Toon Boom Studio 3.5

When it was first released, Toon Boom Studio caused something of a stir among web animators and studios. This was because it offered a way of animating for online content that was more traditional in its toolset. Pegs, lip-syncing tools, exposure sheets, and so on – all familiar to animators in one way or another – were, and still are, present. To cut a long story short, the application enabled animators to get rich animations published without any of the hassle of learning Flash, and the many workarounds that go with it.

So, what exactly does version 3.5 bring to the table? Well, a large number of improvements and tweaks – about right for a .5 release. Such updates include drop shadows, handy import and export palettes and some tweaks to the timeline and UI. Outline onion skinning is a nice new feature, as is a now familiar Welcome Wizard, which enables beginners to jump in and get started with projects quickly. The ability to import and export colour palettes turns Toon Boom Studio into a tool that can be used across teams.

This upgrade is not earth-shatteringly brilliant, and lacks a wonderful new range of wizardry, but at $99 (for 2.5 users and above) it’s not an expensive update. It’s important to remember, too, that Toon Boom Studio is, on its own, a great application. Sure, you’re going to need some animation skills in order to get the most out of it – even though the learning curve isn’t steep – but Toon Boom Studio remains the best animation solution for individuals in this profession that we’ve seen, and at a very reasonable price.