Top 5 2D ANIMATION SOFTWARES IN 2020

Animated videos are quite popular these days, Whether you are teaching a group of kids, showing employees how to do their job, introducing a new product, or trying to bring out an emotional reaction from your audience, 2D cartoon animation can be very useful.

 Regardless of whether you are a specialist or beginner, there are a lot of variations accessible without a need for animation aptitudes.

 Contingent upon the specific program, clients can animate some variety of 2D, 3D, hand-drawn or computer-generated illustrations, frequently with the choice to include music or extra impacts.

In this article, we give overview of the best 2D animation programs available in the market in 2020

1. Pencil2d

Pencil2D is a simple and spontaneous tool that helps you create 2D hand-drawn animations. It allows you to sketch ink and paint on the go

Pencil2D is entirely free of cost since it is an open-source software tool. You can access and download it online easily.

On top of that, it is decidedly user-friendly, making it a perfect tool even for beginners.

Features:

• Pencil2D is a cross-platform tool that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems.
• It can be used freely for commercial business.
• You can quickly review work using flipping or rolling techniques.
• This tool provides supports for TIFF format (Tagged Image File Format).
• You can import image as new layers on particular frames.’

PROS:

• One of the cheapest animation software tools in the market
• User-friendly and intuitive user interface
• Comes with in-depth tutorials to help you get started
• Minimal designing that lets you focus on the job at hand (animation)
• Website continually updates you with the latest news and information regarding the software
• Free access to a community of users to discuss problems, developments, and for brainstorming sessions

CONS:

• Must use separate layers for every image (similar to Photoshop, Anime Studio, Adobe Animate, Disney products, and Toon Boom Harmony)
• Not yet available for 3D animation
• Importing and exporting feature needs to be better

2. Synfig

Synfig is the best open-source 2D vector graphics and animation program. This software works on three OS platforms Windows, OSX, and Linux.

Synfig is one of the newest animation software. It is free and provides 2D animation. Moreover, it specializes in vector graphics solutions

The software is free and open to use by anyone. It mainly relies on donations from patrons to provide quality solutions.

Features:

• Supports multiple layers of content
• The bone system in the software allows for the creation of cutout animations from bitmap images
• Has sound support to allow for the addition and syncing of narration and/or music to the video

PROS:

•          Free animation software
•          Free video training for an in-depth understanding of the software in four languages, including English, French, and Dutch
•          A full-featured bone system that allows you to create cut-out animation using bitmap images or control vector artwork

CONS:

•          Difficult to grasp at first
•          Takes a lot of time to wrap your head around its functioning
•          The user-interface is not very intuitive

 

3. Flipbook

Flipbook is easy to use for beginners and pros who want to improve the editing experience. It is a powerful video editor that you can make 2D animation with various functions like syncing sound with animation, scanning cells and more.

If you like to make cartoon videos like a pro, this 2D animation maker is best for you. It is free to download.

Features:

• It allows you to customize the toolbar.
• You can insert and delete frames to remove time.
• Flipbook helps you to shoot your pencil test drawing by just clicking on the capture icon.
• You can add up to three soundtracks.
• It enables you to paint the scene in less time.
• You can use the number keys to determine the total number of frames you like to paint.

PRO: From drawing, scanning to sound, this 2D animation software can make use of powerful video.

CON: You can't use it to make subtle changing as bone rigging is not available.

4. Animate CC

Animate CC is a software application tool that helps you to design interactive bitmap and vector animations for games, apps, and the web. You can add action to info graphics and tutorials.

Features:

• One of the most advantage of this software is you can create new poses for vector images or figure.
• It enables you to arrange your layers in a parent-child hierarchy.
• It automatically matches mouth poses to voice inflections.
• You can export 360 VR animations.
• Export images with the right resolution by bypassing the image optimization and using image settings.

 PROS:

•          With Adobe Character Animator CC, you can create animations for the characters you have created on Photoshop CC or Illustrator CC.
•           With its facial and track recognition, using a cam and a microphone, you can use your face to animate the expressions of the character you are bringing to life.

5. BLENDER

Blender is a 2D computer graphics software application tool for developing visual effects, animated movies, games, and many more.

Blender is perfect for students. Although it is not very frequently used in a professional setting, it can be pretty useful for educational videos in smart classrooms that are VFX, and 3D enabled. Owing to its ‘game engine’ feature, you can use it to create games as well.

This tool allows you to import or export videos in MPEG, QuickTime, and AVI file formats.

Features:

• This tool Provides Python API for scripting and customization.
• You can customize shortcuts.
• It provides a path tracer for realistic rendering.
• Here you have multiple options for models either you can create, transform or edit your models.
• It helps in finding a real time preview of the 3D scene and tracked footage.
• Here you can change characters into impressive animations.

PROS:

•          Very user-friendly and intuitive interface
•          Offers high customization
•          Award-winning animation and rigging features
•          Integration with multiple pipeline tools, including Collada, Alembic, and more
•          It is compatible with Windows, Linux, and MacOS
•          In-depth tutorials to help you understand the working of the software

CONS:

•          A bit difficult for beginners to use
•          Steep learning curve

 

CONCLUSION

Creating a 2D animation video is a lot easier when you have the right software available to you. The market is full of different types of animation software. However, every business is different, and every individual has different requirements.

So you need to establish the exact nature and objective of your work when choosing your software. Simply put, you need to determine what you aim to achieve with your animation.

Finally, you may also want to take into account other things, like the price, complexity, ease of use, and customer support you require

For better marketing you can also take help of Animation company for creating complex animation for your business.