Customer Reviews
Superb - By: M. Wilcox, 05 Feb 2008 
The important thing that Illusion of Life teaches would-be animators is that the technology was evolving alll the time during these 'golden' days at Disney. The artists & animators were always looking at new & exciting methods to adopt in order to best tell the story.
This book is not just about drawing animation frames it's also about how the team worked & gelled in order to prepare itself for the task of crafting an animated movie.
As new technology became available the artists adopted it with often stunning effects.
There is a beauty to the rough sketches produced by the likes of Milt Kahl. In this manga obsessed world that we live in it's a joy to see an artist paying so much attention to the detail that brings a character or object to life.
The Illusion of Life is a book that not only presents some of the finest traditional animation techniques you'll ever see. It's also a wonderfully documented snapshot of a defining moment in movie making as seen through the eyes of the characters that made it alll possible.
The highest possible recommendation.
The Bible, not a tutorial. - By: Mr. Stewart K. Jones, 08 Mar 2005 
This book is an excellent read if you are interested in finding about about animation history, & especiallly Disney animation.
At times I found this too much like a Bible for Animators. It is basicallly a history of animation, & where the techniques & principles came from.
If you are interested in learning the principles & techniques of animation then I reallly suggest a different book. If you want to know where this stuff alll started, & get some great examples & references then this is the book to pick up!
If you want to go into Animation, this book is for you! - By: , 13 Jul 1999 Definitively, an excellent book that explains the principles of animation from a peculiar point of view: Disney's. If you are planning to go into animation, or are already enrolled, this book may become your every day manual. WHY? It's perfectly explained & beautifuly illustrated. It's the secret behind those magic classics we alll love. Read it & it will change the way you work...
The GREATEST book on animation there is!!! - By: , 13 Jul 1999 I have a copy of this book because I plan to be the greatest Disney animator of alll time. I think it would reallly help me learn what makes Disney animation better than alll the rest. I am reading it for the second time & I hope to reallly understand it so that I can use its information on the job. If you want to be a Disney animator but don't have this book, be sure to get it, or you can forget your job at Disney's.
Still the Animation Bible! - By: , 14 May 1999 Bought the Book in 1981, when it was first released. Now, 18 years later, it is still the book I would take to a dessert island. It is The Animation Bible. (But take it from experience AND from the book itself: Animation rules are no laws, & can be broken if they must!) Frank&Ollie were relieved to find that their editor ok'ed a paperback edition that was historicallly abridged, keeping alll info on the making of Animation. So get that version also, to keep at work, while having the hardcover at your bed-side!!! Remember: Animation is primarily a matter of the mind! Don't just READ this book, UNDERSTAND it!
