Oh my goodness I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.
I bought a bunch of books from amazon that were recommended to me from the people at Pixar as well as my colleagues at work and I'm stunned at how much I am learning and I've only just begun.
I have been learning so much it is ridiculous. Anything that is vaguely explained in classes at school is explained in full detail in these books.
Here are the books I've read that have helped me greatly:
Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams
The Hero with 1000 Faces by Joseph Campbell
Exploring Storyboarding by Wendy Tumminello
The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris
Animation Unleashed by Besen and Hallett
I also have The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation yet to read. That is what I am about to read next.
On my future list to get are:
STORY by Robert McKee
Drawn to Life by Walt Stanchfield
Dream Worlds by Hans Bacher
Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right by Jason Osipa
There are more that I just can't remember right now but I am sure to get those too.
If you're out there thinking that you can just take school courses in Animation and know everything you need to know then you're completely missing out on so many broad ideas and knowledge on the subject from other people in the industry. Your profs aren't the be all and end all. There's so much to learn that they just can't teach you everything in the short amount of time they have to do so. 2 or 3 years isn't enough. You have to read it. I'm certainly glad that I did.
