I have a question for a niche group of people.

eclectech

The question is for people who have used Flash or Animate to make 2D animations.

Have you found alternative software that has the same overall user experience as old school Flash?

If yes, what is it?

Please note I am aware of a lot of animation packages out there & I know a lot of them are great, but I have a LOT of experience in Flash & if I can ditch Animate but keep the overall experience that would be perfect.

Thanks.

#animation

slowtiger

@eclectech
I used Flash (and before that Director) for animation and games, could even program. Animation I do in Moho (and TVPaint) now, much more flexibility in everything. The only aspect I miss is programming for generative animation, like crowds. Someone told me that this could be done in Blender "easily", haven't tried myself yet.

eclectech

@slowtiger Yeah, Moho is in my list after we chatted the other day but I forgot to ask then if the UI is similar? And can you do combos of vector and bitmap tweening as easily as Flash?

Most things seem to do loads more than I need, but miss some of the things I use all the time.

eclectech

Basically what I'm screaming into the void here is DON'T MAKE ME LEARN A NEW WAY OF DOING EVERYTHING I DO.

I am aware this makes me sound a bit rubbish, but I really ENJOY making the things I make in Animate. They are very uncomplicated, and I've been doing it so long I don't have to think about the software at all. It just does what I want.

I am sad at the thought of losing that.

Lizzie

@eclectech now I'm sad too because at a great distance through you images I've had a lot of sweet moments directly from your brain to mine, you know?

eclectech

Secondary factor is I really don't like Adobe, and would like to ditch them. I have identified alternatives for everything else I use so this is my stumbling block.

Also don't mind paying for software, but would prefer 1. it wasn't Adobe & 2. it was a one off purchase rather than SAAS.

eclectech

@Lizette603_23 Aww, I don't want to make anyone else sad! The sweet moments will continue (and thank you!)

Lizzie

@eclectech just pouty. Not actually sad. Unless you go away. Then it would be sad. Xo

eclectech

@Lizette603_23 No plans to go anywhere

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)

@eclectech

Please note I am aware of a lot of animation packages out there

Are you aware of any open-source animation packages that do even a half-arsed job of doing what Flash could do in the late '90s (simple vector drawing, keyframe-based animations)? Ideally ones that can export to something viewable in a browser.

I miss Flash.

Edge 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈

@eclectech

I hope someone has a good answer for you, as this sounds like my experience with every single thing I've done with software over most of my life.

I know how to use this, it does what I want, it becomes crap, I have to find something else, and I don't want to re-learn it, ad infinitum.

We want you to continue liking making your animations, too!

Jill ✨

@eclectech @slowtiger Probably obvious, sorry gotta ask. Are you talking about a software named Flash?

eclectech

@david_chisnall The nice easy manipulation of vectors is one of the things I'm struggling to find, but I am on a mission, so will let you know if I find anything.

eLearningTechie

@david_chisnall @eclectech I don't know how https://friction.graphics compares to Flash or Animate as I've not used Flash in the last two decades and have never used Animate. I rarely do animation work, but have dabbled with Friction on occasion. It's pretty feature rich, but documentation could be better.

Petra van Cronenburg

@eclectech tagging #askFedi #Flash #Animate to perhaps attract a few more nerds here who can recommend alternatives to you.

Steven Hoefer

@eclectech Watching this closely. Been looking for exactly this for years.

eclectech

@troublewithwords Yeah, I've stuck with Animate because I needed other Adobe stuff for my work, but I think I could replace everything else now and would love to find a replacement.

eddie

@eclectech Back in the day, Flash was also used for 'rich web sites' that behave more like desktop applications with fancy animations. Microsoft tried to create an alternative with Silverlight ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Silverlight ). It ended within 5 years when HTML5 became popular.

grmon

@eclectech I remember @toonboom and @hypeapp and did you check: https://alternativeto.net/software/adobe-flash

eLearningTechie

@eclectech @david_chisnall Yes, I'd agree. I love Krita for drawing/painting but the animation side seems more confusing than it needs to be IMO. I don't know if there are plugins or add-ons that make it more useful. I kinda gave up and focused on Friction for animations.