Santucci has 20-plus years of experience in directing and teaching animation. Though never part of the mainstream he is internationally recognized as an award-winning animator and has created projects for major studios, networks, ad agencies, and celebrities. He offers a practical "do it yourself" guide for outsiders, anarchists, rebels, and others who can't afford animation training, or who seek to find an alternative path into the world of 2D animation, using paper and pencil and commonly used software packages such as Flash, After Effects, and Photoshop. Santucci providers readers with technical tips on how to take their work from an amateur to sophisticated level through clever employment of shortcuts, rule breaking, and "cheats." He also describes his own successes and failures, explains how he managed to develop a career in animation, and offers would-be animators words of wisdom and inspiration. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)