is anime studio the best software for 2d animation ?
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
is anime studio the best software for 2d animation ?
is anime studio the best software to do 2d animation or there is a better one maybe more expensive?
my name is adam i am an enthusiastic animation amauter. I would love to be a professional, maybe some day i will be. So i need help and i am willing to help others too
Well, this is the Anime Studio forum. I suppose you might get a different answer on another forum.
I honestly don't know if it is the best. I've only ever used Flash and I hate Flash... so... in my opinion AS is the best. I have no plans to switch to anything else. A meteor would have to hit their headquarters and cause a electromagnetic pulse that erases every copy of Anime Studio from the whole planet before I'd switch.
One thing I do know for sure. It isn't the only 2d animation software. You should do a google search on 2d animation software....
....
... I just did a search on google. All kinds of stuff on the first page. Try it! Most of them have demos like AS.
p.s. I'm feeling a bit sarcastic today. Doctor gave me some pills for it and told me to drink plenty of fluids.
-vern
I honestly don't know if it is the best. I've only ever used Flash and I hate Flash... so... in my opinion AS is the best. I have no plans to switch to anything else. A meteor would have to hit their headquarters and cause a electromagnetic pulse that erases every copy of Anime Studio from the whole planet before I'd switch.
One thing I do know for sure. It isn't the only 2d animation software. You should do a google search on 2d animation software....
....
... I just did a search on google. All kinds of stuff on the first page. Try it! Most of them have demos like AS.
p.s. I'm feeling a bit sarcastic today. Doctor gave me some pills for it and told me to drink plenty of fluids.
-vern
Do you really expect a useful answer to this question?
There's never a "best". All depends on your own expectations. What for do you need the software? What's your animation style? How much do you need to produce in a given time? Do you work alone or in a team? How much money can you spend? Without those informations a useful answer can't be given.
There's never a "best". All depends on your own expectations. What for do you need the software? What's your animation style? How much do you need to produce in a given time? Do you work alone or in a team? How much money can you spend? Without those informations a useful answer can't be given.
I stated animating cartoons when I was twelve years old, with flip books and stick figures. I am still considered an amatuer because i've never work for anyone for money. It's still a hobby for me.
My first animation program was on a 16 bit system call Walt Disney's Animation Studio. It taught animation in the traditional way using a computer.
When I bought my first 32 bit system, I also bought Autodesk's Animation Studio, which worked the same as Disney's.
Last year I bought my first 64 bit system and with it I acquired Anime Studio Pro.
Of all the different system I've used, ASP is the quickest to learn and produce results. Therefore, to me, it is the best (for now).
In the end the BEST will depend upon your experience and comfort level with any software. Some people like animating in the traditional way, frame by frame. It's what the learned and are confortable with. Othes, like me, prefer the vector system.
The choice and money is yours, so choose wisely.
FCSnow
My first animation program was on a 16 bit system call Walt Disney's Animation Studio. It taught animation in the traditional way using a computer.
When I bought my first 32 bit system, I also bought Autodesk's Animation Studio, which worked the same as Disney's.
Last year I bought my first 64 bit system and with it I acquired Anime Studio Pro.
Of all the different system I've used, ASP is the quickest to learn and produce results. Therefore, to me, it is the best (for now).
In the end the BEST will depend upon your experience and comfort level with any software. Some people like animating in the traditional way, frame by frame. It's what the learned and are confortable with. Othes, like me, prefer the vector system.
The choice and money is yours, so choose wisely.
FCSnow
Precise Planning And Timing
Never Suceeds Like Dump Luck.
Never Suceeds Like Dump Luck.
If you want to draw cell animation then, no, AS is not the best. It doesn't do cell animation well and isn't designed for it.
OTOH, if you want to do what is known as "cutout" animation there is nothing better on the market -- the bone system in AS makes doing this a breeze, unlike nearly anything else offered anywhere.
If your style is not specifically either of these two then you need to look at the features of AS and decide if it works for you. Many of those features are similar to those in other 2D programs (like layers, keyframes, interpolation, etc) and some are unique to AS (and some that other programs have are lacking in AS). As was pointed out to you, there are demos of most of the available 2D software so you can try them out and make up your own mind.
However, I do understand asking the question -- sometimes it's hard to get a feel from a product just through a demo, sometimes the number of programs is overwhelming, and sometimes you just want some feedback from people who have worked with different programs for a long time. From that perspective I can tell you the main competitor to AS is Toon Boom (in any of its various incarnations) and the closest "match" to AS is *way* too complicated for me to get a handle on (and I come from a background in much more complicated 3D animation).
Toon Boom Studio (probably the version of TB that most resembles AS) is much more expensive but, more importantly, has a much steeper learning curve. I've tried it for many weeks and never was able to get what I was able to get in AS inside of a few minutes. My gut feeling is that if you worked with TB long enough you might (just might, but might not) find it a better program than AS, but that time period might be years rather than weekrs or months (I felt comfortable with AS in about a week). TB is definitely orientated around cell animation, and that's a much more time consuming path to take in terms of output (it can take weeks to do just a minute or two of such animation -- in AS I'm doing about a 22 minute show each week), but it can result in some of the most beautiful animations possible.
OTOH, if you want to do what is known as "cutout" animation there is nothing better on the market -- the bone system in AS makes doing this a breeze, unlike nearly anything else offered anywhere.
If your style is not specifically either of these two then you need to look at the features of AS and decide if it works for you. Many of those features are similar to those in other 2D programs (like layers, keyframes, interpolation, etc) and some are unique to AS (and some that other programs have are lacking in AS). As was pointed out to you, there are demos of most of the available 2D software so you can try them out and make up your own mind.
