Animate Pro.... I can't wait!


When Toon Boom comes out with a new animation product, I immediately use the product to create my next animation. This often feels like plunging into a cold swimming pool, such as when Solo first came out, but once you get used to the program, you really can get to know it well as you work out the kinks.

When Solo first came out, I used it to create the cell phone animation where the girl goes “blah, blah, blah” while driving. There were times that I felt I was immediately pushing the software to its limits and I certainly pushed my tablet pc to its rendering limits. When I was done, though, I really felt like I’d learned a lot of the program, though certain elements still remain a bit mysterious to me.

When Digital Pro came out, I repeated the procedure.

Just for the heck of it, I also use the lower end product, Studio, for projects when a new update comes out, just to play with the program. Studio is still an amazing piece of software for the price.

Now, I’m anxiously awaiting Animate Pro. In particular, I’m waiting for the ability to create basic three dimensional worlds, even though the style is still flat two dimensional.

The reason behind this anticipation: I’m stuck. I’m working on an animation to help with the current campaign to save the Wilderness Battlefield area from rampant development. http://www.civilwar.org/walmart08/
Walmart is moving in and I suspect more will be coming. I created a setting for the animation that takes place in a huge department store. The problem is I want to do some camera moves that can only be done if I massively recreate scenes. What I’m doing now is simply not holding together well in Digital Pro. I believe the Animate Pro tools will fix my dilemma.

So, my next animation will use Animate Pro. I keep anxiously checking my email for its release. In the meantime, I’m using Storyboard Pro to create newspaper cartoons. Hopefully, I can create enough of them to give me time to dedicate to the animation.

Hmmm…. Maybe I should check my email-box again. Toon Boom might have something for me…..

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