the univeristy i work at often records video lectures for students to watch online instead of going for various reasons. So if done right it isn’t watered down. In fact it is better in some ways because you can rewind and watch again.
However again I feel for toonboom cause they want the official stuff to be super high, sweet voice over, professional look.
However people want to see someone just creating it and talking more casually. I can’t see toonboom ever directly doing this.
It is catch 22 for toonboom because users want to see that type of video but nobody is doing it effectivly. They tried with cartoonsmart but he is too busy. They need someone who is fairly dedicated to doing it but isn’t directly at toonboom IMO. It will make them more effective and also be viral advertising for toonboom.
Hi guys,
i’ll defense on toon boom their tutorial are very good and the user guide is the best way to learn from .maybe there a little concern about the user guide it’s little limited because i think the toon boom animate pro User guide just modify version of the animate user guide so it’s not made especially for animate pro just adds difference between them .
here is my first 2 promos i did after learning the program only with the tutorial videos and user guide .
http://www.vimeo.com/8612229
http://www.vimeo.com/6017210
I feel that the website should be used for promotions, the training videos should be used for training. As I said to Lilly earlier, the kick-start videos can still be short and to the point, but then the users should at least be given access to more in-depth, detailed video training lessons from the website, should they choose to learn this way - as I am sure MANY will.
What does Toon Boom possibly have to lose by providing better video training for the users? More users learning their software and more people making switch from Flash? ;D doesn’t sound too bad to me!
I disagree with this statement. Videos are a superior way to learn in real time. It is practical. You get to watch and listen as you learn. You can rewind and watch as many times as you like.
I have always learnt software better when shown examples from friends or detailed training videos. Many people are this way, which is why you get so many training videos for almost every major graphics package.
I feel that Cartoon Smart’s cartoon skills (at least in Toon Boom) lack quality and he has no cut-out puppet animation tutorials. I’m sure he could teach the stuff if he had the time though.
I’m sure the company has talented artists. Why not get them to redo the new lessons? If they can’t do that, just hire some talented Toon Boon Animate Pro artists to do a series - I am sure they can afford it! 
Oh, I know I wrote how they are done in regards to the production side and how Animate was integrated into their work flow, not how to draw like that.
Exactly my point. It wouldn’t hurt anybody to have more detailed training videos. I can’t learn from books… I have to learn by seeing things in action… hands on practical teaching.
Nice work! I had actually seen your work on Video already. I scoured the internet for every Toon Boom Animate example I could find. Do you have any full body cut-out puppets in action, such as walking or with backgrounds etc?
So I do agree with everything that has been said in this forum. Most of the animators I know have been complaining about the documentation & tutorials. Having worked with a lot of various animation software packages and documentation I can tell you that honestly for a company the size of TB who only has limited amount of resources their tutorials and documentation are pretty good.
Here’s what needs to happen. TB and it’s users need to work together to build a better community for sharing information. We really need to be creating tutorials for our selves instead of complaining. TB needs to somehow encourage this kind of community growth because honestly it’s in their best interest to do so. I think there are many ways to accomplish this.
Currently there is no centralized location to share tutorials with other users. I think the Animate forum could be re-organized to include a “Tutorials” section and another for sharing scripts etc… I think TB may need to encourage its users to make tutorials although I’m not sure what the best way to do that would be. Maybe a contest with some prizes to get the ball rolling?
The problem right now is that the Animate community is pretty small and most of us I suspect are animation professionals who are working. I love making tutorials for people and wish I had more time for it.
You agree that there is an issue with the lack of decent training, which others have as well. I also AGREE with your concept of a learning portal that everybody can submit content to and share ideas, a place that Toon Boom would encourage. However, this idea is flawed, because you say that we should create our own tutorials to learn from.
I see this as a paradoxical argument, because “how can we teach or make tutorials, if nobody teaches us?” Don’t you think maybe Toon Boom should make the first step by creating better training videos, so we can take it from there?
I don’t think Toon Boom is a small company by any means, so I am sure they are more than capable of creating more detailed training videos. It will not take that many man hours and resources for such a task that everybody will benefit from.
By the way, nobody is complaining - we are providing feedback to Toon Boom. If we (the users) don’t speak up and tell them areas that need attention, how will they know that something needs to be fixed?
