Our software tool for animation design makes creating spectacular HD animated videos easier than ever, including a robust 3D character creation application, integrated animatics and timeline editing, and more.
The Animation Master, creation software for animation design, is the only complete solution that includes over 3,500 royalty-free illustrations. The Amazing 3D Twirling Twister is one example of this library of illustrations.
Autodesk Maya
Use on: Windows, Mac OS, Linux
Best for: Everyone, beginner to pro
Many beginner animators want to know: What animation software does Disney use? Well, look no further—while Disney artists use a variety of animation software, one of the most popular choices is Autodesk Maya. (If your question, on the other hand, is “What animation software does Pixar use?” it’s a proprietary software that’s not available to animators outside of the company.)
For many professional animators and animation studios, Autodesk Maya is the industry standard. This 3D animation software is ideal for character creation, modeling, simulation, motion graphics, and more. It’s been used to create animation for movies including “Finding Nemo,” “Monsters, Inc.,” and “Avatar.”
After a free trial, pricing begins at $122 per month (for a three-year license), although monthly plans are also available. If you’re a current student, you may be able to access Autodesk Maya for free.
Visme
Visme is a cloud-based, online design tool that lets anyone create animated social media images, infographics, presentations, ads, banners and other visuals.
It comes packed with animation and interactivity features to help you create eye-catching designs that do much more than just static images.
Visme’s animation software lets you access thousands of premade templates, a library of free stock photos and videos, customizable pre-animated characters, illustrations and gestures, and much more.https://www.youtube.com/embed/N_ZsGsRKhHE
Features:
- Friendly and intuitive drag-and-drop editor.
- Thousands of animated templates in various categories.
- Customizable pre-animated assets: Characters, illustrations and gestures.
- Animation timeline feature to customize scenes and sync audio.
- 14+ different types of animated charts, graphs and maps.
- Advanced custom animation that can be applied to any object.
- Interactive links, call-to-action buttons and hover effects.
- Searchable libraries of free stock photos, videos, icons and shapes.
- Import your own images, videos and fonts.
- Embed videos and other online content into your designs.
- Team collaboration features: Share your projects.
- Brand kit: Save your brand colors, fonts and logos for later use.
- Insightful analytics: Access graphs and statistics for project views.
- Offline animated download formats: GIF, MP4 video and HTML5.
- Publish and share online: Use a link or generate an embed code.
Pricing: Free plan with limited features. Paid plans start from $12/month per user.
Pros: All-in-one design tool packed with animation and interactivity features, great for both non-designers and designers, millions of free graphic assets inside the editor.
Cons: A variety of design and customizability options can lead to a slightly steep learning curve.
Ideal for: Marketers, corporate teams, teachers, trainers, personal use.
Adobe Animate.
Adobe Animate is a vector and 2d animation software that’s designed for web and mobile app development.
You can animate vector graphics, create interactive content, add effects, and more. This software also has built-in templates that you can customize to your liking.
Best for:
Adobe Animate is designed for people who want to either animate vector graphics, create interactive content, add effects, and more. This software also has built-in templates that can be customized to your liking. Adobe Animate is best for people who want to create animations or interactive web pages.
Advanced Features:
- Use Adobe Animate to animate vector graphics.
- Create interactive content with Adobe Animate’s features.
- Create content with simple drag-and-drop actions.
- Add effects to your animations with Adobe Animate’s built-in templates, such as the color and tone effects, the temporal effect for video, and more.
Pros:
- Extensive support for animation of vector graphics
- Built-in templates for simple customizations and interactive content
- Color and tone effects, temporal effect on video, and more.
Pricing:
Here is a simple breakdown of Adobe Animate’s pricing:
Adobe Animate costs $20.99 per month for the personal version.
If you want to get access to all of Adobe’s products you can pay $52.99 per month and get access to all of their tools.
Either way Adobe Animate offers a free trial that you can try 100% risk-free.
Toon Boom Harmony
Toon Boom by Harmony is a cartoon animation software for beginners as well as for professionals. The software allows the user the flexibility, fluidity, and the smoothness of traditional animation. The learning curve is moderate since the software is meant for newbies as well as for professionals. The software has been used by leading animation studios for more than 25 years.
GitHub illustrator and animator, Tony Jaramillo writes in his testimonial, “Harmony makes it possible to level up our animation productivity without sacrificing quality…we’re big fans”. Some of the most famous users of Toon Boom are Universal Studios, Fox Studios, Cartoon Network, Ubisoft, and Lucas Film.
New features that came with the latest update include a stabilizer for lines, stylus pressure responsiveness, and tilt and angle responsiveness. Standard features include a brush engine, traditional paperless animation, deformers, cut-out animation, 2D/3D integration, export to game engines, and pipeline integration. It is also easily integrable with software such as Adobe Illustrator, and extensions such as PSD, PSB, PDF, and Bitmaps.
Pricing options come in different packages that include this animation software. Harmony Essentials cost 16 Euros per month, billed annually. You can also choose to purchase the package for a one-time cost of 400 Euros. Similarly, Harmony Advanced is a 1,030 Euros one-time purchase (41 Euros per month if not purchased) and the Harmony Premium is a 2,085 Euros one-time purchase (78 Euros per month if not purchased). You can use the software for free for 21 days; a duration that is good enough to understand and explore this amazing animation software.
Cinema 4D
Use on: Windows, Mac OS
Best for: Everyone, beginner to pro
Cinema 4D is a 3D animation software that’s ideal for animators at every level, from beginner to pro. Originally developed for Amiga (a computer company that’s no longer in production), the software is now available for Windows and Mac operating systems.
In addition to animating, you can use the software for modeling, lighting, texturing, visual effects, and more. It features an intuitive interface, as well as a customizable layout to fit your needs and preferences. An annual subscription starts at about $60 per month.
Conclusion
Our software allows you to use a natural workflow to create your animation. It is the only tool on the market which is optimized for both traditional and CG animation. You can use a natural drawing or painting approach using a stylus directly onto the tablet, or a mouse and keyboard. Our tools give you the freedom to combine the two workflows as you need, and that’s where their power lies.