Which is the best software for animating in 2D?

[Rhubix]

I'm a toonboom girl no contest.

I can't imagine why you would make your bg's in toonboom - Professionally and personally I've always used Photoshop for backgrounds and imported them into Toonboom as png's. If you want vector bgs you could make them in Toonboom then export a png and import that into your scene file. As for lag- I've had a 500 frame pan, cuttered over a still background with 3 fully rigged characters connected to 7 deformers - not a trace of lag - that's a computer issue.

Toonboom has a steep learning curve- and I've shown features to some of my co-workers who have been using it for nearly a decade that they didn't know were there. but it's so much more flexible and animation oriented than flash is. Flash is a web developer software which can be used for animation. Toonboom is an animation software, developed by and for animators.

for cut out, or cheap tv animation it's better because of the elaborate system of rigging and modules. The network isn't just for FX, but rigging, and selection can be done there easily. There's no way to create meaningful hierarchy in flash- aside from the dreadful nested symbol mess. You can also create expressions and link pegs in toonboom- so when I'm working as a breaker- I could create a train with 40 wheels that all rotate according to a single controller. The animator has full control without copying symbols or added work.

for classical work- the toonboom drawing tools are more flexible and pleasant to draw with, strait out of the box + way more settings and options if you want to get down into the complexities of it.

I could go on all day. As someone who makes a living using animation software, I would rather tear off my own skin than work in flash.

But I'm not bitter lol

- toonboom breaker, fx artists, animator, compositor / generalist

[melviso]

Well..I still think Flash is great.I like the fact that I can see what I am working on and preview my animations in realtime than always hitting the render button to check filters,having to render out frames to check animated filters.I am not a fan of the color pallette at all.The thing about Flash is simplicity and I have realized that I work faster in it and its more intuitive for me.
I am one of those ppl who like to do everything in one app,not a fan of exporting and importing.Using one app enables me to focus on what I am trying to animate.There is just something u will notice about animations done with Flash,they are very fluid,to the point and for some reason more enjoyable to watch IMO.I don't know why.Since Adam Philips switched to ToonBoom,I have to say the awesome fluidity,detailed backgrounds he had in flash has subsided.Maybe its due to time constriants,I don't know.
LiKewise myself,I noticed my Flash animations seem better in terms of attention to detail,flow,speed and I think maybe it has to do with using Toonboom makes one not put in more effort cause most of the features does them for u.As for me,Waterlolies is still the best of adam's work.Check out Law of Talos,or most popular cartoon videos on youtube.They are done with flash,and very fluid.
I am not trying to win u over to Flash.I have also come to the realisation that the fact that everyone recommends or uses a software does not neccesarily mean it is the best or other softwares are crap or cannot be better.Flash works better for me especially with frame by frame.I think most animators who like Toonboom are the bones animation type.As for the Flash look,I am over that.The story is whats important and if u know ur tools and tricks in Flash,ur work can be as beautiful as tarboy or waterlolies or Ben Hibon.Everyone has the tools they are comfortable with,same way u have warriors with their weapon of choice.I am done trying to look for apps with awesome features because all of my search had made me realise that there is no perfect software.Each has their strong and weak points and ur willingness to manage those flaws is what makes u compartible with ur app of choice.So its okay to prefer an app to what everbody uses or thinks is the ideal software.