Hello, my name’s John. I’m completely and utterly new to blender, as well as 3d modeling in general. I really want to get into animation, but I feel that 3d modeling might be a bit difficult to grasp. I thought that I might want to start with 2d animation first, believing that would be simpler to learn the basics with. If I’m wrong, let me know, but my question is, is it practical to do 2d animation, say, anime, in blender, and if so how? Any information would be much appreciated. Thanks.
although you can do 2d animation with blender, it will not necissarily be easier to get started with.
I personally find it easier to get some kind of believable motion when working with a 3dimensional form instead of flat shapes.
So depending on what you want you can go in different directions:
If you want traditional (drawn style) animation (as in most manga)
you should grab a pencil, an eraser + maybe a lighttable (it’s easy to build one yourself!) or alternatively photoshop/gimp (maybe have a look at pencil)
If you want moving shapes/ flash animation, have a look at synfig studio /adobe flash
If you want to stick with blender (You should! It will pay out even if there’s a steep learning curve ahead of you) you can just grab one of the basic (therefore easier to use) rigged characters from blendswap like this one and start animating right away.
If you like the way blender works with this, then we can talk about 2d animation in blender (or just achieving a 2d look)
