Susannah Shaw | Animation Training

Susannah Shaw is an animation training consultant for clients including Skillset and the University of the West of England. She is also programme developer for Animated Exeter, a festival that takes place annually in the South West of England and is the author of Stop Motion, Craft Skills for Model Animation.
She originally trained in Fine Art, and became involved in animation and filmmaking, as a freelance camera assistant in live film and stop-motion animation, working on and off at Aardman since the early 1980s.

Stop Motion, Craft Skills for Animation
2nd Edition published February 2008

by Focal Press, an imprint of Elsevier.
ISBN 978-0-240-52055-1

The new edition of Stop Motion, Craft Skills for Model Animation is bigger and hopefully better than the first edition. There is new information on modelmaking: a simple example of a wire and balsa wood puppet - a really cool little monkey courtesy of Cat and Gary at the wonderful Scary Cat Studio, plus a masterclass from them on the making of the Duracell Bunny. New is a masterclass/conversation on animation with another very sweet little monkey, pure coincidence, by the amazing Teresa Drilling. New also is Gareth Owen's invaluable description of production management on a Creature Comforts shoot at Aardman. Out, sadly, goes information on filmmaking, no room for this in our lives anymore. And in, of course, much more information on shooting digitally. The feedback I was getting was that the original book was a little scary for first timers. In essence, the book should be more useful now to students and teachers.

'...a mine of information. This book gives an unrivalled technical overview of the subject.' The Times Higher Education Supplement.

'A wonderful introduction to a rather complicated and unique artform.' Ray Harryhausen

'Practical, informative and full of quotes from key characters in the story of the stop-frame industry. I wish I'd had this book when I was a student.' Joan Ashworth, Head of Animation, Royal College of Art.