Expert: Russell Calabrese - 4/28/2008

Question
When a character talks, I can't figure out which words to animate, or which mouth movements.  Is there any website that would give extensive tips on animating, as in which body movements to animate and for how many frames. Thank you

Answer
Hello Clint,

"Cartoon Animation" by Preston Blair is a must have book for anyone wanting to do animation and has a section on lip sync. You can also find an older version of it online at the ASIFA website below:

http://www.animationarchive.org/2006/05/media-preston-blairs-animation-first.htm...

For timing animation a good book to have would be "Timing for Animation" by Harold Whitaker and John Halas. You should get yourself a stop watch and time movements that way, also. There is no easy answer to this. It takes time patience and practice. make a lot of pencil tests and keep honing your work until it feels right to you. Watch GOOD animated films frame at a time to see the masters at work.( I'm talking old stuff here from the forties and early fifties from Disney and Warner Bros.)

Invest a few bucks on these books and your work will definitely improve. Log onto the used books section of Amazon.com to get a good price.

Hope this makes your day.

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Russell Calabrese