Focal Press adds a new star to its brightening constellation of superb Animation titles: The Tradigital series. Tradigital titles bridge the gap between animating with a particular software tool and applying the twelve principles of animation to your work.

The 12 basic principles of animation were introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, who wanted to codify the efforts of the leading Disney animators from the 1930s onwards to produce more realistic animations. The principles mainly teach animators how to create characters that look like they are adhering to the basic laws of physics. The principles also deal with more abstract issues, such as emotional timing and character appeal.

Visit the series webpage at http://www.focalpress.com/tradigital, and check out the next pages for more about Tradigital Maya and Tradigital Blender.

Lee Montgomery presents Tradigital Maya which shows animators how to use the Maya controls, while applying the classical principles of animation and core techniques. Part of the new Tradigital series, the companion site for Tradigital Maya can be found at www.tradigitalmaya.com.

Finally a book that bridges the world of software instruction with the classical principles of animation - for animators. Roland Hess offers the only artistic guide to applying the principles of traditional animation with Blender’s tool set. Part of the new Tradigital series from Focal Press, the companion site for Tradigital Blender can be found at www.tradigitalblender.com.