If you are looking for animation software to create an animated image or animation then you’ll be interested to know that there is FREE keyframe animation software available to use. This software allows you to create basic keyframe animations often used in websites, presentations and other media for motion graphics.
Learning to use keyframe animation requires a significant financial investment. Fortunately, there are several free animation software programs available to help you learn the skills you need to produce professional animations. In this article, we’ll look at five of the best free keyframe animation software packages currently available.
TubiTube
TupiTube is a software project focusing on the younger children’s market of animation. This is a much more casual program for animation. But sometimes, the more casual the better I say. It has great ease of access, with users being able to download it easily and get started making some videos.
Its versatility is great as well, as it can be seamlessly used between different platforms.
Its casualness may rub some more serious-minded animators the wrong way, and that’s why I’m lowering its score a bit. But if you have no idea what you’re doing at all, this software can’t steer you wrong.
Price: Free
Opentoonz
Opentoonz has a range of cool in-house effects that can be seamlessly used while making your animations. Opentoonz allows for extensive editing of the code, too. So, once you get good enough at animation, you can bend the toons to your whim! However, that could be difficult for some users.
Price: Free
Animaker
Animaker is much like PowToon in that you set up a storyboard and animate the characters or props in that scene. It’s used by companies like Google, Verizon, and Pepsi.
It’s ideal for ad placement on websites and it’s super easy for beginners to use. They make it super-fast and easy to get lost for hours animating.
Price: Free
Pencil
Pencil allows your drawings to come to life. It adds a little zest to your creations by allowing you to insert different image layers to your drawing, as well as integrating sound and different cartoon features.
It reminds me of a lot of GIMP and Photoshop, except with the emphasis on the actual drawing. Pencil is free to download and is a no brainer for anyone who loves pencil drawing, or who just wants to casually tool around on it.
Price: Free
Krita
This one was a little gem I dug up, and I’m glad I did. Krita is a free program created by a team of passionate artists that wants everyone to be able to have access to advanced art tools.
You can create beautiful paintings, drawings, and animation scenes using Krita. It was voted the best painting software of 2019 by TechRadar.
Price: Free
Crazy Talk Animator 3
Crazy Talk is a fun little program that requires little to no effort to make some cool animations. The company even states it’s all about ‘low effort’ when it comes to their software and the relationship to users. Want to dive right in and animate? Crazy Talk Animator 3 might be just what you needed.
Currently, the 4th version of Crazy Talk Animator is in development, so keep an eye out!
Price:
$49.00 for Standard
$99.00 for Pro
$199.00 for Pipeline
Free Trial
Pencil 2D – Cross-Platform Software with Intuitive Interface
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows, Linux, and OSX
Pro: It offers English, Spanish, and Portuguese language tutorials to use.
Con: It doesn’t support the shapes tool. If you like to make shapes and draw something, you’d be disappointed.
Want an open-source and free 2D animation design software to help you create videos? Pencil2D animation is the type of program that can help beginners.
You can get to grips with how 2D animation works, and you can create some very fun and interesting videos along the way.
Features:
- Minimalist design to let you make animation easily
- Raster and vector workflow switching
- Cross-platform compatibility to free download
CelAction2D – Low System Requirement for Professional 2D Animation
Price: If you go with the Studio Edition, it costs $1,300 to obtain a single license to use the product for a lifetime. Studio Edition is $1300 for one single license
Compatibility: Windows, Linux, and OSX
Pro: It is fast to use with low system requirements.
Con: You can draw animation in itself, so you need to import all words from third-party software.
Want to create unique and complex 2D animations for your upcoming projects? CelAction2D is the type of product that is going to help you create wonderful and professional animations.
While getting a full license is a financial commitment, you are getting a product that has all the features that you could need.
You can create a palette using up to 16 million colors, and you will have a very easy time getting to grips with the way the software works.
It is designed for beginners and intermediate users, but still has all the advanced features that a pro would want.
Features:
- Easy and fast to use for professional users
- Features ergonomic controls
- Easily handles complex projects with thousands of layers
- Works with all modern Windows machines – 32 and 64-bit Also work with Macs through Boot Camp
- The multiplane camera features let you have more controls
Best Whiteboard Animation Software for Mac: VideoScribe by Sparkol
This program is produced by Sparkol and it remains one of the best whiteboard animation software programs for both Mac and PC. You can also use it on a number of mobile devices including devices that run android. There are elements of the program that works through the cloud making it very simple to upload and edit video wherever you might be.
Videoscribe works quite intuitively for building business presentations, TED talk style videos, tutorials, creative marketing solutions and more. What is produced out of this program looks hand-drawn and extremely professional for any type of marketing campaign. The best part is that you can use many of these tools to create these effects with very little animation knowledge.
Even children enjoy using this program because of its ease of use. There is a full library of stock images, animation and more as well as an extensive voiceover soundtrack that can be used with the solutions here.
The yearly and monthly subscription also ensures that there is a flexible use for the program. It also comes with a seven-day free trial with features to try before you buy.
Conclusion
Animate your keyframes to bring characters, objects or actions to life. Many animators create their own animation studio and hire professional animators to get the best effects and look for their movie. But did you know that there is free and Open Source software out there for creating animated movies and cartoons? The only thing you need is a computer and enough inspiration to create something beautiful. The following list of animation software has been created to help you find an application that works best for you. I hope it helps you create some great animated films!