Adobe abandons Animate: CLC’s digital media department scrambles for solution

February 2, Adobe announced they will permanently shut down Animate, an industry standard software utilized by millions of artists around the globe, including many at the College of Lake County (CLC). After furious online blowback, they revoked this decision and settled for a compromise:

Adobe Animate will no longer receive any updates – fated to forever remain at its current version.

When Jay Castillo, an animation major at CLC, first heard the news, they felt blindsided.

“Animate has been a staple of the Adobe suite for years,” Castillo expressed. “There are so many people, not just independent creators, but industry professionals, who rely on Animate for their jobs.”

Michael Kozien, Digital Media & Design (DMD) professor at CLC, stated that Adobe is also an essential tool for industry professionals.

“Disney’s using it; Nickelodeon’s using it,” Kozien said. “Especially lately, a ton of influencers on YouTube are using it, and making money.”

Cristen Leifheit, another CLC DMD professor, said this development was not altogether unexpected as Adobe had begun stepping away from the program for some time.

“We were anticipating it a little bit,” said Leifheit. “They stopped doing the yearly updates that they do with every other software.

While software like Adobe After Effects serves as an instrument for rigged animation, out of the entire Adobe library, Animate is especially unique for its proficiency in frame-by-frame animation. Adobe does not offer an easy alternative for that tool. CLC’s DMD Department has been researching non-Adobe replacements, such as Harmony’s Toon Boom, in order to provide students with a viable alternative in the coming months.

Professor Kozien explained that Toon Boom works similarly to Animate, designed for frame-by-frame animation, and it also offers special effects features that Animate lacks. According to the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, Toon Boom is the number one industry favorite software for animation.

If animation classes do switch to Toon Boom, however, there is a chance that students may have to pay for the program out of pocket.

“Animate does slide in very nicely with all the other software that Adobe provides,” Kozien said. “DMD students that are enrolled in classes get free access to all Adobe Creative Cloud software.”

It is still possible that CLC animation classes will stick to using Animate. While many people online argue that the program will grow outdated in comparison to other applications, Kozien is “quite happy with the software the way it is.”

Aaron Jeffries, an animation student at CLC, was also happy that the program will remain available to use.

“Even if they’re not going to update it, I think it’s awesome that it can still at least be there as a resource for somebody,” Jeffries said.

Seeing how Adobe has reversed their plan already, Kozien is unsure whether they will stick to this decision to stop giving Animate any new features. He believes there is a chance Adobe could change its mind.

As of right now, it is still being decided if CLC’s DMD department will switch software for animation classes.

Leifheit stated that they are currently trying to figure out what makes the most sense for students and instructors, but that she believes “there will always be something available in terms of the frame-by-frame method and strategy of animation,” regardless of Animate’s future.

Despite Animate remaining at its current version, Kozien views its continued existence as “a win for the animation industry.”

Castillo is also cautiously optimistic.

“Adobe has proven that they can just make these sudden decisions out of nowhere, and just immediately take it back the next day,” Castillo said. “I hope that things continue the way that they are in the future, at least for the time being.”