Greetings! I just joined today and this is my first post. I have a 17 year old son with a lot of drawing and graphic talent who wants to learn 2D animation techniques. For his birthday, he’s asked for animation software. Blender was suggested as a starting place by a friend of mine who worked on Coraline, but (if I’m not mistaken) 3D is the focus here. He also suggested Synfig. I would HUGELY appreciate any advice anyone can offer on where to start. I want my son to experience success and not be immediately overwhelmed with technical complexity and information overload. Your suggestions could include free sites, like this one, software for purchase, tutorial sites, good old paper books, etc. I realize this request is at the other end of the level of sophisticated discussions I see going on here and I will appreciate any time that you have. Help a future colleague get off to a fun and satisfying start! Thanks!!
First of all welcome to this great community 
In fact yes Blender is primarily a 3D software. So your son actually has to learn all the 3D modelling and animation stuff to get decent results. I think the learning curve for this is quite steep for someone with absolutely no experience.
Unfortunately I am not really into 2D, the only software I know is Anime Studio by Smith Micro :
http://anime.smithmicro.com/
But I think there is much more out there…
Does he want to do 2d animation or 3d? For 2d techniques all you really need to do is watch a few of the classic documentaries and videos by those famous 2d animators. The industry is kind of leaning 3d these days. Disney doesnt even do 2d animation for films anymore.
Blender is a great place to start learning the ropes, though I would recommend using a Maya keyset (which is built into blender) as the controls will be more industry standard.
For tutorial sites…just buy him a $10 CG-Cookie subscription.
Here are the basics and the how to to get started: http://cgcookie.com/blender/cgc-series/blender-basics-introduction-beginners/
Yep, I think the learning curve IS steep, and I’m hoping that that 2D will be more immediately accessible for him. I’ll check out your recommendation. Thanks!!
For 2d animation I suppose Adobe is the only one ruler , Photoshop, Flash and/or After Effects are probably the applications you need.
Saint Haven–Thanks for your speedy reply! I think he is really uncertain where to start. It may be that 2D seems more accessible and less intimidating than 3D, though you are right about the preponderance of 3D. I’ll pursue your suggestions…thanks so much! Have you heard of “The Animator’s Survival Kit”? Someone suggested it for him.
Shadowrom: I’m not sure I’m negotiating the forum properly here, so I hope you get the message. Thanks for your speedy reply! I think the learning curve IS steep, so maybe working into 2D first will be rewarding and encouraging. I’ll pursue your suggestion. Thanks again for your help and thanks for the welcome!
Thanks, batou-vin83! My own experience is mostly in traditional flat media. Is there a specific Adobe program/package you are thinking of that would incorporate the necessary applications? Sorry to ask you to do my shopping, but I really don’t know my way around the cyber-art world at all. Thank you!
Look for 2D animation get both these books: The animator’s survival kit, and the illusion of life.
Get started on that.
The animator’s survival kit will teach him about body mechanics and the basics from a bouncin’ ball, to having a character walk. In 2D wich is the basis of everything.
The illusion of life: Will empower him and give him the same principles but way more in depth, and adding on top of that the importance of storytelling, how to compose, using the appeal of a character, character design, observation, when and how to obey the laws of physics and when to not, it’s basically an art book that will help him become a better artist but focusing of what an animator needs.
For practicing all of this he can start with just pen an paper, or use Pencil (http://www.pencil-animation.org/), wich even though is a super simple tool, it’s just enough to get the ball rolling.
I wouldn’t recommend jumping directly into 3D software, because you stop focusing on what matters wich is the principles and foundations, and get messed up by the technical side.
Cheers, and all the best!
@SaintHaven Could you recommend some specific documentaries? because i’m realy interessted on animation itself. And this ist somehow the part, which is most lacking in blender learning resources.
For 2D Animation the best I’m aware of is Toonboom. There is also Flash of course. It’d probably be better for him to just try out some software to figure out what he likes best.
Definitely get him The Animator’s Survival Kit book though – it covers the 12 principles of animation and has a ton of examples for walks, runs, sneaks, and various other things. If he doesn’t have one already, get him a graphics tablet too.
Edit: dang, a bunch of people replied while I was typing 
I would say that in many ways 2d animation is less accessible depending on what kind of art style he wants to go with, and then you have to consider whether the demand for it is high or not. 3d applications are far more accessible yet at the same time do require a bit more technical know how…yet if baby steps are taken its not so bad at all. He will probably find more satisfaction in digital sculpting, employing 2d artwork in textures and bringing characters or environments to life in 3d (or rendered out in 2d). If he enjoys it, there are career paths that are plenty and pay well for that kind of work, not so much for 2d animation. So its one of those 2 birds with 1 stone kind of decisions.
Back when I was 17, we didnt have as many options, even free ones, that a lot of kids have open for them today…not to mention the resources, free tutorials and career paths available.
Its only intimidating if you try to learn it all at once, yet when its one thing at a time and just following along with tutorials…it becomes far less intimidating.
It’s still possible to do alright in 2D animation. Adam Phillips does freelance 2D animation, and stays pretty busy. I’d imagine it’s probably a lot less saturated these days, so might even be easier to get gigs doing 2D than 3D animation.
It’s definitely quicker to animate in 3D though. I remember doing a walk cycle in Flash several years ago and it took me 4 days, and still looked pretty wobbly. It gives you a lot of respect for the Golden Age animators that animated things like Snow White at a time it’d take a day just to get your pencil test back from being developed.
