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Simple 2D Animation Software for UNIX-like OSes

Posted by Cliff on from the building-cartoons-without-windows dept.

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?"

15 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Blender is not Overkill by ironfroggy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There is no more reason to say that Blender is overkill for such a task than to say OpenGL is overkill for non-3D graphics. Just use a single view angel and don't move anything in the third coord. Southpark is even animated with such a tool. Besides, this will allow you to expand your effects in the future, should you ever find the need.

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    Question
    http://www.ironfroggy.com/
    1. Re:Blender is not Overkill by vcv · · Score: 3, Interesting

      But is there a higher learning curve than using a 2d tool because of what it's designed for? I've never used blender, so I can't so. But for any other 3d tool I've used, I would definitely say yes.

    2. Re:Blender is not Overkill by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 2, Informative

      I can't give you a full answer, but I can tell you I'm no expert and no skilled artist by any means. I've always been interested in playing around with 3d animation, and downloaded Blender several years ago, when I needed a creative outlet. At first I thought I'd never learn it and nothing made sense to me. Then I bought a copy of "The Official Blender 2.0 Guide" (I guess that probably says how long ago it was!). I started reading through it and was designing 3d objects within a few hours. Once I had a guide to Blender and saw what the intent was with all the strange (or so they seemed to me) way things were done, it make sense and I was able to start working with it quickly.

    3. Re:Blender is not Overkill by thhamm · · Score: 3, Informative

      Once I had a guide to Blender and saw what the intent was with all the strange (or so they seemed to me) way things were done, it make sense and I was able to start working with it quickly.

      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. :)

    4. Re:Blender is not Overkill by foniksonik · · Score: 4, Interesting

      What's nice about using 3d for 2d animation is the ability to create everything to scale, keep it at scale and simply move it back into the distance (z-index) instead of 'faking it' by scaling it down. This makes depth much more plausible to the viewer and much easier to animate... think of it like a theater stage with a backdrop and stand up props, except that you have an infinitely deep stage to work with and unlimited 'tracks/layers' to put your props on.

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
  2. Flash and non-preparatory formats by Distortions · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You *do* know you can author in flash and export it as video, right?

    --
    Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
  3. ktoon by lanswitch · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://ktoon.toonka.com/

  4. How about Moho? by Tool+Man · · Score: 4, Informative

    Moho is a vector-based program from Lost Marble, and runs on Linux as well as Mac and Windows. It can output Flash as well I think, but wasn't restricted to Flash output either.

    http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/index.shtml

    1. Re:How about Moho? by Tool+Man · · Score: 2, Informative

      Just one thing... Moho isn't quite free, but pretty close. The demo version watermarks the output and renders Flash as gray-scale, but the full version is $100 US. Considering the features, it's still cheap cheap cheap.

  5. Artificial limitation by node+3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are you sure you want to artifically limit yourself by not using Flash?

    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.

  6. Cinepaint by Leghkster · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There's also http://cinepaint.movieeditor.com/ - a natural, if you're familiar with the Gimp.

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    Witty signature omitted for brevity.
  7. "proprietary"? by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Do you mean "Flash" as in "SWF"? Because: swf is a stanadrd. Ming saving as SWF should be an entirely open format. Now, the fact that gplflash is still in its infancy is a problem, but the format itself is open.

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  8. The good old days... by bscott · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Where is EA's old "Deluxe Paint III" (Amiga version) when you need it?
    Sometimes the march of progress plows under the simple-but-useful.

    --
    Perfectly Normal Industries
  9. SVG - scalable vector graphics by sednet · · Score: 5, Informative
    have you looked into scalable vector graphics format (svg)? it is a mature spec published by the W3C, and like macromedia flash, svg stands to become much more popular once it is distributed with web browsers.

    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:

    --
    about sean dreilinger
  10. Moho by rrwood · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Might not be exactly what you're looking for, but Moho from Lost Marble is a great 2D animation tool. And it comes in all your favourite OS flavours (as long as that means Windows, OS X, and Linux).

    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).