1st Edition

Animated Life A Lifetime of tips, tricks, techniques and stories from an animation Legend

By Floyd Norman Copyright 2013
    288 Pages 40 Color Illustrations
    by Routledge

    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    Since Steamboat Mickey, animators have been creating characters and films that are charming, warm and humorous, allowing people to connect with the animated medium. Animation fans love the characters for a lifetime. This is the legacy of the countless animators and artists who created the classic characters and fun stories, and it is the legacy of Disney Legend, Floyd Norman. Written with wit and verve, Animated Life is a guided tour through an entire lifetime of techniques, practical hands-on advice and insight into an entire industry. This is a vital tutorial in animation's past, present and future for students who are now poised to be part of another new generation in the art form. Apply artistic magic to your own projects and garner valuable insight and inspiration from a True Disney legend. Animated Life is a classic in the making with completely relevant techniques and tools for the contemporary animation or fine arts professional.

    Part I: Inside the Magic Factory

    Chapter 1: Wonderland

    Chapter 2: The Disney Bullpen

    Chapter 3: The Assistant Animator

    Chapter 4: The Workers' Paradise

    Chapter 5: Disney's Night School

    Chapter 6: Something About Mary Poppins

    Chapter 7: Taking My Best Shot

    Chapter 8: The Jungle Book

    Chapter 9: Your Host, Walt Disney

    Chapter 10: Spotted Puppies and a Bold New Direction

    Chapter 11: Transition

    Chapter 12: Roy's Camera

    Chapter 13: Perfect Partnership

    Chapter 14: The Other Floyd

    Chapter 15: Monster in the Bell Tower

    Chapter 16: Digital Dinosaurs

    Chapter 17: Playing with Toys

    Chapter 18: Monster's Brawl

    Chapter 19: Elephant in the Room

    Chapter 20: Inside Man

    Chapter 21: Life After Disney

    Part II: Tips, Techniques and Animated Observations

    Chapter 22: Attending Your Own Film School

    Chapter 23: The Vance Advantage

    Chapter 24: A Mistaken Notion

    Chapter 25: Stay Hungry

    Chapter 26: Sacked

    Chapter 27: The Crazy Young Kids

    Chapter 28: The Perfect Combination

    Chapter 29: Endless Development

    Chapter 30: Nothing to Lose

    Chapter 31: The Wow Factor

    Chapter 32: Telling Stories

    Chapter 33: In Defense of Mavericks

    Chapter 34: The Reluctant Partnership

    Chapter 35: Working without a Net

    Chapter 36: Marketing Animation

    Chapter 37: Racial Politics from a Cartoony Perspective

    Chapter 38: Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, and What Might Have Been

    Chapter 39: Infinity and Beyond

    Workbook 

    Biography

    Floyd E. Norman (born c. 1936) is an American animator who worked on the Walt Disney animated features Sleeping Beauty, The Sword in the Stone and The Jungle Book along with various animated short projects at Disney in the late '50s and early '60s. After Walt Disney's death in 1966 Floyd Norman left Disney Studios to co-found the AfroKids animation studio with business partner animator/director Leo Sullivan. Norman and Sullivan worked together on various projects such as the original Hey! Hey! Hey! It's Fat Albert television special which aired in 1969 on NBC. (not to be confused with the later Fat Albert series made by Filmation Associates.) Floyd Norman returned to Disney at one point in the early 1970s to work on the Disney animated feature Robin Hood. More recently he has worked on motion pictures for the Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, having contributed creatively as a story artist on films such as Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. for Pixar and Mulan, Dinosaur and The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Walt Disney Animation among others. He continues to work for the Walt Disney Co. as a freelance consultant on various projects.

    Norman had his start as an assistant to comic book artist Bill Woggon who lived in the Santa Barbara area that Norman grew up in. In the 1980s he worked as a writer in the comic strip department at Disney and was the last scripter for the Mickey Mouse comic strip before it was discontinued.[1]

    Floyd Norman has also published several books of cartoons inspired by his lifetime of experiences in the animation industry : Faster! Cheaper!, Son of Faster, Cheaper!, and How The Grinch Stole Disney .

    He is currently a columnist for the websites JimHillMedia.com and AfroKids.com. He was named a Disney Legend in 2007. In 2008, he appeared as Guest of Honor at Anthrocon 2008 [2] and at Comic-Con International where he was awarded an Inkpot Award.

    I love reading behind the scenes type books, especially involving art and animation. This book from Floyd Norman gives a glimpse of his life in animation, as told by the man himself. I really, really enjoyed his personal stories about the Walt Disney company, and working at his own company, and ultimately finding himself back at Disney. My only criticism is that I actually would have loved more detailed stories of his early days. I think he thought he was sparing the reader "boring details", but I ate up all the stories! A must for any Disney history buff, or animation guru.--Angie Sandberg, NetGalley