If the only difference between your career and Walt Disney’s is lack of talent, fear no more! Maverick animation guru Walter Santucci is your knight in shining armor by way of his new book The Guerrilla Guide to Animation: Making Animated Films Outside the Mainstream.
Santucci’s book is an irreverent manual on crashing the professional animation party. Of course, artists and non-artists alike will benefit from the tips and life lessons in the manual. But Santucci clearly has a soft spot for those who are a bit artistically challenged, at least in the classic, life-drawing sense. Perhaps the reason is that Santucci himself started (and somewhat continues) his career as a non-conformist, untraditional artiste. In fact, the Guide is a love letter (albeit a lengthy one complete with detailed technical instruction) to the lad or lass in his or her bedroom creating and posting rudimentary animation on YouTube. Santucci gently directs these kinds of animators on improving his or her skills to perhaps one day earn money from them.
To Santucci, some of the best tools of the trade are free or at the very least, priceless: pens, Post-Its, scissors, humor, good ideas, and GREAT ideas. Given that, it is not surprising that Santucci reveres the minimalist cut-and-paste approach of Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame! Santucci does venture into more expensive territory with explanations of animation desks, computer hardware, Flash, After Effects, and various sound recording software applications. But the most informative section of the book – entitled “Anecdotal Section” – is just that: stories from the trenches and real-life tales of survival in shark-infested Hollywood waters. Santucci's juicy stories include those from his work at Klasky Csupo and Stone Stanley, and on major feature films, such as "The Punisher" and "In Her Shoes." In fact, the tabloid fodder, ahem, true stories is definitely the most entertaining section of the book; one might even say it is worth the price of admission!
Overall, the Guerrilla Guide . . . is an easy and fun read for those in search of a down-and-dirty approach to animation film making. The book would benefit from a more comprehensive menu or index, but it is otherwise a pleasure to digest!
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