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Animation   Tools  

Top 55+ Best

Animation Software:
The Ultimate List
2019
13min read   25 Apr 2019

The Ultimate Animation

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such use.

Animated videos are gaining more and more popularity nowadays. We use animations for
different purposes starting from running effective marketing campaigns to congratulating a
friend with a creative animated video message. The question is where to nd a software or an
online tool that can perfectly meet our needs.

Depending on your skills, you can choose from different types of software available both
of ine and online, for professionals and amateur users, 2D and 3D animation creators, etc.

Don't forget there are some great WordPress premium plugins available for editing and
customization videos in WordPress website

Some animation software can seem to be too complicated for a basic user and some online
video makers can be unaffordable. We'll introduce 55 top animation software and leave it to
your own consideration to choose the best one.

You can nd the ultimate list below.

2D Animation

3D Animation

Online Animation

Other Animation Software

 

2D Animation
 

1. Moho (Anime Studio)

Operating system: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
 
Description: Moho is a proprietary vector-based 2D animation
software for animators. The Moho software has two different
versions: Anime Studio Debut and Anime Studio Pro. The rst one
doesn't have all the functions that the Pro version has, plus the
Debut version is a bit more restricted in terms of possible length
and image size. Anime Studio Pro no longer supports the Linux platform. Anime Studio is
available in English, German and Japanese language (and Spanish since version 9.2).
 

2. Syn g Studio
Operating system: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
 
Description: Syn g Studio is an open source, free timeline-based,
and 2D vector graphics computer animation program. Syn g is a
real back-end and front-end application, that allows you to design
your animation in front-end and render it in backend at a later time
even on another computer, without having to connect the graphical display.

 
3. Adobe Animate 
Operating system: Windows, OS X

Description:  Adobe Animate is a computer animation and

multimedia authoring program developed by Adobe Systems. If you
need to create vector graphics and animation, Animate is the right
tool for you. You can, later on, use your creation for websites, online
videos, rich internet apps, video games, and television programs.
Adobe Animate offers support for video and audio embedding, ActionScript scripting, rich
text, and raster graphics.

 
4. Pencil 2D
Operating system: Linux, OS X, Microsoft Windows

Description: Pencil2D is an open-source and free 2D animation

software. You can easily produce simple 2D drawings, graphics, and
animation by using the bitmap/vector drawing interface of the
application. It started as a simple "pencil test" at rst and developed into animation software.

 
5. OpenToonz
Operating system: Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows

Description: OpenToonz is an open-source 2D animation software.

Toonz Premium is the professional product of the same family. This
software has been used to create many different lms and games,
such as Futurama, Anastasia, Asterix in America (in this movie the
part of the sea storm was created by Toonz completely), and much
more.

 
6. TupiTube
Operating system: Unix-like, Windows, Mac OS X

Description: TupiTube is an open-source application to create and

share 2D animation content focused on children, teenagers, and
amateurs. The main feature of this tool is the easy animation
creation process, which includes only 5 simple steps.

7. TVPaint Animation
Operating system:  Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android,
AmigaOS (from v1.0 to 3.59)
Description: TVPaint Animation is a 2D digital animation and paint
software package, that has been developed by TVPaint
Developpement SARL. The software supports most of the operating
systems existing today. It has been used to create many animated
and otherwise movies.

8. DigiCel FlipBook
Operating system: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X

Description: DigiCel FlipBook is a 2D animation software. It was

created with the intention of duplicating the animation process in

its traditional form, much like Toon Boom Harmony and TVPaint.

As FlipBook wants to keep the traditional aspect and the

traditional toolkit of the animation, it does not support skeletal

animation. Thus each frame has to be created and drown separately and inbetweening is

performed via onion skinning. The toolkit is raster-based and supports direct digital input of a

drawing using graphics tablet and scanning the physical drawing via either webcam or

TWAIN-compliant scanner.  

9. Retas Studio
Operating system: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
Description: RETAS (Revolutionary Engineering Total Animation
System) is a 2D animation software bundle developed and sold by
Celsys that is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It
handles the entire animation production from digitally drawing or
tracing to exporting in Flash and QuickTime, and is considered to
be a leader in Japan's anime industry.

