These are random quotes that I've collected from around the place. Many of these were taken from interviews on the web. If you know the URL of an unlinked quote please let me know. They are in no particular order.

Gene Deitch - Academy Award winning animator:
From How To Succeed in Animation
"Make yourself valuable and wanted. That's the overall first step. Know what you are doing, and prove it long enough so that you yourself are a valuable commodity - that producers want you. There is no substitute for becoming a "name." How do you do that?
- Keep up with what's going on in popular culture, and in the animation field itself.
- Improve your skills.
- Learn to sniff out trends, and try to think of what might be the next step.
- Try not to be just a follower, but think about how you can make a mark with something fresh and new. But also think about what your client or prospective client wants and needs.
- Don't risk crazy ideas unless you really have the facts and solid theory of why you think your idea will fly, and that you can make it fly. Not easy, but you will be surprised what benefits thinking and thorough preparation can bring!"

Quicken the pulse
'Does it really matter if a film is a technical milestone if it fails to quicken the pulse?' - DLF newsgroup member

Chis Landreth - Bingo
Q. Where do you see the industry going in the next five years?
A. The direction I'm particularly interested is one in which CG technology becomes more cheap, more 'democratised'. The result will be that individuals, not just large studios, will soon be able to develop huge works of art, such as CG feature films, on their own. In non-CG animation you see this already with people such as Bill Plympton producing one-person film projects. I look forward to seeing similar projects from inspired individuals using tools such as Maya, in the next few years.
Q. What words of wisdom do you have for anyone interested in entering the world of 3D computer graphics?
A. Be true to yourself. Know yourself. Do it for the love of it.

Jason Wen - Sigraph winning short film F8
If you want to do filmmaking, look at art, and everything and use that as a good learning experience. People in my school seemed uninterested in art classes and they took them because they had to. But actually they are very beneficial. Watch a lot of films and movies and if you decide you really want to do it, then go for it and stop talking about it. Take life drawing, photography, and art history.

Alonzo - Cinematographer (from American Cinematographer)
"Alonzo was an adventurous and fearless filmmaker with an insatiable curiosity. He was usually among the first to test and embrace new ideas, and bend them to his purposes."

Hoch patiently explained that he couldn't express himself as an artist until he mastered the craft. During that period, Alonzo frequently relied on both Crosby and Howe for advice. He said that Howe, in particular, pushed him to learn the fundamentals of the craft. "He assured me the instincts would come from within."

Before you can apply the innate talent you are born with, you need a fundamental understanding of the science of your craft.

Dave Hand, Disney Animator, Illusion Of Life pg. 66
"When I was directing I used to say to the animators, 'will you do something for me?' Will you make it so extreme that you make me mad?' "

Bill Kroyer, Rythym and Hues' animation supervisor on Cats and Dogs
"The whole idea of putting a soul in a character is the thing that an animator lives for. It really is a god like feeling to start with an inanimate object and do something to give it a life"
"So at the end of the day we really don't care what [a character] looks like as long as it connects with you; as long as it moves emotionally; as long as you believe [it contains] a soul."

on the Academy awards: " I think there is a natural tendency among viewers to consider exceptional craftsmanship, but in the end, we are judging the intangible: entertainment."

Mark Brierley - columnist 3d festival.com
Do what needs to be done with less, and let "Maximise the minimal!" be your rallying cry!

Andy Miller - columnist 3d festival.com
'Is animation about reality?' 'Are games about polygon count?', and the answer to both questions was 'NO!'. Both areas are about immersion, and the suspension of disbelief. Animation is primarily about storytelling - first, foremost and always.

KJ Wrights - CG-Char post
"Tell me that the piece green fabric with eyes and a mouth that is Kermit, is not one of the finest examples of a simple looking character at its strongest, and I'll pig-slap ya in the style of his equally daunting 'lady-friend!' "

Ron Brinkmann (author of The Art and Science of Digital Compositing)
"Remember, the bottom line is that all the technical considerations are unimportant when confronted with the question of "Does it look right?" Obviously this is a subjective judgment, and a good compositor able to make these decisions will always be in high demand."

