Toonz to be free March 26

[modi123]

Digital Video | Home

Is anyone looking forward to this release? Do you have cartoon, animation, or movie ideas in the hopper, but were concerned about pricing? I think this will help fuel an expansion of ideas and projects getting finished!

With one announcement, the animation software game may have changed forever. Toonz, the software used by Studio Ghibli to produce films like The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo and The Wind Rises, will be made free and open source to the animation community beginning March 26, 2016.

Ghibli has been using Toonz since the production of Princess Mononoke, and the new OpenToonz is dubbed “Toonz Ghibli Edition” because of all the custom-features that Toonz has developed over the years for the legendary Japanese studio.
[...]

Toonz Software Used by Studio Ghibli and 'Futurama' Being Made Free and Open Source

Animators aspiring to be the next Hayao Miyazaki are now one step closer to their dreams, as the animation software used by Studio Ghibli is now free and open source.

Toonz is a software package created by Italian studio Digital Video. Designed to aid in the creation of traditional 2D animation, it has been acquired by Japanese telecommunications and media company Dwango, which is planning on releasing it to open distribution.

From 26 March, anyone will be able to download Toonz Studio Ghibli Version, which includes features the famed animation house has helped develop.
[...]
Toonz was first released in 1993 and has gone on to become a powerful tool for 2D animation. Besides Studio Ghibli's more recent works -- first used on 1999's Princess Mononoke -- it's also been used to produce the likes of Futurama, Asterix, and even video games such as Discworld 2. It's flexible too, able to work with old-school hand drawn animation or entirely digital productions. OpenToonz has the potential to expand the relatively insular creative world of animation, making a professional-level suite available to amateur or independent animators and bigger, established studios alike.

Studio Ghibli animation software Toonz now free and open source (Wired UK)

 

[debaucher]

Thanks for this as I had no idea.
Just tried it out, the opensource one is a bit rough compared to the "premium" version I have, but hey... free.

This is a great resource for those just starting out and they could always move "up" to the premium version if their skills/careers increase.

 

[vmirjamali]

I doubt anyone will use this to make anything significant. I haven't seen to many usermade ones for a while. The last one that got big was 10 years ago.

 

[modi123]

Geeze, negative nancy. At least folks have options now and can get access to industry-ish tools.