Question: Is There Any Way to do 2D and 3D Animation in a Single Program?
Answer: Because 2D and 3D animation are rendered in very different ways--one in a two-dimensional space, the other in a 3-dimensional space--there are no software packages that wholly combine both. However, applications such as 3D Studio Max have recently developed plug-ins that can make 3D animation look 2D by imposing lines on edges and creating solid block shapes of highlights and shadows within a user-specified threshhold; this was possible in previous versions without the plug-ins, but was accomplished by tricky and unreliable adjustments to lighting and reflective properties of materials/textures applied to objects. However, any animation accomplished is still done in a 3D environment; the result only looks 2D.
