Point: 1979-1996 (Hayao Miyazaki)
Starting Point: 1979-1996
8
Hayao Miyazaki
Talking Animals and Other People (Shamus Culhane)
Talking Animals and Other People
9
Shamus Culhane
The Making of Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson)
The Making of Fantastic Mr. Fox
10
Wes Anderson
Masters of Animation (John Halas)
Masters of Animation
11
John Halas
Animated Performance (Nancy Beiman)
Animated Performance
12
Nancy Beiman
50 Years in the Mouse House (Eric Larson)
50 Years in the Mouse House
13
Eric Larson
The Nine Old Men: Lessons, Techniques, and Inspiration From Disney's Great Animators (Andreas Deja)
The Nine Old Men: Lessons, Techniques, and Inspiration From Disney's Great Animators
14
Andreas Deja
Animating Your Career (Steve Hickner)
Animating Your Career
15
Steve Hickner
The Freelance Manifesto (Joey Korenman)
The Freelance Manifesto
16
Joey Korenman
The Win Without Pitching Manifesto (Blair Enns)
The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
17
Blair Enns
Directing the Story (Francis Glebas)
Directing the Story
18
Francis Glebas
Drawn to Life (Walt Stanchfield)
Drawn to Life
19
Walt Stanchfield
Force (Michael Mattesi)
Force
20
Michael Mattesi
Animation: From Script to Screen (Shamus Culhane)
Animation: From Script to Screen
21
Shamus Culhane
How to Make Animated Films (Tony White)
How to Make Animated Films
22
Tony White
Draw the Looney Tunes (Frank Espinosa)
Draw the Looney Tunes
23
Frank Espinosa
Your Career in Animation (David Levy)
Your Career in Animation
24
David Levy
Simplified Drawing for Planning Animation (Wayne Gilbert)
Simplified Drawing for Planning Animation
25
Wayne Gilbert
Sketching for Animation (Peter Parr)
Sketching for Animation
26
Peter Parr
Producing Independent 2D Character Animation (Mark Simon)
Producing Independent 2D Character Animation
27
Mark Simon
The Animator's Eye (Francis Glebas)
The Animator's Eye
28
Francis Glebas
Animation: 2D and Beyond (Jayne Pilling)
Animation: 2D and Beyond
29
Jayne Pilling
Animation From Pencils to Pixels (Tony White)
Animation From Pencils to Pixels
30
Tony White
Character Animation Fundamentals (Steve Roberts)
Character Animation Fundamentals
31
Steve Roberts
Layout and Composition for Animation (Ed Ghertner)
Layout and Composition for Animation
32
Ed Ghertner
Designing With Pixar (Cooper Hewitt)
Designing With Pixar
33
Cooper Hewitt
Animation Unleashed (Ellen Beseh)
Animation Unleashed
34
Ellen Beseh
The Art of Tangled (Jeff Kurtti)
The Art of Tangled
35
Jeff Kurtti
The Art of How to Train Your Dragon (Tracey Miller-Zarneke)
The Art of How to Train Your Dragon
36
Tracey Miller-Zarneke
Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists (Joseph Sheppard)
Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists
37
Joseph Sheppard
Figure Drawing for All It's Worth (Andrew Loomis)
Figure Drawing for All It's Worth
38
Andrew Loomis
The Art of Finding Nemo (Mark Cotta Vaz)
The Art of Finding Nemo
39
Mark Cotta Vaz
The Art of Pixar (Amid Amidi)
The Art of Pixar
40
Amid Amidi
Page 1 of 9
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