Best Animation Software for Windows – Small companies and freelance artists can now use animation Software to produce professional quality animations from their home computers.
It can be fun to make your own animated movies and voice the cartoon characters you make. The Software available here include the best 2D and 3D animation Software from each category. It allows you to use tools of various formats, take advantage of the image animation tool and many other features, while you can create a great animation using the different tools they offer.
There are animation Software available online that are not only completely free but are equally effective and competent . These free animation Software alternatives will do well for any animation projects you want to do.
Turn your ideas into reality using these best free animation software for Windows users.
Top 5 Best Animation 2D Software for Windows
1. Pencil
Pencil is a free open source animation Software that helps you create 2D animation effortlessly . It is the easiest and most versatile animation Software in the 2D category and offers some of the stunning features at no additional cost. It lets you unleash your creativity with simple yet innovative tools and colorful 2D graphics.
Although its interface looks extremely simple, it contains all the important tools offered by some of the paid programs in this category. It supports both bitmap and vector images.
Some of the other features offered by Pencil include frame rate, importing audio and images, adding color and more. This program also helps you export your graphics in .FLV, Flash Video (SWF), video and many other formats.
- It’s lightweight and easy to use, so you can focus on your animation.
- You can draw, ink and paint on the go, seamlessly switching between raster and vector workflows.
- Pencil2D is cross-platform and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD.
- Pencil2D is completely open source and free even for commercial uses.
2. Synfig Studio
Synfig Studio is a free, open-source and multiplatform Pencil-like animation Software that lets you create 2D animations . However, the key difference between the two is that Syncrip comes with a sharp learning curve due to its avant-garde features and excellent results that you can definitely achieve once you master it using its professional grade tools.
The Software interface is divided into four separate windows: the editing window, the navigation window, the parameters window, and the tools window. Once you have the skills to use features efficiently, you can create high-quality cartoons , animations and movies. It is based on vector and bitmap technique.
You can convert any vector shape to another. Synfig offers powerful tools for full control over your vector images. Just set the key positions and the tween frames will be calculated automatically.
Synfig provides more than 50 layers to create images and animations of any complexity. Choose from a variety of layer types: geometric, gradients, filters, distortions, transforms, fractals, and more.
Synfig allows you to create cutout animation or control your vector artwork using bitmap images. Use an additional layer of Skeleton Distortion to apply complex distortions to the bitmap image .
You can link the parameters of the various layers directly or with mathematical expressions. This allows you to create advanced character puppets and other dynamic structures.
3. Creatoon
Creatoon is an extremely user-friendly, simple and intuitive animation Software that allows you to create 2D animations suitable for the day, as well as add a few special effects . The interface may not seem quite simple and up-to-date, but the software can perform some complex tasks with remarkable results.
Provides menus on each side of the workspace for quick access to key features. The interface is not customizable, but it is properly arranged so that the project is clearly visible throughout the process. It lets you specify the frame rate per second along with the height and width, while also choosing the format of the project file.
What’s more, you can add special effects to your animation using Creatoon, easily record the actions yourself or let it auto-save every 5 minutes. You even have the option to customize the drawing tool and act accordingly.
Overall, Creatoon is software that lets you effortlessly create animations with advanced features that make it a great solution even for beginners.
4. Plastic Animation Paper
One of the best 2D animation software, Plastic Animation Paper gives you sophisticated and powerful tools to turn your ideas into beautiful cartoons and animations in 2D and for free. This Software has been created for expert animators who need a quick and compelling solution, as well as intuitive and extremely easy to work with.
Plastic Animation Paper lets you manage your quick sketch movements, rough sketches and the area you animate. It gives you real-time suggestions and an easy process that helps you quickly analyze your concepts for a specific action.
Its key features include the sketch area, which includes adding color to sketches, adjusting the frame rate, zooming in and out, adding music and more. After you finish drawing, you can save them in AVI, PNG, TGA, GIF and other different formats. While this software is available for Mac OS X and as an iPad app, it can be downloaded for free for Windows PC.
5. Stykz
Stykz is completely free software that lets you make impressive 2D animations . It supports all major operating systems including Mac, Linux and Windows. The full version is completely free to download and offers many useful tools to help you create amazing animations in a user-friendly interface.
Stykz is completely free to create animations that you can show to others or import into other applications. Stykz is the first multiplatform stick figure animation Software so you can use Mac OS X and Windows to create, edit and preview your animations.
If you’ve used Pivot StickFigure Animator before, you’ll feel right at home working with Stykz. Since it is designed to be a superset of Pivot’s feature set, you will see similarities to Pivot as well as extra features that Stykz has to offer.
Stykz also imports Pivot 2 and Pivot 3 Beta .stk files so you can use your existing .stk files you created or download one from websites like Droidz.org or DarkDemon.org.
Stykz is frame based and lets you work on individual frames to get your animation right. Onionskins lets you see what happened in the previous frame, so you can easily adjust your current frame.
An animation Software that helps you develop, edit and preview your creations.
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6. OpenToonz
This animation Software is made for beginners. It is among the best 2D animation Software on the market . You can use plug-in effects to change the image style, add light and distort details. It only offers support for Windows 7/8/10 operating systems and 64-bit.
