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If it's 2D animation she's interested in, I'd recommend looking at
Hippanni (free but capable edition + advanced low cost £31 edition).
For 3D, Blender is undoubtedly the 'standard' free package and very capable but takes a while to master. If something easier is required, I'd recommend Art Of Illusion as a good free starter, which can produce results quickly; it's a little buggy but quite capable of producing some nice looking animation.
The recent versions of GIMP (2.10) are very good for image manipulation and use similar tools and techniques to Photoshop, but Adobe is the industry standard. GIMP is my image tool of choice, but I don't use it for anything meaningful.
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Depends on the type of animation. My main tool of the trade is 3dsMax, but it's not a simple program, also needs several expensive plugins. This being said:
2D and animation
1 Image editing:
- Photoshop, it's a must. Alternatively Gimp.
2 Drawing:
- SketchBook or ArtRage, I would also recommend a pressure sensitive tablet or screen such as Wacom 22HD but it's expensive ($1500+). There's a huge advantage in using pressure sensitive screen because, once you get used to it, you can create lines of variable thicknesses in one go which saves a ton of time, also, you are using a pen which is great. Software such as SketchBook also have low layers where i/e you can position a 3D dummy in any position, pose and at any angle so you never mess proportions.
3 Animation:
- CellAction, ToonBoom, however they are expensive. Alternatively OpenToonz. They are great for frame by frame animation.
3D animation and modeling
- This is a hard one. Professional studios either develop their own tools or use Maya, however, I never liked Maya (even scripting is it's strongest side), I'm a 3DsMAx guy, and whichever way you go, learning curve is hard, however, end results are most impressive and possibilities endless. Blender is a different kind of an animal, and probably the best to start with, it went so far since early days that in some segments it's even better than previous 2 mentioned. However, whichever is chosen, a rendering engine will be needed, and there are only two which i could recommend: v-Ray for any and RadeonRender if you have AMD based hardware. Even i'm biased towards 3DsMax, if I was starting today, with what I know, I'd probably go for Blender for start. As an addition, Daz3D and/or Poser can be used for life modeling and animation, meaning, humans, animals etc, then exported to one of previously mentioned programs.
Warning: if you opt for 3dsMax, latest versions are NOT always the best. Choose your version wisely.
A note: you'll need Photoshop or Gimp for textures.
Video editing and SFX
- This is a no brainer, Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Audio
- Well, every video needs audio too. For composing, mixing and mastering: Reaper. Everything else is just fancy buttons for more money. SoundForge is good for cutting audio clips, making loops and adding basic effects, but audio envelopes can be done in Premiere too, also Reaper which is LOADED with effects, so it's not a must even is useful.
In addition, I would recommend an older version of ACD See, i/e v7 (NOT pro) to replace Windows image browser/viewer. It's a lot faster, damn useful and has a few basic effects that are priceless due to the speed. Also I would recommend Total Commander or an alternative for data management. Stock explorer is just... crap. Don't go for IrfanView.
In addition, FumeFX and PhoenixFD are awesome simulators. Afterburn is amazing too. For prticles, Thinking Particles is a must. While at 3D, a good unwrapping plugin is a recommendation too, stock ones are a bit lame and slow, but they do their job.
Last but not least, look for HDR maps and what HDRi is, it's a must for good light in any 3D software.
"Don't worry about hardware, that's taken care of."
If possible, Id' like to know more simply cause that may NOT be the case.
'Been 3Ding since 1994, so there's what I can tell you, for start. I hope I helped.
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Photoshop was getting to expensive so now I use GIMP. I've also tried KRITA but I like GIMP more.
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Krita is definitely worth evaluating, as its free that is relatively painless. It seems to suit some styles of work better than Gimp/Photoshop. It's always good to have a number of tools in your box and choose the one best suited for the task at hand.
"If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough."
Alan Kay.
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Take it from a former content dev, like anything else, you'll want her learning the gold standard in tools for sake of future skill application.
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud subs run around $20. Great for anything 2D and some light 3D as well.
For higher end 3D, AutoDesk stuff like 3DSMax and Maya are king. I would toss those names out there, and then direct them to Blender, since it is free.
Best of Luck.
