Software for Animating

Software for Animating

The great thing about the modern world is that we don’t need specialized equipment to make things anymore! Disney had to use a machine that was almost a whole storey high in order to make multpile layers appear to move as one frame. Now, all we need is a computer, a tablet, and some software!

You can do animation the old fashioned way with pencil, paper, and a pegbar (which you can find for like $3 online). Or you can do it using software. Over my searches I’ve been able to find a few programs that the pros use, as well as some really cool open source stuff. I’ve not used all of this, but it’s here for you to try out if you so desire!

Paid Software

Paid software is the easiest way to get a quality program with oodles of help. But they are not cheap, and the companies are doing their best to finnagle more money out of you (yay for corporate greed ::looks directly at Adobe:: ).

Here are a few that I’ve found for animation:

Prices are in USD unless otherwise stated.

2D Animation

ToonBoom
Has monthly/yearly subscriptions ($15 per month) and the full program ranges from $300 for light and $2,000 for full.

TVPaint
Full program is €1,250 (About $1,400). Light program is €500 (About $560).

Adobe Flash
Adobe has a subscription of $20 a month for a single program (you can't get it perpetually anymore, apparently). You can get the Cloud (all adobe products) for $50 a month.

SAI Animation Assistant
If you buy SAI, this is free. Easy Paint Tool SAI itself is ¥5,400 (About $47).

RETAS! Pro HD Animation Suite
This is what the anime industry uses, or so I've read. This is a series of 4 programs. You can download the demos, but I don't know how much they cost; it seems Western distribution is discontinued.

3D Animation

Autodesk Maya
Maya has a 3 year free trial for students! The program itself is subscription based now. $1,500 for a full year (I think). There's a light version for $240 though.

3D Studio Max
Apparently Autodesk owns this now too. Also a subscription for $1,500.

Lightwave
Full commercial version is $700 (but only for 2015, the new verion is prolly around $1,000)

Poser
Full commercial pro version is $380, the CD is $500.

Compilation/Video Editing Programs

Theses are programs you can use to edit and enhance animated scenes. The above are mostly for making the animations and then exporting them, and some can compile and edit them okay. These make compiling, adding sound, music, and effects much easier. And they aren’t exclusive to 2D or 3D!

Compilation Software

Premiere Pro

After Effects
Both of these are Adobe, so either $20 a month for the one, or $50 for the Cloud.

Final Cut Pro
Great if you have a Mac (which I don't). $300 for the program.

Note on Adobe Cloud: Adobe are jerks about canceling a subscription--they'll give you the runaround, and basically you have to call them to cancel. Also, they have this sneaky thing in their agreement, so beware:  If you cancel within 14 days of your order, you’ll be fully refunded. Should you cancel after 14 days, your payment is non-refundable and your service will continue until the end of that month’s billing period.

Open Source Software

“Open source” software is totally free. Of course, you’re welcome to donate so that they can continue to improve the programs, but you aren’t required to do so.

2D Animation

Pencil2D

Synfig

OpenToonz
made an excellent tutorial for this one! Which is awesome, because it's not an easy program to learn. A bit like Blender! But here's the tutorial: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMskd3…

3D Animation

Blender

Illustration/Digital Painting

Krita

GIMP

Medibang Paint Pro

Compilation/Video Editing

Windows Movie Maker

Lightworks

Note: Also, Blender is apparently good at this!

Other Cool Resources

PureRef
An excellent little creature that lets you collect reference information into one giant file and zoom/pan how you please.