Give Away – The Art of Cars 3

It’s time for another give away! Keep reading for details on how to win.

We’re Giving Away 3 Pairs of GUNNAR Optiks

Have you ever seen someone wearing a pair of yellow tinted glasses in the studio? Chances are they’re wearing GUNNAR Computer Eye wear. I use them every day, and have for the last four years. It still surprises me when I’m asked about them. For an industry that spends so much time in front of the computer, constantly upgrading skill sets to stay relevant and informed, it surprises me that more people don’t know about them.

Then it dawned on me, “Doh!” That’s kind of what I do, isn’t it? Keep animation artists informed and inspired through this blog…Well, at least I try to. I knew I had better write something, because eye strain is real, and I’d hate to see someone I know suffer through their job or have to take time off because of it.

Give Away – The Art of Zootopia

The Art of Zootopia will be released soon, and we have one copy to give away to our readers. To qualify for the draw, follow us on Twitter or Facebook, and Retweet or Share the news! The winner will be announced here on Friday! Good luck 🙂

Give Away – The Nine Old Men by Andreas Deja

Update: Congrats to the winner, Brian Roy! Please contact us to claim your prize!

I want to thank every one for their continued support of On Animation over the past year. Traffic continues to surge, and it’s wonderful to hear and read all the amazing feedback I’ve received online and at animation conferences around the world. To kick off 2016, On Animation is giving away a copy of Andreas Deja’s new book, The Nine Old Men. Be sure to check out my review.

To be eligible to win, simply follow us on Facebook or Twitter and spread the word about this post via the share button below. Good luck everyone! 

Give Away: Cartoon Character Animation with Maya

Update: Congratulations to the winner, Jyreme Mcmillon! Please contact us to claim your book. 🙂

Bloomsbury Publishing was nice enough to send us a copy of Cartoon Character Animation with Maya: Mastering the Art of Exaggerated Animation by Keith Osborn. Keith is a veteran animator with a flair for the cartoony. We’ve featured his work on the blog before. It comes as no surprise that he has written a book on what he does best: cartoon animation. I’m personally more inclined to animate something cartoony than subtle/dramatic. When I first tried this as a student, I quickly realized how technically challenging it can be to create smears, multiples, and other such staples of cartoony animation in CG. Technically, it’s much easier to draw it. Rigs then and even today, especially free/student ones (with the exception of a few), aren’t built to support this kind of animation.

Enter Cartoon Character Animation with Maya. This book breaks down everything you need to know about cartoon animation quickly and concisely. It covers a lot of technical hangups of Maya, explains the animation techniques in depth, and provides real world examples for study and practice. Additionally, the book’s companion website includes a ton of supplementary material and resources. Keith shows his personal workflow and how he adjusts it for different scenarios. He walks you through creating exciting poses from thumbnails, and subsequently how to pose them out efficiently in Maya. The book also covers a few third party plugins that help you get the most out of your rig and really push it. I wish this book was around when I was a student. I had a chance to read through it over the holidays and I highly recommend it.

On Animation will be giving away one copy to a lucky follower. All you have to do to be eligible to win is follow us on Facebook or Twitter and share this post. Good luck!