Some software will support hand-drawn animation, while others might support computer-assisted technology to create the full digital animation. No matter what your choice, it is important for you to use only the best 2D animation software for your project.
Best 2D Aimation Softwares Reviewed
Here are the 20 best 2D animation software that can help create beautiful and stunning 2D animations for you.
Krita
As an open source professional painting software, Krita is one of the best tools that you can use to create stunning 2D animations.
It is equipped with various features that allow you to make concept arts, illustrations, comics, textures, and other 2D painting works easily. It is available cross platform, which means that you can use it on any popular desktop operating systems.
Features:
It offers the user interface that is simplified and flexible to use. Lots of great tools to make great 2D concept arts and animations, such as vector, text, brushes, brush stabilizers, and more. Each brush comes with various brush engines that you can customize. You can expand your toolset by exporting texture packs from other artists. You can export your 2D graphics and turn them into seamless 2D animations.
OpenToonz – Best 2D Animation Softwares
OpenToonz is an open source animation production software that can be used for both personal and commercial projects.
It comes with various features that can help you make stunning 2D animations for any project. It also includes the function called GTS, which is the scanning tool for 2D animations that is developed by Studio Ghibli. It doesn’t require a high-end machine to run this software smoothly.
Features:
It is the software that is used in various projects of Studio Ghibli. It includes the GTS animation scanning tool that is developed by Studio Ghibli. Various effects can be added via plug-ins for this software. You can use various effects such as changing picture styles, affected incident light, and wavy distortion. It can run on computers with decent specifications.
Animaker
Animaker is the platform that allows anyone, whether they are beginners or professionals, to create animation and live action videos for various purposes.
This is the platform that you can use to create seamless and high quality 2D animations for your projects. You can create your animation videos online, with all the tools available for you to use in a simple drag-and-drop method.
Features:
It offers a simple video animation creation steps that can be done in a few clicks. You can create various unique characters with the drag-and-drop method. There are millions of stock photos and videos to go with your animation creation. It supports 4K video quality. You can also resize your video animations instantly if you want to upload them on social media.
Stop Motion Studio
Stop Motion Studio offers the tools that you can use to create stop motion or animation movies that are simple to use and user friendly.
The software is available in desktop and mobile platforms, allowing you to create animation movies on the go. With this software, you can use your digital camera to blend your shots to the movies, and you can capture the videos in 4K.
Features:
Whether you use a desktop or mobile device, the same powerful movie-editing features are available. You can capture the perfect picture in 4K and use your digital camera freely. It gives you the perfect sound effects for your animation. It provides you the canvas that you can use to paint any images, graphics, or arts just like the real canvas. You can remove any unwanted objects on your movies easily.
Blender – Best 2D Animation Softwares
Blender is an open source 3D creation suite that you can use completely for free for your video animation projects.
Aside from creating 3D animations, it can also be used to create 2D animations. It has everything you need to create various types of animation videos, whether you need them for personal or commercial use. Lots of features are included to help create stunning animations for your project.
Features:
The rendering feature allows you to render great animation videos with the cutting-edge path tracer. Lots of modeling features are included, such as sculpting, curves, retopology, and more. This software has been used for various award-winning animation projects. There are lots of visual effects that you can apply with this software. You can blend between 2D and 3D concept designs using the Grease Pencil feature.
Toon Boom Harmony
Toon Boom Harmony is the industry-leading animation software that allows you to create 2D animations in your own terms.
Whether you are a student or a professional, this software has been there for more than 25 years to meet your animation creation needs. It offers all-in-one tools that allow you to create stunning animations from the drawing stage to the completed production stage.
Features:
It has the stylus responsiveness feature with great stabilizers to make drawing 2D images a breeze. You can draw accurately with the new rulers and guides. You can create lively animations by using tools like free form deformer, motion blur, RGB difference keyer, and more. There are some standard features you can use, such as traditional paperless animation, cut-out animation, 2D/3D integration, and more. You can export to MP4, mark frames, use animation presets, and more.
FlipAnim
FlipAnim is a simple online web-based flip animation creation software that allows you to create 2D flip animations easily.
On the official website, you can see the digital canvas for you to draw your flip animation page by page. Then, you can animate your drawings in a single click, and you can choose the speed of the animation as you prefer. It is designed to be simple and straightforward to use.
