Transition from Toon Boom to Anime Studio 11?

[wizaerd]

Thanks for the feedback, dkwroot.

Some of this stuff we know about and would like to improve. Some of it is kind of new. I didn't realize that some people didn't like working with the Layers panel, for example.

As far as the appearance of the UI, can you be specific about what looks bad? I'm not trying to be defensive - I've been working on the program so long that I've probably got the UI burned into my retinas, so it may be hard for me to step back and see it. The Harmony screenshot you linked to certainly looks different, but I'm not sure why one is nicer to look at than the other.

The problem with the ASP UI is it's severely dated, and has not kept up with current standards. It's missing dockable/undockable palettes, docking palettes anywhere, custom toolbars, sizable toolbars, sizeable palettes, tabbed palettes, etc... And most importantly, tablet scaling.

[strider2000]

I'll throw in some thoughts from the more novice/hobbyist end.
- I started in animation with Toon Boom about 3 years ago (I had version 5 without bones or bitmaps (you could import)).
- I initially actually avoided Anime Studio, because the box cover art ( I think it was the animeBoy) made me think it was more of a toy. That may also have been because the debut version was sold at local stores etc. Don't get me wrong, that's great! but I think the picture in a local store just brought the cheaper idea to my mind.
- When I finally got Anime Studio, Toon Boom was left behind, because it was so much easier to animate with AS. I did miss the FBF, but that's now taken care of.
- Prior to 11 I didn't want to do any vector work in AS. I didn't want to shell out money for Illustrator and all the other vector programs did not import very well, though simple SVG was ok. As a result I wanted to do artwork in a bitmap program (I use Manga Studio) and export to psd. I didn't like the fact that changes to psd caused problems :/ With the improvements to 11 I now feel very good about creating vectors in AS or importing psd. CK's video on the watermellon made me even revisit not only final layers in vector form, but sketching in vectors. I am much more considering turning off paths for sketching with AS vectors and just thinking of it like I do bitmap programs

My thoughts of Toon Boom vs AS
- TBS - #1 love their smoothing control for the pen better than AS though AS is much better now
- TBS - Key frames were easier to understand. The concept that a Keyframe in AS didn't freeze everything by default was tough for me to get used to
- TBS - Workspaces. Love the customizability and ability to switch between workspaces. AS should look at MS for that as well. Good model.
- GUI - TBS might have larger icons for tablets. TBS feels a little more "artsy" to me, but I wouldn't consider that major. Anything that moves toward customization for different tasks (content creation, animation, sketching) would be good. Definitely like to see a tablet supported style.
- AS - love love love the scripting!!!!
- AS - community support, videos and tutorials!!!! love 'em
- AS 11 - cannot imagine using Toon Boom now with the improvements in AS.
- AS - licensing/pricing seems much better in AS. For Toon Boom I feel like I have to have an act of congress to use a program I paid for. Not a joy to use and a big negative. Maybe that's not a big deal for the larger professionals, but for those like me it's just too much and not worth it.

I haven't used the latest versions of Toon Boom/Harmony. I'm sure they've got great things and I'm really glad for the input from the AS users who know the newer versions of Toon Boom/Harmony. I'd love to see AS keep pace. I love AS and the direction I see it going.

[Ronbo]

In addition to all the excellent points already brought up, I'd have to say that Toon Boom offers much more in the way of effects than AS. Even though most people, I think, use an NLE to produce their finished animations, it would still be nice to have more special effects built into AS. At the very least, a true motion blur would eliminate to need to purchase a plugin like ReelSmart Motion Blur if your NLE doesn't have that capability.

http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/1 ... ce-Library

[dkwroot]

As far as the appearance of the UI, can you be specific about what looks bad?

Let's first observe the competition:
FLASH: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cAj0qnAbQWg/maxresdefault.jpg
TOON BOOM: http://www.animationmagazine.net/wordpr ... post-1.jpg

1. BETTER PANELS AND TABS
The action window and all other important windows need to be tabbed into panels. Furthermore, windows need to allow custom layouts. I would also suggest adding a sidebar to the right of the canvas just like Flash or Photoshop. You could store the action panel and layer settings in the sidebar menu.

2. CLEANER AND SIZABLE ICONS
Get an artist of clean up all of the icons and go for a clean, slick appearance. Just look at Photoshop or Flash for inspiration for good icon design. Make the icons resizable so that people on laptops and tablets can more easily interact with them.

3. SWATCHES
The Swatches should be professional grade, meaning that they can be made and saved right within the program. Swatches should also be collapsible.

4. TOOL SHELF
The tool icons need to be a little bigger and redesigned to have a more slick appearance. Furthermore, the tool shelf needs to be reduced to 2 lines. For most people, there is a huge amount of wasted space between the tool bar and the timeline. Again, look at your competition and take note of their design.

5. ODD TIMELINE
As I mentioned earlier, Anime Studio's timeline doesn't mesh with 2d animators very well. You guys need to add a toggle mode that will add a grid to the timeline. Just look at Toom Boom/Flash to get an idea of how people prefer their timeline to look.

