All images are from Animation Background Layout: From Student to Professional by Mike S. Fowler. Reprinted with permission. © Mike S. Fowler 2002.

This month AWN begins a new series of excerpts from Animation Background Layout: From Student to Professional. Author Mike S. Fowler has especially adapted his book for our readers. In this essential and educational easy-to-follow guide, Mike, an animation layout artist, supervisor and college instructor illustrates the purpose and function of animation layout. He creates an easy to follow format with so much information and diagrams, people of any animation skill level should be able to learn something new. Whether an inquisitive beginner, a college animation student who wants to better prepare for a job, or an animation industry professional, everyone can learn something new in this book.

Introduction
The reason behind creating Animation Background Layout: From Student to Professional stemmed from the frustration I had as an animation student and now, as an instructor. This frustration was encountered when searching for extra layout material over and above the lengthy illustrations and classroom lecture notes.

There are countless books on perspective, tonal studies, and large architectural manifests that describe the process to become a superior draftsman. There are also many powerful animation books that eloquently explain character creation and the importance of the animation clean up line. Some books, such as The Illusion of Life and the recent Richard Williams' The Animator's Survival Guide, have become industry appointed bibles of the animation art form, but what about information about animation background layouts?

Many of my students that arrive on the first day of the layout class only know of layout as something to do with advertising or publishing, with little idea of what it actually entails.

They ask, "Who creates the background drawings? Why is it created? Do I need to know how to use perspective? What is staging? Do layout artists make up whatever they want for the background? What is a model sheet or a location design? Do layout artists only draw the background? Are there any technical things to know about in layout? Who does the painting of the backgrounds? How does character animation get put over top of the background? Who gets the drawing after the layout department? What is the difference between animation background layout verses character layout?"

Like most tasks in life, we learn short cuts or tricks to complete the job more efficiently and quicker than others. This is what makes each of us unique or even more marketable than the next person in the workforce. Is it wrong? I am just as guilty as the next person. Layout, animation and even teaching are no exceptions to this safe keeping of knowledge.

Recently I attended the internationally known "Great Teacher's Seminar" that was hosted by its founder, David Gottshall. He spoke about sharing our ideas with our peers. Sharing information to solve, understand and even enlighten each other to the fact that as an individual we know much, but as a group our collective talent is endless. Then he said jokingly about sharing this knowledge, "There are two rules. The first rule is: Tell them all that has to be told, but don't tell them everything."

Throughout this book I have called upon the experience and knowledge of my peers — layout artist-professionals from animation studios around the world, and my own diverse background as a layout artist, supervisor and instructor of animation and layout.

My intention was to create an animation layout book that taught, explored the rationale behind various functions of layout and demonstrated these principles with clear visual examples. After all, I wanted a layout book that I could use as a support tool for my own college animation classes.