The Animation Textbook

This introductory textbook provides practical exercises to help students and beginner animators get to grips with the basics of creating animated films. It covers both traditional 2D and 3D animated film, as well as experimental and computer animation. The first part of the book includes exercises colour-coded by difficult, to guide readers through the activities as they become more challenging. The second part of the book focuses on development, pre-production, production, and post-production to assist you with making your animated films feel more professional. The book also includes information and guidance on how to easily create animation using only a mobile phone. This book will be helpful to all students and newcomers looking to gain a grounding in the basics of animated film.

Part 1: Let’s Make an Animated Film Ourselves. About Animation. Types of Animated Film. Two-Dimensional Animated Film. Animation of Objects. Cut-Out Puppet Film. Spatial Cut-Out Puppets. Plasticine Cut-Out Puppets. Sand Animation. Animated Film. Painting on Glass. Rotoscopy. Dissolving. Three-Dimensional Animated Film. Animation of Objects. Plasticine Animation. Puppet Film. Pixilation. Time Lapse Filming. Experimental Animated Film. Film Stock Processing. Computer Animation. Part 2: Making Animated Films. Development Period. Idea. Script. Director. Producer. Preproduction Period. Preparation of Puppets and Sets. Production Period. Animation. Cameraman. Connecting the Camera to the Computer. MonkeyJam Programme. Postproduction. Editing. Movie Maker Editing Programme. VideoPad Video Editor. Sound Production. Credits. Film print. Premiere.

Rao Heidmets is an Estonian animated film director, producer, and scenarist. Rao runs animation workshops that teach how to create animation easily through the use of mobile phones.