Good free 2-D animation program?

*chapter11studios* · 01-03-2005, 12:48 PM

I need to download a good, free 2-D animation program for making character sprites. Any suggestions?

Wormsie · 01-03-2005, 02:15 PM

I can only think of the Gimp, but as far as I know, it has no specific tools for animation. I might be wrong, though.

Candle · 01-03-2005, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chapter11studios

I need to download a good, free 2-D animation program for making character sprites. Any suggestions?

What is Moho?

Moho is Lost Marble's two-dimensional cartoon animation system. Moho lets you create character animation for output to video, or for streaming over the web.

http://www.lostmarble.com/
Think this will do it for you .

Erwin_Br · 01-03-2005, 04:07 PM

Moho rocks, but it isn't free.

Another great program, similar to Moho, is ToonBoom. But again, not free either.

--Erwin

tknaps · 01-04-2005, 07:42 AM

Moho is definitely worth the $99 they're asking for it IMO. To my knowledge there isn't any free 2D animation osftware around of any decent quality...? I ended up buying Moho for some hobbyist animation stuff anyway.

It's a vector based animation program though, so it's not sure that it'll fit the bill. ToonBoom is a more traditional frame-by-frame animation system, but is far more expensive at $375.

Demos are available for both, so no reason to not give it a shot at least

Moho: http://www.lostmarble.com/
ToonBoom Studio: http://www.toonboom.com/main/

Erwin_Br · 01-04-2005, 09:37 AM

It shouldn't be difficult to convert vector graphics to bitmap.

Some good beginners tutorials for both programs can be found here.

--Erwin

tknaps · 01-04-2005, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erwin_Br

It shouldn't be difficult to convert vector graphics to bitmap.

Certainly not (in fact it might even be easier as you have more or less lossless scaling oportunities), but I was trying to say that the animation process is a bit different. Good point though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erwin_Br

Some good beginners tutorials for both programs can be found here.

The Moho tutorials might be outdated here after version 5 came out last year. Moho also comes with a set of 20 or so tutorials to teach you the ropes.

Candle · 01-04-2005, 06:11 PM

That ToonBoom looks like fun have to try that one out .

Trumgottist · 01-15-2005, 09:41 AM

Another good one (not free) is Plastic Animation Paper.

Jayel · 01-19-2005, 06:46 PM

hmmmm...
I take it nobody in the team wants to use my software? I thought it was pretty good. apart from a few dozen features still missing, of course.

*chapter11studios* · 01-22-2005, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayel

hmmmm...
I take it nobody in the team wants to use my software? I thought it was pretty good. apart from a few dozen features still missing, of course.

Nope, that's not the case. The software's great. I posted the original message before you re-sent the program to me!

baron_calamity · 01-31-2005, 10:50 AM

I see on its website that Toon Boom Studio Express is $50.

tknaps · 02-03-2005, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayel

hmmmm...
I take it nobody in the team wants to use my software? I thought it was pretty good. apart from a few dozen features still missing, of course.

Is this something that's publically available?

You're making me curious

Erwin_Br · 02-03-2005, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tknaps

Is this something that's publically available?

You're making me curious

You and me both! I'm very curious!

--Erwin

Jayel · 02-03-2005, 04:40 PM

It's not done yet, but I don't see why I should keep it in the vault...
It's called Luminous but I'm changing its name to AFKAL (Application Formerly Known As Luminous).

Read README.TXT and then Help document (it's not long). Otherwise you won't take full advantage of its features and will be much better off using other programs:

http://members.rogers.com/j_l/stuff/alpha.zip

Its real power (I think) lies in export feature. If you check off "50% scale" when you export, individual frames will be scaled down (to 50%, but i'll make it scale to any size in the future) and bilinearly filtered, giving a nice anti-aliased look, BUT (!!!) the edges around the sprite aren't filtered, making it perfect for game sprites.

And a screenshot just for the hell of it:

*chapter11studios* · 02-03-2005, 05:05 PM

I might add that once you get the hang of it, it's really, really useful.

Jayel · 02-03-2005, 08:07 PM

heh, thanks Josh.

In MY opinion, it's the best sprite creation software in the world,
but of course I'd say that, because I designed it to suit MY needs and workflow.

The interface may be daunting at first if you're not familiar with Photoshop...

Orange Brat · 02-03-2005, 09:28 PM

Dogwaffle is the only one with any animation capabilities but they all have their uses in general 2D creation.

Paint.NET - this is being developed by students at WSU and is meant to be a replacement for MSPaint. Has layers and other more advanced features

http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/

Project Dogwaffle(free version) - this is a "natural" approach to 2D paint creation. You can set your surface type and there are many types of different paints, inks, pencils, etc to work with.

http://www.thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/free/

Inkscape - this is a free SVG editor..vector/EPS style graphics

http://www.inkscape.org/

Erkki · 02-03-2005, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orange Brat

Paint.NET - this is being developed by students at WSU and will be the official replacement for MSPaint(presumably when Longhorn comes out), and is a huge step forward.

http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/

I just took a look at it. Seems they will also be giving away the source code.

Quote:

In the spirit of all this freedom, we welcome any suggestions, as well as provide the source code free of charge for anyone who wishes to tinker with it.

Erwin_Br · 02-04-2005, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayel

It's not done yet, but I don't see why I should keep it in the vault...
It's called Luminous but I'm changing its name to AFKAL (Application Formerly Known As Luminous).