This is what Toon Boom is good at (customer service). A lot of companies ask their users for feedback in order to improve their products and services, which can be seen from other posts on these forums.
nabz
i have send you a pm .
Read and responded. Thanks. 
Here’s how you improve Toon Boom Animate as a product, reduce customer service demand, and please all the people who paid for it.
Cover every feature, every selection in every menu. And don’t just touch on them, spill the beans on what could be done. Make it laid back, and educational, and clear.
The developers and coders all had discussions on why they put the features in the product in the first place. Just have them spend time everyday going over some of the features of Toon Boom, and none of your customers will ever have to buy third party educational material ever again.
i wonder, what areas are people having the most trouble with?
For me its Puppet, and fx (but I never really use either)
You’re a funny guy. Can we please see some of your world class animations that were produced with Toon Boom Animate? 
For me, it’s the cut-out puppet and animating it. Also, pretty much everyhing else I’ve already mentioned.
I have passed on your comments to our team and there is a plan to come out with a new set of tutorials, so stay tuned for that. They have read all your comments and I’m sure will do their best to take them into consideration when they plan the new tutorials.
Thank you very much for your feedback! And thank you for supporting shows like Grossology and 6teen that were done with our software.
~Lilly
Toon Boom Support
Thanks for listening to our feedback LillyV, especially mine, which I’m sure looked like whining and complaining. but it really wasn’t - I am just very driven to learn and wanted Toon Boom know what the users were feeling! ;D
You can see from just reading this thread, just how passionate Animate users are. We are hungry for knowledge and ready to learn. We just need that initial push from Toon Boom with a training series that is more practical and linked together.
As for the shows mentioned, I am a huge fan of Grossology and Ruby Gloom… pretty much anything made by the Nelvana studios, who use Toon Boom software. This is why I was asking for tutorials showing cut-out puppets in the style of Grossology (humans with arms, legs, head etc). These are the real life examples we all want to see.
We will be very appreciative of new, more detailed video tutorials. 
Thanks.
Sweet Lily, if TB does that the the circle will be complete, and I think this maybe the start of a beautiful Relationship. I knew grossology was, butI didn’t know 6teen was done with TB, I thought Stoked is done with TB too.
Either way cool we are still in the early years of Animate so growing with it may turn out quite well in the Future.
wait…is Toon Boom a large company? Just out of curiosity. I know for a while retas was the leader in animation software but now over the past 6-10 years? Toon Boom seems to be? I do wonder how big is Toon Boom company anyway. My guess is they are pretty big if they have clients like Family Guy and Disney. Im pretty sure the list of tv shows we see on tv all the time pretty much all use toonboom Harmony and probably after effects.
It would be really cool to see a video inside look in the process of animation from start to finish from one of the big animation studios like Disney. And not one of those interview video but like a small demonstrations on how they really do what they do in ways that can help others artist
Most of large studios use harmony and often don’t like people seeing the actual process which is a shame.
Well, it seems like all the noise we made was loud enough to get the attention of the VERY talented Adam Phillips (of Bitey fame).
He has started making a beginners tutorial series and says he will also be showing cut out animation tutorials. Who says giving feedback was a bad thing? IT WORKS!! ;D
Please go to the link and post your feedback (on the Youtube comments section) and words encouragement, as he is giving this training away to us for free!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v41UKjqTIt8
I just watched all four tutes Adam Phillips has put up on YouTube and HIGHLY recommend anyone using Animate/Animate Pro to watch them. They’re excellent. I suspect they will be the answer to many frustrated animators prayers…
Like many other Animate users I’m hungry for some more in-depth videos now I’ve moved on from beginner stage, but the kick-start videos weren’t so bad! They were meant to be a not-so-scary introduction to a very powerful program. I’m sure Toon Boom are going to deliver some more in-depth training very soon. I understand the frustration but it’ll happen people, just be patient!
I just watched Adam’s tutorials and I think Toon Boom should hire him!!! I recently purchased Animate and have been dragging my feet on a project due to the learning curve. Now I am a lot more confident now that I at least know some of the basics of the program. Thanks to everyone in this forum that made enough noise to get the ball rolling on the tutorials.
He just released 7 MORE videos… he sure he fast about it! He also said in the latest video that although cut-out animation is not his style, he will be showing that in his later tutorials!
I agree 100% ;D I really enjoy his teaching style and am learning so much faster than reading the manual or watching the kickstart videos!