Features:
You can create simple flip animations with various drawing tools available for you. You can create directly on the web without signing up. You can change the settings of the animation according to your preferences. You can also check out the drawings that have been done by others. You can also color your drawings to make your flip animation even more colorful.
Moho Pro
Moho Pro provides a professional animation software that uses the cutting-edge animation technology to aid you in creating your best animation projects.
It is designed to be used by professional animators, which offers a better workflow to create their commercial projects. It includes all the built-in professional features that are needed to make the stunning 2D animation, along with various add-ons that you can install to the main software.
Features:
It features various professional tools to build the best characters for your animation, such as Smart Bones and Bone Constraints. It can be used along with Unity to provide 2D animations for games. You can import Photoshop files and integrate them to your project. It has the GPU acceleration and separate render process to create the best performance for your animation. You can also import and export HD media files with this software.
TupiTube – Best 2D Animation Softwares
TupiTube is a free animation software designed to be used by beginners to create their first animations from scratch.
It is available as desktop software and mobile apps, allowing you to start creating your 2D animation anywhere you go. It can be used by students and would-be animators to start learning about making 2D animations from the ground up.
Features:
It can be used to create simple animations to deliver your message to your audience. It has been used by kids and teenagers to learn to make 2D animations from scratch. It offers a beginner-friendly user interface. It has all the tools necessary for you to create 2D animations to express yourself. You can use it on smartphone, tablet, and desktop devices.
Official Website: https://www.maefloresta.com/
CelAction2D
CelAction2D is a professional animation software used by professional artists to create commercial animation projects.
This software has been used to create high quality 2D animations for TV commercials, TV series, and movies. It offers all the necessary tools to make the best animations for any commercial project. You can use this software as a single person, or you can collaborate with others to maintain a smooth workflow in your project.
Features:
It has ergonomic controls and offers an easy-to-use interface for professional animators. You can use both bitmaps and vectors simultaneously. You can keep the workflow of your project by collaborating with other animators. You can import and export any assets to your current project. You can configure the settings for the animations that you have created.
TVPaint Animation
TVPaint Animation is a computer-assisted animation software that allows you to create 2D animations with freedom, comfort, and flexibility.
It uses the bitmap technology that makes it easy for you to animate image by image with natural rendering. It gives you many features that can be used to create stunning and colorful 2D animations, merging your own creations with the computer-assisted technology. It also gives you lots of sound effects to put into your animations.
Features:
You can either create the basic drawings on paper or directly on the computer. It has the technology to assist you in coloring your drawings quickly. You can merge between animation characters and live action sequences. You can manage the sounds of your 2D animations to add various effects on it. There are various features that can speed up your workflow, such as sketch panel, stopwatch, repeat images, and more.
Synfig Studio – Best 2D Animation Softwares
Synfig Studio provides an open source desktop animation software that can be downloaded for Windows, MacOS, and Linux operating systems.
It offers you the necessary features that you can use in your animation creation, such as vector tweening, layers and filters, bones, and advanced controls. The cross-platform capability allows you to transfer assets between devices, even though they are on different operating systems.
Features:
You can control your vectors fully, and you are capable of transferring them into other shapes. More than 50 layers are available for you to make your animation more and more complex. You can create cutout animations using the bitmap technology and determine the bone settings for them. You have the advanced controls over various aspects of your 2D animations, giving you flexibility in your work. There are various layer types that you can use, such as transformations, distortions, geometric, and more.
Official Website
Spriter Pro
Spriter Pro is a software that can help you create 2D sprite animations for games.
There is a free version called Sprite, which offers features not as complete as the Pro version. Spriter Pro gives you various tools that can ease your task in creating sprites for any game, with all the heavy-load being taken care of by the software. With this software, you don’t need to deal with the nitty gritty of the sprite creation process.
Features:
It helps you polish your game arts and sprites quickly. It uses modules that make it easier for you to replace any part of your 2D sprites instead of replacing all the parts together in order to change it. Tweaking can be done very easily, making it even faster for you to test your game. You can also create unlimited variations for your characters using the automated tool provided in this software. You can control the images directly and make changes to them easily.
Cartoon Animator
Cartoon Animator is a 2D animation software that offers animation creation features for practical use. There are lots of things that you can do with this software, including animating images, create lip-sync animation, create 3D parallax scenes, and more. You can even insert the facial motion capture to make your animated characters to look like real people when they talk or express themselves. It helps boost your productivity in your animation projects.
