Scratch

The thing about Scratch is that it offers a wonderful introduction to the worlds of programming and basic movie-making or storytelling. I recently put together a list of FREE ANIMATION PROGRAMS for posting into another forum that I belong to, and it struck me that those details might be of use to anyone who wants to move on from Scratch and explore other ways to animate their ideas. I haven't included game-making programs here (except for one at the end). These are all programs which offer a range of ways to play with animation and which won't cost you a thing. So how did I find them? .....

I often amuse myself by cruising around the interconnecting highways and byways of the internet in search of interesting or useful free or demo software which I can use for amusement or experimentation without having to fork out cash before discovering that a program isn’t actually of any use to me. Over the years this has lead me to many pieces of software that I used or still use on a regular basis – some being totally free and others proving to be shareware that was worth registering.

When it comes to freeware for animation, most tends to be for the creation of gifs, but there are some exceptions. So for anyone who wants to waste a few hours surfing, here’s the best or most interesting 2D and 3D animation freeware that’s on my list to date, starting of course with ----
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SCRATCH No need for the URL because you’re already here. As you’ll know, it’s a unique method for programming using ‘blocks’ which lock together rather like Lego pieces. Scratch is mostly used for creating interactive games but some have tried using it for animating stories. In this respect it isn’t all that effective and there is no facility to draw scenes on-screen. Scratch is designed for (and mostly used by) young people but there is growing evidence that more experienced users are experimenting with it. This is a VERY active forum but, as I said – this isn’t really designed for animation beyond a very basic level.

TALES ANIMATOR.  The current release of TA is strictly for 2D animation and in my opinion, that’s how it should remain. I’ve got and use TA3Beta, but only because it offers greater control for two-dimensional work. My personal opinion is that 3D is a mistake because what most people think of when it comes to 3D animation is the ability to create well-rounded simulations of worlds and characters and at present, there is no simple way to achieve this whilst also trying to create worlds in which moving three-dimensional characters act out a story. Control and creation of such elements can be very complex. Tales Animator is animation-by-script and requires the learning of a simple coding language. Many people dismiss it because it either looks difficult or because results can look simplistic - but it's actually more powerful than it at first seems.
The original homesite was recently hacked and may no longer give access to the various resources, download and forum pages: http://www.dollysoft.com/
However, this link takes you directly into the forum from where you CAN access everything else.
http://www.dollysoft.com/forum/index.php
If you want to download the program from elsewhere, you can also go here:
http://www.brothersoft.com/downloads/tales-animator.html

CREATOON was a commercial program that was widely used by professional studios. It has now been released as freeware along with a small separate download that needs to be used to unlock the program once it has been installed and run. Creatoon seems to have aroused a wide range of opinions – many liked it, many didn’t. Within Creatoon you mostly work with imported images and there are limited options for on-screen drawing. To quote from a FAQ:  “… CreaToon is not aiming at the traditional animation market, where animators expect to paint their content directly within the software. In CreaToon, content has to be created separately (scanned in, or by using a paint program, ...), imported into CreaToon, and then animated within CreaToon. However, CreaToon does include basic curve drawing tools ("sketch objects") that allow you to draw vector graphics within the program itself….��   The website has an excellent range of viewable or downloadable samples (many with associated artwork) and a selection of animated tutorials. URL - http://www.creatoon.com/

PLASTIC ANIMATION PAPER (PAP) is a commercial program for the on-screen creation of traditional ‘cel’ type animation – but there is a cut-down version that can be used free of charge. This has very limited capabilities but isn’t timebombed and doesn’t slap a watermark across your work. You can save anything you create. PAP is designed for use with a drawing tablet, but on-screen drawing is also viable. Main URL - http://www.plasticanimationpaper.dk/  Compare capabilities of the three main versions here: http://plasticanimationpaper.dk/editioncomparison4.asp   When you download the current version (4.0) and start it, you get the option to use it in registered or free mode. The only nag screen you get which asks if you want to buy, comes when you exit. This isn’t annoying and is a small price to pay – pun intended.

EASYTOON (thanks to Dr_Jim for telling me about this one) This is a simple animation program for creating B/W movies. Despite it’s simplicity and lack of colour, it uses the traditional ‘onion-skinning’ method for the drawing of frames. This means that if you draw one frame and then advance to the next, what you have just drawn is shown as a ‘greyed’ image. This allows you to re-draw and alter and thus create movement when frames are played as a movie. In other words – this is a program which aims to provide the opportunity to experiment with traditional cel-type animation – albeit at a very basic level. Most users of Easytoon choose to save their creations as gifs but swf is another option. Note - this is NOT a traditional gif-maker. It IS a tool for learning the techniques of animation.

Download version 1.9.1 via this URL:
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=52221

Or download the slightly newer version (1.9.5) here –
http://www.filenuke.com/file.php?get=EasyToon%201.9.5%20EN-Setup.exe

1.9.1 can be run straight from the folder whereas 1.9.5 has to be installed.

Examples or support can be found here:
http://s13.invisionfree.com/The_Easytoon_Place/index.php?act=idx
http://www.scratch.mit.edu/ext/youtube/?v=xp2WW4hWG0I
http://www.scratch.mit.edu/ext/youtube/?v=-5LAXrpFHJM
http://www.stickpageportal.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=116
http://www.stickpageportal.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=109
http://www.pivot-place.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=19

I have several other links for examples of work, tutorials and tips which I can post separately if anyone wants me to.


