In addition to program performance, there is also layout performance. The overall layout in ASP5 makes sense once you use it a little bit, allowing you to make speedy use of the program to do a variety of tasks and keep your performance workflow high.
Despite the overall high marks for performance, there are three things I would like to see improved, in a future incarnation, that would speed up the workflow even more:
The first deals with rendering issues. Currently, to see many of the subtle changes to your scene, like drop shadows or gradients, you must render a still capture of your screen by clicking the Render option. This prevents you from seeing new changes in real time and requires you to double check your work frequently.
The second thing I would like to see added is the ability to resize multiple layers at once. This is a very useful ability in Flash, Photoshop, and Illustrator, which is currently unavailable in ASP5.
Finally, I would like to see the ability added to render photo animations into Flash. While Flash is based on vector work, a variety of photo animations are used constantly in Flash websites. As such, it would be nice if the ASP5’s Flash Exporter could handle this sort of work, rather than just vector animations.
Value
For the amount you can do with ASP5, its $200 price tag is quite reasonable. While it may not be as powerful as some of the higher-end 2D animation packages, it has enough kick to really get you into the world of animation, with some very creative, professional looks. If you would like a more basic introduction to Animé Studio Pro 5, then you can pick up their “Basic” addition, which retails for $49.99. As one might expect, with the price tag a quarter of the cost of the Pro version, the Basic edition lacks a number of the nicer controls for fine tuning animations, that its bigger brother includes.
Final Comments
While Animé Studio Pro 5 may be better suited for Flash-style animation than the hand drawn style most commonly used in Animé, it is a very useful animation program that will allow you to get into animating much easier than you might have previously thought. For experienced animators, its diminutive processor requirements and speedy performance make it a program worth checking out. For both neophyte animators and old pros, you owe it to yourself to download the demo of Animé Studio Pro 5 to see if it would work well for your workflow.
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Ease
of Use |
8.0 |
Depth
of Options |
9.5 |
Performance |
9.0 |
Value |
8.5 |
Overall
Score |
8.8
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