Animation Magazines

Some thoughts on the animation magazines available in the UK. I've bought all of these from W.H.SSmiths, Borders or independant newsagents around London. All of the magazines have a website, industry experts writing for them and the latest news and events from around the globe.

3D World - The Magazine for 3D Artists

3d World is the animation magazine that I buy most often. It's probably because of the glossy covers and plenty of tutorials. It also has a CD full of models, textures and tutorial files. 3D World is published in the UK. Its the most expensive of all the magazines listed here. The articles range from architecture and advertisements to computer games and the regular columnist Mental Roy gives an alternative view. Articles typically have an almost comic book freeflowing style with mixed graphics and text. Product reviews normally look into the technical details which makes this a good magazine for shortlisting hardware or software. There is currently an acting editor but his editorial still seems to be up to scratch. The magazine has an image showcase and regularly includes details of short animated films. The website for 3D World has latest news and access to additional files, competitions and a series of forums.

Animation Magazine - The Business, Technology & Art of Animation

US based Animation Magazine not unsurprisingly is biased towards the USA and Canada and because of this, I buy it less often. Animation Magazine has columnists from the US animation market and an insight into the top animation schools. The articles are typically a couple of pages long and are full of quotes with a few choice images. The advertising is interesting in that it has lots of smaller adverts for studios, schools and festivals.

Also includes a directory of the top animation companies and schools in the USA.

Imagine - The magazine for animation professionals

Imagine Magazine is new to the market, it's on Issue 11 and is released every two months. The articles are longer and the reviews seem less technical than 3D World. Like the others Imagine Magazine looks at a wide range of animation from Flash and Games through to traditional and stop motion animations. There are no tutorials but instead inspirational and more well rounded articles. There are several interviews in each edition and a profile of a key figure in the animation industry.

The website also has jobs online, a forum and has a also includes a directory

Others

Influences and inspiration also comes from Computer Arts Projects, SFX magazine, Digit, Giant Robot and ImagineFX

Online one of my most regularly visited sites and source of help and inspiration is renderosity.com