What makes your product unique? Without a unique selling point, it is going to be hard for you to stand out from the crowd and gain any headway. Animated videos create a character and pique interest that helps explain the value you provide to your customers. Making an animation video is an easy way to get started with animation if you are just learning. The best animation software includes tools that make it easy for beginners to create animation videos. Animation softwares typically have features that give you control over making changes in an animated video without having to edit each frame – this means you can make large scale adjustments quickly.
In this review, let’s focus on making your project unique and engaging. Below are tools that will come in handy when dealing with uniqueness.
Animaker
Platforms: web browser-based
Animaker is a free animation software for beginners, with easy drag-and-drop functionality and an intuitive interface to match. There are six core types of videos you can make with Animaker:
- 2D
- Infographics
- Handcraft
- Whiteboard
- 2.5D
- Typography
Including full HD support, both horizontal and vertical video layouts, and pre-made graphics to choose from, you can create fun, animated videos in no time.
Audio features include text-to-speech, the option to add background music and sound effects, and voiceover. You can choose from Animaker’s library of sounds or upload your own tunes.
If you want to pay for the pro version, you can also get advanced features: in-app camera, multimove, curves, transition effects, and enter/exit effects. It’s like all those PowerPoint animations except cool and not so cheesy.
Blender
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Use Blender if you’re looking for the best video animation software for pro editors and creators. The free open-source 3D animation tool supports the “modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing, and 2D animation pipeline.” The platform is a public project, and creatives from all over the world contribute to its ongoing maintenance.
Let’s talk features.
- Rendering: Cycles is Blender’s ray-trace based production render engine, FreeStyle is an edge- and line-based non-photorealistic (NPR) rendering engine, and real-time feedback speeds up the editing process.
- Modeling: Blender’s modeling tools include sculpting, retopology, modeling, curves, and more to help with editing models.
- Sculpting: Digital sculpting tools flexible for each stage of the digital production pipeline.
- Animation and rigging: These tools include a character animation pose editor, Non Linear Animation (NLA) for independent movements, IK forward/inverse kinematics for fast poses, and sound synchronization.
- Grease pencil: Draw directly in 3D and combine 2D/3D art.
- VFX: From camera and object motion tracking to masking and compositing, there are lots of fixes you can make in post-prod.
- Simulation: Create simulations for fog, smoke, rain, fire, liquid, and more.
- Pipeline: Choose from a long list of import/export options.
- Video editing: A built-in video editor allows for basic actions like video cuts and splicing and more complex tasks like video masking or color grading.
Yeah, that’s a lot. Blender is a comprehensive tool. And it’s all free.
Editor’s note: We also review Blender, along with 21 other video-editing tools, in this review.
K-3D
Platforms: Windows, Linux
K-3D is a free 3D animation software specializing in polygonal modeling, an approach to digital graphics that represents and approximates object surfaces using polygons. Designed for artists, the software combines plugins with a visualization pipeline architecture — it adapts to the look and feel of the tools you integrate it with.
Get started with their Wiki tutorials, showing you how to master features like texturing, shadows, and symmetric modeling.
One of its best features? Easy undo/redo functionality, so you can quickly fix a mistake. Most programs only offer the option to undo an action.
With both procedural and parametric workflows, you can make adjustments and see the change immediately. A node-based visualization pipeline means editors can create connections and combinations for different elements within the video. You can work on one side of a model and mirror the other side to see what it looks like welded together.
K-3D is an advanced tool for true creatives.
OpenToonz
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
OpenToonz is one of the top free animation software for 2D videos. The open-source software is free for both commercial and non-commercial use, so you can use it to create marketing videos for your brand.
