Top 10 Best Animation Software on the Market

1. Anime Studio Debut 10

Not only is this version of Anime Studio considered a top pick for the best animation software, but it’s also considered one on the best for beginners. If you’re new to animation, this is a great choice to start out on. It’s 2D and comes with a great tutorial that walks you through it step by step. You can digitally download it and install it very easily. One of the coolest things about this pick for best animation software is that you can lip-sync and provide soundtracks for characters and objects. It even has a pitch tool to adjust the sound of your voice.

2. Adobe Animate

This is one of the most popular pieces of animation software and continues to be one of the best animation software programs available. It’s been around for a while and it’s come a long way. With it, you can tag colors with a specific names, which saves a lot of time and frees you up creatively, whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced user. It’s also very affordable and cloud based, making it one of the most accessible programs to animate with. By choosing Adobe Animate, you’re setting yourself up for success.

3. Toon Boom Harmony

You really are in the driver’s seat when you’re using Toon Boom Harmony for 2D animation projects, but it helps you out a lot along the way. It’s incredibly intuitive when it comes to frame-by-frame sketching or keyframe animation. It animates the steps alongside your actions in a way that’s fluid and progresses with ease. Their bone-rigging feature is particularly remarkable, making your character’s movements look natural. Of course, if you don’t want to make them look natural for any reason, you can do that too.

4. Serif Draw Plus

If you’re animating on a tight budget, but don’t want to sacrifice functionality or quality, Draw Plus is a great choice. It’s comparable to Adobe Animate, but much cheaper. One of the only drawbacks is that it is more limited in terms of photo editing versus its competitors, but that may not be a feature that’s critical to your projects. Ultimately, this is a good choice for those who are fans of what Adobe Animate has to offer, but need to cut a few corners.

5. Moho Pro Animation Software

This pick boasts the most powerful 2D rigging system, mixing it with traditional animation tools. In terms of efficiency, this is a great choice. Some of the features that make this so great to use include exceptionally professional physics, motion tracking, and 64-bit architecture. The latest version, Moho 12 2D, has new features like enhanced freehand drawing tools and bezier handles, allowing you to create unique line bends with fewer points. This is huge for animation!

6. Blender

Blender is free to use and open source so it’s constantly evolving as a program. It’s amazing just how much you can do with this free program. It has all the trimmings of what you’d want in your animation software —modeling tools, VFX, rigging, and an unbiased path tracer engine that’s built in.

7. Houdini

If you produce content in a variety of applications, Houdini can bring it all together. It’s very precise and able to be customized to suit your preferences. It’s known for building highly complex gas volumes aka clouds, so if that’s what of your go-tos, this is the program for you. In general, the rendering model is top notch, delivering extremely high quality for the animator.

8. Pencil 2D

We are amazed at what you can do with this free program this year. It’s open-source so it’s constantly evolving. Ultimately, it’s a digital sketchbook that delivers. That’s what makes it stand out among the other free animation software options. With it, you can add unlimited layers containing raster, vector and sound as you’d like. You can also set the frames independently. There is a bit of a learning curve with this choice for best animation software, so expect to read up and play around with it before taking full flight.

9. Dragonflame

This top-notch animation software comes with a keypad, providing quick access to its most important functions. It’s designed for efficiency and accuracy across the board. You can animate with tools like onion skin, toggling, and looping seamlessly, making post production a breeze. It aligns with your ultimate animation vision, turning your dreams into a reality in your animation.

10. Autodesk Maya

This 3D software has the absolute deepest tool-set for artists and designers to work with. Consider it an arsenal really. The latest edition includes improved channel handling and several new nodes to work with. In addition, its API allows companies to completely rework it to fit their tool-set and workflow, making it one of the most able to be customized. This is huge when it comes to efficiency and orchestration.

Why Choosing the Best Animation Software Matters

Video has to be a central component of any marketing strategy online in terms of SEO, impact, and conversions. The best way to ensure that the investment will pay off is to first start with consideration to quality and efficient of its production. The online video boom shows no sign of stopping any time soon and what you’re creating will continue to matter. 6 out of 10 YouTube subscribers agree that the content they’re consuming by creators influences their overall view on a company. Working in tandem with a company that knows video creation and marketing inside and out can make a big difference in the impact of your investment. VivaMedia is full service when it comes to the production and promotion of great videos for all types of companies. We encourage you to explore some of our recent work and if you like what you see, contact us for a free quote. We want to help you make the most of your video marketing.