LIVESWIF is for the free creation of FLASH movies. (Dr_Jim put me onto this link). The software is free but is no longer being supported. The download URL is - http://www.liveswif.net/  but I also found these associated and useful links - http://www.liveswifers.org/  and  http://www.girland.com/swfupload/manual_furniture.asp  and  www.girland.com/swfupload/LiveSwifTutorial.doc  and  http://www.scratch.mit.edu/ext/youtube/?v=pkobFTVnRCg

PIVOT is for the easy creation and animation of stick figures. It has been around for some time and is very popular – despite it’s limitations. There are many good examples to download (though most feature fighting and bloodshed).  It can be downloaded from many host sites where it is well supported, but here’s the homepage URL – http://www.geocities.com/peter_bone_uk/

SKELETON is best thought of as a slightly more realistic version of Pivot – although I don’t think it’s being used for animating stories. URL -
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Graphic-Others/Skeleton.shtml

AIKIDO is designed to animate one or two robot-like characters as a way of modelling martial arts movements – but I found it to be VERY useful for creating and testing walk-cycles. Not all that quick, easy or intuitive to use at first but you can save your work as a movie or as a sequence of images. Homepage URL (scan down the page) - http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PeterBalch/prb00014.htm

BENETON MOVIE GIF Yes, I know, it’s a gif-creator, but it’s more versatile and useable than most and makes for very easy on-screen drawing of separate images. Creations can also be downloaded in a range of formats – including a sequence of separate images. One word of warning – although it is available from many sites, most take you to a homepage which tries to entice you to follow unwanted commercial links. The download website I used was at http://www.snapfiles.com/get/benetonmovie.html I think this one is also clear of the link-pages: http://www.download.com/Beneton-Movie-GIF/3000-2186_4-10646551.html

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However, if 3D really is your area of interest – look at these >>>

ANIM8OR is a free way to find all that out for yourself. It has been around for many years and is still being developed. It is totally free and is well supported with tutorials and a forum. It is mostly for the creation and rendering of 3D objects but it looks to be moving in the direction where 3D movies are becoming more possible. URL -  http://www.anim8or.com/main/index.html

ALICE …. I’ve never used this, but I know that Dr_Jim has had a longtime love/hate relationship with it. To quote from a FAQ – “…Alice is a modern programming environment designed to be a student's first exposure to object-oriented programming. It allows students to learn basic computer science while creating animated movies, simple video games, where students control the behavior of 3D objects and characters in a virtual world. …��  URL - http://alice.org/

GOOGLE SKETCHUP isn’t for animating stories, but for the easy creation of 3D models. These can be saved as movies (eg: ‘flying’ around a house or a figure) and I have succeeded in using one of these movies as an avi within Tales Animator. There is a good range of textures and examples to download – but remember that this software is NOT for animating storylines.  URL: http://www.sketchup.com/

WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER Dear old Bill Gates’ offering for PC’s  URL - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx  This is really for making home-movies, but as you can import images (2D or 3D), you might also be able to use it for animation (I’ve never tried). Wikipedia has some detailed notes - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Movie_Maker
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There are several sites containing tutorials about animation - these are usually associated with specific (and usually commercial) software - but they often have value as a way of gaining insights into the skills of animation.

http://www.bauhaussoftware.com/training_tutorials.php
http://www.cartoonster.com/
http://www.idleworm.com/how/index.shtml
http://www.webmonkey.com/multimedia/animation/tutorials/tutorial1.html
http://www.animationlibrary.com/tutorial/
http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/~rpyjp/a_notes/01_cutouts_project.html
http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/~rpyjp/a_notes/04_walkcycle_project.html
http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/~rpyjp/a_notes/walk_reference_01.html
http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/~rpyjp/a_notes/walk_reference_02.html
http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/~rpyjp/a_notes/walk_reference_03.html
http://animation.about.com/od/flashanimationtutorials/ss/flash29walkcycl.htm
http://www.newtek.com/products/lightwave/tutorials/animation/constantwalk/index.html
And for this one you'll need Quicktime player installed -
http://www.brianlemay.com/animationexamples/animationindex.html

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Over the years, I have found other software or sites which looked interesting but which proved to be of little use for me – just to keep the record straight, here they are; mostly without any notes:

http://www.download-by.net/other/266017,animatoce-126-freeware,dl.html
http://www.aniboom.com/Homepage.aspx
http://www.your3dsource.com/free-maya.html
http://segmentanimator.5u.com/index.html   needs Gamemaker for full functionality http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/

('Gamemaker' is now probably the best known game-making program of its type. It can be used free of charge, or registered if you want a few extra features. It is MASSIVELY supported across the internet. It uses a drag-and-drop interface with the option of adding scripts as you gain experience.)

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Oh - and for something completely different (and as a reward for anyone who has read this far) - if you like playing with Lego bricks, try this free program called 'Blocks':
http://web.telia.com/~u16122508/proglego.htm
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I hope these notes are of use to some of you.

Last edited by mohlar (2007-12-06 18:02:32)