There are several types of animation software you can use for your projects. Some programs are not free but they offer great tools to produce high-quality animations, while others are at no cost.
Animation, besides being fun to watch, can be pretty impressive. So why not use animation on your website? The best thing about animation is that it can draw users’ attention and match the rhythm of texts, so they won’t be bothered by your texts flying around the screen.
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.
Best 2D Animation Software for Mac: Toon Boom Harmony
This is a program that actually deserves some surprising recognition. The company has partnered with major film companies like Warner brothers, Disney, and Nickelodeon and it’s currently one of the best and most powerful 2-D animation suites for commercial use.
With the use of this program you can build anything from traditional animation all the way to amazing drawing tools that can produce the future of 3-D animation. The 3-D cameras and integration available in this platform can provide fundamental solutions for drawing, rendering and building beautiful projects.
There are tools and tasks available here that can suit small hobby animators all the way up to professional uses. The premium version delivers the top tool professional solutions that you might expect at of any major animation suite. The essentials level of the harmony program is designed more for hobbyists and it delivers a scaled down version of some of their more high and customization techniques.
Toon Boom not only remains one of the best 2-D animation programs for mac but it is a regular fixture in the animation world today.
Best Free 2D Animation Software for Mac: Pencil
This is a simple and open source vector-based program that’s designed for the Mac OS X platform. It’s also available on Linux and Windows and it was originally created for producing digital comics. The platform allows animators to use the basic hand-drawn techniques that were experimented with long in the past. Pencil is an ideal program for beginners that don’t want to invest in expensive license for a program. It can teach the basic principles of animation and with a timeline feature it’s possible to add new layers to arrange fun effects.
This is one of the best programs for beginners and sketching characters as well as setting keyframes can all be done using the pen tool, fill tool and the vector layers tool. The interface on this is actually based off of some of the original Adobe flash platform’s and it produces some good quality graphics even on a tablet device. Perhaps one of the best parts of using this program is that it automatically exports everything in.FLV which gives it mass compatibility with a number of online sources. The videos that you export here will be easy to embed or upload in video sharing sources and more.
This is a simple and open source vector-based program that’s designed for the Mac OS X platform. It’s also available on Linux and Windows and it was originally created for producing digital comics. The platform allows animators to use the basic hand-drawn techniques that were experimented with long in the past. Pencil is an ideal program for beginners that don’t want to invest in expensive license for a program. It can teach the basic principles of animation and with a timeline feature it’s possible to add new layers to arrange fun effects.
This is one of the best programs for beginners and sketching characters as well as setting keyframes can all be done using the pen tool, fill tool and the vector layers tool. The interface on this is actually based off of some of the original Adobe flash platform’s and it produces some good quality graphics even on a tablet device. Perhaps one of the best parts of using this program is that it automatically exports everything in.FLV which gives it mass compatibility with a number of online sources. The videos that you export here will be easy to embed or upload in video sharing sources and more.
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya is one of the best animation software, and this is evident as it is also the most popular software for animation among Disney artists. So naturally, this makes it a professional animation software but don’t shy off if you are a beginner, as Maya is a great software for beginners too. Maya has been used in the production of great films like “Avatar”, “Finding Nemo”, “Monsters Inc.” and tons more.
- One downside is that it costs a hefty 1620$ per year but it is also professional, powerful and the industry standard when it comes to animation. If you are a student, then good news, as you can access Autodesk Maya for free.
- Maya lets you create characters, models, motion graphics, terrains, backgrounds and more. Great software for simulation, rendering, animation and even VR.
- The built-in UV editor makes it easy and intuitive to use offering a lot of options from the UV Toolkit.
- Features a Clump Modifier that allows you to modify and groom animations easily.
Aurora 3D Animation Maker
This free animation software is one of the best 3D animation tools and contains a lot of unique features. Some of the features include adding watermark to the videos and images, creating special effects, and many more. With its simple user interface, adding the animation effects to movies and pictures is never a problem. The best quality of Aurora 3D Animation Maker is that it offers a free trial period so that you can understand its wonderful features without spending any money. And if you like this tool, purchase its full version.
Aurora 3D allows you to manage different facets of the animation which includes the playback rate and duration. It also helps you to add various attractive effects such as snowfall, flames, fireworks, and more. Moreover, You can apply motion effects such as Linear, Quad, Quit, and Cubic for movements like bounce and twists. This tool also helps in creating the 3D video title.
This is a simple software that produces professional results because it helps in creating limitless animation effects. Actually, the special effects are directly proportional to the creative thoughts in your mind. It means that as long as the ideas generated in your brain, you can continue coming up with lively creations. These all features make Aurora 3D one of the Best Free Animation Software Download for Windows.
Conclusion
There are a lot of free animation software options for Mac users. It can be overwhelming to figure out which one is best. In this post I list all the animation software for Mac so you can choose the right one for you.