Monday, February 13, 2006

Creating Characters with Personality!


Just got this book in from Amazon today. Wow, I love it! It's the best book out there on character design. Tom Bancroft, the author, started out at Disney Animation, and has worked for tons of clients over the years. I did a pinup for his comic book, Opposite Forces, a few years back, and had the pleasure of meeting him for lunch one day when he still lived here in Orlando. I'm happy to say that not only is he incredibly talented, but he's also a really, really nice guy. Turns out we knew a lot of the same people, including my good friend, Steve Silver (another character designer, of Kim Possible fame). Tom actually mentioned this book to me back then. He'd just begun working on it.

His book is now a great addition to my ever-growing library, and I HIGHLY reccommend it to any cartoonist, whether you be a caricaturist, animator, comic strip artist, comic book artist, etc, etc. Not only is it the best character design book out there, but it, along with the Ben Caldwell Action!Cartooning books, are the best cartoon how-to books out there, period , in my opinion (don't even get me started about how much I dislike most of the Christopher Hart books). You really owe it to yourself to purchase one. Thanks for writing it, Tom!

4 comments:

Tom Bancroft said...

Wow, thanks for the nice words Keelan! Especially comparing the book to the Ben Caldwell books, that is a compliment! Thanks for the plugs, you're the best!

Keelan Parham said...

No problem, Tom. I meant every word. Maybe we can catch some more Mexican food next time you're back in O-town for
a visit! God Bless!

Kenny Durkin said...

Ordered. Definitely ordered. Waiting impatiently for it's arrival...

Anonymous said...

must....have...this... book...

christoper hart books are only good for skribble-rip n tear books for my 3 year old..and only when i get them for free, or find them on the bus..