Anime Studio 8 Already?

General Moho topics.

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sbtamu
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Post by sbtamu »

Bring sketches and image files to life by converting them to ready-to-animate vector drawings with the click of a button.

This is interesting.
Sorry for bad animation

http://www.youtube.com/user/sbtamu
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pihms
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Post by pihms »

I did find some interesting comparisons to Crazy Talk Animator. It appears that 8 could be trying to match some those features found on Crazy Talk. The price they offer for Crazy is better, the interface is easy to understand and has a more up-to-date appearance. They don't seem to have the bug complaints as much also. The some of the character art looks very similar to that of Jib Jab. Possibly hired an artist from them? Could provide a stronger promotion to Anime Studio to provide some similar content.

It's probably good to have a little competition to up the product quality and features. I hope nobody thinks I'm trying to promote Crazy Talk. I'm a committed Anime Studio user and am very happy with the product. I see much that Anime Studio has to offer. I but I do see the competition creeping closer and would like to see Anime Studio stay a head and even move far a head of the rest.

On another note, I just bought 7 last week, figured by now all of the bugs that will be fixed have been fixed. I hope that they will give some slack to recent buyers for a free upgrade. If I knew it was coming I would have waited, though it being a new product it could also have some bugs.
crsP
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Post by crsP »

I thought they might be going for that market - the CTA that is. If you consider the other things you can do in ASP, like creating your own characters [and I'm not talking about frankensteining pre-made ones] etc. then they are comparable. More so if you pit it against debut. And no offence to who created the CTA content, but there's nothing I see that even a moderately skilled artist couldn't do. CTA users seem to have a penchant for using AS content in their animations, and those do not look out of place from the CTA content [they all look like random elements from different cartoons!].

Concerning your purchase of AS7 - you are in luck. Smith Micro does a 30 day guarantee, so if I was you, I would get that refund, wait the couple of weeks for 8 release, and purchase again.

Finally, you don't have to worry about proving your loyalty to AS. Not to me, at least. If CTA or any other app does something better than AS, then reporting it is more helpful to those who have an interest in that particular feature. It's not as if people are going to ask for a refund of AS... er, wait...
ponysmasher
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Post by ponysmasher »

I really hope they're not going after the Crazy Talk market.
I downloaded the trial and it seemed to me to be a toy for kids who don't want to draw or do any of the work. just preloaded characters and motions.
Maybe it's possible to do more advanced stuff in it but I uninstalled it pretty quick.

I've been using Anime Studio for years and it's the best animation software I know of, but reading about a new "character wizard" in the new version worries me.
I'm always trying new animation software in the hopes of finding something better than AS but it's still the best for me though. I just wish more serious features/bugs were being worked on than facebook-upload and poser import.

Man, I used to think that the guys at "the other forum" were overly negative but I'm slowly turning into one of them... :)
benecosse
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Post by benecosse »

old post
Last edited by benecosse on Thu May 05, 2016 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ponysmasher
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Post by ponysmasher »

benecosse wrote:I'm going to wait until the demo is released and then decide what I think.
I'm still going to buy it. I've bought every new version as soon as it's released. It's not expensive software and I like new things :)
benecosse wrote:Is it not good that SmithMicro are conscious of the CrazyTalk threat?
Is it a threat? It shouldn't be in my opinion. Anime Studio is capable of much more professional work while CTA is a kids toy.

benecosse wrote:Is it not good they are actively focusing on growing their user base? Whether we like it or not, a lot of software company seem to be focusing on the casual, hobbiest, download/play then discard market.
I don't know, trying to satisfy everyone often ends up satisfying no one. I'd say it's better to focuse on ones strengths.
benecosse wrote:As long as SmithMicro improve established features too then I don't care if they bolt on stuff to attract new buyers. That's business surely!
more users = more money = more yearly updates = more longevity for AS.
Well, time spent bolting on stuff could be time spent improving existing features...
benecosse wrote:...as long as they also listen to their established user base then it's all good.
Do they though? Aren't there features that people have been wanting for years?

I guess I sound more bitter than I am. I still love the software and I'm excited about having a new version.
crsP
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Post by crsP »

I suppose it's not a bad thing to offer up this automation for the D.D.I.Y [Don't do It Yourself] crowd, but you support ponysmasher's point as it's on the condition that they improve the established features. In the 7 cycle there is one bug fix. That's why, I too would like to try out the demo, no matter if they had claimed to substantially improve FBF. Because as I see it now, version 8 will be pretty much the same [bugs and all] on it's release as when version 9 is out.

