← the founders library

Animated Cartoons: How They Are Made, Their Origin and Development

E.G. Lutz

Book content checked: . What this means

Buy a copy
Amazon USAmazon UKAmazon DE

These are Amazon affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Founder connections

  • Walt DisneyInfluential book
    “Finding that book was one of the most important and useful events in my life.”
    Historian Jim Korkis reproduces Disney’s account of finding the book in the Kansas City library. The Walt Disney Family Museum also records that he studied it and used its methods.
    Source

Summary

E. G. Lutz explains how early animated cartoons were made. First published in 1920, the illustrated manual covers the making of moving drawings, human and animal movement, camera work and other technical steps.

It also considers humour, plots and the use of animation in education. Its methods belong to an early period of filmmaking, but it gives a close view of how a new medium’s practical craft was taught.

  • SourceE. G. Lutz: Animated Cartoons, original public-domain text · 1920 title page, Introduction and Contents chapters III–XI

Why read it Our view

Read it to see how clear technical instruction can help someone begin in a new field. Disney’s use of Lutz’s work gives a concrete example of learning methods and testing them in practice. Consider which parts of your own craft need direct study, and which need experiments.