Edited by Nataly Bogorad

• Top Ten Free 2d Animation Software
• Top 2d Animation software, free download
• Best Free Animation Software

1. List of 5 best free 2D animation software for Windows. 2D animation is one of the oldest form of animation, it is created when multiple drawing frames are represented one after another to create an animation. There are many different methods available for making 2D animation.
2. Mar 09, 2019  If you are new to the world of 2D animation as a beginner and want to be a professional animation maker, you will be interested in our review of the top 10 free download 2D animation software options that may prove useful to you. Part 1: Best Free 2D Animation Software for Beginners; Part 2: Best Professional 2D Animation Software.

Jan 18, 2018  Here are 20 best free animation software for Mac, Linux, and Windows Computer with 64 bit and 32-bit versions. Top Best 2D Free Animation Software for Mac, Windows, Linux Computer Pencil2D. Pencil2D is a free 2d animation program for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. With this drawing software, you can create traditional hand-drawn animation.

Jul 19, 2017  To work on this software, you need some prior practice and knowledge about the animation tools. So watch some tutorials about Crazytalk animator before getting into this tool. Spine is one of the Best Free 2D Animation Software. Artists, game developers, 2D animators can handle this software more easily than beginners. With the innumerable availability of the animation tools, the Stykz is the powerful and best free 2D animation software for all operating systems- windows, Mac and Linux. The tools of this software are very easy to use and thus you can animate your project with affordability. Top 10: Best 2D Animation Software. If you are looking for the best 2D animation software, you came to the right place. We compiled a few 2D animation software for beginners and professionals available in the market, to lead you through the process of choosing the right one.

April 2, 2019

If you are looking for the best 2D animation software, you came to the right place. We compiled a few 2D animation software for beginners and professionals available in the market, to lead you through the process of choosing the right one. If you want to start in the animation world or just want to try another software, you certainly will find the one that fits your needs on our list.

2D Animation Software for Beginners and Professionals

This top 10 doesn’t follow a particular order, each program has their own good and not-so-good features, advantages, and disadvantages that make it special in a particular way. We recommend you to read every one and make your choice at the end of the article. Every software listed here can be used by professionals and beginners because the learning curve is not that hard and some have advanced features that professionals can use.

Toon Boom Harmony

This is the “good for everyone” kind of software. It’s a good 2D animation software for beginners and a powerful tool in the hands of a professional. Used by Disney, Pixar, and Warner Bros, this program has the ability to be one of the most advanced without being too complicated for a new developer. The Princess and the Frog, the Disney movie, was made using this program, so we can say it’s one of the biggest names in the animation world.

The amount of tools and options available in Harmony makes it one of the best 2D animation software. It offers a full range of properties for pencils and brushes, so you can draw directly into the program with your mouse or your Wacom tablet. Harmony allows you to use a traditional frame-to-frame animation or the cut-out. There are other available features such as camera angles, post-production special effects, and vector drawing. It also has an incredible lip-syncing feature to match the voice with the animations.

CelAction2D

CelAction is another program used by a vast group of animation studios and professionals. Powerful but easy to learn, this animation program offers a wide range of options that can make the learning process a little bit easier. You can use vector and bitmaps simultaneously, customize your workspace and it allows you to create both simple and massively complex projects.CelAction2D works in both Windows and Mac, so you aren’t limited to use a particular OS. Its performance and the way the program simplify some complex projects supplement its lack of drawing tools, so that’s why this software is still on the top ranking.

Moho (Anime Studio) Pro

If you want to begin in the animation world, but doesn’t have the money for a super advanced animation program, Moho is the right choice. But don´t get me wrong: Moho is one of the best 2D animation software out there. It’s one of the most popular in the animation world among beginners, due to its features and price. Smart Bones is one of that features: it helps to reduce or completely remove any distortion around elbows, knees or any joint of your animation. This tool simplifies some process that can take much longer to perform in another program.If you want to learn animation, Moho will help you out, and you can give it a try for free with its free trial.

