So where is it?! (or what's in a name?)
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:47 am
When I first got my hands on Anime Studio Pro, having known nothing of the previous Moho days, I thought I was entering some kind of revolution. Some here may remember my early tests and explorations with the package, much of which was posted here. Suddenly a method existed that I could really see changing the face of animation, certainly in television, if not features. Now I find myself wondering what happened.
My thought is that animation couldn't possibly be easier than vector work with bones and using switch layers to change drawings when needed. We saw examples, like those of, then called, Grey Kid, which seemed to show the future of animation. Yet, from what I can tell, even though I think this tools should be dominating the Tv animation world, it doesn't seem to have caught on.
I can speak for Flash from first hand experience. I have never even seen it, yet alone used it. But from talking to guys who use it, they all seem to imply that it is not at all easy to use or intuitive. I have even heard that there are other tools like Toon Boom that are faster and easier than Flash, but I haven't used them either. Yet, so many shows, and even some feature films are done using Flash.
What has kept Anime Studio from catching on? Is it the name? We all know real anime is never vector and drawn frame for frame, and the name seems to make it out to be a cut rate tool for fanboys to try and emulate their favorite anime shows from TV, rather than for professionals to make content for TV. Does the name send that image into the industry?
If it is something else, what could it be? Thinking back to limited animation cartoons like The Jetsons, it seems like there could be no better tool than Anime Studio to pull off this kind of thing quickly and easily on a regular basis. If the ball was dropped, where was it dropped?
My thought is that animation couldn't possibly be easier than vector work with bones and using switch layers to change drawings when needed. We saw examples, like those of, then called, Grey Kid, which seemed to show the future of animation. Yet, from what I can tell, even though I think this tools should be dominating the Tv animation world, it doesn't seem to have caught on.
I can speak for Flash from first hand experience. I have never even seen it, yet alone used it. But from talking to guys who use it, they all seem to imply that it is not at all easy to use or intuitive. I have even heard that there are other tools like Toon Boom that are faster and easier than Flash, but I haven't used them either. Yet, so many shows, and even some feature films are done using Flash.
What has kept Anime Studio from catching on? Is it the name? We all know real anime is never vector and drawn frame for frame, and the name seems to make it out to be a cut rate tool for fanboys to try and emulate their favorite anime shows from TV, rather than for professionals to make content for TV. Does the name send that image into the industry?
If it is something else, what could it be? Thinking back to limited animation cartoons like The Jetsons, it seems like there could be no better tool than Anime Studio to pull off this kind of thing quickly and easily on a regular basis. If the ball was dropped, where was it dropped?