Toon Boom V.S. Flash

[Alcaknight]

What do you guys think is better for animating?

Flash CS4 costs 699$, I think, while Toon Boom costs 349$.

Which do you prefer? What are the pros and cons of each. As of now, I have Flash CS3, but I won't have it for long, due to it being on a school computer that they loan us. I am going to be a sophomore this year, and I am pretty sure that we will have Flash again, but I need something to do during the summer, so I am going to buy a Intuos 4 Wacom tablet Medium, and one of these fine animation programs. Any tips would be appreciated.

[TheGrayK]

well id imagine you would want to get toon boom though ive never used it it seems it would be the best for you as it is cheaper
and adam seems to love it so heck i would want it!

P.S. the only reason i have flash is because i got it in a questionable manner
if not for that i probably would have toon boom

[Markham]

Flash CS4 has been a headache even with the supposed "bug fix."  The brush tool causes it to crash more often than I can stand, and I hate playing "find the microscopic gap left by the Paint Fills setting that causes the fill bucket to fill everything one color."  From Flash 5 to CS4, I think I liked CS3 the best, but the copy I used was on a work computer.  I haven't used ToonBoom, and I don't have the money to buy it.

[Alcaknight]

well id imagine you would want to get toon boom though ive never used it it seems it would be the best for you as it is cheaper
and adam seems to love it so heck i would want it!

P.S. the only reason i have flash is because i got it in a questionable manner
if not for that i probably would have toon boom

Yeah, that is what I was thinking. Since it is cheaper and Adam seems to use it more. Adam, if you are reading, did you buy Toon Boom Animate or Toon Boom Studio 5?

Flash CS4 has been a headache even with the supposed "bug fix."  The brush tool causes it to crash more often than I can stand, and I hate playing "find the microscopic gap left by the Paint Fills setting that causes the fill bucket to fill everything one color."  From Flash 5 to CS4, I think I liked CS3 the best, but the copy I used was on a work computer.  I haven't used ToonBoom, and I don't have the money to buy it.

Really? The brush tool and the fill tools are pretty much the only ones that I ever use, besides free transform.

[chluaid]

I use ToonBoom Animate Pro but I also use Flash CS3 and CS4 for client work. I prefer ToonBoom because of its effects modules, colour management, rotating stage and trouble-free video render.

[Alcaknight]

I think that I will be saving up my money to buy this:

https://store1.adobe.com/cfusion/store/index.cfm?store=OLS-US&view=ols_prod&category=%2FApplications%2FWebPremium&distributionMethod=FULL&nr=0&promoid=ELTFM#loc=en_us&view=ols_prod&store=OLS-US&category=/Applications/WebPremium

It has more features and costs around the same price as Toon Boom Animate Pro.

But I am still undecided. I will figure it out, though. 

Thanks for the comments, guys!

[TheEYE]

That is what I bought, and I am honestly really not that happy with it.
Granted it comes with Photoshop and Illustrator which I use daily, but as far as animation goes Flash has really gone downhill since Adobe bought out Macromedia. If you are looking for an animation specific program, then take the cue from Adam and go with Toon Boom. If this damn recession ever lets go of my throat and I have a few bucks in my pocket that is what I will be switching to as well. Flash has been full of promises for many years now, but sadly it is always being developed with animation as an afterthought it seems.
And the damn bugs in CS4 are enough to make you scream and tear large patches of hair from your head I may add......

[Alcaknight]

So, which Toon Boom would you recommend? I wouldn't think that I would need Animate Pro, due to me not being a pro. 

Edit: Oops, I meant to ask this to everyone, not just you. Has anybody used Toon Boom Studio 5 here?

[the Deuce]

I've toyed around with animate, and its really not to hard to use if you're familiar with flash already. There are lots of new features you'll have to learn and what not, but its definitely better for animation anyway you look at it.

[Alcaknight]

Alright, all sounds good. I am saving up money for now. Just mowing lawns, though... Once I turn 16 in December I will be able to get a real job, though. Thanks for the input. 

[Trottimus]

This may have been a question already asked on these forums, and I'm sorry if it has, but with regards to Newgrounds and Toonbooms ability to export as .swf; what features of Toonboom would have to be left out to make it the correct format.

Even then Toonboom has no actionscripting does it? Would you be able to embed the .swf into a flash file and create a menu system around it? Not sure how it all works :S