Recently, I've decided to make a short animated presentation at a technology conference, mainly so I can be more comfortable speaking in front of an audience and so I can give my self a deadline for learning how to use 2D animation software. Since I'm only 13 years old and don't really have very much money, I started searching for a free, open source, and easy to use animation program. My search eventually led me to find Synfig, and I'm happy it did.
In the past I have had many frustrations with animation programs. When I was younger, I was bold and thought myself smart enough to jump right in to Blender (a free 3D modeling program) and teach myself how to use the UI with no help from tutorials or the user manual. Let's just say that didn't go down so well. Since then I've been trying to use these sorts of programs to very little success, so I figured now would be the perfect time to start again. It's a fact that if there's no deadline for a person to do something, often times it just never gets done (especially if the task requires lots of thought and technical issues). That's why I figure giving myself a month to learn Synfig and make a ten-minute presentation is a good idea.
Anyway, on to why I like Synfig so much. The great things about it are that it's easy to use, free, saves in a number of useful formats, and easily integrates with programs I already have (like GIMP and MovieMaker). It's so easy because of a feature called "animate editing mode". Basically, it's a feature that automatically keyframes all of the adjustments you make to onscreen objects while its active. Ie. I create a circle in frame0, then I turn on AEM and move it to the other side of the screen at frame12. Now, the program tweens all of the positions between just like that. No manual keyframing required!
In the past I have had many frustrations with animation programs. When I was younger, I was bold and thought myself smart enough to jump right in to Blender (a free 3D modeling program) and teach myself how to use the UI with no help from tutorials or the user manual. Let's just say that didn't go down so well. Since then I've been trying to use these sorts of programs to very little success, so I figured now would be the perfect time to start again. It's a fact that if there's no deadline for a person to do something, often times it just never gets done (especially if the task requires lots of thought and technical issues). That's why I figure giving myself a month to learn Synfig and make a ten-minute presentation is a good idea.
Anyway, on to why I like Synfig so much. The great things about it are that it's easy to use, free, saves in a number of useful formats, and easily integrates with programs I already have (like GIMP and MovieMaker). It's so easy because of a feature called "animate editing mode". Basically, it's a feature that automatically keyframes all of the adjustments you make to onscreen objects while its active. Ie. I create a circle in frame0, then I turn on AEM and move it to the other side of the screen at frame12. Now, the program tweens all of the positions between just like that. No manual keyframing required!