Read README.TXT and then Help document (it's not long). Otherwise you won't take full advantage of its features and will be much better off using other programs:

http://members.rogers.com/j_l/stuff/alpha.zip

Its real power (I think) lies in export feature. If you check off "50% scale" when you export, individual frames will be scaled down (to 50%, but i'll make it scale to any size in the future) and bilinearly filtered, giving a nice anti-aliased look, BUT (!!!) the edges around the sprite aren't filtered, making it perfect for game sprites.

And a screenshot just for the hell of it:

It's great! Oh man, this tool can save me so much time. Can I follow development somewhere? I can't wait until the import function is available

--Erwin

01-03-2005, 12:48 PM	#1
chapter11studios Dread Pirate Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Beverly, Massachusetts, USA Posts: 452	Good free 2-D animation program? I need to download a good, free 2-D animation program for making character sprites. Any suggestions? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Josh Roberts Project Coordinator Rise of the Hidden Sun

01-03-2005, 02:15 PM	#2
Wormsie Doctor Watson Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 4,736	I can only think of the Gimp, but as far as I know, it has no specific tools for animation. I might be wrong, though. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Don't worry, I'm a doctor.

01-03-2005, 04:07 PM	#4
Erwin_Br Under pressure. Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands Posts: 3,773	Moho rocks, but it isn't free. Another great program, similar to Moho, is ToonBoom. But again, not free either. --Erwin Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ > Learn more about my forthcoming point & click adventure: Bad Timing! > Or... Visit Adventure Developers: Everything about developing adventure games.

01-04-2005, 07:42 AM	#5
tknaps Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 83	Moho is definitely worth the $99 they're asking for it IMO. To my knowledge there isn't any free 2D animation osftware around of any decent quality...? I ended up buying Moho for some hobbyist animation stuff anyway. It's a vector based animation program though, so it's not sure that it'll fit the bill. ToonBoom is a more traditional frame-by-frame animation system, but is far more expensive at $375. Demos are available for both, so no reason to not give it a shot at least Moho: http://www.lostmarble.com/ ToonBoom Studio: http://www.toonboom.com/main/ Share Share this post on Twitter

01-04-2005, 09:37 AM	#6
Erwin_Br Under pressure. Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands Posts: 3,773	It shouldn't be difficult to convert vector graphics to bitmap. Some good beginners tutorials for both programs can be found here. --Erwin Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ > Learn more about my forthcoming point & click adventure: Bad Timing! > Or... Visit Adventure Developers: Everything about developing adventure games.

01-04-2005, 06:11 PM	#8
Candle Psycho Game Maker Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 208	That ToonBoom looks like fun have to try that one out . Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Enjoy today as Yesterday is gone and Tomorrow may never come! My Web site Deveron Murder Mystery Game Mikes Room

01-15-2005, 09:41 AM	#9
Trumgottist Game Creator Hobbyist Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Stockholm (or Gotland) Posts: 2,609	Another good one (not free) is Plastic Animation Paper. Share Share this post on Twitter

01-19-2005, 06:46 PM	#10
Jayel Club a seal or two Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Oh Canada! Posts: 300	hmmmm... I take it nobody in the team wants to use my software? I thought it was pretty good. apart from a few dozen features still missing, of course. Share Share this post on Twitter

01-31-2005, 10:50 AM	#12
baron_calamity Junior Monkey Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Posts: 11	I see on its website that Toon Boom Studio Express is $50. Share Share this post on Twitter

02-03-2005, 04:40 PM	#15
Jayel Club a seal or two Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Oh Canada! Posts: 300	It's not done yet, but I don't see why I should keep it in the vault... It's called Luminous but I'm changing its name to AFKAL (Application Formerly Known As Luminous). Read README.TXT and then Help document (it's not long). Otherwise you won't take full advantage of its features and will be much better off using other programs: http://members.rogers.com/j_l/stuff/alpha.zip Its real power (I think) lies in export feature. If you check off "50% scale" when you export, individual frames will be scaled down (to 50%, but i'll make it scale to any size in the future) and bilinearly filtered, giving a nice anti-aliased look, BUT (!!!) the edges around the sprite aren't filtered, making it perfect for game sprites. And a screenshot just for the hell of it: Share Share this post on Twitter

02-03-2005, 05:05 PM	#16
chapter11studios Dread Pirate Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Beverly, Massachusetts, USA Posts: 452	I might add that once you get the hang of it, it's really, really useful. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Josh Roberts Project Coordinator Rise of the Hidden Sun

02-03-2005, 08:07 PM	#17
Jayel Club a seal or two Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Oh Canada! Posts: 300	heh, thanks Josh. In MY opinion, it's the best sprite creation software in the world, but of course I'd say that, because I designed it to suit MY needs and workflow. The interface may be daunting at first if you're not familiar with Photoshop... Share Share this post on Twitter

02-03-2005, 09:28 PM	#18
Orange Brat OB Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 662	Dogwaffle is the only one with any animation capabilities but they all have their uses in general 2D creation. Paint.NET - this is being developed by students at WSU and is meant to be a replacement for MSPaint. Has layers and other more advanced features http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/ Project Dogwaffle(free version) - this is a "natural" approach to 2D paint creation. You can set your surface type and there are many types of different paints, inks, pencils, etc to work with. http://www.thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/free/ Inkscape - this is a free SVG editor..vector/EPS style graphics http://www.inkscape.org/ Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ The Disenfranchised™ - A Film Noir adventure series for the PC. Coming later. Last edited by Orange Brat; 02-04-2005 at 12:56 AM.

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