The animation industry is rapidly evolving. Similarly, the consumption of videos is also increasing over time. To match this increasing demand, brands need professional animation software to create high-quality animated videos that drive engagement quickly. It also helps professionals who want to do their job more efficiently.
Hundreds of free and paid 2D animation software help with professional video animation. If you are looking for a few options so that you can create animated videos on your own, we have shortlisted some of the most useful software you can try.
Best Free 2D Animation Software
1. Animaker
Animaker is one of the most powerful 2D animation software that helps with professional-level animation. You can choose from any paid or free plans to get started.
Features:
- Millions of stock photos and videos with the 2D editor.
- Multiple video styles.
- Styles like a whiteboard, 2D animation, 2.5D, and handcraft to choose from.
- Thousands of pre-built templates with paid plans.
- Free sound effects.
- HD quality videos.
2. Pencil 2D
Ideal for animation artists looking for a simple 2D animation tool to make hand-drawn animations for videos. The best part about the Pencil 2D is that it costs nothing for such unique features.
Features:
- Easy to use with minimal design.
- Switch between vector and raster, along with sketching with ink and paint.
- Cross-platform tools for windows, Linux, FreeBSD, and macOS.
3. Cartoon Animator 4 (Crazytalk Animator)
Formerly known as CrazyTalk Animator, it is a popular 2D animation software that helps learning and production. A free trial is available for the software.
Features:
- Turn images into animated characters, and control expressions.
- Lip-sync generation in animated form.
- 3D parallax scenes and 2D visual effects.
- Smart IK Motion Editing.
- 360-head creation with character templates for humans and animals.
- Photoshop pipeline to turn photoshop layers into characters.
- Animation for video creators.
4. Synfig
Synfig Studio is an open-source 2D animation software that helps create an impactful 2D animation of the highest quality.
Features:
- Complete control of your vector artwork.
- More than 50 layers to create animation.
- Advanced control for creating characters, expressions, and dynamic structures.
- Full-featured bone system.
5. Powtoon
With 100s of video templates and advanced animation features, Powtoon is famous for its 2D animation video maker software. However, unlike expensive video animation tools, it has all the elements you need for professional animation.
Features:
- Custom styles and free templates to choose from.
- Multiple file formats and PDF export.
- Complete video animation.
- Stripped-down free tool for videos up to 3 minutes long.
6. Blender
Blender is a professional software for 2D animated graphics that helps with exceptional visual effects, graphics for games, and animated videos. You can create characters with unique avatars.
Features:
- Customized shortcuts.
- Path tracing for rendering.
- Real-time preview of the 3D graphics.
- Python API for customization.
- Models can be edited and transformed.
7. OpenToonz
Based on the popular software Toonz, OpenToonz is an open-source 2D animated software customized by Studio Ghibli. It is ideal for both professional and personal use.
Features:
- A wide range of cool effects for animation.
- Open source platform.
- The 2D animation tool is free and compatible with vector and raster images.
- Plug-in enabled better effects.
Detailed Blog:
8. KRITA
One of the best animation software with all the essential tools you need for world-class animation. Krita has been updating its tools with every version.
Features:
- Drawing assistant to create perfect shapes.
- Layer management with vector, filter, and flattened layer to stay organized.
- Select and transform designs.
- OpenGL Enhanced with PSD support
- with OCIO and OpenEXR support, you can manipulate the view to examine HDR images.
- Powerful API for creating your widgets
9. Moho
Moho is a comprehensive 2D animation software for creating professional-looking animation. It also provides a 30-day free trial.
Features:
- Drawing tools for rigging and animation.
- It allows you to draw directly inside the software
- Work with kinematics and automatic squash or stretch bones,
- Create animated characters in minutes.
10. TupiTube
Ideal for beginners, TupiTube is an open-source 2D animation software compatible with all devices. It is very popular among animation students.
Features:
- Hand-drawn animation.
- Rotoscoping and Stop-Motion animation.
- Tools for vector illustration, tweening of functions, and colors.
- Library panel for files.
11. Stykz
A perfect 2D animation software for stick figures. Stykz works well for beginners and professionals.
Features:
- Support for STK files.
- Multi-platform animation tools.
- Frame-based tool for customization.
- Compatible with Mac OS X and Windows.
12. Animation Paper
Animation Paper is ideal for 2D animation and is one of the best free software with plenty of unique features.
Features:
- Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux,
- Minimalistic and intuitive design.
- Intuitive shortcuts for zooming and rotating between the draw and erase modes.
2D Animation Video for your business?
Final Words
These are our top 12 choices for creating 2d animations suitable for both beginners and professionals. However, you must have a required feature list before purchasing paid software for animated video creations. Therefore, make sure you research well before starting with one of the options available.
