Java or C# + XNA for some simple animations?

Question

I want to make a program that will involve some faces with various facial expressions. They will change from one facial expression to another based on their "mood" as influenced by user input. I know some java but I have done pretty much nothing with graphics. A friend tells me that it will be easier to do this in C# with XNA than to do it in java.

I have about a month to do this, so I was hoping you folks would help me make a decision. Would I be better off figuring out how to do this in java, or learning C# and XNA and doing it in C#? Is it so much easier to do this in C# that it would be quicker to learn C# than to struggle with doing it in java? Will it probably come out looking much better if it is in C#?

Answer 1

Your best bet would be to download XNA Game Studio (free), and go through some of the getting started tutorials. The graphics APIs are really simple, and the educational resources available are really clear ... so you can decide for yourself:

http://creators.xna.com

In general, I do think that XNA is a great choice to complete this project quickly as you'll be able to learn C# really fast based on your existing knowledge of java

Answer 2

If you already know Java, then I would do it in Java. While C# is very similar, if you have never used C# then trying to accomplish your project at the same time you are learning C# might be overwhelming.

You can use JavaFX or Java2D for animation. Here are some examples of JavaFX stuff: http://javafx.com/samples/