[BOOK] The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation

The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation is a brilliant book which takes us through the history of Peanuts Animation, from A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 to Happiness is a Warm Blanket in 2011. Although I have never really mentioned Peanuts animation before during the animation process, it is a big influence for the animated characters in my story, Peanuts animation is very simplistic as it follows the traditions of the comic strips, simplistically.

One of the great things about this book is that it not only talks about the stories that have been animated, but it also shows the pre-production, such as scripts, storyboards, concept art and character models, to the post production of more recent Peanuts animated films. I want May the Cat to have a simplicity to her that is often seen in the Peanuts animated features, I personally believe that Peanuts creates simplicity very well, as sometimes, simplicity can be the downfall for an animation. One of the great things about this book is that it has examples of character walk-cycles, this is something I have been searching for for a while as Peanuts have very distinct and very simplistic walk-cycles for their characters, this sis something I will study alot during the production of my animation.

Overall, this is a fantastic book and a great read, it is lighthearted and is a brilliant trip down memory lane. The art which is featured in the book is perfect, ranging from concept art from the first ever peanuts animation, to some of the scripts with all the notes intact.

"You can watch one-hundred-million-dollar movies that espouse the virtues of humility and simplicity, but in A Charlie Brown Christmas, you have something that actually is simple. Everything about the production of the cartoon espouses the virtues of the cartoon. That's an incredibly rare thing." - Doug Sweetland (2012)