The traditional Indian “Puppet Show” played with mere strings and hand movements was a work of skillful performers. Nobody had thought then that those colorful puppet characters would someday become a household name when they are transformed into their new Avatars like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.
Inside the animation studios, the imaginations were tweaked to produce some incredible animation movies like Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, Nemo, Toy Story,.etc,and later with them joined the gaming industry.
The pool of animation enthusiasts is expanding, and they are tapping on each and every technique to enhance their skills. There are some best animation tools the beginners can use to march their journey towards a flourishing career.
The animations are segmented into the following categories
- 2D animation
- 3D animation
- Stop motion
- Cel animation
- Paint-on-glass animation
Out of all these 5 categories, the 2D, 3D, and stop motion animation are commonly used. For beginners, the following free and open-source tools are perfect to kick-start their career in the animation field.
List of free and open-source animation software
1) Blender
Blender includes production ready camera and object tracking. The tool enables you to import raw footage, track the footage, mask areas, and see the camera movements live in your 3D scene. It eliminates the need to switch between the programs. The tool is used for numerous short films, TV series, advertisements, and feature films now.
2) Synfig Studio
Synfig Studio is an open-source and free 2D animation software for macOS, Windows, and Linux operating systems. It offers some advanced features like vector tweening, layers and filtering,bone system for complex editing of bitmap images, etc. It’s majorly a 2D animation software but can add that minor 3D aesthetic to your animation. For beginners, the tool’s community forum can act as a learning guide as it provides a large library of documentation and video courses in multiple languages.
3) Pencil 2D
Pencil 2D is a simple tool with an easy-to-use interface. It makes this tool perfect for beginners. Pencil2D offers a number of features to make animation easy. The tool can seamlessly switch between raster and vector files.
4) OpenToonz
It is a mid-level 2D animation software for both beginners and experts. It is laced with a long list of features used for both commercial and non-commercial use. A new SDK developed by Dwango a plug-in effect for image processing and adding special effects.
5) Maefloresta Tupitube
Tupitube has a simplistic design and very easy to use UI for beginners. It also has a virtual assist feature to help with the animation process. The tool has all the basic features and was initially built for children to express their creativity. Tupitube can help create a range of animation features using advanced functions such as Rotoscoping and Stop-Motion animation.
6) GIMP
GIMP or GNU Image Manipulation Program has all features a software tool like Adobe Photoshop provides. Though it is a simple tool, it allows frame-by-frame editing and composition. GIMP provides many customization options and 3rd party plugins.
7) Krita
Krita recently released its latest version, "Krita 3.0". It enables you to do proper frame-by-frame animation, more layer actions, all sorts of playback speeds, onion skinning, on top of all of Krita’s existing paint tools. It is one of the most advanced painting and brushing software on the internet. The dockers and panels can be moved and customized for your specific workflow. The release of the newer version brings a complete makeover for the tool and is worth trying.
8) Adobe Animate
Adobe animate is supported by Adobe Sensei AI that turns any art into an animated character through your webcam. By using your webcam and microphone, Character Animator matches your expressions — from syncing lips to tracking eyes — to animate in real-time. The movements of characters can be saved as buttons, so they’re easier to remember than key commands. It integrates seamlessly with other Adobe apps like Premiere Pro and After Effects.
There are also premium versions of animation tools that are loaded with more advanced features like advanced vector/bitmap drawing technology, advanced masking option, work on one or multiple frames at a time, and so on. As the beginners would progress in their careers and will work on high-end projects, they may need this premium animation software.
List of premium animation software
- Moho (Anime Studio) - Free trial available, ( $69.99 -$399.99)
- DigiCel FlipBook - Free version with a watermark ( $19.99 -$199.99)
- Stop Motion Studio - ( $1.99- $9.99 depending on O.S)
- Cartoon Animator 4 - Free trial available, ( $99 -$199)
- Adobe Character Animator- Free trial available, ( $19.99 -$52.99)
- Toon Boom Harmony- Free trial available (€41 -€400)