Game Online

So far I haven’t really used it, mainly because it seems more like a toy. I haven’t figured out a practical use for it.
Rating: 3 / 5

Looking at some of the examples in SmithMicro’s gallery, there is no doubt that Anime Studio Debut 6 can create some stunning animations. This is a powerful 2D animation program, but it is not the easiest thing to use in the hands of a beginner. From the perspective of someone who is quite computer savvy, but a newbie to the animation scene, this program is often difficult to use, not terribly user friendly, and after a few weeks of tinkering I was not able to generate anything close to impressive.

Once again, please realize that this review is from the point of view of someone who has never used computer animation tools before. It may well be that in the hands of a more experienced user, the tools here are accessible and easy to use. It may also be that when compared to similar programs this one is amazingly user friendly, fast, and easy to use. However, I can only reflect on my experience as a beginner; so take this review with a grain of salt if you are more experienced.

The program comes attractively packaged and can be used on either a PC or a Mac. I used the Mac version of the program. It installed quite easily and was up and running within minutes. The program comes with a quick start guide and a number of tutorials that go over the basics. Even so, the menus are not all that user friendly and the program does not guide you to the correct place when you are going wrong. The help menus were similarly of little use to me. Once again, this may reflect my overall lack of experience with these kinds of programs.

Once properly oriented, it was easy enough to make basic shapes. After finding the appropriate menus, there were a number of pre-made animations, characters, and backgrounds that could be placed within a scene. It has a built-in vector drawing program. This is definitely serviceable, but there are better ones out there. I did not try it, but you can apparently import images from another vector drawing program if you prefer this.

A major positive here was the ‘bones system’ employed by the program. Basically, you embed mini-armatures and connect them with joints. This allows you to move your characters or objects like you would a marionette. This truly simplifies moving a character in space. It is also helpful that you simply move the bones to the desired position and the program actually animates it for you–this is not a ’stop motion’ kind of technique and really speeds things up. However, just as there are good puppeteers and bad puppeteers there are good and bad animators. Sadly, there is apparently a steep learning curve. My characters move more like robots than they do actual people.

Layers are relatively easy to navigate. There are supplied backgrounds or you can draw your own. The program allows you to manipulate the layers separately for desired effects. There are also some pre-animated images that you can place into your movie. These can be customized as you desire and moved around as objects. Unfortunately, these are drawn in diverse styles and are not separated into families. So you have Manga kinds of human characters, some classic animation type objects and characters, and others that look more cartoonish and Homer-Simpsonesque. You can make your own characters, of course, but this can be a tedious and labor intensive process.

Sound tracks and music can also be added as can voice effects with ‘automatic lip synching.’ I wasn’t good at syncrhonizing the music with the video, but I’m sure that could come over time if I press on. And I didn’t try the lip synching.

As these are 2D animations and not 3D vector characters, they cannot be turned around in space–you will not be animating the latest Disney production with this program. You are stuck with frontal and side views. Even so, many clever effects can be achieved as can bee seen in the Smith Micro gallery.

I am not familiar with similar programs in the past. It may well be that this program is a real breakthrough, saving time for the hard core animator or enthusiast. For me, however, I found the process frustrating and often difficult. I started off with a great deal of motivation, really wanting to roll up my sleeves and create some great animation. However, I would not have persisted in creating anything had I not received the program through Vine and needed to write a review. My results were distinctly unimpressive–more like a silent version of Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python animation than a cartoon, except even more primitive. But at least I got some results.

One interesting side point is that during this process I was so frustrated I started to look for other options. I had remembered reading about ‘Alice,’ a program developed by Randy Pauch (writer of The Last Lecture) and others at Carnegie Mellon University. His goal was to create a highly user friendly program that could teach basic programming to students and be used by anyone, not just computer science majors. This is a free download and can be found at its own website with a quick Google search. As it turns out, there is less flexibility with Alice, but the learning curve is more manageable. The results are astounding and the process is less frustrating for the beginner.

So I’m giving this one 3 stars. Guys like me should stick to Alice. The enthusiasts, avid hobbyists, and professionals can clearly get amazing results with Anime Studio, and I will continue to admire them on the sidelines. However, the learning curve is steep for the beginner and the results for the newbie are limited.
Rating: 3 / 5