Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Animated Performance shows how a character can seemingly 'come to life' when their movements reflect the emotional or narrative context of their situation: when they start to 'perform'.The many tips, examples and exercises from a veteran of the animation industry will help readers harness the flexibility of animation to portray a limitless variety of characters and ensure that no two performances are ever alike. More than 300 color illustrations demonstrate how animal and fantasy characters can live and move without losing their non-human qualities and interviews with Disney animators Art Babbitt, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Ellen Woodbury make this a unique insight into bringing a whole world of characters to life.New to the second edition: A new chapter with introductory exercises to introduce beginner animators to the the world of animated acting; dozens of new assignments and examples focusing on designing and animating fantasy and animal characters.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Foreword
• Preface: Driving the Jet Plane
• Chapter 1 Animation's Basic Movements: The Bouncing Ball and the Pendulum
• Outer Space: Defining and Distorting Volumes
• Inner Space: Defining and Distorting Time
• A Brief History of Time
• Acting: The Beginning
• The Line of Action and the Arc
• Chapter 2 Designs That Animate
• 'Look Ma, No Hands!' Animating Snakes, Worms, and Other Crawlers
• An Introduction to Thumbnails
• Good Actors: Designs That Animate
• Chapter 3 Setting the Stage: Character and Story Context
• Don't Just Do Something
• Every Move You Make: Analyzing the Character
• Character Volume, Size and Movement
• Chapter 4 Is Sex Necessary?
• Masculine and Feminine Character Acting
• The Ages of Man (And Woman)
• An Introduction to Dialogue Animation
• Chapter 5 Animal Actors
• Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better? Creating Animal Characters
• Flights of Information: Animating Winged Characters
• Portraying Animal Qualities in Human Characters
• Chapter 6 Fantastic Performance!
• Natural Inspirations for the Supernatural
• Floating Worlds: The Weightless Actor
• Chapter 7 The Performer as Object
• Moving the Furniture: Bringing Inanimate Objects to Life
• Material Girl: Fabric and Cloth Characters
• Chapter 8 Double Timing: Animating Character Interactions
• Staging and Composition Changing Leads in Multiple-Character Scenes
• Jazz Hands: Acting Out Your Scenes without Using Your Body
• Potemkin Villages: Crowd Scenes and How to Fake Them
• Chapter 9 Character Development Over Time
• Character and Story Arcs
• Inspiration and Reference
• Index
• Acknowledgements