10. Antics 2-D Animation

Operating system: Windows XP and later

Description: The Antics 2-D Animation software is a proprietary

vector-based 2-D application for animators and graphic designers, running under Microsoft
Windows. It was created in 1972 by Alan Kitching, the British animator, graphic designer, and
software developer. From 1977 to 1998 the Antics software was continuously developed and
was widely used by many studios around the world. The software of that time ran under Unix
and Fortran, which by the late 1990s had been superseded by newer multimedia-oriented
systems based on C++, and support for the older Antics was discontinued in 1998. In 2006, a
project to build a completely new Antics software for C++ and Windows was begun, and the
rst published version made available in 2010.

3D Animation
 

11. Autodesk 3ds Max

Operating system: Windows 7 or later

Description: Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio, then 3D Studio

Max is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D
animations, models, games, and images. It’s developed and
produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling
capabilities and a exible plugin architecture and can be used on
the Microsoft Windows platform. It is frequently used by video game developers, many TV
commercial studios, and architectural visualization studios. It is also used for movie effects and
movie pre-visualization. For its modeling and animation tools, the latest version of 3ds Max
also features shaders (such as ambient occlusion and subsurface scattering), dynamic
simulation, particle systems, radiosity, normal map creation and rendering, global illumination,
a customizable user interface, new icons, and its own scripting language.

12. Cinema 4D
Operating system: AmigaOS, MacOS, Microsoft Windows

Description: CINEMA 4D is a 3D modeling, animation, motion

graphic and rendering application developed by MAXON Computer
GmbH in Germany. It is capable of procedural and polygonal/subd
modeling, animating, lighting, texturing, rendering, and common
features found in 3D modeling applications. Four variants are currently available from MAXON:
a core CINEMA 4D 'Prime' application, a 'Broadcast' version with additional motion-graphics
features, 'Visualize' which adds functions for architectural design and 'Studio', which includes
all modules.

Initially, CINEMA 4D was developed for Amiga computers in the early 1990s, and the rst three
versions of the program were available exclusively for that platform. With v4, however, MAXON
began to develop the program for Windows and Macintosh computers as well, citing the wish
to reach a wider audience and the growing instability of the Amiga market following
Commodore's bankruptcy.

13. Houdini
Operating system: Windows, MacOS, Linux

Description: Houdini is a 3D animation application software

developed by Side Effects Software based in Toronto. Side Effects
adapted Houdini from the PRISMS suite of procedural generation
software tools. Its exclusive attention to procedural generation
distinguishes it from other 3D computer graphics software.

Houdini has been used in various feature animation productions, including Disney's feature
lms Frozen and Zootopia; the Blue Sky Studios lm Rio, and DNA Productions' Ant Bully.

Side Effects also publishes a partially limited version called Houdini Apprentice, which is free
of charge for non-commercial use.

14. Poser
Operating system: Windows, OS X

Description: Poser is a 3D computer graphics program optimized

for 3D modeling of human gures. The program has gained
popularity due to allowing beginners to produce basic animations
and digital images, and the extensive availability of third-party
digital models. Poser is a 3D rendering software package for the posing, animating and
rendering of 3D polymesh human and animal gures. Akin to a virtual photography studio,
Poser allows the user to load gures, props, lighting, and cameras for still and animated
renderings.

Natively using a subset of the Alias object (OBJ) le format and a text-based markup for
content les, Poser comes with a large library of pre-rigged human, animal, robotic, and
cartoon gures. The package also includes poses, hair pieces, props, textures, hand gestures,
and facial expressions. As Poser itself does not allow for original modeling of objects, a large
community market of artists emerged, creating and selling Poser content, made using third-
party software like Modo, ZBrush, Blender or Autodesk 3ds Max.

15. iClone
Operating system: Windows

Description: iClone is a real-time 3D animation and rendering

software program that enables users to make 3D animated lms.
Real-time playback is enabled by using a 3D video game engine for
instant on-screen rendering.

Other functionality includes: full facial and skeletal animation of human and animal gures;
lip-syncing; import of standard 3D le types including FBX; a timeline for editing and merging
motions; a scripting language (Lua) for character interaction; application of standard motion-
capture les; the ability to control an animated scene in the same manner as playing a video
game; and the import of models from Google 3D Warehouse, among many other features.
iClone is also notable for offering users royalty-free usage of all content that they create with
the software, even when using Reallusion's own assets library.

