More panels, more running around trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible…Siggraph 2008 covers a wide spectrum of educational topics concerning animation, so it’s no surprise that the conference isn’t always looking into the future if there’s something important to glean from the past. The storied history of classic animated movies from the Walt Disney Animation Studio still holds so much for the animators of today to learn from. This morning’s panel “A Tribute to the Life and Work of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston” featured seven top animators of today sharing memories and discussing why these two of Disney’s famed “Nine Old Men” continue to serve as inspiration.Animation Mentor sponsored the talk, and moderator/professional animator Tom Sito called the pair “gods of animation” and the “shiniest stars in our pantheon.” In the spirit of Animation Mentor, he spoke about how the most effective form of learning the craft of animation is the master/apprentice relationship, and Frank and Ollie-as they are affectionately known-were the only two of the nine famous classic Disney animators to really pass the torch and breadth of knowledge to a new generation of animators.Don Hahn, producer of Disney’s _Beauty and the Beast_, also says that the pair were very influential partially because they bothered to “write it all down.” Besides mentoring so many young animators, Frank and Ollie published how-to books and elevated the discussion of animation to a new level, influencing thousands of up-and-comers.Collaboration is one of the agreed-upon tenants of the art of animation today, and Frank and Ollie had a unique way to communicate ideas, Frank’s son Theodore Thomas says. One of the keys to their chemistry, besides being friends since the age of 19, was collaboration while carpooling. Besides the time they spent in the office, the pair was able to bounce ideas around on the ride to and from work each morning.The thing that Frank and Ollie valued the most, says Kevin Koch, the president of the Animation Guild, was the consistency and balance of character. Using a clip from the Queen of Hearts’ croquet match in _Alice in Wonderland_ to illustrate, Koch stressed that even in today’s fast-paced computer animation environment, one must not forget the importance of building a character and keeping the thoughts of that character in mind when animating every scene.After the clip, Thomas revealed a great little tidbit about the Queen’s inspiration. One day, his father saw powerful gossip columnist of the day Louella Parsons strutting into a room, entourage in tow and immediately realized that that combination of high-and-mightiness and little-girl insecurity was exactly what the Queen needed. target=”_blank ” target=”_blank target=”_blank ” target=”_blank