Are you a video designer? Or maybe you’ve found yourself with an urge to make a YouTube video? Or even an Instagram video? Well, before you start making your videos and creating your graphics, you might be asking yourself: what software should I use? Since there are so many tools out there and too little time — we’ve spent some time gathering together a list of the best free graphic video design software.
If you are trying to create a business video on your own, you may be feeling overwhelmed by the software options available. It seems like there are as many video tools as there are stars in the sky. Let’s take a look at some of the best free video design software tools out there.
Adobe Premiere Pro
Simultaneous projects
Motion graphics templates
VR Editing/rotate sphere
Effects, transitions, labels
Video titling and graphics
Demanding on performance
Small, sometimes hidden buttons
Verdict: Adobe has made great strides in integrating After Effects and Premiere together, making Premiere more important for both motion designers and video editors. One of its notable features is the ability to create dynamic links between itself and After Effects. In this way, users can make final adjustments to compositions and images without having to render them first.
Adobe Premiere Pro is an application for editing videos based on a timeline. The motion designer uses it to bring video and audio together. But the number of features and formats included lets such programs as Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas and Avid Media Composer use it to create a final video upon completion.
Premiere Pro is the place where motion designers will edit their videos together and add finishing touches, such as music, sound effects, add transitions, as well as possibly cut animation snippets to enhance the flow and synchronization of the entire video.
Mocha Pro
Advanced modules: stabilization, lens calibration, 3D camera solver
GPU accelerated tracking, object removal
Sophisticated masking with edge-snapping
Stereo 360/VR support
Export data to industry-standard systems
The cost of a standalone application
Requires development and availability of Adobe products
Verdict: This planar-based tracking system tracks movement outside of a cluster of pixels – an ideal tool for animated graphics artists interested in performing screen replacement. This may be difficult at the initial stage. But after using spline-based workflow, it will be easy to track almost any movement.
This makes Mocha an extremely robust tool for animation artists who are interested in replacing the screen, removing objects or rotoscoping. This tool is also useful for commercial projects. You should try it, for instance, when creating an animated graphic fragment in the portfolio.
Mocha Pro can act as a plug-in in After Effects or Premiere Pro. It means that you can easily begin with After Effects to track a shot in Mocha, and then go back to After Effects with the tracked camera data. These capabilities make Mocha AE one of the best tools for motion graphics among motion designers.
Adobe After Effects
Verdict: This motion graphics software is based on layers and works as a hybrid of a video editor and Photoshop. Adobe lets users seamlessly take advantage of AE in the Creative Cloud ecosystem. It works well with other non-linear editing systems, such as Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Pro X. Besides, it integrates flexibly with 3D applications like 3ds Max, Maya and Cinema 4D.
The extension helps transfer animated graphics and produce qualitative visual effects, create and manage animated graphic works, create effects for 2D animation, layout and compositing, track movements, delete objects, model and particle effects, create templates, perform color correction and editing.
It also works with 3D elements through a variety of integrated and third-party plugins, such as the effects browser, timeline and composition panel. They enable users to bring animation art to the screen.
After Effects is the primary Adobe video editor used for animating and combining animated graphics after developing storyboards and elements in Photoshop and Illustrator. When you finish animating the After Effects project, you can export the final video to video editing software.
Cinema 4D
Verdict: For anyone with a graphic skill in After Effects, Cinema 4D should be a simple intermediate transition to 3D. Animation artists prefer Cinema 4D to other 3D tools for its convenience, ease of use and flexibility when integrating into After Effects. The software offers an intuitive non-destructive workflow so users can quickly edit and duplicate various parameters.
Cinema 4D contains unique features and compatibility with several different GPU-accelerated rendering engines, which help users quickly display top-quality 3D models on the PC screen. The most popular engine in Cinema 4D is the third-party Octane and such rendering mechanisms as Redshift, V-Ray, etc.
Cinema 4D is quite widespread in the world of animated graphics for modeling, texturing, rendering, animation and simulation effects. C4D is more commonly used for working with industrial-level visual effects. If you wish to integrate 3D elements into a project, it will be difficult to find better graphic animation software.
- ous filters and advanced tools you can create designs.
