Hello all !

My brother likes to draw. Ever since he was a little kid, he drew
fantastic images, and all I could do was stood there drooling ... No
matter how I tried, I just can't draw.

My brother has never had any formal training, and he needed none. He
can draw any manga or any anime character with just a look.

My brother's 13th birthday is next month, and I want to get him
something that would greatly help him ... a PC with software to help
him do animation !!

I've searched the Internet for clues, and there are lots and lots of
different animation packages, from open-sourced packages to commercial
offerings ... from 2D "Flash" cartoon drawing packages to 3D (cad-
like) ray-tracing packages.

There are so many packages out there I'm lost, so I need your help.

I understand that you all gurus in the fields of manga/anime/animation
and please help !!

Please tell me which animation software package that you are using, or
which animation package you think is best, and why ....

Penang said the following on 05/09/2008 08:43:

[Looking for animation software recommendations]

You might have to just jump in and download a trial version to see
what is best for you.

I remember that there was a Disney animation package but that was a
long time ago, so I just typed 'Disney animation software' and these
came up.

http://www.digicelinc.com/pros.htm

<http://www.amazon.com/Disneys-Magic-Artist-Cartoon-Maker/dp/B00006IRI6>

For a more general look around it might be best to select '2D
animation software'.

http://www.plasticanimationpaper.dk/

Good luck in your searches.

[Followups set to comp.graphics.animation]

Penang said:

That sounds very much like my son, now 17 - his drawing is amazing, and he
is studying animation (among other things) at college. He says:

"All the free 2D animation packages suck. Flash is expensive but very good
- it takes some getting used to, but there are probably hundreds of online
tutorials.

"If your brother wants to get into 3D, look at Blender, 3DStudio Max,
Cinema 4D, or Maya." (Apart from Blender, which is free, these are all
pretty expensive.)

He adds that drawing on a computer is way harder than drawing on paper!

On Sep 5, 6:08 pm, Richard Heathfield wrote:

On Sep 5, 5:47 pm, Richard Brooks armstrongs.com> wrote:

Penang said:

I am given to understand that the Pixar guys ("Finding Nemo", "The
Incredibles", etc) use Maya.

On Sep 6, 1:56 pm, Richard Heathfield wrote:

Thanks again for your info !!

Sat, 6 Sep 2008 3:06pm+0900, Manbow Papa :

...

if you check out toonboom.com0 that is the software they use to make
the simpsons and family guy. for a true 2d feel on a computer go with
TVPaint that with a wacom tablet and it is just fun. I love it.

On Sep 5, 1:43 am, Penang gmail.com> wrote:

Penang wrote: