Gesture Drawing for Animation

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Gesture Drawing for Animation by Walt Stanchfield is a compilation of class notes from animation instructor Walt Stanchfield, originally distributed as handouts to his students between 1970 and 1990. This book, edited by Leo Brodie, aims to organize Stanchfield's teachings into a coherent volume, imagining the book Stanchfield might have published himself.
The core of Stanchfield's philosophy, as presented in this book, revolves around the concept of "gesture drawing" – drawing the "truth" and "essence" of a pose or action rather than merely copying anatomical details. He emphasizes that animation drawing is about expressing emotion and story through movement, not just creating technically perfect reproductions.
Key concepts and techniques covered in the book include:
Observation: Encouraging artists to be like a "sponge" and absorb everything around them, looking for the unusual and common in people, characters, and situations.
The Animator's Sketchbook: Stressing the importance of carrying a sketchbook everywhere and drawing constantly to sharpen observation skills and creative flow.
Visual Vocabulary for Drawing: Exploring different types of lines and simplifying figures into basic shapes like cylinders ("pipe model") to understand three-dimensional space and foreshortening.
The First Impression: Highlighting the significance of capturing the initial, "explosive" feeling of a pose in short-pose sketching, rather than getting bogged down in details.
Elements of the Pose: Delving into crucial elements such as weight distribution, thrust, angles, tension, and the interplay of straight lines against curves, all of which contribute to a dynamic and expressive drawing.
Pushing the Gesture (Caricature): Encouraging artists to exaggerate gestures beyond realistic representation to enhance action and mood, making drawings more expressive and entertaining.
Principles of Animation: Discussing various animation principles like squash and stretch, opposing force, and connecting actions, and how they apply to still drawings to convey vitality and movement.
A Sense of Story: Emphasizing that every drawing should tell a story, conveying motivation, mood, and personality through gesture.
Stanchfield's teachings advocate for a shift from merely copying to actively interpreting and exaggerating to infuse drawings with life, emotion, and purpose. The book serves as a guide for aspiring animators to develop a deeper understanding of visual communication and storytelling through drawing.

ISBN 10:
ISBN 13: 9798290108667