Illustrator
Illustrator is another famous tool for motion designers in the designing industry. It is quite similar to Photoshop yet, with a lot of variations in functions in Illustrator. The major difference is that Photoshop deals with bitmap, while Illustrator is entirely vector-based(Vector Image) editing software.
I hope you guys are aware of the term “Vector Image.” If you don’t, let me tell you. A vector image is a file that you can scale that file infinitely without pixelating it.
Moreover, Vector Image is a crucial part of the motion graphics workflow in creating logos, shape objects, and vector background. Further, you can import files easily into AE for animation stuff.
Cinema 4D
Verdict: For anyone with a graphic skill in After Effects, Cinema 4D should be a simple intermediate transition to 3D. Animation artists prefer Cinema 4D to other 3D tools for its convenience, ease of use and flexibility when integrating into After Effects. The software offers an intuitive non-destructive workflow so users can quickly edit and duplicate various parameters.
Cinema 4D contains unique features and compatibility with several different GPU-accelerated rendering engines, which help users quickly display top-quality 3D models on the PC screen. The most popular engine in Cinema 4D is the third-party Octane and such rendering mechanisms as Redshift, V-Ray, etc.
Cinema 4D is quite widespread in the world of animated graphics for modeling, texturing, rendering, animation and simulation effects. C4D is more commonly used for working with industrial-level visual effects. If you wish to integrate 3D elements into a project, it will be difficult to find better graphic animation software. 1/2
Red Giant software
A software introduced by Red Giant company is an amazing application for motion designers. This software helps you create some unusual visuals, and even if an artist is asked to complete the projects in a tight deadline for that concern, red giant software goes well for the same.
The popular plug-ins associated with red giant software helps in crafting outstanding effects for your projects in less time, which acts as an add-on for this favorite tool.
Mocha AE
“A Planar-based tracking system,” a perfect tool for the motion graphics artist those are interested in performing screen replacement.
Mocha AE tracks motion beyond simply tracking a cluster of pixels. At the initial stage, it can be tricky, but after using its spline-based workflow, it’ll be easy for you to track virtually any movement with ease.
This application is very convenient, and you can quickly jump from AE to track a shot in Mocha and reverse back to the AE with the monitored camera data. These features make Mocha AE the best choice among motion designers.
Further, it is more beneficial for commercial projects. Candidates who are planning to join the commercial industry should try this tool and design some breathtaking motion graphics pieces as a portfolio before appearing for your next interview.
PHOTOSHOP
Price: $52.99 a month as part of the Creative Cloud ( solo $20.99 a month)You’ve probably heard the phrase “This looks Photoshopped,” implying an image has been touched up or altered in some way. That only scratches the surface of what is possible when using the software. Adobe Photoshop is about as versatile as a creative software can be. For a Motion Graphic designer, a working knowledge of Photoshop and its features is key.Features:
- Create Matte Paintings
- Edit Textures
- Design Boards
- Stitch Images Together
- Create a GIF
- Layout Cel Animations
- Rotoscope
- And hundreds of other examples!
The good news is Photoshop is incredibly easy to start using. Once you have a good handle on the basics, you can take your design skills to the next level with Design Bootcamp.
GIMP
The first in this series is GIMP, which is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for tasks such as photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring.
Adobe Photoshop has been the king of this photo retouching and manipulation field for the last two decades and with its costly subscription-based payment system. So if you’re looking for a free alternative then you can use GIMP. One more reason to replace Adobe with GIMP is that it’s not a free trial or a freemium model, it’s just free and you can download it for free at any time from gimp.org. Adobe has notoriously switched over to a subscription model and charges a minimum price of 9.99 per month whereas GIMP is open-source software and you can use it without any barrier
GIMP has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, or an image format converter. So, if you are a beginner motion graphics designer you must check out this software.
Conclusion:
Have you ever wanted to create videos but thought they were too difficult? Creating a video can seem like a daunting process, but it doesn’t have to be. The best part is that there is absolutely no cost involved in learning how to make videos! Sure, you may have to invest some of your own time, but there are many free software options available at your disposal. This can save you a lot of money that you might have spent on expensive software in the past.