Bricks in Motion
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I have recently had issues with my animation software, and now I am considering getting a new software. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the help!
What are you currently using? MonkeyJam?
Heron Animation (which I haven't used) is a free piece of software that looks decent. It has onion skinning, and gives you the option of exporting as frames or video. Here's its website: https://www.heronanimation.brick-a-brack.com/
iKitMovie 4 is the software I use, though it's more of a complete animation package rather than just capture software. It has onion skinning, rig removal (masking), and a massive sound library that I find very convenient.
Some if the downsides are the price ($70) and the fact that there's no DSLR support.
Hope this helps.
I currently use Honestech Stop-motion studio 4.0.
Heron Animation has worked great for me. Aside from the occasional bug, it has proved to be a reliable, user-friendly image capture software. It may only be compatible with webcams, however. I'm not sure
I have a webcam so no issue there.
I currently use Honestech Stop-motion studio 4.0.
A couple of questions:
1. Are you looking for just capture software, or something that includes editing?
2. Are you wiling to pay for the software, or would you rather it be free?
3. What isn't working with Honestech?
Last edited by FeinsteinFilms (August 18, 2016 (06:22am))
I would like editing in my software, that would be helpful. I am willing to pay, but I am open to free software. Honestech used to have a playback option where you could see how everything is coming together, now, it seems to play the frames to slow, and then at the end of my film, it plays the frames too fast. There has been other issues where it can't open on my computer and can't load previous films.
A nice combination of free software is Heron Animation for frame capture and video export, then bring those clips into Hitfilm 4 Express, which can be used for basic to moderate editing and VFX, and gives the final render.
Thanks for the tips legoguy501! So Heron animation is the way to go? 
You can also try the BOATS animator, available right here at BIM. 
Okay, thanks for the suggestion! 
Any other suggestions to put on my list?
Stop Motion Pro is apparently pretty good (and pretty expensive). But if you're going to spend that much, you might as well go all the way and buy Dragonframe. iKitMovie would be a less expensive solution if you want something similar to Honestech, but can be glitchy.
I wouln't recommend BOATS, yet, (unless you want to become a tester) since it's still in development and also is most likely prone to glitches. However, it would be something to think about in the future.
legoguy501's suggestion seems like the best one here. And if that doesn't work for you, you won't have lost anything since those programs are free.
And finally, have you tried contacting the Honestech customer service to see if they have a solution to your problems?
I have thought about contacting them, but it seems like the problems that I am having are only happening to me. I am considering trying anyway, because I have nothing to lose. Thanks for the list of software! I will consider and look at each one.
Does Heron Animation work with Mac OS X El Capitan or at least the newest version of OS X?
Although I don't have a Mac to test it on, Aiwha has a download link for MacOS. I'd suggest you give it a try, and, if it doesn't work, give some feedback to Aiwha.
Heron seems to work great on my 2014 mac mini with the latest version of El Capitan.
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