''Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life'' (later republished as ''The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation'') is a book by

Frank Thomas Frank Edward Thomas Jr. (born May 27, 1968), nicknamed "the Big Hurt," is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for three American League (AL) teams from 1990 to ...

and

Ollie Johnston Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. (October 31, 1912 – April 14, 2008) was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death from natural causes. He was recognized by The Wal ...

, two of the key animators at

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

during the

Golden age of American animation The golden age of American animation was a period that began with the popularization of Sound film, sound synchronized cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medi ...

This book gives a history of Disney animation, explaining the processes involved in clear, non-technical terms. The philosophy is expressed in the so-called

12 basic principles of animation Disney's twelve basic principles of animation were introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book '' The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation''. The principles are based on the work of Disney animators fr ...

. It contains 489 plates in full color, as well as thousands of black-and-white illustrations, ranging from storyboard sketches to entire animation sequences.

Editions

The 1981 edition published by

Abbeville Press Abbeville Publishing Group is an independent book publishing company specializing in fine art and illustrated books. Based in New York City, Abbeville publishes approximately 40 titles each year and has a catalogue of over 700 titles on art, arch ...

() used better quality paper and consequently possessed higher image quality than either the 1988 edition or the revised edition from 1995 () (published by Disney's Hyperion with the inverted title ''The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation'').

Legacy

Topping the list of "best animation books of all time" in a poll at AWN, ''The Illusion of Life'' is still used as reference on and source of inspiration for

character animation Character animation is a specialized area of the animation process, which involves bringing animated s to life. The role of a character animator is analogous to that of a film or stage actor and character animators are often said to be "actors ...

. In 2013, the book's third chapter (which explains the

twelve basic principles of animation Disney's twelve basic principles of animation were introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book '' The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation''. The principles are based on the work of Disney animators fr ...

) was republished in its entirety with the permission of the authors' heirs in the ''Disney Animated''

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

app from

Touch Press Touchpress was an app developer and publisher based in Central London. The company specialised in creating apps on educational subjects including the Periodic Table, Beethoven, the Solar System, T.S. Eliot, Shakespeare, and others. In October ...

. All the illustrations were fully animated in the app version, and many parts of the chapter were annotated with explanatory comments from Disney's current animators.Access the Disney Animation Vault with New Interactive iPad App, Cartoon Brew
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References

External links

Official website
{{Walt Disney Animation Studios Animation books Books about Disney Disney books History of animation 1981 non-fiction books Illustrated books

Contents

Editions

Legacy

References

External links