I have a friend who recently wrote, "My daughter is an avid fan of Japanese animation (called anime). She is also a very talented artist and draws anime-like cartoons continuously. She has asked for an animation program for her birthday so that she can use her charaters to create actual animation. She thinks she might want Flash XL, but is not sure if that is the right program."

What software would you recommend for this type of animation work?

Good idea, Flash is friendly and easy to use. I'm not multimedia guru, but sometimes I use it for some of my work. Know some guys which can do unbelivable stuff with it.

flash is a great program to use for animation.. i'd deffinately go with that..

but to make sure its what she wants, why not download a trial version from the macromedia site. that way she will get to test it out and see if she likes it or not

Thank you for your input and suggestions.

It sounds more like what she is looking for is software from ToonBoom. Their software is made specifically for the type of animation you are talking about. You can find out more about them at http://www.toonboom.com/

They offer an "express" version of their software for $99.99, that might be a good place to start for a beginner. Unless you can get academic licensing, which offers the studio version for $149.99

Hi,

Strongly recommend a Flash animation tool like Flash Slideshow Builder. I've used it a lot specifically for Flash animated photo slideshows and it's extremely easy to use unlike regular Flash.

http://www.flash-slide-show.com

Enjoy! :p

I am an avid fan of flash for many reasons (including my love for animation and anime.) Tell you what: Flash is a tough program to master, but if she really has a passion for it then I'll send her to the right resources and show her the way to use this software.

Judos for encouraging this activity in her. It can grow from an interest to a career if she's given proper growth and education.