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No matter what software you pick, consider getting her a tablet with a pen for input. (Not like an Ipad, a pad that plugs into the USB port and has a pen.) Wacom sells several. I have a low-end one that I do use for designing woodworking patterns and find it much easier to use for editing graphics than a mouse. It is much more natural and intuitive when drawing. Try signing your name with a mouse and compare that with writing with a pen and you'll see the difference right away.
-- Gene Elston
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I am by no means an expert, but I have done some 2D and 3D animations for church and school. That said, I have used only open source software and I see how easy you could produce very profesional looking products. If this young friend of yours is willing to work in the open source world, this is what I've tried:
2D tools:
3D tools:
- Here, I've only used Blender, but Blender is a "batteries included" product
Blender is not good in everything it does, but it does everything you need(*); from character design to creating and applying textures, to animation, to video production, and video & audio editing. All the steps necessary to produce high quality, professional looking videos. There is also a myriad of free online resources so you can learn how to use it, even some full courses on youtube.
There are many, many free, open source tools to do animation and digital art, INKSCAPE is another tool I've used. Gimp and Krita are other MUST HAVES.
Take a look into this article: 11 Free and Open Source Software for Artists but trust me; there is more than just 11 tools.
HTH
(*) The video editor for example, is dreaded by some people but it was good enough for my (rather simple) needs. And fear not, there are also a few open source video editors which ended up too complicated for a non-expert like me.
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The right answer depends on her career goals. If she has a path in mind that would be helpful. If not, then start with free tools until they decides what path they have a passion for.
For free:
Gimp: Graphics drawing/painting Tool. Almost as good as PhotoShop.
Blender: 3D modeling and animation tool.
Unity: Game development platform to use all of the graphics assets created in the above tools.
Once your friend has mastered those and is ready to graduate, then the PhotoShop suite of tools might be a good next step and very likely the tools in use in a lot of commercial shops.
A helpful reference after they know what direction they want to take would be to check help wanted adds to see what skills they are asking for for graphic artist position they are interested in, as well as educational requirements.
Good luck,
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Microsoft is one the most compelling turnaround stories in recent history. Change the icons?
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Don't forget... Let's strike the QA and move the beta testing to the users
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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and fire all the document wirter staff and dump all the code on github and pretend to open source everything and buy linked in before facebook does and buy github before google does...
Caveat Emptor.
"Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long
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abmv wrote: buy linked in before facebook does and buy github before google does...
and screw them up after the purchase...
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Ride the fashion's wave (as long as you can put the keywords into the mouth of managers and potential customers, it is unimportant how idiotic it is to use a cannon to harvest - they will demand it)...
Ignore those holds you back (like those reporting errors)...
Drop QA and hire more lawyers (testing done on users computer anyway, and lawyers will defend the takeover of millions of computers does not belong to them by any mean)...
Change and mess-up everything frequently so everyone became totally dependent on you to even do the most simple task...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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They produced a chip containing a network of artificial neurons that works with light and can imitate neurons and their synapses. This network is able to 'learn' information and use this as a basis for computing. Assuming it's bright enough
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Kent Sharkey wrote: Assuming it's bright enough
*groan* 
Latest Article - A 4-Stack rPI Cluster with WiFi-Ethernet Bridging
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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We heard so much about machine learning at Google I/O this year. The humans have run out of ideas of where to put ads?
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They finally realized, that young generation stopped to even try and learn something beyond how to operate a smart phone... so they turned to the machines, that can't refuse? For now...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Otherwise they'd have to admit they're wasting a $billion/year on grotesquely overpaid machine learning devs?
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Google is an advertising broker and deeply resents that. So, they keep saying nonsense to pretend otherwise.
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Fuchsia may hold the key to the future of Android, Chrome, and everything in between Whatever it takes to stop the Oracle lawsuit?
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Let's write yet another OS and pretend we've done something entirely new.
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Echoing comments he shared with the Orlando Sentinel, Cook told TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino that it is "pretty impressive" what Rosenfeld is accomplishing with code at such a young age, serving as a perfect example of why he believes coding education should begin in the early grades of school. I'm glad that's settled
To their credit, none of the first five dev jobs I looked at on the Apple job site required a degree.
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He's right. 4 years of learning gives you not even a bit of proficiency... You also need a lot of experience in real life...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Quote: I don't think a four-year degree is necessary to be proficient at coding
No sh*t Sherlock. That was true 30 years ago and remains true today.
Latest Article - A 4-Stack rPI Cluster with WiFi-Ethernet Bridging
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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