Cartoon Animator vs. StreamWork

This is a difficult question to answer. This software can be used for a hobbyist or professionals alike. On one hand, you can make fun, simple animations for things like YouTube or Facebook. However, on the other hand, you can use this tool for professional looking animations that can be used in marketing, presentations, etc. I am someone who uses the program for both - as a hobbyist and also professionally. The first time I took it upon myself to make an animation for something job-related, it impressed my colleagues so much that they bought the company their own copy of the software and encouraged me to make more. There have been numerous times where I have used the program to entice new clients. I would even take it a step further by using a potential client's logo or CEO as a character in the animation. In 2015, CrazyTalk Animator (CTA) has even helped me land a new job. I had been laid off and was out of work for a few months. I saw a job opening I was interested but had learned that the position had literally hundreds of potential applicants. Basically, I created a video using CTA of me performing the job as if I already had been offered it. I even included the company logo. In the video, I made an animation explaining why it was a good idea to hire the company. Once I finished the video I included it along with my resume. To make a long story short, I got the job.

1) I like that "Approvals" are on the main nav as this expedites my workflow as I'm QA for all our projects. I save time by not delving down into each project workspace 2) The Approval widget on the dashboard is also a time saver! 3) The "Review Approvals" section - I like being able to see the status of each user's approval process so I can send reminders 4) The "Skip Decision" feature is helpful as we're entering holiday season with folks being OOO.... we want to avoid gatekeeping/blockers. 5) While I haven't yet used the split review process, I can see how it will be helpful on my large-scale, long-term projects.

• The main pro of the entire program is that it makes animation incredibly simple. You are not required to even know how to draw. Once you grasp the gist of the software it is extremely simple to use.
• Another great aspect of CTA is the online community. There are a vast amount of online tutorials and an online forum for anyone who has questions. They even provide a content store in which users can sell their own content to other users.
• A recent update has allowed Photoshop integration. This allows even more customization of aspects of the animation you are working with.
• A characters mouth movements are automatically synced with voiceover audio. I felt this gave me one less thing to animate and has saved me time on more than one occasion.

• Centralizes feedback so comments and approvals aren’t scattered across emails or docs
• Integrates with Asana, keeping tasks aligned without extra duplication
• Simple, intuitive interface that makes setup and adoption quick

• Other products made by this company (Namely their 3D animation software) have a character creator. I would love to see something like this with CTA.
• I would like to see a bigger integration with social media. Having the ability to live broadcast a CTA character in real-time (like mo-cap) would be amazing. If this were a possibility you could live stream a video chat or Facebook live portrayed as your CTA character.
• Allow more in-depth settings for exporting media.

• Allow for more subfolders to better organize large campaigns
• Create a new layout for the main workspace to allow for better organization for large agencies with many simultaneous projects
• Allow changes to be made to approval process after initiated, and allow external users (clients) to be added to approval process

Once set up, StreamWork is very easy to use! Since I started using the platform, the team has pushed several key updates that have further improved user experience and usability.

CTA was a program that got me interested in 2D animation. After about a year of using the software, I began looking for other similar products. I had come across a program called Toon Boom. This was another 2D software somewhat similar to CTA. Toon Boom is a fantastic program however the price was higher than CTA. Aside from that, learning how to use Toon Boom had a much higher learning curve. Eventually, I purchased Toon Boom and learned the program. It is definitely a powerful 2D animation platform however I always seemed to bring myself back to CTA. I felt CTA was much more simple to use. It was also easy enough for other people to contribute to my animation projects. Having to reteach my coworkers another program was not going to work for us. Not being solely responsible for animations is a huge relief.

StreamWork's Asana integration was the stand-out. I could not find any other platform that integrated so seamlessly into our existing process and automations.

• Since my company discovered that I was an animator, they are constantly wanting me to make videos. If the company were to outsource someone to create animations like the ones I am creating, they would be extremely pricey. CTA was only a one-time purchase. I have even trained several other employees of the company how to use the software. That way, if I ever exit the company they can continue to create marketing animations without me.

• StreamWork has made our creative review process far more efficient. It’s reduced turnaround times, minimized miscommunication, and helped us deliver assets to clients faster... all of which translate into better project outcomes and a clear ROI.

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A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info