16. Aladdin 4D
Operating system: AmigaOS, Mac OS X, iPad, Linux, AROS,
MorphOS, Windows

Description: Aladdin4D is a computer program for modeling and

rendering three-dimensional graphics and animations, currently
running on AmigaOS and Mac OS X platforms. A-Eon Technology Ltd owns the rights and
develops current and future versions of Aladdin4D for AmigaOS, MorphOS & AROS. All other
platforms including OS X, iOS, Windows & Linux are developed by DiscreetFX. Nova Design
added many modern features and made it easier to use. It was one of the rst 3D animation
programs on any platform to employ volumetrics, which were primarily used to create
volumetric gas. However, unlike the majority of Amiga 3D programs, it used scanline rendering
instead of the more photo-realistic ray tracing technique. Scanline rendering is similar to the
rendering technique used in most Pixar movies. 

17. Autodesk Maya

Operating system: Windows 7 or later OS X 10.8 or later
RHEL/CentOS 6.2 or later

Description: Maya is an application used to generate 3D assets for

use in lm, television, game development and architecture. The
software was initially released for the IRIX operating system.
However, this support was discontinued in August 2006.

Users de ne a virtual workspace (scene) to implement and edit media for a particular project.
Scenes can be saved in a variety of formats, the default being .mb (Maya D). Maya exposes a
node graph architecture. Scene elements are node-based, each node having its own attributes
and customization. As a result, the visual representation of a scene is based entirely on a
network of interconnecting nodes, depending on each other's information. For the
convenience of viewing these networks, there is a dependency and a directed acyclic graph.

Users who are students, teachers (or veterans or unemployed in USA markets) can download a
full educational version from the Autodesk Education community. The versions available at
the community are only licensed for non-commercial use (once activated with the product
license) and some products create watermarks on output renders. The software comes with a
full 36-month license. Once it expires, users can log into the community to request a new 36
months license and download the latest Autodesk product.

18. Blender
Operating system: Windows, Mac OS, Linux

Description: Blender is a professional, free and open-source 3D

computer graphics software toolset used for creating animated
lms, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, interactive 3D
applications and video games. Blender's features include 3D
modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, raster graphics editing, rigging and skinning, uid and
smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, animating, match
moving, camera tracking, rendering, video editing, and compositing. It further features an
integrated game engine.

19. LightWave 3D
Operating system: AmigaOS, Windows, MacOS

Description:  LightWave is a software package used for rendering

3D images, both animated and static. It includes a fast rendering
engine that supports such advanced features as realistic re ection,
radiosity, caustics, and 999 render nodes. The 3D modeling
component supports both polygon modeling and subdivision surfaces. The animation
component has features such as reverse and forward kinematics for character animation,
particle systems, and dynamics. Programmers can expand LightWave's capabilities using an
included SDK which offers Python, LScript (a proprietary scripting language) scripting and C
language interfaces.

20. Autodesk MotionBuilder

Operating system: Windows, Linux

Description: MotionBuilder is a professional 3D character

animation software produced by Autodesk. It is used for virtual
production, motion capture, and traditional keyframe animation. It
was originally named Filmbox when it was rst created by
Canadian company Kaydara, later acquired by Alias and renamed to MotionBuilder. Alias, in
turn, was acquired by Autodesk.

It is primarily used in lm, games, television production, as well as other multimedia projects.
Mainstream examples include Assassin's Creed, Killzone 2, and Avatar.

At SIGGRAPH 2012, Autodesk announced a partnership with Weta Digital and Lightstorm
Entertainment to develop the next generation of the technology.

21. Daz 3D
Operating system: Windows

Description: Daz Productions, Inc ., commonly known as Daz 3D, is

a 3D content and software company specializing in providing
rigged 3D human models, associated accessory content, and
software to the prosumer market. It was originally part of Zygote
Media Group, a general purpose, application-agnostic 3D content broker, and split off as
"Digital Art Zone" in 2000 to focus on supplying content for the Poser market.

After acquiring other modeling tools, DAZ 3D created their own 3D posing/animation package,
DAZ Studio, while still continuing to make the content compatible with Poser for several years.
DAZ 3D also sells third-party applications usable with their products.

