New Features
Character Wizard 
Creating your own characters has never been easier. Quickly design ready-to-animate characters using the built-in Character Wizard. Select a preset, dial in the body proportions and choose from dozens of predesigned 2D components such as hands, feet, mouths, eyes, noses and heads. The look and feel of each character is fully customizable with the help of easy-to-use sliders. Choose from various clothing choices and custom color combinations, or create a virtually endless amount of fun and different characters using the Randomize feature. Each character comes with multiples views and can be imported with a complete walk cycle, allowing you to have your characters walk in your scene with the click of a button. Even attach head shots of you and your friends for fast and easy jib-jab style animation.
Automatic Image Tracing
Automatic Image Tracing uickly brings your scanned drawings and photos to life by converting them to ready-to-animate vector art with the click of a button. Color your vector art, resize without loss in image quality and animate using bones. Existing drawings, such as heads, can quickly attach to a pre-animated character that you created with the Character Wizard, providing versatility and speed when creating your own characters.
Enhanced Drawing Tools
Combine the freehand tool’s smart welding feature with the Delete Edge tool to create complex shapes quickly. This eliminates the need for precise drawing, giving you the freedom to sketch as you desire. Additional brush styles have been included and optional rounded end caps have been added to the drawing tools.
Vector Shape Selector
Quickly find and edit vector layers using the Vector Shape Selector. You no longer have to worry about naming each layer to find the one you’re looking for. Just click on a shape in your project and the corresponding layer automatically gets selected for editing.
Layer Outline Effects
Layer Outline Effects lets you quickly apply a cut-out style effect to any character or object. Set the width and color for each outline and customize the look and feel of your animation.
Enhanced User Interface
Anime Studio 8 introduces new User Interface colors, allowing you to choose from various preset color schemes or create your own. The new Smart Tool Palette provides a less cluttered interface and a better user experience by hiding irrelevant tools.
More Ready-To-Use Content
Anime Studio Debut provides an extensive content library with hundreds of pieces of ready-to-use content that includes fully rigged, vector-based characters like Jace, Thorn, Anime Boy and Liz, as well as props, scenes, action words, stock video and images, sound effects and more so you can start creating your own animations right away.