Toon Boom Harmony Essentials review

Toon Boom Harmony is the 2D animation software studios use for drawn and rigged productions, and Harmony Essentials is the edition Toon Boom describes as perfect for enthusiasts, with the fundamental drawing, painting and animation tools. Beginners who expect to work in animation later get the same interface and file family used by Harmony Advanced and Premium, which add paperless traditional animation, cut-out rigs and effects. Harmony runs on Windows 10 and 11 and recent macOS versions, and Toon Boom offers a 14-day free trial plus tutorials on its YouTube channel and Learn Portal. The hardware bar is the highest on this list: 8 GB of RAM minimum and 32 GB recommended, and a drawing tablet is listed in the requirements. All editions are billed annually; the pricing page did not display a USD price from our location, so the price is pending. For a first animation, free tools are easier; Essentials suits people who already know they want the studio path.

Who it is for

Enthusiasts planning to move into studio work

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending); billed annually.

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Fundamental drawing, painting and animation tools
• Same Harmony family used by studios for drawn and rigged work
• Upgrade path to Harmony Advanced and Premium
• Windows 10 and 11 and macOS support
• 14-day free trial of Harmony

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Learning Harmony carries over to the studio editions
• Strength: Toon Boom publishes tutorials on its YouTube channel and Learn Portal
• Strength: Annual billing with three editions to grow into
• Weakness: Toon Boom recommends 32 GB of RAM, with 8 GB as the minimum
• Weakness: Cut-out rigging and effects are in the higher editions
• Weakness: No USD price was shown from our location

Key facts

• Editions: Essentials, Advanced, Premium
• Billing: Annual
• RAM: 8 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended
• Free trial: 14 days

Where it ranks

Toon Boom Harmony Essentials is No. 10 in our Best Animation Software for Beginners verdict.