22. Bryce
Operating system: Windows, Mac OS

Description: Bryce is a 3D modeling, rendering and animation

program specializing in fractal landscapes. The name is taken from
Bryce Canyon — a rugged region with many of the same landscapes that were rst simulated
with the software. The original Bryce software arose from working with fractal geometry to
create realistic computer images of mountain ranges and coastlines. An initial set of fractal-
based programs were developed by Ken Musgrave (who later created MojoWorld) a student of
Benoît Mandelbrot, and extended by Eric Wenger. Wenger later met and worked with
software artist Kai Krause to design a basic user interface. The rst commercial version, Bryce
1.0, appeared in 1994 for the Macintosh. 

23. Modo
Operating system: Windows, Linux, macOS

Description: Modo (stylized as MODO, originally modo) is a polygon

and subdivision surface modeling, sculpting, 3D painting,
animation, and rendering package developed by Luxology, LLC,
which is now merged with and known as Foundry. The program
incorporates features such as n-gons and edge weighting and runs on Microsoft Windows,
Linux and macOS platforms. Modo was created by the same core group of software engineers
that previously created the pioneering 3D application LightWave 3D, originally developed on
the Amiga platform and bundled with the Amiga-based Video Toaster workstations that were
popular in television studios in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are based in Mountain
View, California. Modo's work ow differs substantially from many other mainstream 3D
applications. While Maya and 3ds Max stress using the right tool for the job, Modo artists
typically use a much smaller number of basic tools and combine them to create new tools
using the Tool Pipe and customizable action centers and falloffs. Modo was used in the
production of feature lms such as Stealth, Ant Bully, Iron Man, and Wall*E. 

24. K-3D
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux, Free BSD

Description: K-3D is a free 3D modelling and animation

software. It features a plug-in-oriented procedural engine
for all of its content. K-3D supports polygonal modeling,
and it includes basic tools for NURBS, patches, curves, and
animation. Despite its name, it is not a KDE application; it
uses the GTK+ toolkit via gtkmm. K-3D's interface uses
platform's look-and-feel, and it is therefore consistent with
other applications that already exist.

K-3D features procedural and parametric work ows. Properties can be adjusted interactively
and results appear immediately. The node-based visualization pipeline allows more
possibilities than traditional modi er stacks or histories. Selection ows from one modi er to
the next. Standards form the foundation on which K-3D builds - including native RenderMan
support that integrates tightly with the K-3D user interface. K-3D supports a node-based
visualization pipeline, thus allowing the connection of multiple bodies. Work on one side of a
model, show the other side mirrored, and see the end result welded together as a subdivision
surface in real-time. Go back, modify the beginning of a work ow, and watch as changes
propagate automatically to the end.

25. Anim8or
Operating system: Windows

Description: Anim8or is a freeware OpenGL based 3D modeling

and animation program by R. Steven Glanville, a software engineer
at NVidia. Currently, at stable version 0.98 (version 1.0 beta 3 is
available as of 22 Mar 2017), it is a compact program with several
tools which would normally be expected in high-end, paid software. To date, every version
released has been under 3 MB, despite the fact that it does not make full use of the windows
native interface, carrying some graphical elements of its own. Although few of cial tutorials
have been posted by the author, many other users have posted their own on sites such as
YouTube and the Anim8or home page. While Anim8or was once comparable to other freeware
3D animation software such as Blender, it has seen less progression in recent years.

26. MovieStorm
Operating system: Windows, macOS

Description: Moviestorm is a real-time 3D animation app published by Moviestorm Ltd. The

software is available to and used by people of all age groups and appeals to those with a
diverse range of backgrounds and interests, from amateur and professional lmmakers,
through to businesses and education, as well as people just looking to simply tell stories or
create messages to share using video. Moviestorm enables the user to create animated
movies, using machinima technology. It takes the user from initial concept to nished,
distributed movies. Sets and characters can be created and customized, and scenes can be
lmed using multiple cameras.

Moviestorm is being used predominantly in education by students of lm and media studies

as a means to develop their skills and expand their portfolio, as well as a collaborative cross-
curricular creative tool in education sectors from elementary to high school.

The software's website features a Web 2.0 social media service, which includes a video hosting
service, and an online community where people can talk about their created movies, nd
collaborators, and organize online events. Moviestorm also makes use of Twitter, YouTube and
Facebook to release the latest news on the software and to interact with both current and
potential users.

