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Flash vs Harmony: Which is better for 2D?

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Flash vs Harmony: Which is better for 2D?

I've been hearing about Toonboom and Harmony and I am wondering if it is more user friendly for 2D Animators who wants to do animation the digital way.

I've been exclusively animating using Flash MX for quite some time now and I know that one has to have a certain degree of technical knowledge of the software to make it work. Some animators I know who have been doing 2D for years are afraid that they will have a hard time with Flash. Flash does not come with an animation disk and a dope sheet and one has to be quite computer savvy to get started. Is Harmony any different? Which of the two are more user friendly?

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round and round it goes

Ok heres the deal (closing his palm)

Toonboom is a software from USAnimation , it is sold as a package bundled with USAnimation (OPUS) or sold separately as toon boom studios. USAnimation is a very stable high end animation composting software built primarily for Traditional animators. It is more like a digitized Oxberry Camera .

To use USAnimation one must follow the same pipeline as the earlier technology was devised for with manager controls, xsheets, scans , ink and paint, composites and then previews.

Now since it is meant to handle huge amount of scans at a shot, the scans can be continuous and there is an option to convert these images to vector format (digitize) and color them. which can be done in the "Ink and Paint" Module of USAnimation which is actually primarily contained in TOON BOOM.

thus its sold with USAnimation as a package software. Now as a standalone program, it has the same features, like a time line, a library, color pallet for each character and camera peg, etc...

Now flash on the other hand , well .. well keepin it short, does not have features like the color pallet and the camera peg ,where you have this freedom of spatiality, this area of depth that is not controlled by layers.

which is definitely a big advantage

But then again flash was not initially designed for traditional animation. so there exists no dope sheets, animation turntables, fields, (which exist in toon boom) so there foreseen like a completely new methodology to learnt for a traditional 2d animator, which is a definitely no no. but then again there is the issue of pricing with flash just a cross over prices as compared to the 18k + for USAnimation

Harmony is an excellent s/w from USAnimation. harmony is a little different than opus , cause opus is targeting traditional animators where as harmony not only covers traditional animators needs but also digital animators. but the introduction of a really slick feature called High tech drawing tools (morphing, IK, glue). this feature is very similar to another software called moho ( by a company called lostmarbels) the glue feature helps stick vectors , for example if you have an arm and a forehand, glue helps stick those two parts together.

2D Animators who wants to do animation the digital way?

USAnimation : opus is the first choice

USAnimation : Harmony is the next, since there exists glue and IK which could be new to any 2d traditional animator

USAnimation : Toonboom is next, since here it is all about frame by frame with turntables and fields,

Macromedia? Flash: the last choice for traditional animators, since there exists no animation discs, or frames , but can do frame by frame here

there are a lot of other friendly animation softwares like easytoons , moho , the tab but are not as close to the methodology as a traditional 2d animation, though they are quiet easy to pickup.

Then again there is the pricing!

Cheers (sips on his drink)

The best software for the job is the one that allows you do your work the quickest and easiest.

But you already have your mind made up Sandrock, you are just looking for validation.

Pat

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

How about a link to some of your work since you seem to be such an expert Sandrock?

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

If I could just chime in real quick. I bought Toonboom over Flash for the simple reason that the interface puts you into an environment that is just easier for me to understand. I am self teaching myself animation, and Toonboom fits better into the realm of dope sheets and exposures and so on.

Also, I would like to thank Spacemonkey for such a thorough answer. Its that kind of outpouring of help in this forum that makes it so much fun to be around.

And one last thing, I'm having trouble finding in Sandrock's post any "claiming of being an expert." I think he was just listing his experience. Just wondering.

KalEl118

I use Flash....becasue it was there, most studios use it and I am weary to learn another program. In the olden days I never had to learn a new pencil. :) Fortunately or unfortunately, the winner in technological tools isn't always the best but the most accessible or popular. I'm happy with Flash.

