Book excerpt: So you want to create animation! Where do you start? With an idea. This creative, exercise-packed guide contains examples and idea-generating activities. What tools do you need? Your computer, simple software programs, and your imagination. This book will tell you how to utilize these tools. Must you spend your life savings on your set-up? No. The author's charts and project timelines will guide you and make the overwhelming simple, and keep your shopping lists manageable. With Animation in the Home Digital Studio, amateurs and animation students alike can learn how to create a variety of computer animations: from puppet to clay to pixilated, drawn and cartoon. This book contains a CD-ROM loaded with animation clips and exercises. The book's 8-page color insert illustrates stills from the work of independent animators around the world. The book's guide to resources contains a comprehensive list of contests, shows, societies, organizations, e-zines, and more. Steven Subotnick takes a personal approach to animation. His book is for artists, amateurs, professionals, students, and anyone who wants to use animation as a means of expression. It explains how to create a variety of animations: from puppet to cutout, and from drawn to object animation. Subotnick covers the use of popular software products, including Macromedia Flash, Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe Premiere®, Digidesign ProTools Free, and others.