The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation

I bought this book and opened it thinking that it wil be the strong version of The Animator Survival Kit, then after just 5 minutes I realized that it was a serial loose of my money because it not worth the money I paid. It has nothing that helps you to animate , is just the story of some Disney old animated movies. And the rest of it is to read a full scale of bla, bla, bla, bla that don't help in anything. But if you are a collector of Disney old stories it will be ok, so before buy it just think if you wanna draw to animate or just collect a big & heavy book with a Disney name on it.

I've never thought that this book can be as wonderful as it is. As a prospective animator, it was really useful to read it at the beginning of my studies, because it took me to the right direction. It takes animation so serious as I hoped. Unfortunately it hasn't been released in Hungarian, so I couldn't read it in my native language, but luckily it is easy to understand in English too.
It worths the money, because this is a handbook, that you don't read only once, but can be used anytime when it needed.
The Illusion of Life tells about everything: the theory, the process, and also the people behind all this magic.
It is absolutely wonderful!!

Speaking as someone who started animation awhile back and needed to learn from the best, I found this one book the most helpful. I was turned onto the book from one of the actual Disney animators and we were able to discuss being in the business. It's what he, and most of the others that work there, consider the Bible of Animaton. His words. The book itself is not for a quick read or a nightly read. It's an education and industry guide for the world of movies. As I'm working on any project, you can bet I reference this book a lot.
The book is great for people like myself to read straight up, but I get a kick out of those that say it's dry and boring. The book itself is full of the best wisdoms of the founding fathers of animation. The samples are great and it's full of great behind the scenes photos and stories. I really enjoyed the character sketches and quick animations. Definately not a book to miss if you are interested in getting into animation, both hand-drawn and computer. It applies to both because it teaches you the fundamentals of animaton, the timing, the story, and the overall production. It's a great foundation for anyone wanting to learn the craft.

An absolutely gorgeous book, I stumbled across it in my university's library and curled up right there in the aisle with it and read for hours. I knew I had to have a copy of my very own once I got home for summer break and found myself longing to find myself back in that aisle. Beautifully done, it isn't just a bland history of Disney's animation--it's written by two men who were actually there through it all and who helped mold the art of animation with their very own hands. This book is a fun read and shows the reader just what makes every Disney film created such a masterpiece of artwork.

I'm not an animator, but I know what I like. This book satisfied my curiousity about the magic that Disney has woven over the years with its animated shorts and features. Now I know exactly how some of my favorite films were produced. It's a shame that the older techniques are being abandoned now that computer graphics are replacing cel animation, but this book preserves the heritage in a form anyone can enjoy.