Microsoft PowerPoint — the underutilized tool.

Animation right at the finger tips of many people is at the increase with the hike in the creation of many application softwares by savvy application developers and software engineers.
Of all animation softwares out there, an average animator will never put Powerpoint on his list. This is because it is conventionally believed that the Microsoft Powerpoint was only created for presentations at board meetings, lecture rooms, public speeches, seminars and the likes.
The Microsoft PowerPoint is a standard part of the Microsoft Office suite among the likes of other application softwares such as Excel, Access, OneNote, Outlook and other publisher applications.
It was originally designed by designed in April, 1987 by Robert Gaskin and Dennis Austin at Forethought,Inc. It was then developed for the new upcoming personal computers (mostly for Macintosh), for their graphics user interface. It was later bought after three months by Microsoft for $14 million.
The Microsoft Powerpoint in its entirety has been subjected to many changes over the years and till present. This makes the user to extend its usage beyond the use of its slide template, but also in the use of their explainer videos, logo designs and other artistic concepts.
For example, the basic shape at the main ribbon of the tab is perhaps the unutilized part of the software by any user who wants to birth is idea (or concept) into reality. The effective and intelligent use of these shapes if used well can be used to create animated characters as shown below. This makes the software user-friendly and does not require crucial expertise in animation in using it.

Beside the use of the basic shapes is the colour background graphics -template. There are beautiful templates which every user can relate which ease workability without racking one’s brain. The template is incorporated with a default font style which is mainly Calibri (or Calibri Light). Font styles can be changed Times New Romans, Gothic, Sans Serifs just to mention but a few.

Another undiscovered features of the PowerPoint is the use of effects, entrance and exit of characters in making rigging. This is done by the combination of series of effect provided on the design bar. This make the whole animation lively and unstoic. See a character rigging designed by me below using PowerPoint.

Although, most application software effects used in explainer videos are similar to PowerPoint, only that they are already being programmed by such developers. One uniqueness of Powerpoint over some of the animation softwares is the flexibility in modification of effects and character rigging.
It would be no doubt that in years to come Microsoft Powerpoint will be in the race with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Animakers, Powtoon just to mention but a few.