So I am trying to get my head around the new Harmony version direction that Toon Boom has going forward. So I assume that Essentials = Studio. But what about Advanced. Is it = Animate or Animate Pro? And I assume that Premium = current Harmony. For me the most confusing is the middle Advanced version.
Essentials is Studio (layer based effects), Advanced is Animate (still layer based effects) and there is nothing coinciding with Animate Pro.
To get node based effects that Pro offered you jump up to Premium.
It makes a lot more sense now.
Animate Pro was always a strange one in the product line, pretty much Harmony, but not quite, and completely incompatible.
It’s elimination and the replacement of studio and animate with forward compatible versions of Harmony, streamlines the products and puts everyone on the same page.
What did you find incompatible between Animate Pro and Harmony?
I am/have pretty much adjusted to the absence of a Pro upgrade. I was looking forward to more Harmony being included in a Pro 4 or I was going to upgrade to Harmony anyway. The choice has been made easier of course with there being only two options, to stick with Pro 3 or jump to Harmony, but also because there is now so much more to desire in Harmony.
The light/shadow tool looks good and reminds me of what was introduced in the early versions of Painter. I already wanted Curve Deformation. I see something that seems helpful to manipulating characters in the demo videos that I don’t understand yet but it looks intriguing. I would also like to see what can be done with OpenFX.
I’d download the trial but I need a new computer to run it first.
The incompatibility was you couldn’t open Animate Pro projects in Harmony and vice versa (without conversion).
“Animate/Pro projects can be converted to Harmony by going into your My Accounts section and selecting Harmony Project Conversion. If you (for example) upgrade from Animate to Harmony Advanced you still keep your Animate license.”
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For TB Studio I recall reading somewhere here that TB Support will convert them for you.
There are going to be missing features between Studio and Essentials though.
It should be pointed out that there may be a limit on how many conversions you can do. In my account under “Harmony Project Conversion” it says that I have used “0 conversions out of 5”. Not sure if it’s the same for everyone though.
Is that 5 the trial version?
If you are limited to 5 in the purchased crossgrade it is impractical and makes no sense.
I do not understand why there would be a limit.
Is there something atypical about the way you made the transition to Harmony 12? I am not probing for the private details, only answering yes or no would be sufficient.
Yep, mine says the same thing.
Hmm…
After using Toon Boom a lot at the studio, I was eager to jump on this subscription model for smaller projects I do at home.
But now I’m quite disappointed to find out that node based compositing is not included in the advanced model.
If Animate Pro is more or less the equivalent of Harmony Premium, than it sure got a lot more expensive, looking at the Perpetual License prices.
I don’t need all those fancy cut-out animation rig tools etc. I mainly used node based compositing just for some masking stuff, etc. Pity you have to upgrade to the expensive Harmony Premium model just for that.
For the sake of curtailing misperception, Animate Pro isn’t getting a lot more expensive and it isn’t becoming Harmony Premium. Animate Pro is being discontinued. Harmony (11 and earlier) is Harmony Premium. That makes the upgrade price par for the course or a bargain depending on how or where you are upgrading from.
As for the loss of node-based effects access at a lower price I am in agreement with you and feel the loss. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to acquire Animate Pro. I chose it for the node-based effects. If Pro had not existed when I purchased it I would not have seriously considered buying Harmony. It was just too much software and money for my situation. I would have purchased regular Animate and would not consider going above Harmony 12 Advanced now. Having had Animate Pro 3 for about a year now I am in the process of investing a lot of money for a computer upgrade and software upgrade to Harmony Premium.
According to TOON BOOM:
Animate = Harmony Advanced
Animate Pro = Harmony Premium
I’d love to see a set of comparison charts that shows each of the older products against the three TBH12 versions, so you can see what you’re gaining/losing.
For instance, yes Essentials basically replaces Toon Boom Studio, but there are also features that you’re losing, like the stopmo features (at least as far as I can tell). It would be good to know that before switching/upgrading/purchasing, in case there’s some sort of deal-breaker feature that you don’t know that you’re losing.
According to TOON BOOM:
Animate = Harmony Advanced
Animate Pro = Harmony Premium
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That is your misinterpretation of words. Do you understand what consolidating a product line involves? Toon Boom is going from multiple offerings to two: They are focusing on Storyboard Pro and consolidating 4 programs into 3 versions of Harmony. In the process, one level and some feature/capabilities are being eliminated.
Sure, presenting Harmony 12 Premium as the next logical step up from Animate Pro 3 is true however that does not make Harmony 12 Premium the equivalent of Animate Pro 4. Harmony 12 Premium is the next logical step up from Harmony 11 also. They are eliminating the next step from regular Animate (AP) so it is going to be a jump up to the next level from there yet it will still be the next logical step up to Harmony 12 Premium.
The specs show that Harmony 12 Premium is more advanced than Harmony 11. Harmony 11 was more advanced than Animate Pro 3. Animate Pro is/was more advanced than Animate. Animate is/was more advanced than Studio.
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correspond
to be similar or analogous; be equivalent in function, position, amount, etc. (usually followed by to):
The U.S. Congress corresponds to the British Parliament.
I spelled it out clear as the light of day for you.
Good luck.
I have several projects that have been created in Toon Boom Studio and some in Toon Boom Animate. If the client for these projects wants to make changes to productions, will I be able to open them in Harmony? Some of our clients come back years later and want to make changes. I need to keep our options open to make this possible.
If we are unable to use Harmony to open old projects created in Animate or Toon Boom,will we be able to keep our old software active, or will need to give it up in order to upgrade?
Thanks for help you can give me on this!
I agree. It makes sense. The only problem I have is that now I have old projects created in Toon Boom Studio, and other projects created in Animate. My clients are constantly coming back and wanting to make small tweaks for previously created projects. It was tough enough going back and forth between Studio and Animate. If we upgrade to Harmony, will we then have to work with three different pieces of software, and three different libraries? I was hoping this would simplify things, bu I am afraid is it actually going to get more complicated.
Just a standard upgrade from Harmony 11 which was fully paid off, and I still have a current support contract. I now have a perpetual license for Harmony 12.
I’m sure that if you have more than 5 projects to convert support would help you out if you asked nicely 
The only reason I can think of this limitation is to encourage people to get Harmony. You can imagine some people would be happy to just keep using Animate Pro, but if they are continuously collaborating with other Harmony users it just makes sense for everyone to use Harmony as they are now all compatible with each other.
Ah that makes sense. 5 is such a low number. I am just a hobbyist but I have 20+ projects in process that I will continue working on after I upgrade my computer and software. I imagine professional studios would want to take advantage of the features in Harmony 12 if they upgraded mid-stream. They would have to have more than me.