It's been well publicised on this forum that the development of AS is one man, so, whilst it's all well and good to praise this accomplishment, the disadvantages of this cannot be ignored. There's only a certain amount of attention which can be focused on different features, so ponysmasher's [and others] concerns when features are introduced that do not serve the creative users are justified. Fixing bugs may not be glamourous, but that's the things that keep users loyal as it shows commitment to improving the software. Poser import, for example is there to get AS users in the Poser content ecosystem. Because Anime Studio does not have the infrastructure for this type of 3d [bones still work in 2d space, camera not customisable, no way of adjusting light source, etc.], it would have served them better to add an Anime Studio importer in Poser instead, and then advertise that to AS users. Maybe Poser is being used in AS all the time, in secret, but you just don't see this feature commonly used.

It's no mystery why so many users are still on version 5. The 'meat and bones' are pretty much the same up to and including version 7. Someone could do something in Moho and you wouldn't be able to tell it apart from the same thing in 7, plus it would probably take equal time as the method remains the same. But at least 'New' drawing tools are advertised on the Debut page. So we shall see in a months time I guess.
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Diana Kennedy
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Post by Diana Kennedy »

Crazy talk animator must indeed be fun for Kids. They can take a photo of their schoolmates, make a silly, embarrassing animation with it and then either upload the film on Youtube or send it around to friends with their cell-phone. Be it.

There are a lot more of said kids than artists with serious animation projects out there, so it's no wonder that companies aim more at the Kids market and offer features like pre-made characters and silly stuff like "upload to facebook" facilities.

Indeed, as long as Smith Micro doesn't forget the mature animators, it's okay for me too. I just DO hope that they do not forget us.

I will buy AS8 as soon as it has been released too, for same reasons as Ponysmasher.
benecosse
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Post by benecosse »

Excited to find out
Last edited by benecosse on Thu May 05, 2016 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Danimal
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Post by Danimal »

NEW! Character Wizard automates the creation of fully rigged characters complete with walk cycles, expressions and more
This is what interests me. The thought of being able to quickly create rigged characters of my own design (as other copy implies) may take away some of the tedium and actually get me animating more. This sounds like it could be a pretty good upgrade.
~Danimal
benecosse
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Post by benecosse »

exciting times
Last edited by benecosse on Thu May 05, 2016 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
crsP
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Post by crsP »

I didn't factor in debut's lack of features from pro. Oh oh, spaghettios. But it was worded that you can sketch in any style. I interpret this [maybe wrongly] as different medium like chalks and pencils, etc. Whether bitmap based like Artrage or vector based like Expression or Studio Artist. Adobe Illustrator can, as of CS5, use natural media strokes. Maybe something similar [I am dreaming...].

The thing about SM going after the 'throwaway' market is that they have a product geared directly to those - Debut. Pro should be developed with more committed users in mind. A simple thing they could do, for example, is have the content as a separate download from the app.
crsP
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Post by crsP »

It is more likely for a child to be 'the next serious animator' using something like Anime Studio \ Toon Boom Studio than something like CTA \ GoAnimate. I'm not saying it's guaranteed one way or the other, but if you have tools which take away the creative process with automation, then you don't expose the user to the actual joy of making. Everybody enjoys a tasty cake, but you more likely get a child wanting to become a baker if you went to the process of baking the cake with them.

Not that AS tools will disappear with this wizard [although we know not yet how powerful this wizard is - maybe more so than Gandalf the Grey!] But it's taking away time from bug fixes and such is what the worry is.
Danimal
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Post by Danimal »

crsP wrote:But it's taking away time from bug fixes and such is what the worry is.
I don't know, I've been using the software for years now and never encountered a bug. I'm sure it's riddled to the teeth with them and that's what's keeping everyone from creating cartoons rather than spending 7000 hours on head turn rigs, but I'll be a monkey's uncle if even once I've found one.

I will readily admit the stuff I do is crude and at its most simple level, but seeing as how I've never encountered a bug, I couldn't care less if they spend time fixing them and delight when they add new features. Call me selfish.
~Danimal
ponysmasher
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Post by ponysmasher »

Danimal wrote: I don't know, I've been using the software for years now and never encountered a bug.
The big problem for me was version 7. For some reason the multicore rendering has problems with large images and 3d objects. On my computers I'll get either frames with no antialiasing or even empty frames unless I start up my computer with only one core running.

Version 7 also had the switch layer interpolation bug and has problems with layer scripts on multicore machines.

Version 7.1 fixed the interpolation bug and I hope that version 8, if not fixing multicore bugs, at least lets you disable multicore rendering.

But versions before 7 were relatively bug free for me.
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