27. Messiah Studio

Operating system: Windows 2000 and later

Description: Messiah Studio  is a 3D animation and rendering

application developed by pmG Worldwide. It runs on the Win32 and
Win64 platforms. It is marketed to run on Mac OS X and Linux via
Wine. Messiah's fourth version, Messiah Studio was released April
2009 and version 5.5b as Messiah Animate was released November 2006. Messiah Studio6 was
released in April 2013.

28. Hash Animation: Master

Operating system: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X

Description: Hash Animation: Master is a 3D character animation

application offered by Hash, Inc. that includes tools for modeling,
rigging, animation, texturing, lighting and rendering. Although
Animation: Master was developed for and is targeted towards
independent artists, with a work ow optimized to enable one artist to create a rendered
animated piece from start to nish, the work ow also presents economic advantages for
larger workgroups.

The software uses a proprietary spline mesh technology to perform modeling and animation,
and it is different in this sense from polygon mesh or NURBS-based programs. The system
used is called patch-based modeling. It uses multiple intersecting splines to create surfaces,
called patches. Patches present ef ciency in that one patch can describe a complex curved
surface that would require many facets to approximate in at polygons.

Aside from the typical 4-sided patches common in many spline modeling environments,
Animation: Master can also create 3 and 5-sided patches which enable mesh topologies not
possible in other applications.

29. Crazy Talk

Operating system: Windows XP and later OS X 10.6
and later

Description: CrazyTalk is Reallusion's brand name for

its 2D animation software. The product series includes
CrazyTalk, a 3D facial animation software tool, and
CrazyTalk Animator, a face, and body 3D animation suite.

CrazyTalk, the 3D facial animation software, is a real-time, 3D animation and rendering

software that enables users to make 3D animated cartoons. It is a facial animation tool that
uses voice and text to vividly animate facial images. It has an auto motion engine which allows
animators to use the intensity of their voice to drive their animations in real-time. As of
January 2016, the CrazyTalk software is in version 8.

CrazyTalk is developed and marketed by Reallusion, a company that has software and digital
content development base in Taiwan with of ces and training centers in the U.S. and
Germany.

Animated Explainer Video Templates

Online Animation
 

30. Renderforest
Operating system: Website

Description: Renderforest is a cloud-based  platform for making

intro videos  for YouTube, explainer animations, kinetic typography,
product or service promotional videos, music visualizations,
wedding or travel slideshows, mobile app promotions, event
invitations, corporate presentations, infographics and a lot more. Renderforest provides most
of its services for free. All of the templates and tools are available for free. You can render and
export your video in minutes in SD 360 quality with watermarks. If you want it to be without
watermarks and in HD quality, then you need to subscribe to one of the plans or pay for a one-
time export. It’s a great solution for individuals or businesses that want their product to have a
professional result and broadcast quality but don't have any tech knowledge to build a
professional product from scratch.

Try Renderforest Logo Maker

31. Toufee
Operating system: Website

Description: Toufee is ash movie creating/editing software that is

distributed online. It is an online software which runs inside the browser, so it is compatible
with Windows, Linux and Macintosh operating systems. It contains features such as text
effects, image transitions, audio/video support, and timeline editing.  

32. Animatron
Operating system: Website

Description: Animatron is a web-based animation software that

enables users to make and edit animations and interactive content.
The company was formed as a corporate spin-off from JetBrains in
2011. It provides an HTML5 animation tool that allows displaying
created animation on any mobile or desktop webpage.

33. Moovly
Operating system: Website

Description: Moovly is a company that provides a cloud-based

platform (SaaS) that enables users to create and generate
multimedia content: animated videos, video presentations,
animated infographics and any other video content that includes a
mix of animation and motion graphics.

34. Animaker
Operating system: Website

Description: Animaker is an easy to use animated video creation

tool. Create an account to begin your video and choose a template
to customize. Be sure to watch the tutorials before starting to learn
all of the features included with Animaker. When complete,
download a video to your computer or directly to YouTube or Facebook. Free accounts allow
videos up to 2 minutes in length and ve exports per month. The tutorials reside on YouTube. If
your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at
home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share.

35. Powtoon
Operating system: Website

Description: PowToon is a web-based animation software that

allows users to create animated presentations by manipulating pre-
created objects, imported images, provided music and user-created
voice-overs. Powtoon uses an Apache Flex engine to generate an
XML le that can be played in the Powtoon online viewer, exported to YouTube or downloaded
as an MP4 le. PowToon is also available in the Google Chrome Store and has an application
on Edmodo.com.

