Foreword by Lynn Johnston
Preface: Driving the Jet Plane

Chapter 1: Animation's Basic Movements: The Bouncing Ball and the Pendulum
Outer Space: Defining and Distorting Volumes
Inner Space: Defining and Distorting Time
A Brief History of Time
Acting: The Beginning
The Line of Action and the Arc

Chapter 2: Designs That Animate
'Look Ma, No Hands!' Animating Snakes, Worms, and Other Crawlers
An Introduction to Thumbnails
Good Actors: Designs That Animate

Chapter 3: Setting the Stage: Character and Story Context
Don't Just Do Something...
Every Move You Make: Analyzing the Character
Character Volume, Size and Movement

Chapter 4: Is Sex Necessary?
Masculine and Feminine Character Acting
The Ages of Man (And Woman)
An Introduction to Dialogue Animation

Chapter 5: Animal Actors
Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better? Creating Animal Characters
Flights of Information: Animating Winged Characters
Portraying Animal Qualities in Human Characters

Chapter 6: Fantastic Performance!
Natural Inspirations for the Supernatural
Floating Worlds: The Weightless Actor

Chapter 7: The Performer as Object
Moving the Furniture: Bringing Inanimate Objects to Life
Material Girl: Fabric and Cloth Characters

Chapter 8: Double Timing: Animating Character Interactions
Staging and Composition Changing Leads in Multiple-Character Scenes
Jazz Hands: Acting Out Your Scenes without Using Your Body
Potemkin Villages: Crowd Scenes and How to Fake Them

Chapter 9: Character Development Over Time
Character and Story Arcs
Inspiration and Reference

Index
Acknowledgements