The TAB Kids 3.0

Reviewed by Daniel MacKenzie

Introduction

There are many different animation programs out there but there aren’t a lot geared towards kids. This is onethat is geared towards kids and makes it easy enough for the kids to use. So, if you have a creative kid on yourhands, you should check out The TAB Kids.

Getting Started

The TAB Kids is compatible with both Mac and Windowsoperating systems and it works well with both. It isUniversal for those people with an Intel Mac. Although,I would suggest that you have more than the minimumrequirements when running this program because itoccasionally quit for no reason. I also would suggest thatyou have a tablet with you because it makes it a lot easierto use this. A mouse will work fine as well. It features agreat user interface with all of the tools that you will needlaid out in front of you so you don’t have to constantly goup to menus.

There is a layers area on the right side of the window for you to put each character and the background. You canput more than one character or object in one layer so there aren’t very many restrictions. In the top left corner ofthe window there is a place for you to click and it flips over to another window. This is like your media browser.You have access to pre-made backgrounds, animations and sounds. They are a lot of fun. Also at the bottom ofthis window you have a bunch of export option. You can export your animation as a Quick time file, a Flash fileor even a 3GP file (that’s the format cell phones use to display video).

• Product Features
• Easy-to-use interface with icons and buttons
• Full set of drawing tools, including the brush todraw variable thickness lines
• Use stencils to draw shapes and text
• Model drawings by pinching, smoothing orpumping lines
• Paint your drawings with pattern, texture and otherstyles
• Change the color in the palette with no need torepaint drawings
• Organize your scene in up to four layers
• Repeat, copy and duplicate drawings to createyour animation sequence
• Set animation by defining key position, size and rotation for your drawings
• Check the animation by using the onion-skin mode
• Import a soundtrack to complete the animation
• Load your own images and soundtracks
• Export as QuickTime or Avi clips
• Export in 3GP for mobile video output
• Export in Flash format for easy web publishing
• Print or save pictures from your animation

Conclusion

I had a lot of fun using this product but the window was too big for my screen and I couldn’t shrink the windowso I could the buttons at the bottom of the screen. That became really annoying because you can’t see thebottom of the color pallet and other buttons. Also, there is no built in instructions or help menu to show you howto use all of the tools. You have to go online to get the tutorials. For those who are on the run or those who don’thave Internet access are going to have trouble learning how to use the software. The tutorials are very helpfulfor those who can access them. They explain each tool and function in detail so there isn’t a lot of confusion.

Recommendation

The TAB Kids is definitely a good option for anyone looking for a good animation program for their kids. Ienjoyed it a lot. Great work Digital Video!