36. Toonator
Operating system: Website

Description: Toonator is an online cartoon editing tool. With Toonator you can easily make
funny animations.

37. Mixamo
Operating system: Website

Description: With this web-based tool you can create 3D

animations without any prior 3D animation knowledge. You can see
animated characters moving instantly. Get high-quality animations
that are automatically retargeted to your 3D character and ready to
bring into your project. No need to reanimate a walk cycle for each character. Search the Store
for the right animation and get instant feedback on timing. 

38. Wideo
Operating system: Website

Description: With this online tool you can create, edit, and share videos
very easily. Just drag and drop elements or upload your own images and
start animating in a few clicks. Or edit one of the ready-made templates in minutes to create
an animation.

39. Visme
Operating system: Website

Description: This is an online tool to create visual aids for your story.
It can be used to create infographics, presentations and other visual
content in a time-saving manner.

40. MakeWebVideo

Operating system: Website

Description: If you need a business video advertisement or a

product video to promote your company, website or an upcoming
event - you’ve come to the right spot! This website has developed
an online video animation maker, that lets you make a professional
video for your website and will help increase your business sales.

41. Vyond
Operating system: Website

Description: Vyond is an online tool that lets you create your own
animated videos. Create your own characters, choose the one that
ts your needs with the speci c description. Audio is automatically
lip-synced to the characters, so it looks professional. This platform
has a free trial available for 14 days.

42. Prezi
Operating system: Website

Description: Prezi is a web-based presentation software, created in

Hungary.

This freedom of movement enables “conversational presenting”. It’s

a presentation style following the ow of dialogue.

The company that develops Prezi, also called Prezi, was founded in Budapest, Hungary in
2009, and has additional of ces in San Francisco and Mexico City. As of March 2017, Prezi had
reportedly over 75 million users, who had created more than 260 million prezis.

The company launched Prezi Business in 2016, with a suite of creation, collaboration, and
analytics tools for teams. Prezi Business is an HTML5 application that runs on JavaScript.

The word Prezi is the short form of “presentation” in Hungarian.

43. Toon Boom

Operating system: Website

Description: Toon Boom Animation Inc. is a Canadian software

company that specializes in animation production and storyboarding software. Founded in
1994 and based in Montreal, Quebec, Toon Boom develops animation and storyboarding
software for lm, television, web animation, games, mobile devices, training applications, and
education. It was acquired by Corus Entertainment in 2012.

Toon Boom software is used in over 130 countries and was awarded the Primetime Emmy
Award in 2005 and 2012, among other awards.

Notable users include Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation, Pixar,
Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation, Fox, Rough Draft Studios, Nelvana, Xilam, Mercury
Filmworks, China Central Television, Toonz India Ltd, Digital eMation and Gaumont Animation.

Promo Video Templates

Other Animation Software

 

44. Adobe After Effects

Operating system: Microsoft Windows, macOS

Description: Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effect, motion

graphics, and compositing application developed by Adobe
Systems and used in the post-production process of lmmaking
and television production. Among other things, After Effects can be
used for keying, tracking, compositing, and animation. It also functions as a very basic non-
linear editor, audio editor, and media transcoder.

45. Pivot Animator

Operating system: Windows

Description: Pivot Animator (formerly Pivot Stick gure Animator

and usually shortened to Pivot) is a freeware application that allows users to create stick- gure
and sprite animations, and save them in the animated GIF format for the use on web pages
and the AVI format (in Pivot Animator 3 and later).

Pivot provides a simple, easy to use interface with a few features. It uses xed length 'sticks' to
ensure size consistency during the animation.

46. Microsoft PowerPoint

Operating system: Microsoft Windows  

Description: Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program

currently developed by Microsoft, for use on both Microsoft
Windows and Apple Macintosh operating systems. PowerPoint,
initially named "Presenter", was created by Forethought Inc.
Microsoft's version of PowerPoint was of cially launched on May 22,
1990, as a part of the Microsoft Of ce suite. PowerPoint is useful for helping develop the slide-
based presentation format and is currently one of the most commonly used slide-based
presentation programs available. Microsoft has also released the PowerPoint mobile
application for use on Apple and Android mobile operating systems.

47. Autodesk Sketchbook

Operating system: Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS

Description: SketchBook Pro, also referred to as SketchBook, is a

pixel graphics software application that features a radial/pie-menu
user interface, intended for expressive drawing and concept
sketching. It was originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation,
but is now owned by Autodesk.

