I use a capture software, but it's not as you might think. I use one of the most basic capture softwares around. It's basically a remote, but on the computer. All it does it take a picture and show it on the screen. I don't have live view, or onion skinning. I have never actually used onion skinning. Not once. With my webcam in 2011, I never found a software to onion skin with, and with my DSLR this year, my camera doesn't even support live view to the computer, so still no onion skin. I know that Squid does not use a capture software at all. He uses his camera remote, which means that he previews his pictures on the camera screen instead of larger on a computer.
Animating without live view and onion skinning is not impossible. Everyone who used a film camera or an old video camera knows this. However, today, most people do use these features because they are easy, and widely avalable. I think it helps with your animation to go the "old fashioned way" (Not really old fashioned, because we can still see the frame we just took, but you get the point). It makes you rely less and less on your software, and more on your skill.
However, I have to say that I'd love to use live view and onion skinning.
YouTube • Website"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b