Sort of a part two to the first question I posted where I ask which version is better to get. (Not counting Premium because I’m NEVER gonna spend THAT much money for an animation software.)
I am kind of on the fence with the payment considering that Toon Boom is a rather expensive software. But I planned on have as much knowledge I could possibly gain in order to make the best choice. Especially after I stopped using Blender 3D. Now seeing that there are plenty of ways to get the software, I wanted to ask whether I should get the annual payment or just save up for a perpetual license. (Not to sound like an idiot, just not sure which way to play my cards correctly.)
I really don’t get the impression that you are at a point where you should commit to a perpetual license.
Just go monthly for a while and get your feet wet. Then down the road you will have some hands on experience to make an informed decision on where to go FROM THERE.
It may cost you more money by not investing every dollar in that ideal path that is right for you but you cannot determine that path at this stage so the extra expense of getting there is worth it.
Imagine paying for the perpetual license then discovering it was not the best choice for you. It is best to know it is the best choice before investing in it.
You will likely have an ongoing payment no matter what form you select unless you are someone to use a version as long as possible before your operating system and/or hardware becomes incompatible. At some point you would have to upgrade your computer and the software. Generally, skipping upgrades is costly compared to other options.
With the subscription you are always current and if paying monthly you can quit or skip months if you know you are not going to be using it.
I happen to prefer owning the software. I maintain a Silver support plan as well and the version upgrades are included. It costs less to upgrade this way plus you have the additional coverage of the Silver level. There is also a relatively small annual maintenance fee after you have made the large initial investment.
“Imagine paying for the perpetual license then discovering it was not the best choice for you. It is best to know it is the best choice before investing in it.”
I know, that’s why I’m asking before I start saving the money for it. I have seen the annual pay for Advanced, which might be the version I’ll get, and checked how much I would save with the whole 33 percent off thing.
But I would like to ask a few more questions. If I buy the software on one computer, then when the current computer goes out and I get a different one, would I have to purchase the software again? Or does it do the same thing Nintendo does on the switch and I can just download the whole thing?
Also what’s the support thing you mentioned? Is it for helping out with problems with the current software?
For animation, I recommend the very essentials, it has everything for traditional animation, the cut out animation is also possible. We have a lot of work and Essentials covers all our needs mostly. Now for really advanced animation and composition we use After Effects, the lighting tools are just better in AE vs TB. Shadows are real, and composition with other elements are nice. If you do not have AE or other tools (which I also recommend just getting Fusion (Free) and Blender) then you are set with Essentials. Later will be discussed but just so you know, license monthly is more expensive then just buying it, because what happens next year, the cost of software, like hardware should be covered to make back the money, and the year after. Also in USA you can resell the license (was already proven) Adobe vs. xxxx Autodesk vs. xxxx, you buy to own it, then you can resell it. It’s just that simple. If you are in the business though . . . if you are just hobbist, or just want to learn. Get the trial and then uninstall it, clean out the computer and or wipe it. Also I recommend Opentoonz, it is just Toonz H. 7.1 Full version. So you know thats legit and we use it too in studio and works in conjunction with Harmony Ess. ok good luck
With Blender 3D, been there done that! I won’t return to that tedious process again! I’d rather take my chances and save up for Toon Boom. It will take some time, but I’d rather go with the features I enjoyed using. (Cutter tool, the abilities they programed in the line tools, etc.)
I might see about buying either Essentials or even Advanced. (Sort of wanted to just get the perpetual license to get the buying process taken care of.) I did even use Advanced a while ago, maybe a few weeks ago, and I enjoyed it.
Though I don’t recall that much with essentials but if it has the tools I liked in Advanced then maybe I’ll go with that instead. But I wanted to ask about the annual subscription. Is that yearly or sort of like the monthly subscription?
If you buy a new computer you have the ability to return your Toon Boom license on your old PC, which deactivates it. Then you can download our software on your new PC and reactivate it. So not quite like Nintendo, but kind of similar!
Our annual and monthly desktop subscriptions come with Silver support, which will give you access to product and release updates as well as access to our awesome support staff. You can find out more information here: https://www.toonboom.com/support/offerings
If you’d like to see a helpful chart highlighting the differences between Essentials, Advanced and Premium, all you have to do is scroll down a little on this page: https://www.toonboom.com/products/harmony/pricing
Just asking questions is not the same as living life, getting your hands wet and dirty and gaining experiences. You can ask questions, read and watch videos but it will not substitute for growth after taking time to do something with the software yourself. You will be different afterwards. Chances are your questions, objectives and expectations will be different by then. This, unlike where you would be if you only read and asked questions and made your decision without taking the extra time and investing the extra money to use the software before making the big decision.
Well I will be trying Essentials for a month. If it has the tools I liked from Advanced then maybe I’ll go with it. The problem I have is that I don’t have a job yet so I can’t invest in the money. (Something I don’t really like sharing. But seeing that money is involved in this I’ll have to explain a bit.)
When I get the funds, then maybe I’ll try it out a few times. (Essentials first then Advanced.)
Yea, if you do not have AE, or the Adobe product set, then probably go for advance . . . if you have the Adobe subscription or previous products, or a pipeline that does not need the extra modules of Advance then Essentials. I can build a project (right now doing a few) in Essentials, then export out to flash. Blender is used when needed, but I dropped Autodesk subscription (bye bye 3D Max) to save money for the studio bottom line. Actually the open source software is pretty good so we started switching over for basic needs to open source and slowly cutting down cost. Now open toonz is free (it is Toonz 7) but drawing on it is still so so (like drawing on flash) while we are used to the speed of drawing in harmony, we do not mean bit map, we mean vector, it is fast and good in Essentials. So for feature film drawing quality vector, (which we can up rez to 8K in AE and Flash) it hits all the marks. But for like paper cut out animation, it does that too (but we have AE, Open Toonz, Blender) so we have our pick of bending and what not. AE has the better IK system or if you want curves and stuff it has it too . . . depending on what you need, but if you have nothing, go for TB Advanced. Anyways will be doing my stuff in Essentials and will share later on.