However, I do understand asking the question -- sometimes it's hard to get a feel from a product just through a demo, sometimes the number of programs is overwhelming, and sometimes you just want some feedback from people who have worked with different programs for a long time. From that perspective I can tell you the main competitor to AS is Toon Boom (in any of its various incarnations) and the closest "match" to AS is *way* too complicated for me to get a handle on (and I come from a background in much more complicated 3D animation).
Toon Boom Studio (probably the version of TB that most resembles AS) is much more expensive but, more importantly, has a much steeper learning curve. I've tried it for many weeks and never was able to get what I was able to get in AS inside of a few minutes. My gut feeling is that if you worked with TB long enough you might (just might, but might not) find it a better program than AS, but that time period might be years rather than weekrs or months (I felt comfortable with AS in about a week). TB is definitely orientated around cell animation, and that's a much more time consuming path to take in terms of output (it can take weeks to do just a minute or two of such animation -- in AS I'm doing about a 22 minute show each week), but it can result in some of the most beautiful animations possible.
Good answer! Good answer!dueyftw wrote:Same question different week. And the answer is: Read the manual first, then demo.
dale
I had yet another long sarcastic diatribe written and and you summed it up perfectly in so few words.
Asking this question HERE is the same as me going into Hilary Clinton's campaign headquarters and asking who I should vote for.
-vern
-
temujin143
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 5:55 am
Allow me to offer my biased opinion.
The Tab - Best in vector drawing
Toon Boom - Best Frame by Frame/ Drawing by Drawing/ Cell animation.
Cut out animation comes second to AS.
Anime Studio - Best Animation software because of bones, point manipulation, the advance timeline management. And Best community.
The Tab - Best in vector drawing
Toon Boom - Best Frame by Frame/ Drawing by Drawing/ Cell animation.
Cut out animation comes second to AS.
Anime Studio - Best Animation software because of bones, point manipulation, the advance timeline management. And Best community.
The community is important. In my opinion it was this forum as much as the software that encouraged me. It's a "feel good" place... despite all the sarcasm from forum addicts like myself.
I've seen some forums like this that feel icy cold and impersonal. Even the efrontier AS forum had an impersonal feel to it... but that could be because I didn't hang out there much and it was new and quite... disorganized.
Check many software sites and they will have links and brag about their "Community". That is important when making a decision.
-vern
I've seen some forums like this that feel icy cold and impersonal. Even the efrontier AS forum had an impersonal feel to it... but that could be because I didn't hang out there much and it was new and quite... disorganized.
Check many software sites and they will have links and brag about their "Community". That is important when making a decision.
-vern
-
temujin143
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 5:55 am
-
slice11217
- Posts: 279
- Joined: Thu Mar 30, 2006 6:12 pm
- Location: Verona, New Jersey
REALLY? I think it could use some upgrading, personally!temujin143 wrote:
I think graph mode timeline is cool.
-Then again, I'm used to After Effects' graphed timeline where you can actually affect inbetweens with bezier handles.
Everything else on Anime Studio is cool, when I found it years ago I'd been looking for something that does 2D animation for quite some time. I had downloaded a beta of Creature House's LivingCels and was VERY disappointed. Anime Studio (then called Moho) filled in all the blanks of what I needed a character animation software to do.
It has some things that I wish it did better, but I'm hoping that once we start getting upgrades again (hint, hint) these issues will be resolved.
Software is just a platform to express your artistic talents. If you develop your skills as a draftsman, sculptor and storyteller, what software you use isn't really that important. After a brief learning curve you start applying your knowledge and skills.
Go and watch this video with Brad Bird, Ed Catmull, Alvy Ray Smith, Andrew Stanton and Michael Ruben, taped in the Computer History Museum on May 16, 2005. Especially the Q&A at the end is very interesting.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 2425813974
Also read this book about Pixar and how 3D animation was invented. It wasn't about the technology, but about finding a new platform to express artistic talent. I haven't read it, but after reading the Amazon reviews and seeing the video, I'm certainly going to do that. It isn't cheap, though ($75 USD).
To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios.
Cheers, and have fun animating.
Go and watch this video with Brad Bird, Ed Catmull, Alvy Ray Smith, Andrew Stanton and Michael Ruben, taped in the Computer History Museum on May 16, 2005. Especially the Q&A at the end is very interesting.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 2425813974
Also read this book about Pixar and how 3D animation was invented. It wasn't about the technology, but about finding a new platform to express artistic talent. I haven't read it, but after reading the Amazon reviews and seeing the video, I'm certainly going to do that. It isn't cheap, though ($75 USD).
To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios.
Cheers, and have fun animating.
Excellent response Rasheed.
That same philosophy applies to anyone asking if a specific style can be done in AS. Style is irrelevant. I've found if you have the talent to draw in a "style" it can be translated to any software.
If all you have are crayons you can still create in expressionism, cubist, baroque, realism styles.
I remember as a small child coloring in a coloring book with crayons. My older brother who I feel was a better artist then I am, took my crayons, a scrap from an old brown grocery bag and drew a beautiful rendering of a flying eagle.
I will always remember that moment. I can still see the illustration in my head as if it happened yesterday. It was so surprising to me. It didn't matter what he had to work with, it was the abiltiy to use any medium.
-vern
That same philosophy applies to anyone asking if a specific style can be done in AS. Style is irrelevant. I've found if you have the talent to draw in a "style" it can be translated to any software.
If all you have are crayons you can still create in expressionism, cubist, baroque, realism styles.
I remember as a small child coloring in a coloring book with crayons. My older brother who I feel was a better artist then I am, took my crayons, a scrap from an old brown grocery bag and drew a beautiful rendering of a flying eagle.
I will always remember that moment. I can still see the illustration in my head as if it happened yesterday. It was so surprising to me. It didn't matter what he had to work with, it was the abiltiy to use any medium.
-vern