Ricky
Grove Reviews Anime Studio Pro 6
Anime Studio is a vector-based 2D animation program that allows
the user to create high-quality animation in a variety of styles.
Originally developed by Mike Clifton as
“Moho†in 1999, it was subsequently purchased by
e-frontier in 2006 where it was re-named “Anime
Studio.†Smith
Micro acquired Anime
Studio, along with several others in 2008 and has been developing
it in two different versions: the pared-down Anime Studio
Debut, and the fuller, more professional Anime Studio
Pro . The most
recent version, Anime Studio Pro 6.0, released in June of 2009, is
the version we'll be reviewing here.
"Most of the existing 2D animation
programs out there are ink & paint systems. These require you
to draw the frames by hand, and then help you paint in colors and
do compositing. This is still a huge amount of work. There really
wasn't an affordable product that would let an animator simply
manipulate a character to create an animation without drawing every
frame."
-Mike Clifton
Vector-based
animation is clearer and sharper than raster-based media because
the 2D primitive images (points, lines, curves) are drawn by the
computer using a mathematical formula. Pixel-based raster images
are usually better for photo-realistic images. Anime Studio Pro 6.0
uses these basic primitives to help the user create 2D cartoon
style animation, but it's also capable of other animation styles as
well; flash cartoons, cut-out style and ASP allows for a pencil
drawn style as well.
ASP also features some very basic functionality in 3D, so, in a
sense, it's a 2.5D program with the ability to create 3D style
camera moves and import .obj objects into a scene. Vector morphing
allows for quick animation, instead of the more time consuming
frame-by-frame animation style (although you can do that too).
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Basic Start Interface for Anime Studio Pro 6
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But before we start going over what ASP can do, let's take a
look at some of the new additions to version 6.0.
What's New in Anime Studio Pro 6.0
- Re-designed User Interface and Toolset
- New Content Library – visual library of characters,
props, 3D, Audio and Video
- New Sequencer – allows for easy animation of all
elements. Multiple audio tracks.
- Integrated Lip-sync
- Auto Shading – allows for realistic shadows similar to
ambient occlusion.
- Morph Targets – create character emotion using
morphing
- Motion Tracking – objects can be attached to markers in
any video clip
- New Scatter Brush – can create random objects like grass
or stars
- Scripting with LUA 5.1 – users can create plug-ins, tools
or particle effects
Along with these new additions, Anime Studio Pro 6 has full
support for HD import/export, layered Adobe Photoshop documents,
built-in pen tablet support and professional level export formats
like 720p, 1080p, avi, mov and flash.
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Export possibilities are excellent in ASP 6
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Anime Studio Pro is a very easy program to use. Perhaps this is
why it has become such a favorite of amateur animators. But don't
think it's only for amateurs, ASP is a fully professional program
that growers deeper as your animation skills improve. As Mark
Clifton points out in the quote above, simply being able to
manipulate a character using the bone-structure that ASP provides
makes animation so much faster and easier. It also allows for more
experimentation as well.
The combination of layering objects and then using bones which
operate using inverse
kinematics (IK) which moves any other bones (and connected body
parts) to move naturally, is what really makes ASP a stand-out
program. Coupled with the new library palette, you can easily
create a scene, add props and characters and start animating right
away. The new GUI is very simply laid out with dockable palettes
around a central work area. All of the tools have pop-up text
indicating what they are for. You really can't ask for a simpler
animation program.
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The bone oriented animation style of Anime Studio Pro
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Anime Studio Pro's new auto-shading feature is very cool. You
can easily apply ambient occlusion-like shading consistently across
a scene which not only looks great, but saves a lot of time. The
new Scatter Brush tool in the vector tools palette allows you to
place random instances of a shape along a draw path. It's very easy
to customize by dropping other objects into an installation folder.
I wish there was more control over the random effect though. This
will no doubt be upgraded in a future version.
One of my favorite new additions to ASP 6.0 is the ability to
add multiple audio tracks on the timeline instead of only a single
audio track in previous versions. The is a much needed improvement
because now you can add dialog and music/effects on separate tracks
and control them using the Sequencer panel. You can even pan sounds
left and right to reflect on-screen animation of character voices
or effects.
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You can import an impressive variety of media in ASP 6
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It's very easy to add custom content as ASP comes with a nice
assortment of objects, props, sounds and scenes to get you started.
Importing 3D objects, images, movies, Anime Studio objects and
Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop files are a snap. Renderosity.com has a
huge Marketplace where all kinds of
2D and 3D content is for sale that will work with ASP (plus lots of
free items in the FreeStuff section). Smith Micro's own Content
Paradise (which comes up as a link when the ASP opens) has a good
collection of content as well.
I found Anime Studio Pro version 6.0 to be an easy to use,
intuitive program for creating 2D animation. It's feature set is
geared towards users who start as beginners, but want to develop
their skills towards a professional level. The bone system combined
with the ease of importing content to a scene and the quality of
the animation when exported makes this one of the best mid-level
applications around. I highly recommend this product especially in
combination with other Smith Micro products like Poser as you can
import your Poser objects as content in your animation scenes.
Anime Studio Pro
6 costs $199 for
the Pro version (upgrade is $129) and $49 for the Debut version.
Surprisingly, ASP is available for the Mac and Linux as well AND in
both French and German languages. The Smith Micro site is very
informative and the forums are well managed and active.
Be sure to check out the two demo videos I've uploaded to the
Renderosity Video Center. They cover the new library and integrated
lip-sync. The Video Center at Renderosity is relatively new, but
there is a lot of interesting content being added every day.
Learning Resources
I was fortunate to receive a copy of
Anime Studio 6: The Official Guide, written by the
well-known writer
Kelly L. Murdock, from Course Technology PTR at about the
same time as Anime Studio 6. This extremely well-written book is a
step up from the very good “Fast Start†PDF that comes
with Anime Studio 6 (and which pops up along with a link to the 300
page manual for ASP when you open the program initially). Now, I
really liked the original manual, as it's in color and is very
detailed, but Mr. Murdock's book is slightly better organized and,
well, it is more personal. You feel like you are learning from a
person and not just from a product manual. At well over 500 pages,
Anime Studio 6: The Official Guide is a book intended for
those “new to animation and software.†The
book takes you through the entire process of animation using ASP,
initially in general terms, but becoming very detailed as the book
progresses (and your skills improve). Alas, the illustrations are
in black & white, but they are clear and detailed, so they are
useful. Plus, there aren't more illustrations than are needed to
make a point.
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Sections of the book include “Working with
Layers,†“Using Cameras &
Bones†and “Extending Anime Studio with
Scripts.†There are chapters that tell you how to use
particles, 3D layers, lip-sync, changing camera views and many,
many more. The book also comes with professional animation samples
from Splinter Arts and Tui Studios, along with all project files
for the book and a 30-day trial version of Anime Studio Pro 6.
Anime Studio 6: The Offical Guide is $39.99 and is
available now. I recommend the book, especially if you are starting
out with ASP for the first time.
All supporting images are copyright, and
cannot be
copied, printed, or reproduced in any manner without written
permission
Ricky
Grove [gToon], Staff Columnist with the Renderosity Front
Page News. Ricky Grove is a bookstore clerk at the best bookstore
in Los Angeles, the Iliad Bookshop. He's also an actor and
machinima filmmaker. He lives with author, Lisa Morton, and three
very individual cats. Ricky is into Hong Kong films, FPS shooters,
experimental anything and reading, reading, reading. You can catch
his blog here.
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