There are three primary tools that can be used to create graphics for animation in the Adobe Creative Suite (and most other graphics software, for that matter). These are Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects. For many years, it was debated until the question of “which program is best for animation” led to the creation of dozens of forum threads.
A question that many of you might be asking is which program is best for animation. The answer to this question really depends on a case-by-case basis. The programs that I’ve used for years, and that I recommend the most are After Effects and Flash.
1: Photoshop
Probably the most famous of the Adobe programs is the image editing software Photoshop. So well known in fact, that the word ‘Photoshopped’ has become an almost universally recognised adjective. You may have used this software before but even if you haven’t you probably know that if a picture has been Photoshopped, it’s been changed or manipulated in some way. Adobe Photoshop allows for intense image manipulation ranging from cutting out elements of an image to completely changing the colours and lighting of a photograph. For stop motion, this is very useful when creating storyboards or mood boards before you start shooting. Photoshop also has a large capability for drawn art, with many brush types and styles built into the program as well as many more that can be found for free online with a quick internet search. This is perfect when creating stop-motion character designs or background art either for concept art or in post-production.
2: Illustrator
The main difference between Illustrator and Photoshop is that Photoshop works with pixels, whereas Illustrator works with vectors. What this means is images created in Illustrator can be scaled up infinitely without fear of losing resolution and quality, unlike when pixel-based media, where you’ll start to see the little pixel squares when you scale an image up. This makes Illustrator great for creating props and characters to be used in After Effects animations as they can be scaled up to any size you want. The programme is also well equipped to create and work with shapes, a feature that is very useful when creating elements for animation.
3: After Effects
One of the main tools in an animator’s Adobe arsenal is After Effects – a hugely versatile tool. This program covers a lot, from post-production effects to motion graphics animation directly within the software. The program’s main use is for video compositing and post-production – we think of it as ‘Photoshop for video’. In terms of stop-motion animation, this would be applied to things such as removing rigging, combining different animated elements into the same shot, or adding visual effects like rain or backgrounds. When applied to 2D animation, the software can manipulate various shapes, images and effects to create complex animations. These shapes can range from pre-made characters and objects from other Adobe programmes such as Illustrator to simple photographs. When used correctly, After Effects is the perfect tool to complete the final stages of any production you are working on, giving it that last layer of polish. Some people even put their final edits together in After Effects, which is fine – but we prefer to use Adobe’s editing software.
4: Premiere Pro
This is the main video editing software within the Adobe suite. It is used by a lot of studios including ours here in Margate as it is a powerful, intuitive and works well with other Adobe programs. As mentioned, the main use for this software within animation is to compile and edit together your finished shots. On top of this, its the Adobe software you should use to add sound to your production and take the time to synchronise it up accordingly. It is also useful during the animatic phase of pre-production as it can be used to easily string together storyboard shots when you’re planning your animation, allowing them to be spaced and timed ready for production to begin.
5. Audition
Adobe Audition is a sound editing tool, which can really help bring to life stop-motion animation. It has the capability for recording and importing sound, layering sound, as well as editing volumes, blending sounds and pretty much helping you to create any sound effects you might need. Great sound is a crucial element to animation and it is so often overlooked. By using Audition, you can work to create the perfect soundscape for your animated film. This could range from vocals for characters to simply sound effects for each necessary element of your animated film. Playing around with how sound works with your animation is a great way to bring new life and ideas to your films.
These are five Adobe programs that we use at the studio daily. From pre-production to final delivery, each step is essential in creating a well-rounded animation. Aside from working well on their own, the thing we love about Adobe programs is that they all integrate really well together. Adobe provides each software individually or as packages depending on what you need, all on a monthly subscription basis. It can be quite expensive but they do offer huge discounts for those studying or teaching.
Whatever style of animation you choose to make, we think this Adobe software is essential to the production process. If you are struggling to get started, there are plenty of free tutorials and forums available online that cover every aspect of each.
But with all this talk of what to do once the animation is done; you may be wondering what goes into making stop-motion animation itself. Check out our blog on Getting started in stop-motion to find out the best software for shooting it.
Animate CC
Adobe Animate is definitely the easier of the two to pick up as a beginner and get started with.
There’s a lot of techniques to learn in order to best make use of Animate’s features, and the vector based drawing tools will take some getting used to. However, the basic interface and workflow for making animation is generally intuitive and easy to pickup.
After Effects
After Effects, while still an intuitive program, has a more steep learning curve. That’s because After Effects is a very deep program, with lots of uses outside of animation.
This means even the basics of how the program works might be more complicated to understand. You’ll need some guidance to even figure out which of the many panels and tools are even relevant to your animation process. Also, you’ll need to become familiar with how to rig a character to be animated in the first place.
Art Tools
Animate CC:
Adobe Animate has a series of vector drawing tools for creating crisp, scalable, artwork with a low file size, and relatively low memory usage.
If you’re used to drawing with a bitmap drawing program like Photoshop or Procreate, it can take some getting used to.
If you’re afraid that vector tools are too clunky for character animation, know that tools in Adobe Animate work differently from those in Adobe Illustrator for example and are much better suited for free hand drawing.
After Effects:
With After Effects you won’t be creating your artwork in the program itself. You would typically use Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to build your characters as a series of separate vector shapes, that you would then import into After Effects.
Once in After Effects, you can use features like the Puppet Pin Tool to rig those pieces into an animatable character.
You can also create characters using bitmap images made in Photoshop, and rig them as puppets in After Effects, just be aware you’ll be a little bit more limited in how far you can push a character made up of photographic elements before it looks distorted.
Animation Features
Frame-by-Frame Animation
If you want the ability to draw animation frame-by-frame, Animate CC is definitely the way to go. Animate, at its core, is about using digital tools to create individual frames of animation.
After Effects on the other hand, has its roots as a video compositing program. It has lots of great features for making animation, but the only way to incorporate custom frame-by-frame animation into an After Effects scene is to prepare the animation in a different program and import the frames into After Effects. After Effects animation is all about creating rigged puppets.
Rigging Character Puppets
The character rigging features of Animate CC are fairly basic, but it’s easy to start working with them and build a character you can work with fairly quickly.
With After Effects, you can build very basic puppets quickly, but to get the results you’re really after, you’ll want to dig a little deeper. Making a more advanced character that can bend and flex like you’re used to seeing, takes another layer of knowledge.
Fortunately there are plugins that can automatically take care of the hardest parts of rigging an advanced After Effects puppet. Look into the open source plugin DUIK BASSEL to get a sense of what goes into the rigging process.
Virtual Camera
Both Animate CC and After Effects have the ability to create a virtual camera that you can animate moving through your screen.
They both also allow you to arrange your 2D layers in a 3D space to create depth and parallax in your camera moves.
The camera in After Effects however is more advanced and can simulate real camera features like depth of field and you can automatically add motion blur to your moving elements.
COnclusions
Choosing the program that’s best for animation can be a difficult decision, especially if you’re a beginner. There are a lot of programs out there, and none of them are created equal. In this article, I’ll give you a brief overview of all four programs to help you decide which is best for you.