Features:
This software is designed to boost your productivity in your animation production. You can capture facial motion and apply it to your animated character easily. You can use Wacom and PSD Tools to draw your characters and animate them with this software. You can easily transform static images into animated characters without any complex work to do. You can import and export the PSD files and use them directly with this software.
Official Website
Adobe Animate – Best 2D Animation Softwares
Adobe Animate is a software that allows you to create 2D animation as a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. It can be used to design animations for TV shows, games, or just for fun. You can publish your animations to any platform of your choice to reach your intended audience. This software is jam-packed with cool and great features that ensure you get the best tool to create stunning 2D animation for your project.
Features:
You can get Adobe Animate as a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. There are various features that you can use, such as fluid brushes, onion skinning, layer parenting, infographics, and more. You can publish your animation to any platform depending on your target audience. The Live Brushes allow you to draw your characters and make them come to live. There are many illustrations and animation tools you can use to create interactive content for web and mobile platforms, as well as mobile games and ads.
Official Website
Pencil2D Animation
Pencil2D Animation is a simple and minimalist animation software designed to keep you focused on drawing and creating 2D animation for your project. There are no complex buttons to click when you work on your project with this software. You can focus fully on what you are supposed to do, which is drawing and creating animations. This software can boost your productivity by minimizing distractions while you work on your animation project.
Features:
It is designed to give you the intuitive and easy-to-use tool to create hand-drawn animations. You can sketch, ink, and paint on the go by switching between raster and vector workflows. It is completely free to use, and it is available in multiple platforms. It has a minimalist and distraction-free user interface that helps you focus on the task at hand. It doesn’t require a powerful computer to run.
DP Animation Maker
DP Animation Maker is an affordable 2D animation software that allows you to turn any still images into moving scenes easily. Animating your images with this software won’t take too much effort on your part. It can be used for various purposes, whether personal or commercial. Various features are available to make it easier for you to draw your sketch and create animations in various different ways.
Features:
You can apply various effects on your images, such as creating an underwater effect, fire effect, or reflection effect. You can use standard packs and extension packs to give you the variety of objects to include in your animation. There are various brushes that you can use, such as fire brush, stream brush, wave brush, and so on. You can also include sounds and music in your animation easily. You can publish your 2D animation in various different formats based on your preferences.
Powtoon Video Maker
Powtoon Video Maker is the software that allows you to create stunning videos and animations for various purposes. You can use it for business presentations or any commercial projects that you have. With this software, you can easily captivate and engage your audience. With its easy and intuitive tools, you can create any videos or animations in just 20 minutes.
Features:
You can create up to 30 minutes animation videos depending on the plan that you choose. You can also get access to the cloud storage with different spaces according to your plan. You can get various assets, such as royalty-free music and royalty-free objects. You can publish your animation in various formats. You can also export your animation to YouTube and other platforms.
Animation Paper
Animation Paper is a software designed to create hand-drawn animations in an effortless and simple way. It has powerful tools and features that you can use to make your hand-drawn animation come to life, but it also has the simplicity and ease of use that makes it possible for you to work on your project quickly. With its uncluttered and distraction-free user interface, you can create any hand-drawn animation while keeping your focus on it until completion.
Features:
It has a simple and intuitive interface designed to help you work on your animation project smoothly. You can create layers and lasso for your animation. It works beautifully on a single monitor or two monitors. You can use important features such as high-quality lines, real-time smooth rotation, light table, X-sheet, and more. You can use your favorite functions in a single click with speed dial and customizable toolbar.
Wick Editor – Best 2D Animation Softwares
Wick Editor is a free and open source software that you can use to create animations, games, and other things related to it. You can use this tool directly on the web, and you can save your progress online. You can export and import assets for your animation projects easily using this software. You can create up to full HD animation videos with the framerate that you can set according to your preferences.
Features:
You can use various tools, such as brush, paint, rectangle, eclipse, line, and so on. You can use this software directly from any web browser. You can export and import assets or files easily. You can set the resolution and frame rate for your animation. You can create multiple layers and access the asset library from a single place.
Conclusion
Whether you are a beginner or a professional animator, it is necessary for you to have the best 2D animation software in place to help you work on your project. These are the recommended software for 2D animations that you should try. Some of them have open source license, meaning that you can install and use them completely for free.
