Pros
On paper TBS has great features, onion skinning, lipsync, you can make stop motion - export projects in a format suitable for Youtube etc. It is great for paperless workflow and theoreticaly its the complete package. I would love it - if it worked.
Cons
Full of bugs. Even with the right spec this programme crashed constantly and unpredictably. It has been nothing but trouble. Check the user Forums for hopping mad user posts about crashes. People have had to abandoned it completely to meet deadlines.
Summary
Appart from the crashing issues other poor features include the need to 'export' your work to play it back, this has to be repeated every time you want to review your project, its time consuming and slow. The programme is hungry and far too demanding on the CPU. I have a 3.06Hz processor and 2G of RAM ( better than the stated spec)
but the programme was still increadibly slow and running other programmes simultaneously was often not an option.
Support was also poor - when I reported my first crash - I was simply told 'crashes should be rare' - thanks guys that helps - then I was told I could try a better graphics card I am glad I did not decide to upgrade my system or graphics card for TBS however, as when I began looking into it I discovered people with top notch specs were having the same problems. In fact the ' industry pros' that ToonBoom is so happy to talk about were missing their deadlines due to this programmes unreliability. I know at least two who have abandoned it completely and others who are considering doing the same.
I am still waiting to have my issues resolved but frankly I just don't want to use it any more and the ToonBoom refund policy? Well you can imagine how good that is. They will not even talk about it even tho the software I have is completely useless to me. I haven't been able to complete a single project since I bought it. PLEASE THINK VERY CAREFULY. ITS A LOT OF MONEY TO WASTE.
Pros
Very innovative product and surprisingly cheap! This is the master at 2D for anybody wanting to get into this type of animation in a serious way. Having a computer, a Wacom tablet and this software ..you have an animation studio at your disposal.
I've used this software for over 2 years..it can be a bit quirky ..but once you get the hang of things there is a lot you can do with this software.
It employs templates making it extremely time saving to produce quality work!
It exports animation in several formats including SWF ..making it a seem-less application with FLASH. It also exports formats directly for IPODS!
In addition, even though its 2D, this software provides a few tricks to simulate a 3D type of environment.
I didn't give this a 5 star rating because NUTHIN is perfect! The thing is, there is NO software I'd give a 5 star rating.
However if your interested in 2D animation, this is a must have application!
After the learning curve you'd be amazed at what you can do with this product.
Cons
Somewhat steep learning curve ..but if your determined it will be well worth your time.
