If Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs represented the Animation industry’s infancy, Ed Hooks thinks that the current production line of big-budget features is its artistically awkward adolescence. While a well-funded marketing machine can conceal structural flaws, uneven performances and superfluous characters, the importance of crafted storytelling will only grow in importance as animation becomes a broader, more accessible art form. Craft Notes for Animators analyses specific films – including Frozen and Despicable Me – to explain the secrets of creating truthful stories and believable characters. It is an essential primer for the for tomorrow’s industry leaders and animation artists.

Ed Hooks has a 30 year acting career on stage and screen, and runs acting classes and acting for animators classes in the US, Europe and Asia. He has taught at over 50 companies and institutions, including Electronic Arts, Walt Disney Studios, Valve, Blizzard and 7 consecutive years at Swansea Institute (SAND).