Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tony White's "Endangered Species"


Tony White is an animator and teacher who is passionate about classic drawn animation - created one frame at a time. Every animator should see his ode to classic animation: Endangered Species.




I wasn't able to find an online biography of Tony White, but this excerpt from his book, Animation From Pencils to Pixels, will tell you a little about him:

"Along my career path, I have studied with some of the greatest names in animation: the late Ken Harris (master “Bugs Bunny” and “Roadrunner” animator from the Warner Brothers studio) and Art Babbitt (animator on films such as “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia” during the golden age of Disney). I served (and survived) as Richard Williams’ (three-time Academy Award winner and author of the exceptional “Animator’s Survival Kit”) own personal assistant for two years. This wonderful exposure to the very best talents the industry can offer enabled me to absorb the finer secrets of all the great traditions at a very early age."

As I write this, I haven't finished reading the book, but I can tell that it's an essential part of any animator (professional or amateur) or animation student's library. It's a book that I wish I had written - or, more accurately, that I wish I could have written.

Check out this very substantial excerpt on Google Books:

Animation From Pencils to Pixels:
Classical Techniques for Digital Animation



And you can buy the book at Amazon.com:


Animation From Pencils to Pixels


I particularly like Tony's Dedication:

This book is dedicated to
all those selfless pencils
who sacrificed everything
in the pursuit of the
animated dream!


There's definitely a movie - or two - in that tale of heroic sacrifice, desire, partnership and conflict, betrayal and redemption, in pursuit of animated dreams.