ANIMATION ANARCHY: THE ART COLLEGE CRASH COURSE – LESSON 13
ANIMATION ANARCHY: THE ART COLLEGE CRASH COURSE – LESSON 13
(Or: Why You’ll Never Escape Richard Williams’ Ghost)
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🔥 WELCOME BACK TO ANIMATION ANARCHY – WHERE ART SCHOOL LIES GET BURNED TO THE GROUND 🔥
This is Animation Anarchy. The blog where we:
✅ Expose the animation industry’s cruelest truths.
✅ Teach you what actually matters.
✅ Prepare you for the inevitable moment when you realize Richard Williams haunts every animator.
I wasted six figures on an art education, and now I’m giving it all away for free—because if I had to cry over The Animator’s Survival Kit, you might as well get something useful from my suffering.
🚨 SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL NOW 👉https://www.youtube.com/@mrbraylabs
(Unless you enjoy learning animation the hard way.)
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LESSON 13: THE ANIMATOR’S SURVIVAL KIT – WHY YOU’LL NEVER ESCAPE RICHARD WILLIAMS’ GHOST
(Or: How This One Book Will Make or Break Your Animation Dreams)
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🎨 CONGRATULATIONS! YOU WANT TO LEARN ANIMATION? GOOD LUCK.
At some point, every aspiring animator stumbles upon this cursed tome:
🚨 The Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard Williams. 🚨
It’s the bible of animation.
It’s the best book ever written on the subject.
It’s also a soul-destroying reminder that you know NOTHING.
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🔥 WHAT’S INSIDE THIS BOOK (BESIDES ANIMATOR TEARS)
📖 500+ pages of mind-blowing animation knowledge.
🎭 Detailed breakdowns of movement, acting, and timing.
🕳️ An existential crisis waiting to happen.
Every animator goes through The Five Stages of The Animator’s Survival Kit:
1️⃣ DENIAL – “THIS LOOKS EASY ENOUGH.”
• You open the book.
• The first few pages are simple.
• “I get it! Squash and stretch, anticipation, blah blah blah…”
🚨 WRONG. 🚨
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2️⃣ SHOCK – “WAIT, I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT EVERY SINGLE FRAME?”
• You hit the section on walk cycles.
• Suddenly, you’re staring at 18-step breakdowns of a single movement.
• You realize animation isn’t about drawing—it’s about thinking like a robot from the future.
• Panic sets in.
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3️⃣ BARGAINING – “IF I JUST SKIP TO THE FUN PARTS, I’LL BE FINE.”
• You flip past all the physics-heavy pages.
• You try to jump straight to acting and performance.
• Then you realize you don’t even know how to make a character take a normal step.
• You quietly go back to page one.
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4️⃣ DEPRESSION – “I WILL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS THE EXAMPLES IN THIS BOOK.”
• You attempt your first Richard Williams-approved walk cycle.
• It looks like a haunted marionette trying to escape its own existence.
• You consider switching careers.
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5️⃣ ACCEPTANCE – “I GUESS I’LL JUST KEEP ANIMATING UNTIL I DIE.”
• You accept that animation is suffering.
• You realize The Animator’s Survival Kit is your new best friend and worst enemy.
• You start animating, knowing Richard Williams is watching your every mistake from beyond the grave.
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🔥 THE MOST PAINFUL BUT IMPORTANT LESSONS FROM THIS BOOK
🚨 1. WALK CYCLES ARE HARDER THAN ROCKET SCIENCE.
• A “simple” walk cycle isn’t actually simple.
• Every step needs weight, balance, timing, and personality.
• If you mess up one frame, your character turns into a glitching NPC.
🔥 HOW TO SURVIVE:
✅ Master the four main poses: Contact, Down, Passing, Up.
✅ Use reference. No one expects you to invent physics from scratch.
✅ Start with a basic walk before you try to add personality.
🚨 COMMON FAIL:
❌ A character walking like they’re sliding on ice.
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🚨 2. TIMING IS EVERYTHING.
• Too slow? Looks lifeless.
• Too fast? Looks hyperactive.
• Perfect timing? Looks like magic.
🔥 HOW TO SURVIVE:
✅ Use more frames to slow down, fewer frames to speed up.
✅ Observe real-life movement and break it down.
✅ Remember: Every frame matters.
🚨 COMMON FAIL:
❌ A character jumps but lands instantly like gravity just rage-quit.
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🚨 3. ACTING & PERFORMANCE > TECHNICAL PERFECTION
• Great animation isn’t about “perfect” movement—it’s about emotion.
• If a character isn’t engaging, nobody cares how smooth the motion is.
• Even a simple head tilt can add personality.
🔥 HOW TO SURVIVE:
✅ Focus on what your character is thinking.
✅ Make poses strong and clear.
✅ Don’t animate in a vacuum—always think about WHY a character moves.
🚨 COMMON FAIL:
❌ A beautifully animated scene where the character’s face is dead inside.
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🔥 WHY THIS BOOK WILL HAUNT YOU FOREVER
No matter how long you animate, The Animator’s Survival Kit will:
💀 Always be relevant.
💀 Always show you something new you missed the first time.
💀 Always remind you that Richard Williams was on another level.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, a professional, or the ghost of Walt Disney himself—this book will follow you.
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🔥 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK WITHOUT HAVING A FULL BREAKDOWN
1️⃣ Don’t try to read it cover to cover.
• Use it as a reference, not a novel.
2️⃣ Start with the basics.
• Walk cycles, timing, weight—master these before getting fancy.
3️⃣ Steal like an artist.
• Copy the exercises and learn WHY they work.
4️⃣ Use it as a reminder, not a rulebook.
• Even pros don’t get everything perfect.
🚨 THE SECRET: This book isn’t meant to intimidate you—it’s meant to guide you. 🚨
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🔥 FINAL THOUGHTS: YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE THIS BOOK, BUT THAT’S A GOOD THING
Here’s the truth:
🎨 If you’re serious about animation, you need this book.
💀 It will make you question your life choices, but it will also make you better.
🚀 If you keep learning from it, you will become a better animator than 90% of people who give up.
And if all else fails, just flip through the pages and pretend you understand.
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🚨 THE SOLUTION: JUST WATCH THIS SERIES INSTEAD.
I wasted six figures so you don’t have to.
🔥 Next lesson drops soon!
🔥 Subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss it:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/@mrbraylabs👈
💀 COMING NEXT: Lesson 14 – Lip Sync: How to Make Your Character Talk Without Looking Like a Horror Movie Puppet
💬 Drop a comment: What’s the most painful animation lesson you’ve learned from The Animator’s Survival Kit? 🎨💀😂
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🚨 ANIMATION ANARCHY STARTS NOW. 🚨
🚀 The revolution will not be graded.
