Just installed my Debut 7. I have been wanting to get into 2D animation for ages (one of my childhood dreams really).
I've been tinkering with Flash at design school but that was 10 years ago.
I have and love my Blender 3D (have done precious little animations with it mind) but I figured I need a good, clean traditional animation program and here I am!!
You have made the right desicion by choosing AS to make your animations.
AS is not the best software for traditional animation because its FBF tools are not really the best but yet you will be able to make a good work with them.
Yes, there will be a learning curve but dont worry AS is really easy to learn and use and there are a couple of nice tutorials around the internet especially on youtube.
Check this guys tutorials, he explains the software from scratch, they are really nice:
Yes, there is a learning curve, and you have to somewhat abandon anything you've learned with other software until you understand AS, because it just works differently, but OH! When you start to understand it, it is SO EXCITING and FUN!
You will soon find that you never look at any animation the same, as you find yourself looking more at backgrounds, and movements, and how the mouths work when speaking...
The Animationfun101 tutorials on YouTube really are VERY helpful, but Parker's are good to teach you how to use the drawing tools, and there are also a few good ones by LynxEyeDocCA
ENJOY!
~M
Change is inevitable, growth is optional.
Life is short, enjoy the adventure!