Stop Motion Studio

2D animation without actual animation, that’s Stop Motion Studio. The fourth of the programs on our list allows you to create beautiful stop-motion animations easily and quickly, without complicated software or previous knowledge. You can plug your DSLR and take the pictures with the program, taking full control of all the settings in the camera. Also, you can add text, themes, colors, and drawings to your stop motion animation. The Stop Motion Studio is available for Mac and Windows.

Synfig

Synfig is an open source, free 2D animation software with the power of a professional one. Available for Windows, Linux, and Mac, this program can make beautiful animations in an easy and fast way. The community behind this animation program is one of the best, with hundreds of tutorials and videos to learn from.

Top Ten Free 2d Animation Software

It was designed to look like and work similar to Flash, so if you had to use it in the past, you will quickly learn the workspace. Remember, this program is totally free, so it’s one of the best animation programs, to begin with. If you have years of experience or you are just starting out, Synfig may be the perfect tool that you are looking for. Give it a try.

Opentoonz

IOpentoonz is another open source, free 2D animation software. This one was used by Studio Ghibli to make the world famous Princess Mononoke, and it’s quite powerful. The “open source” part means that you can download it for free to try it and, if you like it, you can use it as long as you want. The toolset has a lot of features that you can find in the more professional software on the market.

Opentoonz combines traditional drawing with 2D animation. You can scan your drawings to start animating it.The Opentoonz launch day was a bit messy, but the recent updates from some of the community developers and some changes made by the community itself achieved great results in the stability of the program.

Tupi

Tupi is a free 2D animation software created in 2002 by two animators to incentive the animation in Latin America. It’s free and open source, so you can download it at any moment to try it and see if you like it. The interface is one of the simplest existents in this kind of software and it's quite easy to learn, so you won't face any trouble using it. Tupi allows you to create an animation frame by frame and cut-out flash style with tweening. The community is growing every day, so you can find a lot of video tutorials to learn the basics of the software. Is available to download in Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Pencil2D

Pencil2D, another open source and free to use animation software, is one of the most powerful 2D animation software existent. This program uses a minimalist-style workspace, created to avoid distractions from the main animating window. Is focused on traditional frame-by-frame animation so every frame is made from scratch. It comes with a manual to learn how to use the program adequately. If you still think it’s a bit difficult, there are a few tutorials on its official website.

It’s a good alternative for those who like the traditional frame by frame animation, and the growing community is completely supportive, so if you find any bug or problem with your program, you can consult the community. It’s completely multi-platform, so you can download it for Windows, Linux, and Mac. The program is lightweight and doesn’t use large amounts of ram, so almost any computer can handle it.

FlipBook

FlipBook is an animation software for actual artists. If you enjoy drawing and you’ve always wanted to create your own Disney-like cartoon, this software will suit you well. FlipBook allows you to import pictures from your scanner. On the other hand, this program is not built around bones animation technology, that’s why you’ll have to animate everything manually. But this is not a problem for someone who’s great at drawing.

Spriter Pro by BrashMonkey

Unlike the previous mention, Sprinter Pro uses bones technology. You just upload the pieces of the character’s image, place them in the right positions, and animate it piece by piece. The program allows you to do animation really fast, which is useful if you want to keep up with the trends. The software has video guides for you to get a better understanding of how it works, and it’s also available on Steam! However, the program may seem quite pricy.

That’s the end of the list. We hope that you give a try at least to one of the 2D animation software listed here because each one has something valuable to offer. It doesn’t matter if you are starting today, in the learning process, or a professional with years of experience, this list gives you a software that will most likely satisfy your needs.

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Today we’re sharing 10 best 2D and 3D free animation software for Windows operating system. This list best animation software for beginners as well as power users is compiled after a lot of research. Animation has often played a significant part in all our lives at some point or the other. Whether you grew up watching Mickey Mouse, Tom & Jerry, or Doraemon, you have experienced the world of animation and enjoyed it to the fullest.

