Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation

by Tom Sito

Computer graphics (or CG) has changed the way we experience the art of moving images. Computer graphics is the difference between Steamboat Willie and Buzz Lightyear, between ping pong and PONG . It began in 1963 when an MIT graduate student named Ivan Sutherland created Sketchpad, the first true computer animation program. Sutherland "Since motion can be put into Sketchpad drawings, it might be exciting to try making cartoons." This book, the first full-length history of CG, shows us how Sutherland's seemingly offhand idea grew into a multibillion dollar industry. In Moving Innovation , Tom Sito -- himself an animator and industry insider for more than thirty years -- describes the evolution of CG. His story features a memorable cast of characters -- math nerds, avant-garde artists, cold warriors, hippies, video game enthusiasts, and studio disparate types united by a common vision. Sito shows us how fifty years of work by this motley crew made movies like Toy Story and Avatar possible.

Genres: Art

362 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Al Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was bit drier than I had hoped it would be. It is very much a list of names and dates. Good history perhaps, but like any history textbook not terribly entertaining. Then again I suspect entertainment was not Tom's objective.

[Mills College Library]

777.709 S6236 2013