You're starting a new animation project. How can you find the right software to bring your vision to life?

It's important to evaluate the user-friendliness of the software's interface. A clean and intuitive interface can significantly reduce the learning curve for your team. Look for software with well-designed menus, icons, and workflows that facilitate a smooth onboarding process. Also, accessible resources can accelerate the learning process for your team, providing step-by-step guidance on various features and functionalities.

As others here have said, budget is part of it. However, many people miss the training aspect of that. Leaning a new software requires you have resources and those may be free, while others cost money. Are there enough training resources to cover all the things you need to do. Do those resources take you far enough or just to the basics. Are there any skilled professionals you can add to your team, or hire for training. Budget training time into your schedule. Learning takes time.

For high-end animation Maya is the best tool. With it you can do things that have to do with directing and cinematography (for example you have the option to use maya camera sequencer where you can manage and layout camera shots). Having said that, the right software is the one people you will be working with are accustomed to. It can be one software tool or more than one. You can use expensive or/and free software like Blender. Nowadays, there are many choices.

Animation software ranges from free to high-priced professional tools. Decide how much you’re willing to invest in the software and explore options within your budget.

I like to get an overview of each program (if I'm not already familiar with the nuances of each) before I decide. Then it also depends on the project. Is it text-heavy, character animation-heavy, white board, heavy color graphics? Each of those scenarios could be best suited by a different program. I might love working in Animate, but Character Animate may be better for puppet use or After Effects for graphic animation.

Choosing the right animation software is crucial, as it should align with your intended animation style and genre. Most of the 2D animation software are similar so tend to learn one, it will be easier.

It totally depends on who your viewers are and what platform it’s gonna play then comes which software you need. Then it also depends on what software you are comfortable.

Choosing the right software depends on the creative direction of the design task. For some ideas, it wouldn't be enough to use conventional tools but learn and adapt on the go. Maybe it would be a media between - photo scanning, adobe animate, marvelous designer, and touch designer.

Define Your Needs: Clearly outline the requirements of your project. Determine the style of animation you want to create (2D, 3D, stop-motion, etc.), the level of detail needed, and any specific features you require.

this depends on the project you are looking at, most of the time what clients need is the popular style out there. So with your skills you can accomplish that style even with the software you own. Also you may want to stick to that software where you are most comfortable with.

In my experience starting with a more complex program is better, there are a lot of great courses that are helpful at the beginning even if the software has a complex interface or too many options.

if you have been doing animations for quite some time, even the most complex software is almost familiar with you. I remember when I was in college and 3dmax was taught, I thought it was a simple little did I know that some artists find it difficult (UI wise) Until I was able to use SoftImage 3d, this has a complex UI back then, 23 years ago I think. :) So i guess if you learned the complex software then the easier softwares (UI wise) will not be too challenging for you.

Yo aprendí experimentando y viendo tutoriales en YouTube, fue un proceso largo, frustrante pero también muy divertido. Si tuviera que empezar de nuevo empezaría por llevar cursos en línea (Udemy, Domestika, etc.) para iniciarme y aprender lo básico. A partir de ahí lo demás es cuestión de invertir tiempo, buscar gente que comparta tu interés por la animación y sobre todo, tomar proyectos que te reten.

You don't really need software. Start with flip books then paper. Use a camera to photograph the images or video turning the pages.

Recognizing your capabilities is a challenging yet crucial step. Reflect on past experiences and identify areas for growth in your new project. Stepping beyond your comfort zone fosters development, but persistence is key – discouragement may otherwise lead to abandoning the idea altogether.

This one is very important, even if you are very skilled and very talented, these tool is the most important and expensive. I can still remember when I was just starting to work as freelance artist, I have to restart, reboot over and over again just to refresh my resources. It was frustrating, to reboot and see your work that has some glaring errors after rendered. I endured the challenges until I was able to purchase a decent machine with a high specifications, but it didn't end there you really need a strong powerful machine to render animations. It is a wise investment, you need it!! It will help you on your outputs and get more clients. Also I find it very much appropriate when meeting your clients and presenting your output.

