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Dom83
07-06-2006, 07:44 PM
Hello

I am about to buy Moho but I just saw a light version of the famous Toon Boom at the same price. So now I hesitate, Toon Boom has a so good reputation, I do not know which to buy.

Here is how I work :

I create background landscapes mixing numerical painting and a little 3D. I make all the animation of important characters by hand, on paper, then scan and colorize. Then I add some vectorial additional animations to get the video looking less static, and 3D animations (particles, fire,...). For some certain scenes, I put some 2D plans in a 3D world, in order to get the camera doing moves a pure 2D can't do.

I also start a little silly series, just for laughing, with top-simple cutout graphics.

I try Moho demo since a few time. I quite like it, it does what I want for the moment, and it is incredibly simple. But, in a few months, I may want to use more vectorial, and so my needs would be different.
So, people who know these two softwares, which one do you think I should choose ? What are good things in one that is not in the other ?
Amrit-Derhgawen
07-06-2006, 08:17 PM
Hi there,
I've used both of these softwares (not much, because I like Flash MX). And according to my knowledge, Toon Boom Studio is much more a proffesional software. Moho is also good. But if I were you, I would definitely choose Toon Boom. The choice is yours!

Cheers,
-A
Dom83
07-07-2006, 12:23 PM
Thanks for your answer.
Can you develop please ? In what way Toon Boom is better ? What are the features Toon Boom has while Moho does not have ?

Please mind this one is Toon Boom Studio Express, the real Toon Boom Studio is beyond my actual means. (I do not have a job yet, I work on my first serious own projects)

Does anyone have another opinion ?
madheavy
07-07-2006, 01:31 PM
I'm not expert in...well...anything, but I see that many pro animators endorse it.
http://www.digicelinc.com/
Check it out BEFORE you committ to something else.
Cheers!
Dom83
07-08-2006, 03:08 PM
I did not know this one but it looks really cool. I was stunned by the videos...

Here is what I think of the several animation softwares I met. Toonz and US Animation are far too expensive. Creatoon and The Tab are cool but only for cutouts. Toon Boom has a good reputation but, first the videos I saw are disappointing, and I do not know if the Express version is not only a toy. DigiCel FlipBook looks great, but I am not sure it meets my needs. Moho looks the best for me but I am suspicious because other people do not seem to think it is a serious software.

I am open to any advice and comment.
Amrit-Derhgawen
07-11-2006, 02:15 PM
Hey,
How about PAP (Plastic Animation Paper). Goto http://www.plasticanimationpaper.com (http://www.plasticanimationpaper.com)
PAP home version is not too expensive either. So you can try that too.
Yes, toon boom studio is much more proffesional. There are millions of stuff which you can do with that. Sometimes it feels too complicated to me.

Hope that helps.
-A
aaraaf
07-11-2006, 11:07 PM
I love Mirage (www.bauhaussoftware.com (http://www.bauhaussoftware.com)) for animating... I've just about given up paper except for character sketches and some initial posing.

I don't really like compositing in it... I generally use After Effects for that... but there's some great work done in it on their site. It's a great time for digital 2D.
Qslugs
07-12-2006, 04:09 AM
My wife is about to start a huge 2d animation project using Moho. We tested Moho thoroughly and decided it worked great for 2d cell animation - for output to flash. There were a few small snags but we came to realize what could and couldn't be done with the software. Moho is the real deal, for 100 bucks, its a nobrainer. The bones are what make it really fast to work with, I really like the variable line weighting as well. I went to school for 2d animation many years ago, 2d never really caught on with me the way that 3d did. When I finally got to test moho with the bones, I realized that I was suddenly able to animate in 2d as good as I could in 3d.


Anyway, thats my 2 cents.
Suricate
07-13-2006, 07:11 PM
Hi Dominique,

I have been examining 2D animation packages myself recently. Essentially, there a vector-based packages and raster-based packages. With vector-based programs, drawing is easier, but stylistically they are more limited than raster-based programs. With raster-based programs, you have to know how to draw, since what you draw is what you get.

A few remarks on existing programs:
- PlasticAnimationPaper: Raster-based. Streamlined for creating drawings, but you have to use other programs for colouring and compositiong. Now available in three editions, 'Free', 'Home' and 'Professional'. The 'Home' edition is priced around $100 and quite powerful, but you don't have layers.

- TV Paint 8. Version 7 is known as Bauhaus Mirage. Raster-based. Very powerful with many painting options, can also be used for compositing. Around EURO 475.

- the TAB. Vector-based. Drawing tools are different from ToonBoom or Flash: Rather than using control points to manipulate lines, you erase and iron the lines. Can be used for frame by frame and cutout animation. More expensive than ToonBoom, but now they also offer cheaper 1-year licenses. I seriously considered buying this program, but in the end I didn't like the fact that their forums are quite dead.

- ToonBoom. Vector-based. Can be used for frame by frame and cutout animation. Following the paradigms of classical 2D animation, with an exposure sheet, light table, freely movable camera etc. Has also automatic lip-syncing. In the end I went for this program, since it offers a goob overall mix of features.

- Flash. Vector-based. Less focused on traditional animation like the TAB or ToonBoom. When you do interactive websites, it is certainly a must.

- Moho. Vector-based. Very powerful. I would not really call this a 2D program, rather it is a 3D program (with bones, expressions and inverse kinematics) limited to 2D. More technical than other 2D programs, less demanding on your drawing skills. Not very suitable for frame by frame animation. I also considered this program, but since I already know 3D animation, I wanted to have a program that is 'more' 2D.

Hope that helps.
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