In this Best Animation Software for Tablets review article you will discover the top animation apps for android tablets and your smartphone that makes it easy to create 2d animations using your android tablet or phone. There are many animation apps which offer good animation creation
Best Animation Software For Tablets. If you are desperate to create an animation of your idea and can’t afford pro animator or expensive sketching software, dig into this review to learn about the best app for android tablets for animation.
Adobe Animate
Starting Price: $20.99 per month (billed annually)
Free trial: Yes
Pros:
- Easy to use and intuitive
- Perfect for beginners
- Includes 100GB of cloud storage
- Gets updated regularly
Cons:
- Not fit for producing professional animations
- Limited capabilities
The Adobe Animate CC is one of the most popular 2D animation software apps in the world. Developed by Adobe Inc., this vector-based 2D animation software was first launched in 1996 and was named “FutureSplash Animator.”
Later on, after it was acquired by Macromedia, the software app was named Macromedia Flash. Its current name, Adobe Animate, was first introduced in 2016 to reflect Adobe’s market position.
You can use Adobe Animate to design vector graphics and animation for websites, TV series, web applications, game development, banner ads, and many other purposes.
This animation software app is packed with so many features. Yet, it is still very easy to use and perfect for beginners. Adobe Animate is also perfect for kids who want to experiment and enter the world of animation at an early age.
It also automates the tweening process and offers support for raster graphics, audio, and video embedding, rich text, and more. It is available on Android, iOS, Windows Desktop, and macOS.
Besides offering 100GB of cloud storage, Adobe Animate also includes access to Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark.
Among the export options for your animations are HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, Flash/Adobe AIR, and SVG.
While this option is great for getting started and great for kids, it may not be the best pick if you need to create professional animation products since this software app has limited capabilities compared to some of its competitors.
Adobe After Effects
Starting Price: $20.99 per month (billed annually)
Free trial: Yes
Pros:
- Offers high Flexibility
- Simple and intuitive user interface
- Offers advanced features
- Full integration with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications
Cons:
- Steep learning curve
- Files may take up a lot of space
- It may face some lags at times
- Offers no tools to work with audio (you may need to use an additional software app for that)
Compared to Adobe Animate, Adobe After Effects is used for 2D animation, Motion Graphics, and to some extent, for 3D animation.
We say to some extent because the 3D capabilities of After Effects are pretty basic, and you will be better off with other ED software apps for more effective 3D results.
One of the great things about Adobe After Effects is its puppet tool, which many users find intuitive and convenient.
To add more capabilities to your Adobe After Effects software, you can also use third-party plug-ins. For example, you can also use this compositing application to create explainer animations.
If you are looking for 2D animation software and are already used to other Adobe products such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Character Animator, then you are in luck.
Once you start using Adobe After Effects or the Adobe Animate mentioned above, you will enjoy full integration with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications. You can also import files from Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator directly to Adobe After Effects and easily collaborate with others.
Before you decide to dip your toe in the water, keep in mind that Adobe After Effects is not recommended for beginners.
If you are just starting out and trying your 2D animation skills, it will take you some time to get used to this software app and learn how to use all of its tools.
If you are already used to other types of animator software apps or if you are a professional, then Adobe After Effects will be easy to grasp.
Adobe Character Animator
Price: $52.99 per month (billed annually)
Free Trial: Yes
Pros:
- Can produce live and non-live animation
- Very fast and can save you lots of time
- Fun to use
Cons:
- It cannot be purchased individually
- More suitable for cartoons that feature dialog scenes instead of action or physical gags
Character Animator was initially code-named “Animal.” This Emmy-award-winning animation software by Adobe combines live motion capture with a multi-track recording system.
This combination is then used to control layered 2D puppets drawn in Photoshop or Illustrator.
The greatest thing about Adobe Character Animator is that it allows you to input from your camera and microphone for real-time performance capture and automatically animate characters.
It may seem like a simple feature at first, but it can save you a lot of time. You can use Adobe Character Animator to animate characters in real-time by using your movements and facial expressions.
The animation happens so fast that you can go ahead and live stream to show your audience how you use the tool step by step.
This way, you can bring to life any character you like in no time. As mentioned earlier, your webcam and microphone are the only things Character Animator needs to match all your expressions.
For instance, it can track eyes and sync lips in real-time, and it is entertaining to use. This animation software app cannot be purchased separately.
At the moment, it comes as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, which also includes other cool apps such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and over a dozen other cool and creative desktop and mobile apps and services.
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya has quite a reputation. It has been used to make both small projects and very large projects, ranging from games to presentations, to video effects in movies. Multiple users can use it to work on 3D projects as part of a team. The program is very extensive and is loaded with a ton of features and interactive tools that make it easy for users to create 3D projects. You can use it for just about everything involved in the 3D animation workflow, including modeling 3D characters and objects, rigging characters, animating characters and scenes, texturing, lighting, and even the final rendering.
Autodesk Maya’s editor is video-based and is non-linear and non-destructive in nature. It helps the user to create very high-quality and realistic-looking animations. Another area that Autodesk Maya shines is in its cloth simulation, which is something a lot of animation software struggles to do well, where here they are highly accurate and realistic.
There are periodic updates to Autodesk Maya, with loads of new tools to work with coming out in every update. Over time, the workflow of the software has improved, with many of the most useful features and tools being easy to find and use on the app.
One of our personal favorite features of Autodesk Maya is its ability to import and export SVG files.https://18571e570b631b480d51bfd5ba549c98.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Autodesk Maya is paid software. However, given how much it offers, it’s definitely worth a try.
Wacom Cintiq 16
Wacom’s excellent mid-range tablet balances price and performance
SPECIFICATIONS
Drawing area: 422 x 285 mmScreen resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels)Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levelsConnections: HDMI/USB outTODAY’S BEST DEALS
REASONS TO BUY
+Great balance of features and price+Superb Pen options
REASONS TO AVOID
-Not UHD-No built-in ExpressKeys
When buying a tablet for animation, you’re balancing features, performance, size, functionality and, yes, price. We reckon that the tablet providing the best balance between all of these different factors right now is the Wacom Cintiq 16. As Wacom’s drawing tools are practically industry standard, it makes sense for a Wacom to be high up on your list of considerations for an animation tablet. If you’re looking for a gig in animation, being familiar with Wacom tools is a very wise first step to take.
The Cintiq 16 is not the top-of-the-line Wacom, with a screen considerably smaller than that of the Cintiq 32 (which has an enormous 32-inch display). It also doesn’t have the UHD resolution of other Wacom tablets? However, you do get the 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, compatibility with the Pro Pen 3D and Pro Pen 2, and an incredible display bearing a wide colour gamut. And, critically, it’s much more affordable than many other Wacom tablets with these more advanced features, which for most types of animation, you simply do not need.
One thing we would note is that the Cintiq 16 does not have built-in ExpressKeys. These handy shortcuts can really speed up animating workflow; this isn’t a critical omission, however, as you can easily pick up the Wacom Express Key remote. Just remember to factor this in.
Conclusion
If you are a designer, animator, engineer, or artist then you know how important it is to have the right software that can help you communicate and create your ideas in the best manner. That is why today we want to present you with the best animation software for tablets that can help you to create amazing animations and videos.