I use a program called Animation:Master (
http://www.hash.com/2007web/). It is VERY much like AS. A lot of the shortcut keys are the same which freaked me out when I bought Moho (AS). The bones are very similar as well although A:M has more constraints.
It uses a different type of 3D construction called "Hash Splines" that were invented by the software creator Martin Hash. These are NOT anything like polygons. A:M does have some polygon import/export plugins but just like importing AI or EPS into Anime Studio, you lose some of the benefits of creating in the application.
Hash splines are very similar to AS vectors. They are also more like Adobe Illustrator "lines" in that they have bias handles for more control over a 3D shape. They were designed to animate well. They aren't like polygons at all. You "draw" 3D shapes by stitching together splines like a "chicken wire mesh". Very much like "sculpting" in 3D.
A:M has every feature you can think of. Many features you would pay extra for with other packages. It has physics, hair/fur, subsurface scattering (SS), global illumination, pixel level displacement, normal mapping... really cool stuff if you know what it is.
The current version in beta will have fluid effects. It has support for HDRI (EXR format) images and export.
It also has its own NLE compositor built in. You don't really need another application to put together rendered sequences.
I am pitching this because they just recently changed there purchase process. They now have two ways to buy:
Current version CD - $299 - You get the current version plus a year of updates (they update constantly). The CD version never "expires" but you have to update it each year to get the newest version.
Web Activation - $49 - This is like a "subscription". You get a years use (from date of purchase) of the current version. After the year is up the program stops working and you need to pay $49 again. This is a pretty good deal. The old subscription was $99 (but you got to keep the last version).
So for about 50 bucks you can use A:M for a whole year. Trust me this is a bargain.
Here are just two samples of some work I did over the years (I came in 3rd on the monthly image contest with these!):
http://www.lowrestv.com/misc_images/dandy_dna.jpg
http://www.lowrestv.com/lowres/portfoli ... final2.jpg
EDIT: These samples are not actually... good examples of the true power of A:M's character animation. It is specifically designed for organic modeling. Mechanical modeling like the above samples is a bit harder but still fun.
-vern
