Macromedia Flash 8

Macromedia Flash 8

While Flash 8 is a great program that continues the tradition of excellence begun by its previous incarnations, upgrading from Flash MX isn't really essential to continue animating and developing effectively. The only major change that really stands out is the addition to Flash's video capabilities. If you're looking to try Flash for the first time, then I would recommend Flash 8 Basic--but if you're comfortable with MX, you may want to avoid the rather heavy upgrade costs.

At first glance, Flash Professional 8 looks like Flash MX wrapped up in a prettier package--but that's reassuring when making the transition from MX to 8. Moving up to Flash 8 is like coming home to a familiar house that's been spruced up with a new coat of paint and a few renovations--still the same comfortable rooms, but with a clean, fresh new feel. My first impression, after trying out the program, was that a great deal of the struggle had been removed from certain functions. Filter effects that were once a "jerry-rig" process are now accomplished automatically with a single click; the Library is now a static panel with improved object tracking. Fonts look crisp without degradation; graphic transitions are now standard; line and fill controls now have more options, and Flash's video capabilities have undergone a complete revolution to turn the program into a full-featured video publishing suite. Even Actionscripting is easier, for developers--with an assist mode that practically completes the scripts for you.

Flash 8 still has a few of the problems of MX. It's still a memory-hog, for one, and although Macromedia touts an improved interface I still find it to be a bit too cluttered and overstuffed. Some of the improvements are just "fluff" that don't really matter, but they're still nice to have. While I would recommend an upgrade to Flash 8 (Professional or Basic) to anyone seeking enhanced video capability, I find that I'm just as comfortable sticking with Flash MX.

That covers 2D animation, but if you're a fan of movies like Toy Story or Shrek, then you might be more interested in 3D animation. This is where software like Maya or 3D Studio Max come in. They are both from Autodesk and are slowly becoming more and more similar so it's really about personal preference at this point. 3D software and animation like this can get pretty complicated because of all the steps involved, from the creation of the 3D characters, or modelling - to the actual animation itself.

Maya and 3DS Max provide tools for both of these processes but the general idea is the same as with the 2D animation software from earlier. Use the frames and keyframes down here on the timeline to create your animation! Autodesk provides their software for free if you have an educational email ending with a .edu, so if you're in school and you're looking to learn - they make it very easy! 

If you're not in school but are still looking to animate on a budget then check out anim8or. It's a free software that provides all of the basic tools so you can get to learn how to 3D model and animate with ease.  It doesnt get much more simple than this. That covers it! Of course, software is only half the battle! Practice makes perfect!