Whether you are a beginner or an expert in the field of animation. What you need is excellent animation software, in addition to the other programs and tools. Making your own animated movies voiced by you and with cartoon characters created by you is fun, isn’t it? Okay, we understand that you are an animation student. And since you are looking to make a career out of it, you may already have access to all the necessary tools at your institute. However what if you want to create a setup of your own? The first thing that can be an obstacle is the high price of the best animation software.
But don’t worry, luckily there are plenty of animation programs available online that are not only absolutely free but also just as effective and competent. These free alternatives do a great job of meeting your needs for those animation projects you’ve been waiting to take on. The list we have created today includes the best of each category i.e. 2D and 3D animation software. While you can create amazing animations with the different tools they offer, it also allows you to transport tools in various formats, make use of the image animation tool, and many others.
5 best animation software for windows
Pencil
Pencil is free, open-source software that helps you create 2D animations effortlessly. It is easily the most versatile animation program in the 2D category and offers some amazing features without additional charges. It allows you to bring out your creativity with this simple yet innovative tool through colorful 2D graphics.
Even though its interface looks extremely simple and flawless, it comes packed with all the important tools that some of the paid programs in the category offer. While it helps with both bitmap and vector images, it also supports multiple tiles and has an inherent set of illustration tools that help you bring in graphic images or draw them in place before the animation part.
Some of the other features that Pencil offers include determining the frame rate, importing images and sound, adding colors, and more. As a bonus, this program also helps you export your graphics as well in. FLV, Flash Video (SWF), Movie, and many other formats.
Creaton
Creaton is an extremely user-friendly, straightforward, and intuitive software that allows you to create cut-out 2D animations and add various special effects to them. The interface may look quite simple and outdated, but the software can perform some of the complex tasks that can produce remarkable results.
It offers menus on each side of the work area so you have quick access to the main functions. Although the interface is not customizable, it is properly organized so that you have a clear view of the project in progress. While it allows you to determine the frame rate per second along with height and width, it also allows you to select the project file format.
Also, you can add special effects to your animation using Creaton, conveniently store your tasks manually, or just let it auto-save every 5 minutes. You even have the option to customize the drawing tool and have it act according to you. The program allows you to segregate your animation elements into tiles allowing you to quickly make any necessary changes. While you can modify the precision of the drawing tool, it also allows you to play with the progression of your brush strokes.
Plastic Animation Paper
Plastic Animation Paper, one of the best 2D animation software, gives you easy and powerful tools to turn your ideas into beautiful cartoons and 2D animations free of charge. This program is created for those experienced animators who need a quick and convincing solution that is instinctive and extremely easy to work with.
Plastic Animation Paper manages your fast sketch movements, your sketch process, and the space where you animate. It provides you with real-time suggestions and an easy process that helps you quickly break down your concepts for a particular move, a specific character, or your next action sequence and helps you create it easily with your hand.
Among its key features is the space to draw, add color to the sketch, set the frame rate, zoom in and out, insert music, and more. Once you are done drawing, you can save them in different formats viz. AVI, PNG, TGA, GIF, and other formats. While this software is available for Mac OS X and as an iPad app, it is also available for download for Windows PCs completely free of charge.
Synfig Studio
Synfig Studio is a free, open-source, and cross-platform software that allows you to create 2D animations. And its design is quite similar to that of a Pencil. However, the main difference between the two is the fact that Synfig comes with a sharp learning curve. Due to its cutting-edge features and amazing results that you can definitely achieve. Once you have mastered using its tools at a professional level.
The program interface is separated into four separate windows. Which are the tools window, the editing window, the browser window, and the parameters window. Once you gain the skills to use the features efficiently, you can create high-quality cartoons, animations, and movies. It is based on the vector and bitmap technique.
Since most of its elements are vector-based and all slabs are developed parametrically. Only the pixelation will appear in the imported raster images and not the inherent elements when modifying the target result of the project. The PC automatically adds the keyframes of the animation, which leads to constant movement.
Stykz
Stykz is completely free software that allows the animator to create attractive 2D animations. It is compatible with most of the major operating systems which include Mac, Linux, and even Windows. The full version is available to download completely free of charge. And offers many useful tools to help you create the best animation in an easy-to-use interface.
It’s software that allows you to rough up your animation before you get into painting and animation in full bloom. It is the world’s first cross-platform stick figure animation software that helps you develop, edit, and preview your creations. Stykz is strikingly similar to the Pivot StickFigure Animator. In that it adapts some of its features along with some of its own unique features.
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