In the late 1990s Richard Williams, winner of three Oscars, was traveling around the globe presenting his master classes to sold out audiences. Now, for a fraction of what it cost to attend his seminars, you get as much information as he presented in-person. While you don’t get the excitement of having him there drawing and talking to you, his handsome book is filled with hundreds of illustrations (more than he drew in the classes) and a text far superior to the hastily scribbled notes of people who attend his classes.

This book, The Animator’s Survival Kit, should be a "must have" for every animator, from struggling student to seasoned professional. Animators improve their skills as they go through life and there are valuable lessons in the book for all. When I attended Williams’ seminar I was hearing well-known animators from ILM, Pixar and other studios saying they were learning more than they expected and it was simplifying their understanding of the process. One person went home after the first session and drew for an hour. The next day he was telling people he not only was inspired by the first class, his drawing ability had actually improved.

Colleagues got excited and wanted to buy copies when they heard I had a copy of the book. Two animation teachers came to my house because they needed to see it before telling their school libraries and stores to order copies.

Background
In the opening pages of the book the author tells how he was running a successful studio in London when he saw The Jungle Book (1967). At that time he wasn’t a big Disney fan and he didn’t have great expectations about liking the film. He writes he was "astonished" with the animation and, "I realized I didn’t even know how it was done -- let alone ever be able to do it myself. I went back to my studio in shock."

In the years that followed he continually sought after knowledge. "I had to know everything about the medium and master all aspects of it. Cap in hand, I made yearly visits to Milt (Kahl), and Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Ken Anderson at Disney." When he had the chance he hired other Hollywood greats, including Ken Harris, Art Babbitt, Bill Tytla, Grim Natwick, to work and lecture at his studios in London and Los Angeles.

When Williams ran studios, his work was known for excellence and perfection. His best known credit was animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? When he retired in the 1990s he began to share his knowledge in master classes. Slowly he refined his teaching skills and materials to the point that he felt comfortable putting it all down on paper. This book should provide present and future generations of animators the working methods and drawing techniques that will enable the art of animation to grow and prosper.

The Book
Williams’ book may seem deceptively simple at first because the focus is developing useful work habits that allow you to produce the best possible movements. He doesn’t have chapters on character design, costumes, set design, budgets, and other important ingredients of an animated film. Most of the 352 pages are about drawing human and animal movements. You probably know most of the topics he covers: key drawings, extremes, breakdowns, timing, spacing, walks, runs, jumps, skips, flexibility, weight, anticipation, takes, dialogue, acting, animal action, directing, voice recording and many, many more. What may surprise you are his comments about each topic.