Toon Boom is CRAP!

The only other programs that i know of that use dongles are Softimage XSI (3d app) and Cubase (virtual music studio). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongle if you want to read more :slight_smile:

Illustrator certainly isnt what you want, it isnt an animation program, but flash is…(isnt flash still marketed under macromedia and not adobe? :slight_smile: But i dont know about flash so i cant really comment.

You can export to any size you like as far as i know, so 720x480 is fine.

And as for Blender, well thats a 3d app, and would take ALOT longer to learn than toon boom :wink: But requires no drawing skills…i wouldnt go tat route tho.

Chris.

Chris, I really appreciate the time you are taking with me. It would seem that Toon Boom or this Mirage program are the two finalists :slight_smile:

I see TBS :slight_smile: (it is easier to write) is electronically purchased, where does this dongle come into the picture?

Also, is the express version worth the savings or am I better off with the full version?

edit Haha… I’ve used a dongle! Maybe before the name was popular. I just looked at your web link. I used to own a billiard room and the proprietary software for table lights and charging time and snacks ran using a parallel port dongle. Well I’ll be dongled afterall. :slight_smile: Downloading one of them gotta be tough on the router though :slight_smile:

thanks again!

There is no actual dongle for TBS, dongle only comes into play for higher end software ( such as harmonie and solo ) so you don’t have to worry about the dongle issue for TBS. You can simply buy online and you’ll get you’r serial number via e-mail.

As for Express, well it is a very basic version of TBS, you only have 1 peg available so it really downs the animation capabilities of the software to traditionnal animation ( since you can’t use much cut out witout pegs ). That means Express is mainly for hand drawn animation ( frame by frame ). If that is what you are looking for I guess you could opt for Express, on the other hand if you wanna get into more automated animation I’d suggest TBS.

@jj4
if you want to have 720/480 ntsc 4:3 video output, you should afaik use the graphics resolution of 720/540 in tbs.
the computer display pixels are square, but the video pixels are rectangular and any .dv output will get ‘squeezed’ in a certain ratio (ntsc vertically, pal horizontally).
if in doubt, you’d better read in some professional sources about it.

@chris
wanna make fun of me? ::slight_smile:
jeez, no respect for gods these days anymore ;D
cheers,
rob

Yes, gester, that resolution would be fine. I have not opened the program demo yet to look around so I wasn’t aware that was an available option. That would be perfect. :slight_smile: I want to read as much as I can on this site before I start the 30 day trial, so I get as much out of it as I can.

thanks all!

Jj4 > I have another idea for you. It sounds like what you want to do is to have a simple image (character) do some voice over, then go to another image etc. If you don’t want to get into a “real” animation with real time movement, lip sync etc. then you could use a presentation package like PowerPoint or Keynote (mac only).

Your images could be done in any graphic software (photoshop etc.) then make a slide with the image on it. Add a sound track to the slide, hold the slide for the appropriate amount of time and do an instant transition to the next slide.

Save the presentation as a QT movie or AVI and use something like iDVD to create a playable DVD. This is by NO means a cool animated piece but it does simplify the creation of your piece.

I do NOT want to discourage you from getting into animation nor change your mind from getting TBS. Animating is wonderful but IS tedious and time consuming.

Now in regard to animation software, I have several software tools TBS, Moho, the TAB, Carrara (3D) and I’ve been test driving Mirage. If I had to choose just one 2D tool it would be TBS. TBS is more flexible with output (flash or Quicktime), vector animation simplifies the creation of characters as you can draw once and adjust the vectors to reshape an object. Pegs allow you to create a character “marionette” as well as move, resize or rotate an object. TBS allows you to layer sounds in your animation adding music, voice and effect sounds.

iJavaJoe, ive never tried mirage but i was just wondering about something. From what ive read on here, its a raster based animation program, am i right? If so, its basically just like drawing in photoshop, but animating it too?

Chris

Hi Chris, Yes Mirage is raster based NOT vector based like TBS. I would compare the pens/pencils etc to Painter as opposed to Photoshop since Painter came out with “natural” media draw tools first. The way these tools works just seems more painter like as well.

I like Mirage. It has some very cool features. I really like the special effects that can be added. In using Mirage I think of it as more a compositing tool. Now when you add the storyboarding module and the Animators toolbar it makes the program seem much more like working on electronic paper. If you make a mistake on a drawing you need to undo it or erase it, you can’t edit the points of the spline.

The way I would use Mirage is to create an animation in TBS, make your backgrounds how ever you wish and composite them in Mirage adding EFX in Mirage. This is where Mirage really shines. Be forewarned, unlike TBS, Mirage does not save to Flash since it’s raster based. Also, you WILL need a graphics tablet with Mirage and if you are use to a Mac Like interface your going to be disappointed with Mirages “quirky” interface.

If I had my druthers I’d prefer ToonBoom Solo before Mirage but the price of Solo is way out of reach for the hobiest animator.