SketchBook Pro has painting and drawing tools such as pencils, markers, and brushes. It uses
pressure-sensitive features of graphics tablets, tablet computers, and smartphones to create
effects similar to traditional materials.

Autodesk SketchBook Pro software also features a screenshot tool for annotation, allowing one
to show content during a meeting and add notes as the content is reviewed. The previous/next
buttons make it possible to create ipbooks or animations. The program supports layers with
import and export of Photoshop (.psd) format. Other features include rulers, symmetry, the
ability to customize brushes, create texture brushes, and rotate the canvas.

SketchBook Pro communities exist on Twitter,  Facebook Tumblr, YouTube, DeviantArt,

Google+, and Autodesk's AREA online community.

48. Unity
Operating system: Linux, macOS, WIndows

Description: Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by

Unity Technologies, which is primarily used to develop video games
and simulations for computers, consoles, and mobile devices.

Unity is marketed to be an all-purpose engine, and as a result supports both 2D and 3D

graphics, drag and drop functionality and scripting through its 3 custom languages. The
engine targets the following APIs: Direct3D and Vulkan on Windows and Xbox 360; OpenGL on
Mac, Linux, and Windows; OpenGL ES on Android and iOS; and proprietary APIs on video
game consoles.

Unity is the default software development kit (SDK) for Nintendo's Wii U video game console
platform, with a free copy included by Nintendo with each Wii U developer license. Unity
Technologies calls this bundling of a third-party SDK an "industry rst".

49. Krita
Operating system: Unix-like system, Windows, OS X

Description: Krita is a professional FREE and open source painting

program. It is made by artists that want to see affordable art tools
for everyone. With Krita, you can create concept art, texture and
matte paintings, and illustrations and comics.

50. Stykz
Operating system: Linux, Windows, OS X

Description: Stykz is freeware, meaning it's completely free to

download and use to create animations that you can show off to
others or import into other applications. No hidden costs, license or
permission are required to use Stykz to its fullest. If you've ever used
Pivot StickFigure Animator, you'll feel right at home working with Stykz. Stykz is the rst multi-
platform stick gure animation program in the world (as far as we know), so you'll be able to
use Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux* to create, edit and preview your animations. (*Linux is in
internal beta but will be available soon.)

51. Adobe Character Animator

Operating system: Linux, Windows, OS X

Description: Adobe Character Animator is a desktop application

software product that combines live motion-capture with a multi-
track recording system to control layered 2D puppets drawn in
Photoshop or Illustrator. It is automatically installed with Adobe
After Effects since CC 2015 and is also available as a standalone application, which you can
download separately. It is used to produce both live and non-live animation. Character
Animator imports layered Photoshop & Illustrator documents into puppets which have
behaviors applied to them. The puppets are then placed into a scene, which can be viewed in
the Scene panel and Timeline panel. Rigging is set up in the Puppet panel, though basic
rigging is fully automatic based on speci c layer names like Right Eyebrow and Smile. The
nal output of a scene can be exported to a sequence of PNG les and a WAV le, or any video
format supported by Adobe Media Encoder. Live output can be sent to other applications
running on the same machine via the Syphon protocol (Mac only) or Adobe Mercury Transmit
on both Mac and Windows. Scenes can also be dropped directly into After Effects and
Premiere Pro, using Dynamic Link to avoid rendering.

52. Clip Studio Paint

Operating system: Windows, macOS

Description: Clip Studio Paint is an illustration/manga/animation

production software. Its high performing rendering engine makes it
possible to draw with natural and realistic brush strokes and multi-
core CPU support handles high resolution and multiple layers. Since its launch in 2012, more
than 3 million people worldwide have used this software. The software is widely used in the
professional eld as well, including many manga artists and animation studios. Not only the
software itself, but Celsys also provide various services for its users, including CLIP STUDIO
ASSETS for downloading materials, and CLIP STUDIO TIPS for tutorials and drawing
techniques. Currently, the software is supported in 7 different languages (Japanese, English,
Traditional Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, German). A free trial version is available on PC
and iPad.

As you can see, there are a lot of options to choose from, depending on your needs and skills.
Try the best 2D and 3D animation makers and pick the one that suits you best to create the
most compelling animations and explainer videos. 

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