Customer Reviews

eFrontier Anime Studio Pro (Win/Mac)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When it comes to 2D animation software, your choices are 1) Anime Studio for Windows and Mac OS X, 2) Toon Boom, for Win & Mac, and 3) KToon for Linux. Both of the other two are cell based animation where you draw the same character over and over in a new cell moving body parts as you go. I personally find this tedious and redundant. Anime uses the bone concept found in 3D programs that bends the vector shaped
drawing with the bones as you move them. You only need to set key frames. So this means all the frames between the key frames you set are calulated by the computer and you do not have to re-draw them. It lets the computer work for you, not just be a painting tool. While cell animation seems to bring traditional paper/pen artwork concepts to ther computer, the computer is not working for you as much as it is with the bone concept.

If you buy from Amazon you get the MAC & WIN version on the same CDROM, if you download from the manufacturer you get only one version.

The hardest part of character animation is lip-sync'ing, Magie Pro alone is as much as this software, this comes with Papagayo which is open source. I had to find an old Papagayo for my older Mac OS X version 10.3.9. I also use the built in amplitude lip syncing because is 'good enough' with out worring too much about the exact sounds. Less mouth flapping is sometimes better.

This is a wonderful program, a bit ahead of its time, and very stable.

I think people have said enough great things about the program, and I agree with them all. But what I want customers to know, if you can get a student discount (you're a student, someone you know is a student, or faculty) you can get it for $27 and the Pro version is $94 at places like academic superstore.

Formerly known as Moho, this is an easy to use vector animation tool... but don't be fooled, it has some very powerful features such as layers, skeletal animation, lip synch, and even supports 3D camera motion and importation of 3D objects (although this is not a 3D animation tool like Maya).

One recommendation I will make for new users to Anime Studio -- learn some basic animation techniques such as squash and stretch, walk cycles, etc. It will improve your animations tenfold. Check out some of the films done by Grey Kid, they have really raised the bar on 2D vector animation almost to the level of traditional cel animation.

I'm hoping to see further development on Anime Studio, now that it has more commercial viability since it has been bought by e-frontier. And a Linux version is coming soon also.

Don't be fooled by the product description which makes it sound as if this application is written for entry-level animators and hobbyists. It's not. This is a professional-level application. We introduced this tool into the production pipeline of our animation shop and we love it!

The ability to actually *rig* a 2D character for animation is fantastic enough. But then to be able to have vertice-level control too is mind-blowing! This doesn't even take into account the: particle system, or the depth-of-field rendering, or being able to move through 3D space, etc.

While the overall documentation may be a bit thin, the Anime Studio support community is strong and very willing to quickly answer any question. I found the Help File tutorials to be strong with the right amount of to-the-point brevity that quickly enables a new user to feel confident enough to begin creating right away.

And the price. How can you beat the price? Less than $200?! That's the same amount you'd pay for you and ALL of your executive buddies for lunch at 'Macaroni Grill'. Or....an evening for you and 2 of your buddies at "Cheater's Lounge". But anyway....

If you do *any* kind of 2D animation, do yourself a great favor and try this program. The last time I was this excited about a piece of software was back in 1996 when I started to hear a buzz about this goofy little animation program called "Flash".

This is a really impressive piece of software! For only $200 you can get a 2D animation package that utilizes bone-rigging, distortion, in-betweening... and it's all quite easy to use!

E-Frontier, the company that owns Poser, a 3D character animation software package, has taken tools from 3D animation and translated them into a 2D package that can be learned in a matter of hours, as opposed to the several weeks required to learn even a basic 3D animation program.

Characters can be imported or drawn directly in the application. While the drawing tools can feel primitive and a little clunky, there are certain advantages to creating from inside Anime Studio. The first of these is the ability to "weld" points. In other words, you can attach a line segment to a point in the center of another line, something that Adobe Illustrator, the granddaddy of vector software programs, cannot do. This allows you to make adjoining shapes that can be filled seperately but still function as a single object. Another nifty little tool allows you to modify line width to zero surrounding a single point. This is a nifty way to avoid the overly perfect outlining that is the bane of those who create vector illustration.

The sophistocated bone rigging and the use of layers allow you to animate portions of your character independently and conversely to move bones dependently upon one another.

I could go on and on, but if you want to experience it for yourself before purchasing you can download a trial version of the "Anime Studio" from the e-frontier website to see for yourself. If you are an animation enthusiast, you will be ordering the full version for yourself soon afterward.

Coming from somebody who has always loved cartoons, but wasn't blessed with the talent to actually draw on paper, this software is great! I plan on using it to actually be able to animate my own pilot projects now without having to hire a bunch of animators to do it. Of course when they get picked up I will let the pros have some fun with this program as well. I used it to create a commercial for a client and they loved it. Mind you it is still on the simple side, but it was great to be able to see my own creation come to life. Now if only I can take the time to sit down and go through the manual step by step (which seems a bit lengthy, but it illustrates everything out), I bet I will love this program even more. Have fun with it and let your imagination run wild!

This product was not the type of animation software i was looking for per say, but that does not mean it won't fit your needs. When I first bought this software,(not from amazon although i wish i had), i was hoping for a more traditional look instead the animation reeks of flash.
It a personal preference because I like the traditional Cel-animation like in an anime. This software is meant for ease and can do a lot of the work for you. It does all the in between frames all you have to worry about is the "key frames." It is fully capable of producing a fully professional work but like I said its a preference thing.
It you want animation that resembles more of today's web cartoons then go with this software. An overall mediocre product. If you want a more traditional look your best bet is elsewhere.

side note:
-sometimes the program will maneuver a different path than you intended.
-limited working area
-i could not figure out how to get the facial expressions to work
instead it would just carry the one i chose throughout the entire animation

Software works fine. Unsure if there if there was supposed to be a manual included, though.

If you at times feel like a cartoon character, now, this may become a reality thanks to the hardwork of the folks at e--frontier.With capabilities to import any image and add rigging to it,your dreams become a digital reality.
Maybe I should've gave it a higher rating,but it did take some doings to get things to work (still a lil buggy?)An improvement is needed in the color pallette (to eliminate all the import/export for quality) and I'm still waiting for my rebate/discount as well as the promised extra content( I'm an artist so the extra wasn't that important,would like it tho).Look for my new cartoon coming someday to a web nearest you(google,veoh).

I am an artist but am by no means a computer artist. However, this program is easy to use as I become acclamated to my new medium. Despite its ease of use, it is not mastered easily. You have to take it in small steps, learning the skills so you can use them effectively. I did the online tutorials which gave me a tremendous look into the program. However, I am continuously going back to review the tutorials and the Anime Studio: The Official Guide in order to refresh my memory. The guide is definitely worth purchasing.

The tools are very intricate and can't just be "figured out" like a handheld video game. You have to work with everything and just expect that you will mess up. If you have a full length cartoon in mind and you've never worked with a program like this, you'll want to forego that for a while and start off small. Practice makes perfect. Also, after my first attempt, I learned that you will definitely want to storyboard. Have the cartoon 95% done on paper (movements, angles, sounds, and all) before you ever draw the first thing on your screen. Don't just jump into it because while you're fixing one thing, you don't know it, but you may be messing something else up. There's just too much to keep track of and this not happen.

I did my first cartoon for my school. I have plans for more in the future. You can visit my youtube channel to see the rough version of it (linked from my website). I added more sound affects and other details. It looks much better now. If you are interested in purchasing it for your school, go to my website and visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store.