Wonders about Moho debut

General Moho topics.

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Greenlaw
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Re: Wonders about Moho debut

Post by Greenlaw »

IMO, it really depends on what your goal is, that is, the style and complexity of the animation you wish to achieve.

First, here's the official list of differences between the Debut and Pro:

https://my.smithmicro.com/docs/moho/Moh ... onList.pdf

For me, the most significant differences between Debut and Pro is in Pro's advanced rigging and animation tools. Features like target bones, actions, Smart Bones, custom meshes and Smart Warping, can push 'puppet-style' animation towards looking a lot like traditional frame-by-frame animation.

I think for simple, cut-out styles and basic shape morphing, Moho Debut can do the job. For example, if you're going for the classic Terry Gilliam/Monty Python style, Debut's tools can handle that easily. But Debut's animation capabilities become more limiting if you wish to go beyond that. This doesn't mean the animations created with Debut can't be sophisticated in design and presentation, it just means they will be technically simpler. Debut is a fair choice if you're okay with keeping your animation style simple and don't wish to spend a lot of money.

There's a good reason Moho Pro costs a bit more than Debut. For more complex character rigging and animation, Pro gives you an incredible range of options and flexibility. We use Moho Pro in several TV productions where I work. Our most current Moho animations can be seen in the 2D 'fantasy' segments that appear throughout the new Boss Baby series on Netflix. There's no way we can do this level of animation in Debut. For the quality of animation Moho Pro allows us to create, I think the price is very fair.

That said, I can understand how novice animators may just want to dabble with Moho before committing to a bigger financial/time investment.

I suggest downloading the demo for Debut and trying it out for a few weeks. That should be enough time to see if it fits your needs. After that, if you feel you need something more powerful, you might consider checking out the Pro demo. If that's closer to what you really need but you can't afford the cost, keep an eye open for sales. I'm not sure how often Moho goes on sale but it seems to happen once or twice a year. I think Smith-Micro's Facebook page is the place to watch for sales.

Whichever program you decide to animate with, good luck and have fun with it!
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InfoCentral
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Re: Wonders about Moho debut

Post by InfoCentral »

depprussell wrote:I'm not a pro and I can't afford the pro version.
If you can't afford the PRO version then the DEBUT would be more than fine to get your feet wet and get acquainted with AS. If you find yourself spending a lot of time in it then you can save up for the PRO version. If you find you rarely use it then you will be happy you didn't spend a lot of money on it.

The good news is your probably going to have plenty of time to get to know it before the next version is released.
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