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Discovering Animation Manuals: Their Place and Role in the History of Animation

Discovering Animation Manuals: Their Place and Role in the History of Animation This article explores the history of animation manuals in the United States from the 1940s to the present. It argues that this history can be divided into three major periods that correspond to changes in technique, profession and industry. From the post-War period until the 1980s, manuals reflected the hegemony of hand-drawn animation, closely bound to studio production and an apprenticeship training system. At the end of the 1970s, the rise of computer animation led to a new type of guidebook, addressing a growing convergence of computational training and new requirements introduced by the animation industry. Finally, since the turn of the century, manuals have sought to combine hand-drawn skills with digital tools, re-negotiating tradition and novelty in a diversified professional environment. Therefore, manuals are situated at a changing nexus of professional identity and training, techniques and technology, aesthetics and modes of production. In this article, the author argues that their integration within the history of animation will prove beneficial to researchers. Nevertheless, manuals are not innocent sources, but reflect discursive positions that shape the very history in which they take part. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal SAGE

Discovering Animation Manuals: Their Place and Role in the History of Animation

Lamotte, Coralie
Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal , Volume 17 (1): 17 – Mar 1, 2022
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Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022
ISSN
1746-8477
eISSN
1746-8485
DOI
10.1177/17468477221080112
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article explores the history of animation manuals in the United States from the 1940s to the present. It argues that this history can be divided into three major periods that correspond to changes in technique, profession and industry. From the post-War period until the 1980s, manuals reflected the hegemony of hand-drawn animation, closely bound to studio production and an apprenticeship training system. At the end of the 1970s, the rise of computer animation led to a new type of guidebook, addressing a growing convergence of computational training and new requirements introduced by the animation industry. Finally, since the turn of the century, manuals have sought to combine hand-drawn skills with digital tools, re-negotiating tradition and novelty in a diversified professional environment. Therefore, manuals are situated at a changing nexus of professional identity and training, techniques and technology, aesthetics and modes of production. In this article, the author argues that their integration within the history of animation will prove beneficial to researchers. Nevertheless, manuals are not innocent sources, but reflect discursive positions that shape the very history in which they take part.

Journal

Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal – SAGE

Published: Mar 1, 2022

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