r/learnanimation • u/Confusing_Banana • 1d ago
Animation Program
Hello people,
I have a Microsoft Surface Pro 8 and would like to get into animation. I want to teach myself with tutorials etc. The problem I have is first of all I don’t know any animation programs, I would like a program that is intuitive, although it can be a bit complex the more you get into it, since I’m a fast learner. So a beginner program that can also be used for more advanced animations.
I tried illustrating here and there in various programs, however most of them have the problem that they can‘t tell apart the surface pen 2 from my finger, so when I try to move the picture around it draws a line even if I use two fingers sometimes. Also the pen I use can (in paint and onenote at least) use an eraser if I use the back of it, although I haven’t found an illustration program that can also use this feature. So it would be nice if the animation program you guys recommend has that feature (although it’s optional if the program itself is great)
A question for the surface users if there are any:
is it possible to use third party software to map the button at the end of the pen for example to redo and undo so I don’t have to press ctrl+z all the time because the keyboard annoys me and feels in the way when I try to draw.
Bonus Question: Are there any tutorials, preferably in the form of text like a website to help me with drawing, animation, proportions etc. I like text tutorials more because I don’t have to pause or skip through a video and it’s easier to have on the side on my pc or my phone.
Disclaimer: Please don’t tell me the surface is sh*t for drawing, I know it’s not the best. I also use it for college work where it’s really in its element and I got it for extremely cheap via ebay auction sniping. I’m a broke student so if the software is > ~20€ it doesn‘t really help and no I can‘t afford an ipad pro with pro pen for an arm and a leg. My bank account is basically always in the double digits.
Thank you in advance, and I apologize if anything I said seemed offensive and rude, I sometimes can’t tell if my sentence structure can come off as such. (Neurodivergency😡) Also english isn‘t my first language and
Side Note: if anyone has some niche physics info I’d be open to hearing it if you want to tell me along with the animation software stuff
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u/Lazy_Figure_3152 1d ago
Hey, Maybe Sclera ?
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u/Confusing_Banana 1d ago
Thanks, but idk. browser based isn’t really my thing. I like to draw on the train or when I’m on the move and in germany there is tons of areas without connection. Also I like it more if it’s a program because it seems more transparent to me. The source code can’t be changed without my knowledge etc. yk wim
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u/Dry-Conversation7191 1d ago
Animation paper is free and lightweight. Not advanced enough to do professional finished animation but will give a you a lightweight app to practice in.
Krita is free. Surface should handle animation just fine. There are a ton of YouTube videos animating in the program.
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u/Confusing_Banana 1d ago edited 1d ago
What does it mean to do professional finished animation? Could you tell me the differences between that and beginner - intermediate animations? Krita has the touch problem that I can‘t move the drawing around without drawing a line
Edit: Why tf would people downvote this? get off your high horse, not everyone knows about thingamaprogram 2 pro plus (extended version). Remember you were a beginner once too.
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u/Dry-Conversation7191 1d ago
🤔 finished animation? You know,
I wouldn’t even worry about that part yet.If touch gestures are a problem you’re not going to find a program that will fix that. Unless it has an option to not draw with finger. Or draw with stylus only.
I would suggest a cheap Bluetooth keyboard while you draw.
Like you said you are using a surface. You will have to make compromises being what it is.
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u/Confusing_Banana 1d ago
I do worry about that part though. If I want to learn a program I want to be able to make a finished animation with it. I don’t know if that might be the autism speaking but why would I not worry about the finished animation? And like I said I don’t really have money for a bluetooth keyboard (or anything for that matter). Not to come off as rude but your advice didn‘t really bring me further. If you are relatively sure the surface doesn‘t allow me to turn off drawing with my finger (fuck microsoft) I might try to code a program for that, I’ll do a bit of research on that. Thank you anyways
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u/Dry-Conversation7191 1d ago
Your not rude at all. You have a long journey learning animation before you need to worry about a program that does everything to finish a professional looking animation. Free and powerful, there are few options outside of blender grease pencil. Tahoma 2D, pencil 2D, opentoonz maybe. All those would need a keyboard. What you seek just doesn’t exist, touch friendly , full featured and free.
Good luck to you!
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u/Confusing_Banana 1d ago
thank you, I’ll try my best, maybe write a program to map ctrl+z to the stylus and if possible differentiate finger from stylus.
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u/Inkbetweens- 17h ago
Try out tahoma2d. Its free. Its built off of opentoonz and can do both hand drawn and 2D rigged animation.