Earlier this year, a major update to Manga Studio was released with a new UI and 64 bit support. But there has been a program that many fans of Smith -Micro Comics tools have been waiting for since they got to see the beta of it at Comic-Con last year. That tool is MotionArtist. The release version just came out today!
MotionArtist allows users to add movement and sound to existing comics or create entirely new Motion Comics. Now some of you in the know may think, doesn’t Manga Studio already do that. The answer really is no. Manga Studio is aimed at animators, while MotionArtist is focused on illustrators and even beginning cartoon artists. As Smith Micro’s VP Steve Yatson said, “It is a animation tool for non-animators.”
The program supports word balloons, thought bubbles, dialogue boxes, and all the fonts your system has to get the right lettering look for your comic. There is 3D layering for a parallax effect, you also have control of the width and shape of a panel with the cutting tool, and there is even snap to grid creation and resizing which is a great aid to both the pro and beginner alike.
Motion can be added to comics and photo slideshows via automated object placement and camera movement. You can even set the rules for how and when something moves across a path. The ease of doing this is what sets the program apart of other tools aimed at doing motion comics.
The support for sound is just as great. So once you find that perfect bang, pow or music, it is very simple to add and control the playback of it.
“MotionArtist is an amazing tool that is a great time-saver for comic creators and people looking to share their projects digitally,” said Brian Haberlin, co-artist and co-writer of the multimedia sci-fi adventure saga Anomaly. “With pre-loaded tools such as comic panels, word balloons and easy HTML5 export, MotionArtist provides a clean interface for users to easily insert their creative ideas and fine-tune to their desire.”
An Open Platform Which Lets You Use the Tools You Want
When your project is finished, you can export to HTML5 to display them on your own web page or save as a standard movie format to share your comics and presentations directly to Facebook or YouTube.
Since MotionArtist supports the power of HTML5, this means your comic can be viewed on smartphones and tablets that lack Flash support. Smith Micro has been great over the years, supporting open standards and making their tools easy to use with others, like tools from Adobe.
The Dark Secret This Tool Means Business
Now if you do web banners, presentations, even training web pages or programs – MotionArtist is for you too. The tool lets you control graphics and photos in an easy manner but much greater power than you would have boring PowerPoint! It let’s you share your message in new ways without the learning curve of other tools.
Price and System Requirements
MotionArtist is list for $59.99. But right now until March 21st, 2013 you can buy it for $49.99, a savings of $10
MoitonArtist runs on Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8 and Windows 7 and 8, and IE 9.
