1. Samson Go Mic Compact USB Microphone

2. Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone

3. Audio-Technica AT2020 USB Condenser USB Microphone

4. Samson SAC01UPAK USB Microphone and Podcast Package

5. Behringer PodcasStudio USB

Also, below is a quick tutorial on tweaking the sound from a $20 Logitech USB Desktop Microphone using the FREE audio software, Audacity.
At about 6:10 into the tutorial I use Audacity’s Compressor, click here to find out more info on it.

click here to order & download an HD version of this tutorial, ONLY $2!

Show some love, retweet this tutorial by clicking here

So what does this mean?

Well, the FREE tutorials you’ve come to know and love (and thanks for the love!) will still be available, and we will continue to produce them for FREE. The only difference is you now have the option of downloading an HD version of the tutorial at $2 each. For further clarification, allow me to get technical for a second:

Our free videos are in Flash Video format (flv) at a size of 640×360, or 360p. Our $2 HD downloads are in movie format (mov) at 1280×720, or 720p.

We also will begin releasing Premium Tutorials in HD, which are moderately priced at $5 to $15 each. There will not be a free version of the Premium Tutorial; however, from time to time we will be offering discount coupons.

These optional pay-tutorials will allow tonyteach.com to continue to function as an instructional service, without making ourselves a paid membership site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q – When I purchased a tutorial, my credit card statement indicates the name tokidigital, not tonyteach.
A – Any purchase made from tonyteach is via PayPal and will show up on your credit card statements as tokidigital or toki digital files.

Q – Does tokidigital now own tonyteach?
A – Well, not exactly … however, the companies are related and supported by the same qualified and reliable professional staff.

Q – What if tokidigital wants to turn tonyteach into a paid membership site?
A – The companies are independent entities; which means this is a highly
unlikely scenario.

Q – How can you be certain?
A – Well, actually, I (Tony Ross) own both tonyteach and tokidigital.
No, I’m not having an identity crisis; I’m just a firm believer in putting your socks in the sock drawer. In short, tonyteach was not built to handle e-commerce or to deliver digital files securely, so we created a separate entity that could — tokidigital. Tokidigital also will handle the sales and pre-sales of our upcoming DVD series.

Also, just a thought . . . if you’d be interested in tonyteach doing any tutorials on e-commerce for individuals and small businesses, please leave your comments below.

Thanks-
Tony

click here to order & download an HD version of this tutorial, ONLY $2!

Show some love, retweet this tutorial by clicking here

For animation, I switched over to a product from Toon Boom called Animate – right out of the box, Animate does things for my animation work flow that Flash only can do with plug-ins, and, in some cases not well, or not at all.

Though I’m sure there are other advantages for animators to switch from Flash to Toon Boom, for me and my workflow, there are three reasons worth mentioning – character rigging, a true 3D camera, and automated lip sync.

Character Rigging
Flash CS4 did add the Bone tool, however, Animate’s IK system, IMHO. is a much better solution. Cartoon Smart did an awesome comparison of the two here.

Camera
Flash, to date, has no camera of its own unless you know how to “fake” one or program one using Actionscript. Though I can’t talk about Flash’s lack of camera without mentioning V-Cam. V-Cam is a free movie clip that creates a pseudo-camera for Flash. However, when compared to Animate’s True Space camera, V-Cam lacks Z-depth and the ability to create multiplane scenes.

All of this can be faked in Flash (trust me, I’ve done a few), but having the ability to create camera moves in minutes by simply moving the camera instead of moving your object, scene or symbol is much less tedious, and far more efficient.

Lip Sync
Last but not least, automated lip sync. Almost all of my animations involve some sort of lip sync, from simple dialogue to song lyrics. Typically, in Flash, this process for me can take anywhere from two hours to a full day, or two, depending on the level of complexity or number of characters. However, Animate can automate this for you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a stickler for lip sync, so my preference is to go in after the automation and tweak a few things. The bottom line: I can now get my lip syncs done in a fraction of the time.

In closing, I realize the Flash vs. Toon Boom discussion is one of those conversations that can be lumped in with sex, religion, politics, Mac vs. PC and, more recently, Apple vs. Adobe, but IMHO, there is no reason for discord.

Both Adobe Flash and Toon Boom Animate are amazing tools, and I use both. A hammer and a wrench are also great tools, and again I use both; however, I do not hammer in nails with a wrench, nor will I animate with Flash, for that I use Toon Boom Animate.

Don’t take my word for it; try out the free PLE (Personal Learning Edition) of Animate.

On a side note, I got this video from my good friend Marcus, meeting Bobby at a show last year. You can see how cool Bobby really is, enjoy.

If you don’t have a copy of Toon Boom Animate 2, download the FREE PLE
version here and follow along.

…and click here to download the support files

click here to order & download an HD version of this tutorial, ONLY $2!

Show some love, retweet this tutorial by clicking here