Anime Studio Quality

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:17 pm

When you first said he had thought the quality of AS was at Flash level it was apparent to me he was simply looking at samples on the web (which probably ARE at the Flash level). I was thinking he ought to just see some stuff off a DVD or something... and then you said you sent him some of Greykid's work, so I assume it was at least uncompressed or apparent from it that AS can produce quality at TB's level.

It appears that the above poster is off track when he guesses the guy is looking for a cell frame program, though, since he himself quoted the "bones" feature of TB. And others are right -- TB is VERY deceptive when it comes to promoting this feature (and honestly, I just don't see why they don't incorporate it into their product. It's not as if warping envelopes or something is all that revolutionary -- 3D programs deal with it in a much more complicated manner and have since their inception.

Aside from that, all the old TB v. AS arguments will always pop up -- but since your thread was about his perception of quality I think that issue has pretty much been settled with the Greykid example.

dm · Post by dm » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:19 pm

Not that it really matters, but if you only have Greykid as an example, it's not a very strong 'list'.

ToonBoom offers hundreds of [award winning] productions using their software.

So, imagine you're a producer. You probably don't know anything about actually doing animation. Are you going to invest in the thing that 'everyone' uses, or the thing that a bunch of 14 year olds use to post fart jokes on YouTube? Remember that it's your money on the line here...

It's not the software that makes for good animation, it's the animator.

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 7:48 pm

So even though AS cost peanuts its too expensive to use in a series.

I haven't seen anything that validate that statement. Many people do actually use AS for regular series work.

So, imagine you're a producer. You probably don't know anything about actually doing animation. Are you going to invest in the thing that 'everyone' uses

Yeah, but that doesn't reflect on the quality AS is capable of as much as popular perception. What are we to ignore what may be the best tool for the job simply because its not tool the 'Jones' use?

Too bad most producers aren't very (if at all) educated in the nuts and bolts of what they're investing in. More money than brains, if you ask me.

knunk · Post by **knunk** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 7:52 pm

really who?

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:03 pm

Aaaagh!

I give up. It seems TB fans can't let us have an AS lovefest. What nerve we must have to extol the virtues of AS on the AS forum. We should be strung up and flogged.

knunk · Post by **knunk** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:35 pm

Don't be daft Synth...I thought we were having a grown up conversation.

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:04 pm

Sorry Knunk, that was more of a response to someone else who seems to only chime in when AS is compared to TB.

Mkelley does a one-man series (well as he says, 1 1/2 man).

Co production is only necessary if you're using software that requires that large of an animation team. So it's just a matter of getting around that 'good animation is only made by a huge studio' mentality. I think people are just so use to the means necessary to produce traditional or 3D animation, where you have very specialized tasks like lighting or tweening.

Greykid has said that without AS they couldn't make what they do with the size of their team, so I seriously doubt working on a series would change that.

Maybe the elitism here is more a case of big corporation vs. small business. The 'big business' model has the money and manpower to get the job done, so I'd image these would be kind of fearful if 'mom & pop' were able to be competitive.

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:10 pm

Wow... this seems familiar...

... excuse me now, I am going to watch some old movies on my Betamax.

-vern

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:17 pm

Might as well be a copy/paste thread, huh?

Betamax?! My VHS can kick your Betamax's ass!

knunk · Post by **knunk** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:55 pm

apologies if I came over as elitist to you Synth. I thought the guy was asking about software to produce an animated series. I was offering my advice on that subject.

Betamax v VHS?

I've been hanging around here for 5 years. Too long I think.

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:58 pm

Once again, sorry Knunk. That elitist bit wasn't meant for you. Man, I really ought to separate general comments from specific replies. I think I'll quit while I'm behind.

DK · Post by DK » Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:25 am

Hi
Just like to add one thing that the producer has been overwhelmingly shocked at what AS is capable of. Many thanks to Greykid.
So what swayed them away from AS, Flash and Toon Boom were these things.

1.The only AS animation they could find on the net looked too amaturish to them. I guess they did'nt look hard enough.

2.They knew someone who was making a series that used ToonBoom and his comments initially swayed them away from AS. Basically it was too cheap to be any good.

3. Flash was going to be too labour intensive. So speed was a factor.

4.ToonBoom was their tool of choice but multiple licenses were way too expensive. Cost is a factor.

Cheers
D.K

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:27 am

So you're saying that they don't like ANY of the solutions (TB too $$$, Flash too slow, AS too amateurish)? Or did you convince them that AS ISN'T all that bad, that it was just the examples they were looking at?

For me TB would be WAAAAAYYYY too slow a pipeline -- forget about cost.

DK · Post by DK » Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:49 am

Hi Mkelley.
Sorry...I did'nt want to spark up any more heated debates but the are looking at Anime Studio as the solution.

Cheers
D.K

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:00 am

DK,

Tell them if they need any custom scripts or character rigs... you know who to call.