Animation Software?

[stjernekropp]

What is some good animation software? I'm new to traditional 2D animation. The only things I have done before this are make really big flipbooks. I have been considering Toon Boom Studio Express. Does anybody have any advice?

Thanks
RockoFan

 

[dram209]

Macromedia, er, Adobe Flash is pretty popular, and there's quite a lot you can do with it.

 

[nmarie51684]

Adobe Flash is the best way to go. But if you want a cheaper alternative, get DigiCel Flipbook.

 

[aactionFiqureeCallie]

Thanks, I'll consider Adobe Flash. I'm still leaning toward Toon Boom though. Anybody have any experience with it?

 

[m8kinwaffles]

Adobe Flash and Adobe After Effects are the most popular 2-D programs most companies are using.

 

[kissable?]

Anime Studio is worth a look too.

 

[dkay_thahustla]

I'm still seriously considering Adobe After Effects. With my camera, I can shoot some blue screen and get inserted into Star Wars or something . But for $790 + a pop....that's allot of money for any software...

 

[Kaitlyn T]

That's pretty moderate as far as animation software prices go. Most of the 3D software costs at least $1000.

 

[Bizo Johnson]

I got Toon Boom Express. Works great so far, and for only $99, it's a good deal.

 

[Sergeant Major]

The only time I lucked out on software was sound software--Syntrillium's Cool Edit Pro, which I got for $20.00 from Ebay.

 

[Kunmui]

Is Toon Boom okay?

 

[matthewfein]

Its excellent.

I'm no pro myself but I heard that Flash is actually HORRIBLE for animation as it was not designed with that purpose in mind initially.

Toon Boom on the other hand was built from the ground up for animation and thus is a lot less of a hassle to use (or so I've heard). It often ends up looking like Flash but its not.

Its what the guys from Blind Ferret Entertainment use and I think the result are pretty darn good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcbazH6aE2g

 

[Emily22]

I downloaded the trial version of Flip Boom Classic and it's very easy to use! I made my first ever animation with it. It's very basic, but I like it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzZzk9rtpZM

I wish I could remove the logo from the movie without paying though. Don't worry if the video isn't working, it probably hasn't processed yet.

 

[jackariah08]

Toon Boom is indeed more oriented towards pure animation than Flash is, but keep in mind that that can be a hurdle for people who aren't already experienced animators. If you grew up doing stuff on computers, Flash may feel more natural to you.

Flash also seems a bit more full-featured and flexible to me, which makes sense considering it's made by the proprietors of the format. In the end it's up to you, but this is definitely stuff to consider. Toon Boom is more "hard-core", and whether that's a good or bad thing depends on the user.

 

[mattskity]

Adobe Flash is good choice.

 

[Hansika N]

Agreed, only I bought it direct from the source. Sadly Adobe bought them out and now it's a way over priced program...

I've FINALLY gotten around to trying some animation with XSI SoftImage, after working on it for a few years and trying to self teach myself the modeling side..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4jcvLEdITU

I'm already going back and trying to improve the models so the future animation will look better.