Understanding the Product Line
Currently, Anime Studio is available in two different versions: a beginning-level product named simply Anime Studio and a professional-level version called Anime Studio Pro. The current version is release 6.
Note
All features new to the latest version are summarized in Appendix A, “What’s New with Anime Studio 6.”
Anime Studio Debut
The Anime Studio Debut product, shown in Figure 1.1, includes several drawing tools; the capability to work with layers, fills, and outlines; the capability to control vectors and images using bones; camera controls; and basic animation capabilities. It also allows the importing of JPEG, BMP, PSD, Targa, and PNG image files and the ability to export animations to the SWF, YouTube, AVI, and QuickTime formats.
Figure 1.1. Anime Studio Debut.
Anime Studio Pro
Anime Studio Pro, shown in Figure 1.2, offers all the tools and features found in the base package plus additional tools, such as Arrow, Noise, and Magnet. It also offers the capability to load and manipulate 3D objects and transform cameras in 3D space. Other advanced features include particle layers, styles, and pattern brushes, support for importing Illustrator and EPS files and HD Video, and a Lua-based scripting engine for writing custom scripts.
Figure 1.2. Anime Studio Pro.
Trial Version
Trial versions of Anime Studio Debut and Anime Studio Pro are freely available from the Smith Micro Web site. The trial version of Anime Studio Debut is located at http://my.smithmicro.com/downloads/index.html and the trial version of Anime Studio Pro is located at http://my.smithmicro.com/win/anime/trial.html for Windows and http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/anime/trial.html for Mac. These trial versions will run for 30 days.
The limitations of the trial version are that it cannot import any external files or export animations. However, you can save your files and access them again with a licensed version of the software.
An Anime Studio license can be purchased online at the Smith Micro Web site at http://store.smithmicro.com. Upgrades between previous versions and the Debut and Pro versions are also available.
Differences Between the Debut Package and the Pro Package
If you break down the feature sets of the base and Pro packages into a table, it looks like Table 1.1.
| Feature Category | Anime Studio Debut Feature List | Anime Studio Pro Feature List (includes all of the Anime Studio Debut features plus the following) |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing Tools: | Insert Text, Select Points, Translate Points, Scale Points, Rotate Points, Add Point, Scatter Brush, Delete Edge, Curvature, Freehand, Draw Shape (rectangle, oval, triangles, stars, spirals) | Shear Points X and Y, Perspective Points H and V, Bend Points H and V, Noise, Magnet tool |
| Fill and Style Tools: | Select Shape, Create Shape, Paint Bucket, Delete Shape, Eyedropper, Line Width, Hide Edge | |
| Bone Tools: | Select Bone, Translate Bone, Scale Bone, Rotate Bone, Add Bone, Reparent Bone, Bone Strength, Manipulate Bone, Bind Layer, Bind Points, Offset Bone | |
| Layer Tools: | Set Origin, Translate Layer, Scale Layer, Rotate Layer Z, Switch Layer, Video Tracking (Three Points) | Rotate Layer X and Y, Shear Layer X and Y, Particle Layer, Video Tracking (Unlimited Points) |
| Layer Types: | Vector, Image, Bone, Switch, Audio | Group, Particle, 3D, Note |
| Camera and Workspace Tools: | Track Camera, Zoom Camera, Roll Camera, Pan/Tilt Camera, Pan Workspace, Zoom Workspace, Preferences, Edit Dimensions, Background Color | Rotate Workspace, Orbit Workspace, Editor and GUI Color Preferences, Tracing Image, Depth of Field, 3D Camera, Stereo Rendering, Sort Layers by Depth, Sort by True Distance, Noise Grain, Grid, Grid Size, Multiple Pane View, Display Quality |
| Export Options: | Save Project Settings, Edit Dimensions, Background Color, Max of 768 by 768 Resolution | Max of 9000 by 9000 Resolution |
| Animation Features: | Keyframes, Playback Controls, Animation Channels, Ruler, Blend Morph Targets, Max of 120 fps and 3000 Frames | Onionskins, Graph Mode, Create and Blend Morph Targets, Unlimited Frames |
| Audio and Lip Sync: | Sequencer with 2 Audio/1 Video Track, Amplitude Only Lip Sync | Multi-track Audio and Video Sequencer, Production Lip Sync Library |
| Action and Scripting: | Store, Edit, and Delete Reusable Animation, Pre-built Scripts | |
| Content Library: | Categorized Content | User Samples, 3D Objects |
| Import Formats: | JPEG, BMP, PSD, PNG, Targa, WAV, AIFF, QuickTime (MOV), AVI, Moho | Illustrator (AI), EPS, 3D Objects (OBJ), HD Video |
| Export Formats: | QuickTime (MOV), AVI, SWF, YouTube Upload | JPEG, BMP, PSD, PNG, Targa, Sequential Image Export, Batch Movie Export, HD Video |