How to Choose Animation Software

Animation software once fell entirely into the realm of those dedicated few with the soul of the artist and the geek fused into one obsessive whole. Content to spend their lives in front of a computer monitor, mastering keyframes as well as camera angles and the basics of making a piece look the way they wanted it to, these animators gave rise to the creation of 3-D animated movies like Shrek and Ice Age.

Perhaps you're one of those bold souls and need 3-D animation software that will require total dedication. If you're not, you should know that there is animation software that will suit you, too. And whichever camp that you fall into, know that it's no longer necessary to break the bank to get what you need.

Flash Animation Software
With the rise in popularity of Web sites that use quickly loading and highly creative Flash layouts, as well as the ever-present Flash video clips on YouTube and other sites that make us laugh or cry, more and more people are interested in animation software because they want to make simple things like animated banners, buttons and short clips.

For the novice-If you're just beginning animation, Flash animation software is the low-pressure way to go. One program in particular, Flip Boom, is perfect for the total novice animator. In this single piece of very inexpensive (less than $40) software, you learn the essentials of animation, including timing and motion, in an intuitive environment. Although created for children, there isn't a better piece of learning software available for people interested in animation. There isn't much of a learning curve, and the small program won't require you to upgrade your hardware. A standard Windows XP system or MacOS v10.4 will work beautifully.

For the experienced-When it comes to professional Flash design, you can't beat Flash CS3. Now produced by the industry leader in design software, Adobe Systems, the experienced animator will find usefulness in this animation software that goes far beyond its highly praised intuitive interface and logical setup. It integrates seamlessly with other Adobe products, including Photoshop, allowing you to move from a Photoshop design to a Flash presentation quickly and with ease. Designers working on either a Mac or a PC can create interactive Web and digital content, as well as deliver animations to mobile platforms. Its uses extend beyond Web sites to advertising, education, games and the always popular Flash video. Don't want to get too complicated? Flash CS3 will allow you to create animated buttons with a click or two.

Be aware that Flash CS3 is not animation software for someone new to the process, unless you're entirely willing to take courses or labor over tutorials and experience the trial-and-error process for several months. It is an extremely powerful program that will hog computer resources, and like all powerful programs it can be much more confusing for the beginner.

3-D Animation Software
Taking a leap beyond Flash animation, the entries in the 3-D animation software field create fully dimensional people, places and objects. There is a much higher learning curve involved when you use 3-D programs, but the payout can be enormous if you want to create true-to-life models that can move naturally and interact with their environments.

For the novice-Starting simple is often the best way to learn, and what could be more amusing than creating a digital "you" that can dance around the screen? This is the premise of iClone, the best 3-D animation software currently available for the novice animator. The learning curve is gentle and forgiving, providing lots of prompts that help you become more involved with the functions and tools.

Bundled into the program are preset models that can be used to learn the basics of 3-D animation, a library of tools that help you create better effects and the ability to use your own digital photos in any project you start. What makes this software so perfect for the novice, though, is the way that it guides you in stages with a wizard through the building of every character-before you even start animating. Think of it as 3-D paper dolls, a point-and-click version of animating that eases you into the hard stuff.

Even with a novice program, you'll need a good, stable system. A minimum Pentium 4 1 GHz processor is required, as well as at least 512 MB of RAM and a 5 GB hard drive. You'll also need a good graphics card that includes a 3-D accelerator (3-D graphics card/integrated chipset). In general, the baseline of graphics card you'll need to have installed is the nVidia GeForce 5200FX or the ATI Radeon 8500.

iClone isn't available for the Mac, but the freeware Blender program provides a full suite of animation tools without the need for an up-front investment.

For the experienced-Starting with a surprisingly affordable price tag and bounding right through to full-featured solutions, there is arguably no better 3-D animation software than Carrara. With the ability to add in fully created characters and libraries of clothing, props and even poses, there is the point-and-click functionality to Carrara that will ease a not-quite beginner into the program, but it's the robust posing and animation, modeling, environment creation and rendering tools that have experienced 3-D animators excited.

The learning curve is intimidating. Carrara comes with a really hefty user manual, a necessity even for designers used to animation software like Studio Max. You have to really learn where everything is located in this software in order to make use of the stunning abilities of its tools.

System-wise, Carrara requires surprisingly little from your computer. Available in formats compatible with both Mac and PC, you'll want at least a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM and at least 500 MB of free hard drive space for the program itself.