ANIMATION REVIEW

Mar 26, 2014 14:20 pm

>9 comments

TweetTweet

92

LikeLike

7

Toon Boom Harmony is used by everyone from Nickelodeon toDisney. Tammy Coron takes it for a test drive.

Founded in 1994, Canadian software company Toon Boom Animationspecializes in animation and storyboarding software. Its client baseconsists of names like Disney, Warner Bros and Pixar. But that doesn'tmean its software off limits to the rest of us. In fact, it offers such a widevariety of applications, you'll have no problem finding something tomeet your needs (and your budget).

Tools for people who aren't necessarily working on the next Hollywoodblockbuster include:

Overall, though, Harmony is the company's flagship product, and quitepossibly the coolest animation software on the market today.

Is this the best animation software money can buy?>

13

ShareShare

Toon Boom Animation's software is used by everyone from amateurs to big studios>

Toon Boom Studio, $149: Easy to use software ideal for animation fans,students, teachers, and hobbyists, and great for beginners. With ToonBoom Studio, you'll be able to create your own cartoons using a varietyof drawing tools.

Animate $399 / Animate Pro $699: Designed for frame-by-frame(Animate/Animate Pro) and cut-out style (Animate Pro) animation.These tools are perfect for freelancers, Flash animators, students,teachers, and After Effects animators.

There's also a huge variety of software aimed at the young, such as FlipBoom All-Star, Flip Boom Cartoon, Animation-Ish, and a whole host ofothers. Check out just some of what's on offer in the Play zone.

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Of course, this is just my opinion, but when my animation heroes areusing it to create awesome movies like The Princess and the Frog, itseems I'm in good company...

Harmony is offered as both a Stand Alone version and a Networkversion. Free trials of both are available; after that, to find out pricingyou'll need to contact the sales department (and there's talk of 'paymentplans' on the site, so it's not going to be cheap).

So which version is right for you? If you're a serious animator, but notpart of a studio or involved in any type of collaborative effort, theStandalone version is the way to go. Otherwise, feel free to join the bigguys with the Network version where you can take full advantage offeatures like asset sharing, colour palettes, libraries, and batchvectorizing and rendering.

I'm in the latter camp, so the rest of this review will focus on Toon BoomHarmony Standalone.

W h i c h v e r s i o n ?>

The Standalone version is the best bet if you're working on your own>

M o v i n g o v e r f r o m F l a s h>

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Coming from a Flash background, I can honestly say the transition toToon Boom software wasn't too difficult. While there was a little hiccupwith learning the differences between Symbols and DrawingSubstitutions, overall, I'm pleased with what Toon Boom has been ableto do for me.

I really love having the ability to draw naturally in a vector-basedenvironment. A full range of brush and pencil properties makes drawingin Toon Boom a lot of fun.

However, if you're using a mouse, or just prefer to use shapes fordrawing (which is something I often do in Flash), Toon Boom Harmonyoffers a wide variety of line drawing tools, including the covetedPolyline tool (shown below).

Being able to choose between traditional animation and cut-outanimation is spectacular. Being more of a hobbyist, it's not uncommonfor me to just play around with stuff.

Being able to jump back and fourth between the two styles makes ToonBoom Harmony a clear winner in my book.

The software enables you to draw naturally in a vector-based environment>

Toon Boom Harmony offers a w ide variety of line draw ing tools>

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Another great feature is their True Space Camera. By placing yourelements in different layers using Z Depth, and incorporating the TrueSpace camera, you can give virtual depth to your scene.

This technique helps to give your animations a realistic 3D feel.

The auto lip-syncing feature is incredible. Using the Toon Boom MouthChart you can easily get your characters in sync with what their saying.With just a few clicks of the mouse, you're done. Of course, for a morefinely tuned animation, you can still opt to sync your sound track andimages manually.

ADVERTISEMENT

However although Toon Boom Harmony does has sound editingcapabilities, they are somewhat limiting. So I'd recommended that youconsider using a third-party app for the more in-depth sound editingyour project may require.

Toon Boom Harmony offers a variety of exporting options. The mostcommon are SWF and MOV. However, you can also export your movieas a PNG sequence or as a GIF. You can even export your movie as aseries of JPEGs.

In conclusion, while the interface may seem a little daunting, you'llquickly realize that this animation tool is not much different than

The software allows you to play around and try different things>

S o u n d a n d l i p s y n c i n g>

E x p o r t i n g a n d f i n a lp r o d u c t i o n

>

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Photoshop or Flash - and I highly recommend checking it out. If youneed some help, training is just a few clicks away.

Words: Tammy Coron

Tammy Coron is a developer who blogs at Just Write Code. Why notdownload her iOS game, Crow’s Quest - it's free!

Whether you're are serious animator or a just a hobbyist, Toon Boom hassomething for you.

Tags: Animation, Computer Arts, Review

9 COMMENTS

Our Verdict 9/10

Awesome set of tools+Inverse Kinematics+Options for cut-out ortraditional animation

+Post-production specialeffects

+Camera angles+Vector drawing+

Price-Limited online tutorials forspecific versions

-

jamMarch 27 , 201 4 at 1 2:1 0

In my opinion TvPaint is the best 2D animation software.

Report abuse

cfvccMarch 27 , 201 4 at 1 8:05

I agree with Tammy, I've been using Harmony for years and it's simply the

best! Other animation software just can't keep up!

