Advice about getting ToonBoom Harmony

[ToxicRamen]

This is not a comic related question but more of an animation question. I like animation and wanted to do animation. But I haven't done animation in years so I might be rusty and I'm more of a character designer than an animator. As of right now, I have these animation software that I could practice my animation on: Flash CS5, Moho Studio Debut 12, Animation Desk, and OpenToonz. I also downloaded this free storyboard software called StoryboardFountain.

But I heard that most people are using ToonBoom Harmony which is the industry standard animation software (And also Storyboard Pro to make storyboards & animatics) but it is very expensive. Right now I can afford the Essentials version(I would paid for the full software rather than paid a monthly subscription) which has the basics for the program. But I was wondering if ToonBoom Harmony Essentials is good enough for me to create animation with.

If anyone here also does animation what do you guys think? Also what else can I use ToonBoom Harmony Essentials for besides just animation?

[JessJackdaw]

They have a free trial where they let you try each version as a separate trial, so why don't you see for yourself if it's enough? : > That's what I'm doing currently at least.

Also secondary question, you can use Essentials for game animation (it will export to Unity and Unreal), not sure what else you could use it for... perhaps web design? Not sure.

[UzukiCheverie]

I used the full Toon Boom suite in college. It's a good program for animating, storyboarding, etc. The only downside is that it falls victim to a lot of the faults that animation softwares fall to - restrictive line art and lack of artistic integrity. To put it easily, programs like Flash and Toon Boom are more suited for animating rigged characters and objects, like you see in My Little Pony, Powerpuff Girls (the new one), and basically any other animated TV show where you can just tell the characters are built off a 2D skeleton.

I didn't find a program that allows for good painting effects/line work in animation until I upgraded to Clip Studio Paint Pro. If you can draw it, you can animate it, and it doesn't suffer from forced vectorization or pixelation like Toon Boom/Flash tends to do. HOWEVER it is not a primary animation tool, and is really only good for linework and coloring - there are no audio tools, so any actual audio syncing is sorta a crabshoot. I personally use Flash to storyboard and write up a dope sheet, then I use the dope sheet and sketches from Flash to animate in Clip Studio Paint. After a bit of sync work and re-timing using Sony Vegas, I'm usually able to get good results. Here's a short video I made (a long time ago lol) with an audio clip from Wreck-It Ralph (all drawn in CSP):

As you can see, the animation itself still has the smooth lines and colors that I pretty much expect my animation work to have - but I just can never seem to get with Flash and Toon Boom.

But I mean, hey, that's just my opinion lol Toon Boom's not a bad program by any means and I enjoyed using it in school. If you're saving up and have enough for Essentials, go for it. Otherwise, try out the free trials and see if it's your thing.

[JessJackdaw]

I didn't find a program that allows for good painting effects/line work in animation

Aww dude! You gotta try TVPaint then! Granted it has the worst program name ever, it's the go-to program for traditional painterly animation. Movies like Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea were made with it.

Gorgeous stuff.
Plus, the top notch schools like Ringling and Gobelins use it too, and it's cheaper than ToonBoom Harmony.

Oh and one last note, you can actually turn off that vectory line adjustment Flash and Toonboom! It's a setting that's a little hidden. You just have to go to the brush palette and turn down the smoothing and line angle.

[ToonDoctor]

I still use Flash for full frame 2D animation without rigs. Heck, Johnny Bullet is drawn with Flash!