Mar 20, 2007

Disney's Tips on Animation, part 1



the Disney Animation Kit--an Ebay item I unfortunately didn't win about a month ago: this example shows what a swell item it really was for kids wanting to try their hand at the art of animation. The question is--why didn't Disney keep this sort of thing available for the next 30 years? I would have killed for one myself, but by the time I was old enough to read they were long gone.

Dan Jenkins, a reader of the Diaries and a serious collector of cool Disney items, has offered to share scans of the rest of the series of booklets that were sold both in the Disneyland's Art Corner in the early 1960s and as part of an incredibly cool "animation kit" that from the looks of this wasn't half bad. Herewith is the first of a series of posts of these fun "How to" books, "Tips On Animation"--and thanks, Dan!











Remember to click the images to open them in a larger window. More to follow.

5 comments:

Matterhorn1959 said...

This is one of my favorite pieces in my collection. I spent years trying to find one that was complete after owning one with missing pieces. Kids could do some animation on the sheet and actually send them in to Disney to have Disney film them and return to them their film with their animation. Very cool and thanks to Dan for sharing.

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Veeery interesting! All the more so because it's earnest and doesn't talk down to kids, as you noted above! Thanks for putting it up!

Anonymous said...

Your article on the Animation Kit brought back a wave of nostalgia for me. I was one of the original buyers back in 1956 and still have the books.

I bought a few cels, too. (With litho backgrounds). They were about $5. which was a lot of money for a 15 year-old.

I did a couple of pencil tests and sent them onto the Disney studio to be shot. They sent them back with a nice letter saying my animation was the best they had seen from all the Animation Kit owners.

That got me started and I have been a professional animator now for 36 years.

Tom Roth

Jesse Stormer said...

Hey, there is a newer version of this "Animation Kit" that was released in '99 and written by Disney animator Don Hahn. After finding this post I dug it out and took a closer look at it.

Scott Lund aka BeerBuddha said...

Endearing and exciting to read your article while I was researching my Walt Disney Animation Kit, and which I did just put up on Ebay (12/15/17). I appreciate your time and the other bloggers who in writing about the importance of it helped me figure out what I had and how precious it is. I am excited and regretful to see it sell but I know there are others who will cherish it more than I as it is a couple years before my time(and yours.) As such, if you or a true lover of it and are interested it or the extra, "Tips on Animation" 15 page book that came with it (Your pictures here only show 8 pgs,) feel free to send me a message by asking a question on the Ebay listing itself to keep it on the up and up and I'll gladly work it out for you so you do not miss this one like your last. Also, Jeffery Pepper @Hyperion Blog-spot was also a great help so I sent him a very similar comment on his site. Thank You Again for your time and your help, Scott PS If parts of this comment are inappropriate, please by all means delete or do not publish it...at least you know. Cheers!