Report abuse

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

svcMarch 27 , 201 4 at 1 8:31

You can also use Harmony to create animation for games now. I saw they

have an export to Unity - too cool!

Report abuse

JonnyHMarch 30, 201 4 at 21 :1 6

"Is this the best animation software money can buy?" - NO!!!

Harmony Standalone is $3500, but if you wait until a sale they bring the

price down to $2000.

There is no way a hobbyist can afford this, so this blogger must have been

sent a free copy. And since they are pushing towards game developers now,

it's not surpising why Toon Boom would do this.

Anime Studio Pro beats Harmony in features and price. It's only $200.Report abuse

RuthBApril 03, 201 4 at 04:01

@JonnyH - Allow me to completely disagree with you. Not only your

comment is disrespectful to the writer but you are simply comparing apples

and oranges. Harmony is the industry standard when it comes down to

creating quality animation. In my view, even if you are a hobbyist, you

should only get the best of breed. In addition, Toon Boom is quite flexible on

the payment front, which makes it worth it by far, at the end of the day.Report abuse

JonnyHApril 06, 201 4 at 1 6:5 1

Ruth, I respect your right to disagree with me, and please allow me to

disagree that my comment is disrespectful and that I am comparing apples

to oranges. Let me explain why.

Most bloggers do disclose that they have been sent software for evaluation,

so that the readers can take that into account. There is no downloadable

trial version of Harmony available, and the blogger does not know the price

of the product. So it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the blogger has

been sent a free copy. Maybe the blogger can clarify the situation? I suspect

that if a clarification hasn't occurred after a week, then my assumption is

correct.

I am a Harmony user, but only because my company was forced to use it

because of a coproduction deal. There is no way we would have chosen to

use this software. I have also used Anime Studio Pro, which is used in TV

and movies too. Anime Studio Pro is much easier to learn and use than

Harmony, is more stable and is considerably less expensive. So I'm not

comparing apples with oranges, I'm comparing an apple I like with a

bloated, bitter tasting, very expensive one.

So Ruth, do you have experience actually working with both softwares?

Because you are recommending that hobbyists spend $3500, and if they

cant afford that, they should go into debt with a finance deal. If anybody

takes your recommendation, I would hope that you are qualified to give that

advice. I don't know many hobbyists who can afford to waste that kind of

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

money.Report abuse

paradox927April 06, 201 4 at 21 :1 3

Hi, JohnnyH.

Toon Boom did not send me a free copy of this software. I purchased it prior

to reviewing it, and not because I intended to do so. I purchased it simply

because I wanted the software. I was looking for something, and Toon Boom

had what I wanted - simple as that.

Also, the only reason I didn't include the price was because it's not publicly

available on their site. Was it expensive? Yes. But, I have no regrets. I take

my work seriously, and I only want to use the best of the best (which is why

I also spent lots of $$$ on Adobe products over the years!).

Toon Boom does offer alternatives. However, I could easily see me

outgrowing their other products before getting any kind of ROI.

Is this product for everyone? Nope. Is it for me? Absolutely.

Ok... I'm off to go play with some Storyboards. =)

- Tammy

P.S. I did not spend $3500, and no amount of "free stuff" could ever buy my

opinion. I review honestly, or not at all.Report abuse

JonnyHApril 1 3, 201 4 at 1 9:5 7

Tammy, thanks for your honesty. I would have preferred if you had stated

you had a discounted copy in the review, and even better if you had told us

what you had actually paid. It's very important for readers to be able to put

your comments into context.

It doesn't help that the introduction mentions that you're taking it for a

"test drive", which implies you haven't actually bought it. That's not your

fault.

"Is this product for everyone? Nope."

It's a shame more insightful statements like this didn't feature in your

review - it certainly answers the "Is this the best animation software money

can buy?" question definitively.

I wonder where RuthB got to? Probably defending her (favorite) company's

products on another forum.Report abuse

paradox927April 1 3, 201 4 at 20:33

Absolutely. Dishonest reviews have no place on the Interwebs.

My comments in the review, as well as in my follow-up posts, are about as

honest as they can get. I truly love this software. I also use their Storyboard

Pro software... another great package. And, I'm about to take a leap in to

Unity development. =)

As for the price... it wasn't discounted for the review. I happened to be

looking for this kind of software just around the time Toon Boom was

offering a discount (for all users). I didn't mention price because of privacy

issues.

Anyway... it wasn't my intention to review Harmony when I purchased it.

But, after using it for awhile, I decided I needed to "let the world know"

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

log in with your Creative Bloq account

Username

Password

or

Advertising About Us Contact

Future is AOP & PPA Digital Publisher of the Year and BMA Media Company of the Year.Creative Bloq is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. We produce content across five core areas:

About Future Jobs PR Advertising Digital Future Privacy Policy Cookies Policy Terms & Conditions Subscriptions Investor Relations Contact Future

Top ▲

© Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Log in to Creative Bloq with your preferred social network to comment

Log in

Forgotten your username or password?

about this (what I feel is) amazing software.

Of course... over the years, I've discovered that software is subjective to

one's personal preference. That's why I stopped trying to convert Windows

users. LOL! =)

Have a great weekend, JohnnyH. And, thanks again for your reply.Report abuse

Don't have an account?Join now. It's completely free and takes seconds

Join

We use cookies on this website. By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on yourdevice. Find out more and set your preferences here

x

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com