Perceiving hardware limitations as a barrier to goals is common, but it can be reframed as a self-imposed project constraint. If lacking access to industry-standard animation software, get creative. Craft a setup using your phone to capture notebook images for frames. Even tools like PowerPoint can be surprisingly effective for crafting engaging animations.

Using After Effects/Animate made me get a better PC, especially for the rendering part. It's a huge time saver if you consider it a big investment. Can't imagine the weight of 3D software

Working with after effects/premiere/photoshop and illustrator, I need a PC with high processing power, with strong memories and a powerful video card. It's not possible to work with animation and have basic equipment.

Le travail d'animation requiert dans tous les cas une station de travail confortablement équipée, entre 32 et 64Go de RAM, un bon disque dur SSD (minimum 512Go) pour faciliter la rapidité d'écriture, et une carte graphique plut?t récente car les logiciels évoluent vite et sont de plus en plus gourmands en ressource

In my experience, After Effects/Animate are the best options so far, one cool thing is that you can easily export Lottie animations.

The choice of software depends on the project's goals. If the project is simple, opting for Premiere over After Effects may save time, as After Effects could be overly complex and time-consuming for straightforward projects. However, for projects requiring intricate visual effects or animations, After Effects may be the better choice. Therefore, defining the project's objectives is crucial before selecting the appropriate software.

I work with Motion Designer and Video Editing for digital marketing. I also intend to start studying and learn 3D modeling and 3D animation as Blender, Cinema 4D etc to add another tool to my pipeline.

While Blender is free and probably a lot of new users start with blender because of that, there are still existing teams using 3ds max, Maya or cinema 4d. To work in these teams it is often mandatory to work in the same software because exchanging 3d models during production is often very inefficient. So if you want to get hired search for interesting studios and what software they use so you know what to learn.

In animation, the choice of software is intricately tied to specific project goals. Whether aiming for realistic 3D rendering, seamless character animation, or efficient workflow, selecting software aligned with project objectives ensures optimal results and creative success.

You should firstly think about the below mentioned stuff - - The style of animation/medium that you plan to use in your project. - Your familiarity & ease of use with the software you already know & use currently. Also how easily you can find tutorials/support for learning the stuff you may not know yet, which you might need for your animation project. Because there is always something new to learn or challenges popping up during the project, where you may get stuck & need help. - Knowing what all functions are possible or become possible with the help of other plugins as an add-on in the given software application. Researching on the limitations & strong points of the application & other alternative 3D animation software would be of help.

Try to outline your project both in words and visually: Is your vision built on experimentation or precise technical knowledge, define what you want this project to be: Medium, tone, visual aesthetics - collect as many references as you can. Collaborating with other artists can benefit project-related decisions: You don't need to be an expert in every software to make your vision come to life, you can stick to what you feel confident in while learning new skills in either 3D/2D/or XR. Also, collabs motivate you to get funding for your project (to purchase software, add-ons, pay yourself and the artists). Discuss your ideas with your collaborator/s, be open to suggestions and advice that can elevate the project and help choose software

The first thing I usually think about is: -What tools do I actually need & how complex am I planning to get? Each software has certain areas were it excels,for example, toonboom is great for cutout animation but maybe some people prefer tvpaint for handdrawn animation. That being said, new projects can be a fun way to learn a new software so sometimes its good to get out of you comfort zone and have some fun.

Be creative, be fun, and be proud of your work, but never be satisfied with it. The impostor syndrome is your best friend. It is also your worst enemy. But never give up.

Some Renderers like V-Ray already bring a lot of 3d-assets with them and you can add them with one click to your scene. This usually includes vehicles, people, furniture and vegetation. So instead of buying these assets on a separate marketplace they are included free of charge with a subscription of the software which can save time and money in the long term.