6. BAD BOUNDING BOX DESIGN
When you click on a group layer in Anime Studio, the bounding box is often weird and doesn't reflect the bounds of the contents within the layer. This issue is a big deal for people who like to organize their characters within the canvas.

example: http://s22.postimg.org/bd9k47jkh/design.png

7. 2 COLORS FOR CANVAS
The canvas should have 2 colors. 1 Color for the area in the camera view and another color for the area outside the camera. This is very common in other programs, even Photoshop does this. I demonstrate this in the example image above. My canvas area is white while the outside bounds is dark gray.

[braj]

5. ODD TIMELINE
As I mentioned earlier, Anime Studio's timeline doesn't mesh with 2d animators very well. You guys need to add a toggle mode that will add a grid to the timeline. Just look at Toom Boom/Flash to get an idea of how people prefer their timeline to look.

Selgin even gives a tip on using cycled markers to create the grid that is missing, especially when animating on 2s this is helpful.

3. SWATCHES
The Swatches should be professional grade, meaning that they can be made and saved right within the program. Swatches should also be collapsible.

Manga Studio's swatches are great, is there any possible way to use that as inspiration? Consistency across Smith Micro's creative software is also something that could be improved, I know Manga Studio is developed out of house in Japan, but it is still SM's from a user perspective.

7. 2 COLORS FOR CANVAS
The canvas should have 2 colors. 1 Color for the area in the camera view and another color for the area outside the camera. This is very common in other programs, even Photoshop does this. I demonstrate this in the example image above. My canvas area is white while the outside bounds is dark gray.

I use 'show output only' with a transparent grey for outside the camera view. I don't know if that does what you want though.

[dkwroot]

Selgin even gives a tip on using cycled markers to create the grid that is missing, especially when animating on 2s this is helpful.

I tried it, the colors clash with the dark interface. Don't stare at the image too long, your eyes might explode.
http://s7.postimg.org/a7rm5ffez/eyebleed.png

I use 'show output only' with a transparent grey for outside the camera view. I don't know if that does what you want though.

I tried this too.
http://s7.postimg.org/ugezr5eq3/canvas.png

[braj]

Selgin even gives a tip on using cycled markers to create the grid that is missing, especially when animating on 2s this is helpful.

I tried it, the colors clash with the dark interface. Don't stare at the image too long, your eyes might explode.
http://s7.postimg.org/a7rm5ffez/eyebleed.png



Yeah, my point there was that there are work arounds necessary to get what you are suggesting, which I also agree is needed. It seems like it should follow the setting for interval, so if you set twos, it will show a grid for twos, etc.

[Lost Marble]

As far as the appearance of the UI, can you be specific about what looks bad?

Let's first observe the competition:
FLASH: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cAj0qnAbQWg/maxresdefault.jpg
TOON BOOM: http://www.animationmagazine.net/wordpr ... post-1.jpg

Thanks again, these are are very specific and functional improvements. I was under the impression that you were talking more about the visual "look" of the application, and that could be a matter of taste. But these are all things we can act on, and in addition to maybe looking better they would improve workflow and user experience.

[willf]

6. BAD BOUNDING BOX DESIGN
When you click on a group layer in Anime Studio, the bounding box is often weird and doesn't reflect the bounds of the contents within the layer. This issue is a big deal for people who like to organize their characters within the canvas.

example: http://s22.postimg.org/bd9k47jkh/design.png

Perhaps I am showing my ignorance, but my impression from looking at the example was that the bounding box here is centered around the layer's origin.

[dkwroot]

Some of this stuff we know about and would like to improve. Some of it is kind of new. I didn't realize that some people didn't like working with the Layers panel, for example.

When I said that people dislike the layers panel, I meant that they're more accustomed to working with layer hierarchy within the canvas. This means that they like to be able to step through the hierarchy fluidly and not have to struggle with tons of layers. I made improvements to the layer selection tool and demonstrate how layer selection should work in the video link below. I'm also providing a download link for those interested in the tool.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/c3ALCaAw2Rg?t=8m39s
DOWNLOAD: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=26221

[JaMike]

I've been a Toon Boom Harmony user for a long time (not by choice, my employer got suckered in to the hard-sell), so I can speak from experience that it's crashy, way over-complicated, and there is NO sense of community on their forums like there is here. The bitmap drawing tools feel tacked-on and gimmicky (I am a big fan of TV Paint so I know what good drawing tools feel like), and the new Harmony 12 features are more Harmony 11.1 than a full new release.

I haven't had the time to try Anime Studio 11 yet (I'm still on 9), but even my older version is better than Harmony is now. I tried to get my employer to change, but he'd spent so much money on Toon Boom he'll be using it until the year 2525 to get his money back.

But it's great to see Smith Micro being so aggressive towards Toon Boom - the crossgrade offer is genius! Toon Boom deserve to be taken down a peg or two. But be careful, they sued the last company that tried it - http://www.creativemac.com/article/Toon ... haus-36942 - although their CEO walked out last year, and they haven't replaced him yet, so maybe things are different there now. It would certainly explain why they've dumped Animate and Studio and made a lacklustre new Harmony.

The Anime is at the gates for Toon Boom!!!