#need animation software
11 messages in this thread
I need some help finding good 2D animation software. Does anyone have any
suggestions. Most all of the software is geared around 3D. I do not want to
create 3D models of these characters.
Thanks
For 2D animation, my company uses Autodesk Animator Pro, it's good at
640x480x256. if you need somthing in 320x200x256 Autodesk has a
product call Multimedia Explorer it doesn't cost as much as the Pro
version.
Thanks,
Does autodesk animinator allow for more than 256 colors?
Mike
Look into Macromedia Director. It's very convenient, not too $$. (5 or $600)
640x480xmillions
Thanks for the reply,
How does macromind work? Does it allow you to edit the
individual cells then save each cell for latter display.? I thought
macromind was only for putting together finnished movies.
Thanks
Hi Mike,
pmji… the animation engine in Macromedia Director is based upon "sprites".
A sprite is a single graphic from the media database (called the "Cast
Window", up to 32K castmembers per movie), which is on the screen at
a certain point in time. We can layer up to 48 sprites on-screen at
any one frame of the movie. This layering and sequencing is
controlled by the Score, a timeline similar to an animator's chart.
This is very different from a prerendered animation, such as a FLC.
Compression ratios with sprites are much higher; editability is
retained through all stages; and — critically — we can assign
different behaviors to different sprites, laying the groundwork for
interactive animations.
So, yes, you can create artwork in Director's own Paint Window, which
can later be animated upon the Stage. You can also import art
sequences from other sources, such as 3D animations. These can be set
up in the timeline with music, digital video, text, and transitions
and other effects.
Director 4.0 is available for Mac and Windows. Right now we're working
in Windows at 8-bit, just as Microsoft's WinG is, because 8-bit is
the only practical colordepth for sprite-based work on Windows today.
And Thomas: the save-disabled demo version of Director for Windows
will be on the Macromedia Showcase III CD-ROM. This hybrid disc is in
the final stages of production and should be available within a few
weeks… thanks for your patience in the interim.
Thanks for your reply. I called Macromind and ordered the demos of both
director and macromodel. I am looking forward to trying them out.
Mike
Mike
Macromind is basically a multimedia program. From all
accounts I don't think that anyone can look you straight in the face
and tell you it is easy to use. Apparently the learning curve is
horribly long. What platform do you want to use it on? Is it for
business? If you just want to play around, learn and put out the odd
2D animation on a PC, why not check out the masters themselves! Walt
Disney has a program called 'Animation Studio' it is a cell based 2D
program and is actually very good for cartoons and such. It sells
for around $100.00! don't let the price fool you. I have the DOS
version, but I understand that they released a Windows version
recently. Check it out. For the Mac I don't know. For the SGI
there was a recent article in 'Computer Graphics World' which
reviewed a 2D program which was about 20 or 30 thousand dollars, high
end and the best but the name escapes me. It was in there a couple
of months ago.
Jim
Hi Jim,
The learning curve for Macromedia Director (note name) is long, but also
gentle, and there is no need to take advantage of all the depth available in
the tool.
If your current interest is confined to animation then you can get
results quickly. If you later wish to go to interactive animation,
then you can bootstrap on your previous experience. If you wish to
later add object-oriented programming techniques, then you can add
onto your existing scripting experience.
So: although potentially deep, it is not necessarily a long trip. Hope this
clarification helped.
Regards,
John Dowdell
Macromedia Tech Support
Hi Mike,
How's your Typestring going on? I'm still waiting for some upload of your
images.
Re 2D animation software. I am not sure if yoy ever downloaded the DiPetizer
(DIP1a1.EXE and DIP1b1.EXE in GRAPHSUPPORT, library 15) or not, so I will
presume you didn't.
Animator Pro is a KILLER APP in many respects, but it can also quite a killer
when you are learning it! I don't think I ever spent as much time learning a
package like I did with Animator. On the other hand I think it was worth the
effort since it is a unique package this far.
Animator has no support for 24 bit images, but Autodesk will soon
release a new Windows package (Autodesk Animator Studio) that will
have this. It is not really something that will be a full substitute
for Animator, but rather act as a Windows multimedia addition. The
only info I have is from a pressrelease, so you might as well
download it from the Autodesk Multimedia library: AASR1.RLS. It
seems like the following statement there is not really up to the
point:
1) Autodesk Animator Studio is the next-generation, Windows version
of Animator Pro, the most popular professional 2D animation software
ever.
As far as I've been able to find out, there will be many features in
the DOS AA Pro not available in teh Windows version. But you better
GO ASOFT and check out the latest details, since it is a couple of
weeks since I looked into this.
Gold Disk Animation Works Interactive (AWI) can't do everything AA Pro
can, but it can perform a lot of it with hardly no learning curve at
all. PLus that you will get fairly advanced mutlimedia and
interactivity features to add to you presentations/animations. AWI is
the main attraction in the DiPpetizer so you will get a fair idea
about what it can do and not do.
Re Macromedia Director I am still waiting for Macromedia and their
Swedish distributor to decide who is going to send the evaluation
package! Eventually they will get their act together, so stay tuned!
Good luck!
Thomas Lindstrom – DiP
The Digital ComPuter Magazine