Cartoon Magic Explored by Award-Winning Animator Eric Goldberg in "Character Animation Crash Course!

(Posted July 23, 2008) Eric Goldberg, the pioneering, award-winning animator-director whose cartoon magic has graced such classics as Disney�s �Aladdin,� �Pocahontas,� �Fantasia/2000� and �Hercules,� has harnessed the essence of cinema�s most beloved form in a new book, Character Animation Crash Course! (Silman-James Press, Los Angeles; publication date September 2008).

Note:: Eric Goldberg will hold his first book signing at Comic-Con International 2008 in San Diego on Friday, July 25 (2-4 p.m.) and Saturday, July 26 (11 a.m.-Noon), at the Stuart Ng Books exhibit, Booth #5012.

Designed to address students, professionals and animation fans, Goldberg�s book and accompanying CD are jammed packed with the insights and methods needed to bring pencil lines to extraordinary life.

Goldberg, currently supervising animator on the character �Louis� in Disney�s upcoming �The Princess and the Frog� (Holiday 2009 release), opens a treasure chest of animation secrets, illuminating in text and drawings how characters are conceived and � endowed with strong and unforgettable personalities � ultimately brought to life.

The CD of animated movie examples demonstrate in real time or frame-by-frame, Goldberg�s principles at play � the first time three dimensions have been used to illustrate the process.

The author�s witty observations combine with his wealth of knowledge gleaned from 30-plus years in the animation industry to cast the book as an immediate classic guide to character animation.

�This is the book I wish I had when I was first learning my craft,� said Goldberg. �The first part stresses the thought and preparation required to animate, and the second part is a no-nonsense manual describing classic animation techniques, all in the service of getting great performances from the characters.�

�Whatever technologies continue to develop in the medium, the investment of personal feelings and emotions will always be animation�s future,� said Goldberg.

Character Animation Crash Course is a revealing ride from a blank sheet of paper or empty computer screen to something that anyone age 6-69 can recognize as a living, breathing, emoting creature.

Character Animation Crash Course
By Eric Goldberg, with forward by Brad Bird � Writer/Director,� The Incredibles, �Ratatouille,� �The Iron Giant�
Publication Date: September 2008
$35.00; paper; 240 pages; 8� x 10�
240 color images; CD included
ISBN: 978-1-879505-97-1
Silman-James Press, Los Angeles

-- Posted July 23, 2008