I frequently get this question: “How did you create those animations and how can I make them, too?” In the old days of animated movies, drawings were transferred to clear sheets of acetate and each individual picture was painted. It was tedious and labor intensive. Movie film can be very unforgiving. Once you start clicking the movie camera, there is little room for error. When I first became serious about making animated movies in the 1970s and 1980s, this was the only option. Now, thanks to the miracle of digital motion pictures, anyone on a budget can create big screen quality 2D animation movies. 2D animation refers to the type seen in such movies as “Snow White” or “The Simpsons,” rather than the 3D style of “Toy Story.” Many companies have software for creating 2D animation and the price varies considerably. After trying many packages, I came to love the Toon Boom product line of animation software ( http://www.toonboom.com/ ) for both the Mac and PC. They have a variety of anima...
