30 Best Animation Software for Beginners in 2024
30 Best Animation Software for Beginners in 2024
Nothing beats animated visuals when it comes to engaging an audience. Even in social media, animated visuals are the most shared form of content.
You may have heard about some of the best animation software, like Blender, Visme, Adobe animate, Autodesk Maya, etc. But if you are a beginner looking to start animation, choosing the right one may take time and effort.
That is why we at Essence Studios assigned our team of professional video editors to create an ultimate list of the best animation software for beginners in 2024.
Below is our mega list of 30 animation software you can use as a beginner. Make sure to read till the end for some pro tips on selecting the right software for yourself.
Best Animation Software for Beginners in 2024 (Free and Paid)
Adobe Animate
Adobe Animate (formerly known as Flash) has been the industry standard for vector animation for over 20 years. As an expert animator at Essence Studios, I highly recommend Adobe Animate for beginners looking to get into 2D animation and motion graphics.
Some of the key features that make Animate a top choice for new animators include:
- Easy to use timeline for frame-by-frame animation: Animate has an intuitive timeline and layer structure that is easy for beginners to understand. You can easily add, remove, and edit frames on the timeline.
- Vector and raster drawing tools: You can create clean vector artwork and animation in Animate, as well as incorporate bitmap images. This makes it versatile for creating a range of 2D animation styles.
- Animation tools like tweening and shape tweens: Tools like motion tweens and shape tweens help automate your animation process and save a lot of time. Just set up a few keyframes and let Animate handle the in-betweens.
- Interactive web content and HTML5 support: With Animate you can create interactive animations, games, ads, and more for the web. Animate publishes natively in HTML5.
- Seamless integration with other Adobe apps: Animate works seamlessly with other Adobe programs like Photoshop and After Effects for an efficient animation workflow. Share assets across programs.
- Large animation community and resources: As an industry leader, Animate has a wealth of training resources and a large community to help guide beginners.
Pros:
- Intuitive timeline and layers for frame-by-frame animation
- Vector and raster drawing tools
- Animation tools like tweening and shape tweens
- Interactive web content and HTML5 support
- Integration with other Adobe apps
- Large animation community and resources
- Lower learning curve for beginners
Cons:
- More limited for advanced 2D rigging and techniques compared to Toon Boom or TVPaint
- Subscription pricing model can get expensive
- Occasional bugs or glitches that need troubleshooting
- Less powerful for 3D animation
- Can feel overwhelming for complete beginners due to dense interface
Toon Boom Harmony
Toon Boom Harmony should be on every beginner animator’s radar for its premium 2D rigging and cut-out animation tools. I highly recommend test-driving Harmony’s unique animation workflow.
Some standout features of Harmony include:
- Cut-out rigging and puppeting: Harmony makes rigging cut-out characters intuitive with built-in rigging tools. Just drag and drop to swap out mouth or eye shapes.
- Easy walk cycles and movements: Harmony has specialized tools like the auto-patch and peg nodes that make setting up walk cycles and movements much easier. Less repetitive work compared to frame-by-frame.
- Traditional frame-by-frame tools: Underneath the rigging, Harmony still provides an excellent frame-by-frame workflow for hand-drawn animation. onion skinning, drawing tools, and clean timeline.
- Team collaboration: Built-in asset sharing, pipelines, revision history and team collaboration tools make it easy to work on productions with others.
- Seamless animation workflow: Switch easily between cut-out rigging to frame-by-frame drawing within the same scene. Flexibility is a major plus.
- Integrated workflow: Like Animate, Harmony integrates with other Toon Boom apps for animation, storyboarding, and effects. Shared assets and timeline.
Pros:
- Cut-out rigging and puppeting tools
- Easy walk cycles and movement with auto-patch
- Traditional frame-by-frame animation workflow
- Built-in team collaboration tools
- Seamless switching between workflows
- Integration with other Toon Boom apps
Cons:
- Higher learning curve than Animate
- Subscription pricing model makes it more expensive
- Some tools like auto-patch can be “too automatic” at times
- Advanced features can be overwhelming for complete beginners
- Not as strong for publishing interactive web content