Revised version of “Timing for Animation” now features the best of the past & the future

Jim Hill

15 years ago

Last week, the International Animated Film Society revealed who was in the running for this year’s Annies (which are the animation industry’s equivalent of the Academy Awards). And among those singled out for recognition this time around were writer, teacher, animator, historian and all-around-nice-guy Tom Sito. Who – on February 6, 2010 – will receive the June Foray Award for his “ … significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation.”

Tom Sito standing outside of the Smithsonian, leaning against
words that every good animator should try and live by

To my way of thinking, the guys at ASIFA-Hollywood honestly couldn’t have made a better choice when it comes to this year’s June Foray Award. For more than 3 decades now, Sito has been incredibly generous with his time and talent. Just ask any of the animators that Tom has taught and/or counseled over the years about how freely the President-Emeritus of Hollywood Animation Guild 839 IATSE has shared the lessons that he learned while working with giants like Shamus Culhane, Art Babbitt and Richard Williams.

Yeah, Sito truly values the lessons of the past (Which is just what you’d expect from the author of 2006’s “Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson”). But at the same time, as the storyboard supervisor of “Shrek,” Tom understands how CG has fundamentally changed how animation is done these days.

Which is why Focal Press couldn’t have picked a better guy to update & revise Harold Whitaker & John Halas’ “Timing for Animation.” Which – since it was originally published back in March of 1981 – has long been considered one of the bibles of the industry. The only trouble is that the original “Timing for Animation” strictly focuses on hand-drawn technique. Sito’s job was to keep what was good about the 1^st edition while – at the same time – drag Whitaker & Halas’ how-to book into 2009.

And for the most part, Tom has succeeded. What has made “Timing for Animation” so popular over the past 28 years (i.e. its down-to-earth approach, its crystal-clear instructions) are still in place. What Sito has done (with a very light touch, I might add) is folded in new material that then made this 176-page paperback relevant for the modern digital workforce.

In the end, this updated & revised version of “Timing for Animation” still features all of the great lessons that Whitaker & Halas handed down (EX: How Newton’s Laws of Motion should come into play while you’re animating a figure).

Or how good character animation is “ … not merely the copying of life, it is the caricature of life, life plussed … (Which is why) human reactions and human reactions in (your characters) must be exaggerated, sometimes simplified, and distorted in order to achieve a dramatic or comic effect in (a) cartoon.”

As Sito was updating & revising this paperback, he left in place all of the lessons that any good animator needs to know (like how to draw a good flight cycle for a bird) …

… while adding illustrations that explain how live actors are translated from 2D rendered characters to 3D digital images in performance capture projects like Columbia Pictures’ “Monster House.”

Sito even talks about what one should take into consideration when animating for the Web. How “small, visceral bits with simple designs and staging will read better” when viewed on “a hand-held computer or phone.”

The end result is that “Timing for Animation” now features the best of the past & the future. Which is why the 2^nd edition of this Focal Press how-to book would be a first class Christmas present for any beginning animator that you may have on your holiday shopping list.

And speaking of the holidays … If you’re planning on doing any Christmas shopping on Amazon.com this year, could you please do JHM a favor and – before you begin your online bargain hunting – click on the banner above?

If you do that … Well, Jim Hill Media then gets a teeny tiny chunk of whatever you spend. Which would be a very nice way to show your appreciation for all of the great stories that you’ve read on this website over the past year.

Happy Holidays!