Although the core technology behind most computer games and films such as Toy Story, 3D animation is not an easy thing to get started with. Antics aims to be different and make the whole process much easier.

Registration is necessary before downloading this software from the Antics store but the software itself is free. The paid for version includes more content while keeping the same program.

The interface is quite full but fairly easy to use. It's takes a little while to get the hang of but that's as much to do with the nature of 3D animation than any failing on the part of Antics.

What makes Antics easy to use is that many animations are already set up. So there is no need control each leg when a character is walking from one place to another. Some more advanced animations are also possible. There are hotspots on some objects that will trigger different animations. For example a car may have a special animation for opening the door and getting in.

This allows you to focus on the plot of an animation rather than the mechanics of individual limbs.

The actions can then be added to the timeline to create a full scene. The filming can be taken from several cameras, which can track characters or objects.

One challenge to getting started with these programs is having the 3D models to use in animations. One of the new features in Antics 3.1 is that it can import models from Google Sketchup. The quality (and scale) of these models can be a little variable but this is a great time saver. Searching and importing models is also integrated into Antics, rather than fiddling around with downloads.

There is a good collection of models and animations that can be purchased from Antics. Most of the prices are quite low.

There is a collection of videos at the Antics Cinema.

The Propack is the same software but with a much bigger collection of items to include in animations, as well as access to premium content from the Antics warehouse until December 2008 (at the time of writing). It costs £295.