Flipnote Studio and Flipnote Studio 3D

(Note: These are applications for the DSi and 3DS, respectively. If this is the wrong section for this thread, please move it to the correct section.)

Flipnote Studio was an animation application released for the DSi all the way back in 2009 (though Japan got it in 2008). Using its fairly simple drawing tools, artists could create flipbook-style animations. All you had were the necessities: a pencil tool, a brush tool, and an eraser, with each being customizable. There were also buttons for (limited) resizing, as well as for cutting, copying, and pasting. You had a lightbox to reveal the content on previous pages, which aided in animation. There were only two layers, one for your primary and secondary color each. Additionally, there were only four colors: White, black, red, and blue. You could choose between a white or black background (which made the color of your pencil or brush the opposite color), and you could only have three of the four listed colors on a given page. You could add up to a minute's worth of audio and add sound effects to your Flipnotes. The framerate could also be changed, from .5 up to 30 frames per second. It was a bit tricky to work with, especially if you wanted to add a color that wasn't available (say, green or yellow) to your page. Still, artists from around the world made amazing animations and works of art using Flipnote Studio.

Once you finished an animation, you could post it on the application's online hosting site, Flipnote Hatena. From the application, you could only view posted Flipnotes from your region (if you lived in North America, you could only view Flipnotes from that area). From the website, though, you could view Flipnotes from around the world. If you liked someone else's Flipnote, you could give it some stars to show how much you liked it. You could also comment on other people's Flipnotes, both from the application and from the website. You could become a "fan" of a particular artist and see whenever they posted new Flipnotes.

I used Flipnote Studio a lot when I got the hang of it. Though my work was never spectacular, I still posted my work anyway. Eventually, I hopped on a trend that some other users had popularized: using sprites. This involved copying sprite sheets pixel-by-pixel, sprite-by-sprite, though the results were usually worth the effort. Given the limited color selection, I had to get a bit creative with more complex sprites. I became a pretty good animator using them, though the process of nudging sprites pixel by pixel destroyed my R-button.

Eventually, Flipnote Hatena closed down in the middle of 2013, which upset much of the community. The application itself could still be used; no one could post their work anymore. Around that same time, however, a sequel application was announced for the 3DS: Flipnote Studio 3D. This upgrade features many of the same tools and features as its predecessor, with some much-needed improvements, such as a third layer, many more colors, and other helpful tools. Japan got it in July of 2013, though it hasn't been released yet for the rest of the world due to some technical setbacks. It was recently announced that, as a token of loyalty, Club Nintendo users would get download codes sometime this month (since Club Nintendo is shutting down later this year).

After anxiously waiting for Flipnote Studio 3D's release, I'm happy that a (somewhat) definite release date was set. I am a bit bothered by the fact that the application (as far as I understand it) won't be available to the public.

So, how many of you guys used Flipnote Studio? If so, what kinds of animations did you make? Did you post your work to Flipnote Hatena? Were you at least somewhat popular? Do you plan on getting Flipnote Studio 3D when the download codes come out?