2d animation is a pain in the buns but i guess it is a good place to start.
does he have a graphics tablet? here’s a youtube video as an example of what i’m talking about http://youtu.be/KC1WmxmaRsE
personally i’m a fan of wacom’s intuos line of tablets, i’ve got an intuos 3 that i’ve had for 6+ years that still works like new, but any wacom should work well.
i’ll be honest if he’s doing major part of the animation with pencil and paper it’s going to end up costing more money to do decently due to the various worktable needs (light table, peg board, paper punched to fit tightly around the pegboard’s pegs so nothing slips around while he’s working) and likely a whole lot of extra time and probably some frustration when he goes to scan the drawings (one by one or as a bunch) and then likely having to line them up again once he imports them into whatever software. granted you could get a separate light table and pegboard set up with a fixed camera but he’d still have to shoot them in frame by frame and it costs still more money for that.
that said get him a graphics tablet if he doesn’t have one. they take a little getting used but they’re great tools.
for the techniques learning get him the animator’s survival kit book. it will still be helpful even if he decides to go 3d later on.
as for the software i don’t suggest flash. it’s alright for now but i did read that adobe is starting to drop support for it on the web and just letting it get phased out by newer technology. plus it’s going to be expensive.
if you’re running linux there’s a simple but fantastic painting program called mypaint that someone made an animation branch of that was simple to use. i don’t think it’s too easy to get that going on windows though.
synfig seems to have plenty of tutorials available about how to use it.
there’s a simple program called pencil but i don’t know if it’s really being worked on or updated anymore.
toon boom was suggested to my woefully behind the times animation class but i my teacher went with some dinky little program instead.
anime studio by smith micro seems to use a rigging system not so unlike 3d animation does so things will probably be easiest to animate in it.
i’d probably suggest anime studio for 2d animation stuff just from what i’ve seen when looking around. the debut version is limited to 2 minutes worth of animation at a time though as well as lacking a few other bells and whistles the pro version has. toon boom or synfig may be just as good though. (never used any of them)
any program is going to take a bit of learning about it to get into using it. a little bit of learning goes a long way as far as getting to know the user interface of a program.
on another note, blender is awesome and the community provided resources make it very easy to learn if he wants to go 3d later on.
electronicpulse: Thanks for your ideas! The Animators Survival Kit and The Illusion of Life are both on the way from Amazon. Pencil-animation sounds perfect…a simple tool that is accessible with (hopefully) early success…I’ll send him to it! I agree with your emphasis on the fundamentals. Much appreciated!
xrg: Thanks! Book has been ordered. I found Toonboom readily…looks like multiple products. Is there one in particular you would recommend? I’m a bit lost on the “Flash” recommendation, sorry. If you can specify further, even with a link, I’d be mightily obliged! I did get him a mid-level Bamboo tablet a year ago…I keep offering to upgrade, but he says no. I’m happy to hear about great digital drawing pad/tablet recommendations, too. Thanks for your time!
Thanks for your further thoughts. I’m sure he will leap into 3D, as well, perhaps bypassing 2D depending on his initial experiences. I appreciate your comments on career options…he’s debating going to an art school, vs a liberal arts school with a great art program, even as we type. I want him to pursue what he loves, but hopefully without becoming malnourished. Now, there’s another thread entirely! Anyway, totally agree with step by step approach to avoid overload. Merci.
DaedalJS: Thanks for your very thorough response! I will definitely pursue each of your suggested programs/sites. All my art training was pre-digital, so I have great affection for the feel and smell of paper, inks, etc. Realistically, I don’t think my son’s prodigious life (great student, wicked musician, as well as ambitious artist) would allow for the old-school animation time commitments, but the romantic tradition would likely appeal to him. Based on the rapid and very helpful responses to my inquiry from so many community members, I agree with your assessment of Blender as “awesome”! Glad I found you. Thanks, again.
Pencil is free and open source by the way, if you want to go to a really professional 2D animation software i would recommend Toon Boom’s ANIMATE, wich is really fantastic, i’ve honestly tried most 2D animation softwares out there besides anime studio (coz i have a mac), and really animate is intuitive, and actually fun, without any knowledge of 2D animation i started doing something, but on the other hand i’m a software nerd, i like trying out stuff, sincerely it’s much smoother than flash and any other 2D software that i’ve tryed, don’t know how much it costs though i don’t imagine it would be cheap, but check it out.
I’ve got Anime Studio 9 Pro. I haven’t used it a lot but for the price it seems to be fairly feature-packed and looks great for limited stuff.
But.
It really depends what sort of animation he wants to do. Even with 2D you’ve got everything from the traditional Disney thing with full re-draws every frame to digital limited animation which is more like computerised cut-out animation… anime’s somewhere in between.
If he wants to try his hand at full animation, there’s a free program called Plastic Animation Paper which is about as stripped down pure animation as you can get - it’s not for building movies, it’s purely for character animation. It’ll get you about as far as a pencil test and that’s all. If it’s literally moving characters that he wants to do, that’d be my recommendation.
Definitely the graphics tablet is worth looking into - if he wants to go all the way into animating as a career, he’ll want to get used to using one. I’ve got an Intuos 4 at home and it didn’t break the bank. If he’s been especially good you might consider getting him a Cintiq HD or something.
Since nobody appears to have mentioned it yet, bookswise i’d recommend partnering “The Animator’s Survival Kit” with Eric Goldberg’s “Crash Course in Character Animation” or if you’ve got an iPad, get the Animator’s Survival Kit app. It’s one thing to see these things on paper but the extras in “Crash Course” and the iPad version of ASK let you see it all moving.
If he really, really wants to do animation as a career, get him to read this (yes all of it) and maybe watch this (yes, all of it) for a look at what animation actually involves when it all gets down to it.
Good luck to him. 