The Best Drawing and Animation Books

This is a collection of the books that helped me the most to understand the fundamentals of drawing and animation. If you decide to buy any of these books, please consider supporting me by using the following affiliate links. This way, I would earn a little advertising/referral fee without any extra cost to you 🙇‍♂️

Drawing

Drawing the Head & Hands by Andrew Loomis. One of the most used methods to draw the human head from any angle, which can be adapted to any art style!
Figure Drawing: Design and Invention by Michael Hampton. One of the best books to draw the human figure in any pose, with in-depth lessons about line work, form, and simplified anatomy.
Anatomy for Sculptors by Uldis Zarins and Sandis Kondrats. The anatomy of the whole human body explained in a practical and visually easy-to-understand manner.

Animation

The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams. The Nº 1 book to learn the fundamentals for all kinds of animation!
Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair. Learn the fundamentals of animation and draw easy characters from simple forms, by one of the main animator's of Disney's Fantasia.
The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. The fundamental book that stablished the 12 principles of animation, by two of the main animators at Disney during the Golden Age of the company.
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Santiago Astor – Illustration and Animation 2025 . Powered by WordPress