Toon Boom Harmony vs. OpenToonz

[Dillon Wright]

Quick question: Is there any comparison to Toon Boom Harmony and OpenToonz animation?

[joshua shute]

quick answer: yes

[Rodney]

Sorry, I keep accidentally responding via Gmail as that interface look so similar to that of this Google groups forum.

I responded:

Of course.
What would you like to compare?

 and then you replied:

One of the things I'd like to compare is their features. I'm not 100% sure on whether or not Toon Boom Harmony has some features that OpenToonz doesn't, but both of them are cool(albeit Toon Boom might be a tad more difficult). Also, do you by any chance know an easy way on how I can make one layer of animation break like glass to reveal the layer behind it?

I hope you have a lot of time as such comparisons can and do consume a lot of time.  :)

Rather than answer about breaking glass effects here I'll respond to that in your other topic.

[SlimLola]

They are both good software. OpenToonz is free which is the clear advantage it has over Harmony.

Harmony Premium is expensive.

Harmony Essentials is the cheapest version.

Harmony Advanced is more expensive than Essentials but Cheaper than Premium.

Harmony is very much a digital animator's dream.

I think OpenToonz is better suited to a traditional workflow.

[Rodney]

Good points @SlimLola  :)

[Dillon Wright]

I'm trying Essentials through a trial, and compared to OpenToonz, it was hard to find out how to position things for animation, I can't do the color gradient trick that makes things a lot easier, the one I'm talking about is in this video. Also, Premium seems to use way too many nodes compared to OpenToonz. Sure Toon Boom may have 3D Camera, and a lot of other features OpenToonz doesn't have(yet), and it may not be 100% stable(also yet), but at least it's simple to use, and at least it doesn't always force you to have a background, and at least you can do certain things without effects, and most importantly, OpenToonz is free. I'm not sure what Toonz Premium has that OpenToonz doesn't, but I'm sure if Disney was able to create great animations without expensive software, then I can create great content without expensive software, and the most important thing in a cartoon(besides animation quality) is a great story and memorable characters.