With the release of Moho 12 (formerly Anime Studio), we have been seeing over the last little while, how new features and functionality have elevated Smith Micro’s character animation tool to a new level. Moho is all about character animation, from drawing, to rigging to rendering. This look at the switch selection panel should turn a few After Effects animators heads.
The Select Switch window in Moho Pro & Debut 12 gives you a visual interface when working with switches
Moho vs Ae
I know I have been talking about Moho vs After Effects for character animation quite a lot in the last little while, but it’s hard to help that. Although After Effects has some great tools for character animation, such as DUIK, the Ae platform that the tools are built on inherently has limitations, and Adobe Character Animator is not a practical tool for character animation.
Having bones that can deform a closed shape makes a huge difference when animating characters. Having fast IK and FK and the ability to switch between them makes a huge difference as well.
Lip Sync Superiority
Just have a look at how Moho 12 handles lip sync animation. The new switch selection window lets you choose between phonemes and set keys for the various mouth positions you need for you animations. Switch layers can be great for any frame-by-frame animation like, eye blinks and hand gestures, not just lip sync. Having a visual interface saves time and allows you to focus on more important elements of your animation.
Ae Lip Sync
Meanwhile, back in After Effects, you need a convoluted time-remapped composition that you need to use to key the mouth positions for lip sync. Even more-so, every dialog in After Effects is a modal window, which means that you can’t do anything until that window has been dismissed.
Non Modal
The switch selection window in Moho is non-modal, so you can step through the timeline and still choose your selection and set a key without dismissing the panel.
Moho
It’s easy to see how a focused tool can make character animation workflow quicker and a much more pleasant experience. Moho 12 is a strong lure for After Effects suers, when you look through its features. A bones-based professional animation tool runs only $399. Visit Smith Micro for more information.