Pixar Monsters Inc Interview
"They brought together people with different talents who could work together as a team. The film was created through the sharing and cooperation (!) of all these elements, rather than by having a strong dictatorial director."

"We would take it to a point where we were comfortable with it (Monsters inc) and we would pitch it to those guys and they would punch holes in it in a friendly way. We'd make it stronger and then when we were all comfortable with it, we would take it down to Disney and present it to Tom Schumacher (president of Walt Disney Feature Animation) and Peter Schneider and they would knock holes in it. We would go back and fix it again and the whole process repeats and repeats for 5 years, and now we are done. You build up thick skin as you tend to take it fairly personally. Nobody means it personally as you're talking about the film, but you really invest a lot of yourself. It's a tough process."

Ricky Nierva from Pixar - Visual Development Artist
Maurice taught me that when you design, you don't design from the outside in, you design from the inside out. You don't go, "Wow, this is a cool shape, let's put it in the movie." You have to know who the character is, what his favorite foods are, how he relates to and fits into the world. Then you can start designing him. You have to get to know the characters intimately. That's a character that will stay with you and not just be a pretty drawing.

Bobby Beck interview -Pixar animator (web site)
Animation foundation:
In some ways its very ego driven. You have people who aren't willing to listen to their peers. I think a lot of animators feel very protective of their work. When you can find an environment where people are willing to open up, every one's work gets better. Our current room at work is a great example. The gauntlet is down anytime. You can anything about any one's shot and not feel like you are hurting anyone's feelings. The work all around the room has gotten better. We think that's REALLY important.

Bobby:
You know immediately when the ego shifts on. I know it when it happens to me. My friend Carlos put it best. He says when somebody starts to give you feedback, look at your notebook and begin writing everything they say. If you want to make the changes suggested later you can. Your brain doesn't focus on whether they like your work or not. I've been trying to do it. It totally works. You've got to put the ego aside.
Practice. You got to practice like crazy. Basically, that's it. Become more inclined to get feedback. As soon as you let go of the ego, you're going to get better. As soon as you can, show your work and say, "Check out my work. What do you think?" As soon as you get that feedback, you're going to excel. Keep practicing and practicing and then practice some more.

Animation foundation:
Do you think feedback from anyone can be valuable?

Bobby:
Definitely. Yeah, it is almost better to get feedback from people who aren't animators.

Doug Chang - Star Wars
The episode 1 team was one of the finest group of artists and designers. They were the best people in the industry and we formed a strong family bond. We often helped each other, and learned from each other.
I know that as an artist I will never become as accomplished as I want to be
I like to collaborate with others because the ideas only get better. I like to surround myself with extremely talented individuals. The energy in that kind of creative environment is wonderful.

I would advise young designers and artist not to be seduced by the tools - whether they are computers or tradition mediums. I try to encourage people to learn the basics first, learn the foundation skill of good drawing and design, learn color theory and composition, things that are taught in beginning art classes. You can never master them enough.

The tools and technique can be learned but learning to be an artist is more difficult and can take a life time of work. That's an old cliché.
The main objective is to be the best that you can be and not be content. Keep learning, keep striving for more, keep pushing yourself. You need to be your own worst competition and critic ;o)

Glenn Vilppu - on figure drawing
'You have to be emotional about your intellect and intellectual about your emotions.'

`There are no rules, just tools.'

John Lasseter - Pixar
"There are a few moments in my life that I will never forget, and one of them was May 1977 seeing Star Wars at the Chinese Theatre - it was only 2 days old. I remember seeing it and I could not believe a movie could entertain so much. People were of course hyped up to seeing it, but seeing it was thoroughly entertaining. I was shaking at the end of it. I was entertained. I was looking around at the audience of young people and adults and kids and everybody was just screaming. A lot of my friends thought that was the future - you know, special effects and live action, but I said, 'You know what? animation can entertain an audience like this', and I believed it in my heart and soul. And I just always remember thinking, 'Let's take it somewhere it hasn't been'."

