So, which animation software do Japanese studios use? (1)

Most professional studios have their own software developed exclusively for them, yet two programs are the most used by professional animation artists:

One is Autodesk Softimage XSI, and the other is Celsys Retas Pro.

However, most of the great quality animation we see today is still hand drawn in the traditional way, scanned frame by frame, and then with the help of these programs you can add additional effects and more realism, in sort of a post-production stage.

OR, with the help of a digital tablet, some artists prefer to draw directly on the computer and then handle and process the frames at their will.

Autodesk Softimage XSI is a complex program that relies heavily on 3D graphics, just like 3D Max Studio. Still, it's incredible what you can achieve with it for any kind of effect, be it in movies, ads or video games.



Yet Celsys Retas Pro is more preferred by animators, because you can create 2D animation that still looks done traditionally, without too much intervention of 3D, except in backgrounds and settings, as we know that making everything look 3D makes it look like a video game or a bad CGI movie and that's not the idea.



Definitely Celsys Retas Pro is more oriented to create the anime we all know and love.