Properties:
- You can add temporary colors to make your animation more colorful.
- Smooth trimming without frame loss.
- Compatible with no black and white, color or binary scanning.
6 Best 3D Animation Software for Windows
1. Blender
Blender is a free and open source 3D creation Software. Blender is one of the most popular free animation Software for many expert animation makers, video game professionals, scientists, students, VFX professionals and studio artists . It is open source software under constant development and it helps you to create 3D animations completely free of charge.
Although it requires a steep learning curve for beginners and it will take time, if you manage to use even 50% of their functionality, the results will be outstanding. Blender offers tools for lighting, modelling, animation and video post-conversion, and more. It also runs on most operating systems such as Linux, Mac OS X and Windows with cross-platform functionality.
To achieve smooth performance, it uses OpenGL in the interface.
2. Aurora 3D Animation Maker
Aurora 3D Animation Maker, one of the widely used animation packages worldwide, offers a wide variety of features to develop seamless animation effects in your movie. You can add your own watermarks or logos to your videos with special effects, while adding really cool special effects to your captured pictures and movies using its user-friendly interface.
Not only that, it also allows you to turn your text into a super 3D animation that highlights your writing while you’re creating your web pages or editing a video . You can also manage all aspects of your animation including its duration and playback rate. Using Aurora 3D you can apply attractive effects such as fireworks, snowfall, flames and more, or use Cubic, Quadruple, Linear, etc. to add movements such as bending and splashing. You can also apply motion effects such as
When you’re done with your animation creation and ready to embed on your website, Aurora 3D gives you the option to export to Flash (Windows), GIF or Video formats.
The software offers a free trial period, so you can try most of its great features at no cost during this timeframe.
3. Clara.io
Clara.io is a full-featured cloud-based 3D modeling and animation tool that runs in your web browser .
With Clara.io you can make complex 3D models, create beautiful photorealistic images and share them without installing any software.
This is the perfect Three.JS or Babylon.JS editor for creating and manipulating your web game content.
Clara.io is a fully functional cloud-based software that helps to perform 3D animation, modeling and all operations for free. It is a web-based tool that does not require any plugins to run in your browser.
Clara helps you import your files in over 30 3D formats like Collada.
Clara has a huge library of photorealistic material that offers simple yet advanced materials with super fast adjustable lighting setting. It is a cross-platform tool that works with the majority of browsers and operating system, including Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, iOS and Windows.
Its galleries, which have a large number of 3D models and an interactive option with the help of jQuery, allow you to easily share your design. In addition, Clara allows multiple users to edit simultaneously with one license.
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4. DAZ Studio
Daz Studio is a 3D art creation software platform that lets you dynamically render, animate and create creations with the help of a huge library of ever-growing content. Powerful, functional and free, Daz Studio is used by beginners and professionals to create stunning, rich and high-resolution 3D art.
Daz Studio is an extremely user-friendly, impressive and 3D animation creation Software. But it also comes packed with rich features and functions. Whether you are an amateur animation maker or an experienced user, DAZ Studio is the right choice for you. It allows you to create a free account after registration.
Overall, it’s a great 3D animation Software that requires a steep learning curve . It is extremely useful for professional projects and is a free download for Mac and Windows.
5. Terragen
Terragen, a completely free Software that you can download and install on all Windows computers and tablets, is the ideal Software for creating the 3D animations and environments you want. If you want a photo-realistic CG environment, using Terragen is the best way to do it.
Instantly unleashing the imagination, Terragen Creative is the only tool you want to consider. You can use it to make beautiful landscapes.
For advanced tools, you can choose FBX to animate quickly. The featured image gallery on its homepage will provide a deep understanding of the end result you can achieve with Terragen.
6. Bryce
Bryce is an award-winning, fun, feature-packed 3D modeling and animation Software that allows novice users to quickly create and edit stunning 3D animations . Bryce combines exceptional ease of use and exceptional power with an innovative interface.
Bryce isn’t exactly a regular animation Software. It has been developed to enable novice users to create and present their amazing 3D design in minutes.
Draw on scenes and more using the DAZ Studio character component. You can add these effects on landscape, rocks, water, clouds, vegetation, sky, fog and composition.
The free version of Bryce offers limited features; However, the pro version offers unlimited functionality. You can download it for Mac and Windows for now.
7. Anim8or
Anim8or is a free 3D design and animation app for anyone interested in the basics of 3D. It won’t give you a feature like 3D Studio Max or Maya, but it does offer the basic level tools. Beginners to animate will love this Software.
The Software does not require installation and thus can be easily transported. However, it cannot be considered as an alternative to any “professional” 3D application, as it has many important features of algae. On the other hand, it can be a free solution for all your 3D needs if you don’t do big jobs.
8. Seamless3d
Seamless3d is open source 3D modeling software and is available to everyone under the MIT license.
It is a very powerful and practical 3d modeling software for anyone who wants to make quality 3d animated content for the web .
Seamless3d 3d modeling software , custom images, videos, or if you want to create an animated 3D character animation works are among the best tools.
It supports FFmpeg video format so you can use AVI, MP4 and more.