"I've learnt to trust our gut. If it feels right we just go with it."

Walt Disney
"for every laugh there should be a tear"

Richard Williams - The Animators Survival Kit
Someone once asked Milt Kahl: 'How did you plan out the counteraction you used on that character'
Milt blew up 'That's the wrong way to look at it! Don't think of it like that! Just concentrate on giving the performance - that's what's important! The play's the thing. You'll get all tangled up if you think of it in a technical way!'

Drawings that walk talk and think : seeing a series of images we've done actually go through a thinking process - and appear to be thinking - is the real aphrodisiac. Plus creating something unique, which has never been done before is endlessly fascinating.

My mother gave me this great advice: ' Don't try to develop a style. Ignore style. Just concentrate on the drawing and the style will just occur.'

Chuck Jones
"Animation Means To Invoke Life, Not To Imitate It."

"Comedy is like a frog, you can dissect it, but it tends to die on you"

Einstein
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

Garry Marshall Director of Beaches, Pretty Woman,
"A lot of films today spend too much time on special effects, wonderful chases, terrific visuals… there just isn't time to develop characters. I feel that you need time to develop them… … but you can't do it quickly."

Mira Nair Director (Salaam Bombay!)
"I see that as cinematic power… what is cinematic vs what is literary. It's like subliminal advertising… if I show you an image for 10 seconds, you get a lot more from it than if I keep repeating it for 10 minutes. I think this is the power of cinema- you can just get to the point very quickly."

Robert McKee - Story
"Most human beings believe that life brings closed experiences of absolute, irreversible change; that their greatest sources of conflict are external to themselves; that they are the single and active protagonists of their own existence; that their existence operates through continuous time within a consistent, casually interconnected reality; that inside this reality events happen for explainable and meaningful reasons."

"The camera is the dread X-ray machine of all things false. It magnifies life many times over, then strips naked every weak or phony story turn."

"Why is so much of our life spent inside stories? Because as critic Kenneth Burke tells us, stories are equipment for living. "

"Characters can be more real than people."

"Mastery of craft frees the subconscious."

"CGI is neither a curse nor a panacea. It simply adds fresh hues to the story pallet."

"Story is metaphor for life."

"Talent without craft is like fuel without an engine, it burns wildly but accomplishes nothing."

"The mark of a master is to select only a few moments but give us a lifetime."

Anwar Sadat
Said: "I will never shake the hand of an Israeli as long as thy occupy one inch of Arab soil. Never, never, never!" In cell 54 he learned to withdraw his own mind and through a deep personal process of meditation, through a deep personal process of meditation, to work with his own scriptures, his own form of prayer, and re-script himself. He realized that realized that real success is success with self. It's not having things, but in having mastery, having victory over self.

Everyone felt that his spirit was broken but it wasn't. He was biding his time.

He became president of Egypt. He visited the Kenesset in Jerusalem and opened up one of the most precedent-breaking peace movements in the history of the world.

Stephen Covey Seven Successful Habits
"Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation. If you start to think the problem is "out there", stop yourself. That thought is the problem."

Malcom Muggeridge writes a Twentieth-Century Testimony:
"When I look back on my life nowadays, which I sometimes do, what strikes me most forcibly about it is that what seemed at the time most significant and seductive, seems now most futile and absurd. In retrospect, all these exercises in self gratification seem pure fantasy, what Pascal called "licking earth".

Keith Lango (web site)
Here's to the joy of learning and growing as an animator. Always be brutal, always hear what others have to say (with no prideful stiff-necked rejection of it), always tear your stuff apart, always adapt and grow.

Robert T. Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad
"Most of the time, life does not talk to you. It sort of pushes you around. Each push is saying, 'Wake up. There's something I want you to learn"

"Most people want to play it safe and feel secure. So passion does not direct them. Fear does."

Randy Cook - Weta Digital
"Study acting, keep your eyes open and learn from life, not from movies. And, above all, try to bring something of yourself to your work. You, after all, are unique."