CompuServe Messages

Since everyone in the world but me is at SIGGRAPH, let me take this opportunity to jump in. If you're referring to the "traditional" cel type animation, a la Disney, Warner Brothers, et. al, then 3DS isn't exactly the product to do this. There is a blurry line between cel animation and 3D type stuff (in Aladdin, for example, both the rug and the cave of wonders were done with 3D animation programs, combined with the 2D cel stuff), but 3DS in particularly doesn't lend itself to the cartoon look — that look is much flatter. There have been a couple of people on this forum who've said they have solutions to this in the form of a routine that would produce a solid cartoon shaded figure, but we've seen nothing for this yet. AAS might very well work for you, but remember there is a tremendous amount of hand work that goes into drawing each cel, and the computer won't really change that (just eliminate the paper!).