Need good beggining animation program...

[whw5]

Hey guys I have decided that I would like to learn animation. However, I have absolutly no experence. Do any of you have good suggestions for animation programs? Any tips and advice are great!!

 

[Jimong5]

What kind of animation? 3D or more conventional?

for conventional Id recommend Flash MX, which you can download a 30 day trial for.

as for 3D, im not to familiar with it, so I can't really give advice there.

 

[iMook]

For 3D, I recommend LightWave.

I started out on 3D Studio MAX R3, got familiar with that, then played around with Bryce for a bit and realized that its built for LightWave import/export. To me, LightWave is easier to use for 3D animation than 3D Studio MAX. I don't know of anything easier.

 

[nina]

If you're interested in 3D, one of the biggest products in the industry is Maya.

Alias offers a Personal Learning Edition of Maya that is specifically geared towards users like you who are interested in learning how to animate in 3D. From the Alias website:

"Maya Personal Learning Edition is a special version of Maya®, which provides users with free access to Maya for non-commercial use. Maya Personal Learning Edition gives 3D graphics and animation students, industry professionals, and those interested in breaking into the world of computer graphics (CG) an opportunity to explore all aspects of the award winning Maya Complete™ software in a non-commercial capacity. Those using Maya Personal Learning Edition have access to the main toolsets of Maya Complete including modeling (NURBS, polygon, subdivision surface), animation, inverse kinematics, Maya Artisan™, Maya Paint Effects™, particles, dynamics and Maya's software and hardware renderers. The Maya Personal Learning Edition restricts users to non-commercial applications through the display of a watermark on images as well as through the use of a special non-commercial file format."

Of course, I'm a little biased, since I work at Alias HQ here in Toronto, but you can't argue with the price, right? Give it a shot - I hope you like it!

http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services/maya/maya_ple/index.shtml

 

[jsw]

...Alias offers a Personal Learning Edition of Maya that is specifically geared towards users like you who are interested in learning how to animate in 3D. From the Alias website:...

Thanks so much for the link! I've also been looking for something to play with, and this seems perfect!

 

[nina]

Glad to help! Just promise me you'll make a seat of Maya Complete/Unlimited one of your terms for employment when you make it big in the CG biz

 

[whw5]

I am mostly interested in doing 2d stuff but I will take a look at Maya. Thanks!

 

[jsw]

Glad to help! Just promise me you'll make a seat of Maya Complete/Unlimited one of your terms for employment when you make it big in the CG biz

Should I ever make it big in the CG biz, I promise you I'll make sure I buy Maya.

However, I wouldn't hold your breath!

 

[Jimong5]

I am mostly interested in doing 2d stuff but I will take a look at Maya. Thanks!

Id say go here:
http://www.macromedia.com/downloads/
and get the flash trial, and play with it a bit.

a big flash site I know about is here:
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/

pretty much play around with the program, it requires a bit of effort and talent, but most people can do it.

 

[Hoef]

For 2D try Adobe After Effects .... Or Apple Motion when it finally hits the market

 

[Horrortaxi]

2D: Flash.

 

[jpfarin]

What if you want a 2D style, but with 3D environments...like most cartoons

What if you want a 2D style, but with 3D environments...like most cartoons

Which program would be best?

 

[Jordan72]

Hey guys I have decided that I would like to learn animation. However, I have absolutly no experence. Do any of you have good suggestions for animation programs? Any tips and advice are great!!

Another route you could take is with the Xcode development environment, free with every Mac. The 2d stuff for Cocoa is easy to learn. But, first you will need to know Objective-C. Then learn about Cocoa. Everything is free except for a couple of books to get you going on Objective-C and Cocoa. I know some good books, just let me know if you're interested.

And, if you are into 3D, Cocoa links with OpenGL which will open up alot of options for you. OpenGL is free, but you will need to buy a book to get up to speed on it's language.

If you have any questions about this way of going about things, I've already taken the path that leads up to creating 2d software, so just let me know and I can answer more questions.