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Ask HN: What tech stack would you use to write Animation software?

11 points| andrewnc | 3 years ago

Hello HN!

It's 2022 and I want to write a 2d animation program a la TVPaint. Is C++ and QT the way forward still, should I use something bleeding edge like sixtyfps and Rust?

Do I make a big ol' Electron app and call it a day?

What is the state of desktop development for graphics type applications?

I appreciate your help here - I have a bit over a decade of programming experience but mostly in HPC and Web domains.

9 comments

neonnoodle|3 years ago

Hello fellow animation enthusiast. I'm curious about why you are writing a new program rather than working with the existing open source codebases of OpenToonz/Morevna/Pencil2D? (They are C++/Qt for whatever that's worth). Not to mention what Blender has accomplished with the development of the Grease Pencil module.

You might also look at what Niels Krogh Mortensen is doing with his Animation Paper software [https://animationpaper.com], fka Plastic Animation Paper.

andrewnc|3 years ago

Thank you for this list!

The grand vision is a reimagined interface (keeping some familiar things like keyframes and curves, but moving other things forward.) Without getting too deep into the buzzword weeds, I'm hoping to weave in more ML / generative modeling technologies.

I've thought about hacking around in Blender, but it seems a bit overkill for what I'm building - at least as an MVP

kleer001|3 years ago

Do you have experience with animation programs? Have you talked much to animators about their frustrations in their current work flows?

kleer001|3 years ago

I'm happy to answer. I've been in visual effects for 30 years plus (including hobby-ing) and seen some shit.

8toast|3 years ago

Check out Haiku Animator: https://github.com/HaikuTeam/animator (they decided on an Electron app)

speedgoose|3 years ago

I would use web tech with electron and call it a day. But if the plan is to have fun with a side project, rust is probably better unless you also want to finish the project.

stuckinhell|3 years ago

For windows desktop I'd use C# and some Windows Forms.

ffhhj|3 years ago

HTML5 + {canvas/WebGL/some 2d engine} + WebView beats Electron

midislack|3 years ago

POSIX, C, and OpenGL.