Simple 2D Animation Software for UNIX-like OSes 51
BSDanimation asks: "I want to create slide based cartoon-like animations with speech bubbles and simple programmable 2D effects in a widely accepted format like MPEG or AVI. I have considered using Ming to code a Flash animation, but then decided against Flash and would prefer to stay away from such proprietary formats. Blender seems nice, but is too complex and a complete overkill. OpenOffice presentations seem promising, but I am not sure if it is possible to program effects and speech bubbles in it and export such presentations into a format other than Flash. What free UNIX-like OS based open source software is there for such simple 2D animation that would also allow me to distribute my animations commercially without any licensing restrictions?"
Blender is not Overkill (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:4, Informative)
i think there`s nothing more to say about blender than this. the learning curve is somewhat steep, but you can learn it quickly, but only with a manual. but then, it`s left hand on the keyboard, right hand on the mouse, and off you go. never had a better modelling tool. it will get you to your results more easily than 3DS, lightwave etc. even if you`re only doing 2D, or video editing (sound editing excluded).
for me, getting into some other specific tool for the task would take more time than just blendering it in a few minutes. though i preferred the 1.x interface without dropdown menus. and it`s opensource now.
/me big blender fan.
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:2)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:2)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:2)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:1)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:2)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:1)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:1)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:1)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Blender is not Overkill (Score:1)
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Flash and non-preparatory formats (Score:2)
ktoon (Score:5, Informative)
ImageMagick; GIMP (Score:2)
Animated GIFs in GIMP [novell.com]
How about Moho? (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/index.shtml [lostmarble.com]
Re:How about Moho? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:How about Moho? (Score:1)
Artificial limitation (Score:4, Insightful)
Flash is sort of the obvious answer, and there are essentially no practical drawbacks to using it. I'm all for promoting freedom and openness, but if your primary goal is to create a 2d animation for people to see, Flash really is the way to go.
Not only that, but your hobby will also be spent learning a skill which can be very highly marketable.
Besides, I believe it's trivial to convert a flash animation into other, more traditional, video formats.
It's expensive (Score:1)
Flash is sort of the obvious answer, and there are essentially no practical drawbacks to using it.
What to buy? Food, or a copy of Flash?
Cinepaint (Score:3, Interesting)
"proprietary"? (Score:5, Interesting)
Not OSS but.. (Score:2)
It allows you to create animations in a way very similar to how traditional (oilskin) animations are created.
Of course you'd have to get a hold of AmigaOS 1.3 or compatible and the Disney Animator software.
No idea if this is available on other platforms also.
Re:Not OSS but.. (Score:2)
Re:Not OSS but.. (Score:2)
The good old days... (Score:4, Interesting)
Sometimes the march of progress plows under the simple-but-useful.
Re:The good old days... (Score:2)
Re:The good old days... (Score:2)
In a cardboard box in the back of a cupboard with other stuff on top of it, like my Amiga, I think. I wonder if the floppies are still readable.
SVG - scalable vector graphics (Score:5, Informative)
there have been svg browser plugins for some time; now native svg is included with firefox on ms-windows, and scheduled for inclusion with firefox and mozilla. here are some SVG and SVG animation links for you:
Re:SVG - scalable vector graphics (Score:2)
"Animation" is built into the DOM, but can be further enhanced by Javascript.
Moho (Score:3, Interesting)
All smartass commentary aside, I think it's great that the Lost Marble guys have ported to Linux. I'm sure it's been a total loss as far as monetary return-on-investment goes, but I like to think that the PR value has made it worthwhile (heck, it made me post this to SlashDot).