Top Ten Holiday Gift Ideas for Animators

This is a gift giving guide for any one who knows an animator or someone who is aspiring to be one. While there are both traditional and computer-based animators, I think that no matter which medium an animator works in, that the following gifts would be a fantastic addition to their repertoire of reference and tools.

1. 12 Field Port-a-Trace with Pegbar
This is basically a light box that is big enough for animation bond, and comes with a build-in pegbar for punched animation paper. It runs about $110 and would be a fantastic gift to give someone aspiring to be an animator. This is a really good deal. Light boxes in general are very expensive and this one comes with a pegbar. Also the Port-a-Trace brand is one of the best brands of light boxes that you can buy without spending an arm and a leg.

The only draw back is if you don't have access to a traditional Acme punch, the pegbar won't do you much good. A traditional acme punch will punch holes in the paper in a rectangle-round-rectangle pattern. If the person you are buying the gift for is in college for animation this should be a problem as most animation schools have traditional punches. You probably won't want to buy a traditional Acme punch, as they run about $600. The other option is to buy a plain light box and glue a ¼ inch circle pegbar to it.

2. The Art of Rigging, Vol. 1-3
These books can only be found from the people who made them, CG Toolkit. These would be a great gift for anyone who is into the technical side of computer animation. I would recommend it only for the advanced student or the professional. They run about $70 a piece with shipping and are not only the best, but the only books on advanced character rigging.

3. Tombow Animation Pencils
These really leave me drooling to tell you the truth. These were the brand of pencils that were preferred by Warner Bros. Feature Animation for their high quality. They are imported from Japan and run about $12. The quality of a pencil is important, because low grade pencils tend to be overly shiny the softer they are. That is definitely something an artist wants to avoid.

4. The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
This book is a must read for anyone aspiring to be an animator. It was written by two of Disney's famous 'nine old men,' the original animators who worked personally with Walt Disney.

5. Learning Autodesk Maya 8 - Foundation
This book is for the newbie to computer animation in Maya. It starts from the ground up and gets the beginner student started in 3D by walking them through various tutorials and letting them get some hands on experience in Maya 8. If the student doesn't have a copy of Maya, a learning version (with watermarks) can be downloaded from the Autodesk website.

6. Maya 8
If your student is really serious and wants be able to create work without a watermark, perhaps you should consider buying them a copy of Maya 8. While the commercial version is abhorrently expensive, at about two thousand dollars, the student version can be purchased for about $290 through a discount student software website. You will be required to prove that you or the person you are purchasing it for is a student by providing a student ID. You should be wary of software scams and only buy from reputable resellers. One good website is Academic Superstore and their web address is listed below.

7. Mohawk 12 Field Animation Paper
This is the kind of paper that professionals use, but at a student price. It runs about $22 for a ream of five hundred sheets. Five hundred sheets will produce about twenty seconds of animation, and that's a lot of drawing!

8. ¼" Round Hole Paper Punch
This is for punching holes in the animation bond so that the paper retains a proper registration when you are drawing on it. This type of punch is the cheapest and runs about $90, however it is not compatible with traditional pegbars, which as I stated above have a rectangle-circle-rectangle pattern. These are three circles instead of the traditional pattern. They do sell pegbars to fit this type of punch, you just have to make sure you order the correct type.

9. Glenn Vilppu Drawing Manual
This is often a required book for beginning animators and life drawing students. It covers a lot of anatomy for animation and how to make your human characters look better.

10. The Human Figure in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge
This is an absolute must for any animator who needs to study human motion. At the end of the nineteenth century, Muybridge photographed people hundreds of time doing all kinds of activities. It is a great reference whether you need to do a walk cycle or show someone throwing something. It breaks down the motion into still images. Despite the fact that these images are over a hundred years old, almost all of the animators I know have referred to them at one time or another. There is also a volume on animals.