I like alot of things I see about toonboom. Maybe more things than I see with Flash. What I don't like about what I see is the automated lipsynch ability. And while I think the depth ability of the camera has good uses, in most hands bg object look like 2d standees in 3d world, which is not an effect that turns my crank.

In the end, if one is bowled over by some animation and has to ask on what software was it made, it may be irrelevant.

Wow Spacemonkey, that's one hell of a review! Personally I don't need a lot of the stuff that USanimation offers. Even though I have an animation disk, I don't spin it around when I draw. Thats just me. I'm sure if I had some of those features I'd use them. The Glue sounds pretty handy. I agree with Phacker though, what ever you are most comforable with, you should go with that one.

I do have a question though. Who cares about the dope sheets? To me, it seems like twice the work to plan out your whole animation on a dope sheet, then do it all over again in Flash or Toonboom or what ever. Why not just draw your poses right in then adjust the timing if need be? Thats what we all do here.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

How about a link to some of your work since you seem to be such an expert Sandrock?

Woah!
WT.....?
He seems like a fine enough fellow. Do we have to be experts to discuss our software preferences?

...........I do have a question though. Who cares about the dope sheets? To me, it seems like twice the work to plan out your whole animation on a dope sheet, then do it all over again in Flash or Toonboom or what ever. Why not just draw your poses right in then adjust the timing if need be? Thats what we all do here.

Aloha,
the Ape

I agree. The timeline in Flash is sound breakdown, bar sheet and dope sheet in one. You can put notes on frames. It is a new way of thinking . One's "drawings" are the number of frame automatically....no need to manually number them.

I've been hearing about Toonboom and Harmony and I am wondering if it is more user friendly for 2D Animators who wants to do animation the digital way.

Moho is a good user friendly program (I learned it REALLY FAST!). It's basically 2D computer animation. You build the character and then rig it just like in 3D animation. You can also do frame by frame animation for complex animation like hands and head turns and lip sync. Or you don't have to use the bones at all, just draw your character frame by frame!

You can read about all it's features here:
http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/features/index.shtml

See some samples here:
http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/gallery/index.shtml

Download the free demo (it has ALL the features except it exports to Flash in grayscale and the Quicktimes have "Demo" written all over it :rolleyes: ):
http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/download.shtml

It's $99 and that's VERY CHEAP for this kind of program.

Also, do you want proof that it's user friendly? Okay, I have a friend who had no expirience in animation and he's animating for me already. The basic tutorials shouldn't take any longer than an hour to do.

Hope this helps :D

Spoooze!

Woah!
WT.....?
He seems like a fine enough fellow. Do we have to be experts to discuss our software preferences?

Obviously not since Phacker is in this discussion.

chill!

Jeeez man, chill out phacker. I don't see him making any claims to either being an expert OR his software preference. He asked an extremely straight forward question, and your response sure doesn't show much professionalism at your end.

www.MattOrnstein.com
Character Animator - Lucas Arts

Excellent review, spacemonkey, thanks a lot! It was very helpful that you've broken down all of US Animation's other softwares and ranked them accordingly for us. I sort of agree that Flash, well, compared to the other three US Animation software, is the last choice for 2D animators who wants to do animation the digital way.

It's quite amazing how these softwares are slowly taking over some of the traditional work that animators do. I am a firm believer that a solid foundation in classical animation is still key to an animator's success in this business. But we cannot ignore these new trend, and learning how to use these softwares can open a lot of avenues of opportunities for classically trained animators.

I raise a drink to one and all.

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Incidentally, traditional in Flash is a click, a key, and a drawing away from anything you want to do. Computer savvy might get you hearing about it, but going through the process of testing out an animation once is all you need to know all you need to know. Note that I said traditional. There are a few more instructions for symbols/stationaries, etc.

apples and eggs to a great deal. i think before you pick a software you will have to look at
Cost
Suitability
for a full scale broadcast series on 2d you would have to use Opus or concerto or one of those simply coz its scalable, manageable and flexible.
on the other hand Flash MX will cost around $450 while Opus+Concerto is around $17000 and change.