It’s also packed with features, such as:
- Digital drawing tools: vector and bitmap drawing tools
- Indexed color palettes: quick paint and color changing
- Effects and compositing: animated special effects and composite scenes — choose from blurs, lighting, keys, masks, warps, and more than 100 other effects
- Scripting: automations via ECMA-compatible scripting engine
- Motion tracking: combine your animation with video footage
- Scan and cleanup: create vectors from paper drawings
- Frame-by-frame animation: with configurable onionskin
- Motion tweening: link objects or use motion paths to execute complex movements
- Bones character animation: with IK support and mesh deformations
- Particle systems: for rain, dust, and similar effects
You can make some pretty advanced animations with this tool.
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.Try Adobe Animate
Maya.
Initially established in 1998, Maya is an Academy Award-winning (2003) 3D computer graphics and animation software. Currently owned by Autodesk, it is especially useful for the creation of interactive 3D applications like motion pictures, video games, TV series, special effects, and more.
It is, without any doubt, one of the best software tools on the market providing 3D animation, and has been acclaimed for its use in notable films like ‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Spiderman,’ ‘Star Wars,’ and ‘Ice Age.’
The best part is that it is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Best for:
Maya is one of the best animation software tools for creating animation pictures, video games, and adding 3D effects in motion pictures. If you require high-quality visual effects, then Maya has you covered.
Advanced Features:
- Clip matching feature
- Bifrost liquid creation feature that creates simulations of photorealistic movies
- Excellent character animator
- Allows deep adaptive liquid simulations
- In-built accelerated modeling workflows
- Paint effect feature that allows you to make 3D shapes by freehand drawing tools and drawing software
- Enhanced viewport 2.0 and DX11Shader rendering engine (blur refFlections, shader effects, imparting translucency)
- Free-form approach to 3D modeling that allows you to add as many layers as you want
- Arnold integration – this RenderView feature can be used to view scene changes in real-time
- Create your own scripts and plugins for better customization (in Maya-embedded Language or python scripting)
- Voice-o-matic provides lip-syncing technology, motion capture, and walk cycles
PowToon
Next up on our list is PowToon. Similar to Moovly, PowToon offers different licenses, including a limited Free License, a Pro and a Business license. Powtoon’s styles are rather limited and – as the name suggests – primarily cartoon based. One of PowToon’s features that distinguish itself from the other video animation makers on our list, is the option to choose between Presentation mode and Animation mode. If you are already familiar with Powtoon, but looking for an alternative, don’t worry, we have you covered.
Vyond
Third, on our list, we have Vyond (formerly called GoAnimate). Just Like PowToon and Moovly, Vyond is an entirely cloud-based platform, committed to creating cartoons. One of Vyond stand out features is the ability to add lip-sync to your chosen characters by adding a voice recording or importing an audio file. Vyond does not have a free license, but rather a 14-day premium trial for you to try out their platform.
Wideo
Wideo is a user-friendly content creation platforms on the market today, although with limited styles available. Wideo is a versatile video animation platform that also allows you to create presentations. With Wideo, you have access to a range of pre-animated templates, all of which are gracefully designed. The only downside however is that you can only create free animations of up to 30 seconds long. Anything longer will require you to upgrade to a paid license.
Voki
With Voki, you can create animations with a particular focus on education. Unlike the other video animation makers above, Voki doesn’t allow you to create an animated video from scratch. Instead, it allows you to create customized avatars and add voice overs.
Explee
Last but not least is Explee, which focuses on one blank template in one single style: whiteboard. Don’t let its simplicity fool you, though; it’s enough to create engaging and direct video presentations. If you are looking to create whiteboard animations, then this may be the content creation platform for you.
Explee is ideal for video animators who don’t care too much about design variation and quality but rather need something both professional and fast. Like Vyond, Explee offers a 14-day free trial, which gives you a taster on how to create animations.
That sums up our list of the top 7 video animation makers for you to create your free animations. If you are not sure yet about the style of your video and want to test a variety of features, we definitely recommend trying out Moovly first!
Conclusion
In recent years, animation has become a powerful tool for marketing your business. In the past year alone, there were millions of people who decided to make their own animated video to promote business. That’s because videos not only give you a chance to show off your company but also it can catch the audience’s attention in a way that other content cannot.