An old one , but a good one : The Training of a Golden Age Animator

Looking through some notes today I found a link to a couple of old posts on other people's blogs that are worth reading for any of you animation students (and worth reading for those of us who have been around the business for a while) .

The first is an article on the ASIFA Animation Archive called "The Training of a Golden Age Animator" , which came about when the director of the ASIFA Animation Archive, Steve Worth, was asking himself the question: "What sort of education did golden age animators have? "

Steve posts some examples from the life of master animator Carlo Vinci.

The essay , "The Training of a Golden Age Animator" should be read and taken to heart by all of us who would be students of the art of animation.

The second bit of wisdom I have for you was posted by Will Finn : A Letter From Ward Kimball.   

When he was in High School the young Mr. Finn wrote to Disney animator Ward Kimball for advice about getting into the animation field. Kimball's letter, written in typical iconoclastic Kimball style, is a very sage piece of advice and despite the breezy style conveys that Kimball respected and cared for young animators or wannabe animators like Will Finn (who in fact went on to become one of our finest contemporary animators) .

Here is the reply that Ward Kimball sent to Will Finn:

Kimball letter to Finn

Good reading.