The journey for animation begun with cartoon series and eventually led to the films and video games. Today, the same animation technology is helping filmmakers globally to create marvels like the 2009 epic film Avatar using best animation software. Such an evolution of animation technology has increased the demand for professional animators globally. However, an animator’s job requires precision and quality along with the best animation software. Hence, an animator gears up with a high quality and best animation software to develop such precision and quality work.

To help animator, I have sorted a list of free animation software for Windows. The first section will feature the best 2D free animation software for Windows. And, the second section will have best 3D free animation software.

Page Contents

• Best 2D Free Animation Software for Windows
• Best 3D Free Animation Software for Windows

Best 2D Free Animation Software for Windows

1. DigiCel FlipBook

DigiCel FlipBook is the simple and clear-cut free animation software to create amazing animation projects as well as use the program to train aspiring animators too. This tool is also easy to use and anyone pursuing animation as a career option can quickly learn to use this program. The program is ideal for creating animated movies in no time. This is the best animation software for beginners to get started.

Price: Free (with watermark) & $19.99 (without watermark)

2. Toon Boom Animation

Toon Boom Animation is the best tool for highly advanced 2D animation projects. This is a free animation software for Windows with mega designing and advanced development projects. Toon Boom is designed to help the gaming designers and developers. It lets animators explore their ideas to perfection. It’s a complete one-stop solution for animation projects.

Also Read:List of 12 best online video editing tools

Price: Starts from $9 per month (Free Trial Available)

3. Animation Paper

Animation Paper is considered as an ideal free 2D animation software for professional and experienced animators. Although highly advanced, Animation Paper is quite easy to understand and very simple to work with. You can explore your ideas with Animation Paper and try to bring those ideas to life. Bundled with amazing features and functionalities, Animation Paper is undoubtedly one of the best free animation software for Windows.

Price: Free

4. Autodesk Animator

Autodesk Animator, a free animation program, which is designed to cater both beginners as well as experienced professionals. Being one of the oldest 2D animation software, it is highly advanced and takes care of all the aspects of the animation world.

Price: Free

5. Anime Studio Debut

Anime Studio Debut, also called Moho is a complete package of free animation software for Windows bundled with tons of amazing features and functionalities. A perfect animation software for both professionals and beginners, Anime Studio Debut lets you animate your ideas in the most simplistic way. You can either use the existing tools to create new animation or import images and other artwork to begin your animation project.

Price: $34.99 (Free Trial Available)

With the evolution of 3D technology and advanced use of animation in live-action films, 3D animation demands are on the rise. You can improve your 3D animation skills and use an excellent 3D animation program to develop your creativity and successful animation projects. Check out some of the best free 3D Animation Software for Windows.

Best 3D Free Animation Software for Windows

1. Blender

Blender is an open source 3D and free animation software for Windows developed by the public contribution from around the globe. Professional animators, scientists, VFX experts, gaming developers, students, studio artists, hobbyist, and much more are a part of Blender community. Being an amazing 3D animation program, you will find a lot of different features and a wide range of texturing, lighting, animation, and modeling options.

Price: Free

2. Aurora 3D Animation Maker

Aurora 3D animation maker is one of the most prominent names in the digital world. Its 3D Animation Maker is widely famous among the animators across the globe. Aurora 3D Animation Maker is designed to help you create spectacular animation effects in your movie. You can also claim the right to all your creations by embedding a watermark in all your videos and images created using this program. You can also add multiple animated effects to your images using the simple and interactive dashboard.

Price: $69.99 (Free Trial Available)

3. Autodesk Maya

Autodesk Maya is excellent free animation software for students and an ideal companion for 3D animators and gaming developers. With this program, you can create amazing 3D characters from your own imagination for games or movies. Autodesk Maya is bundled with an amazing set of features and a wide range of coloring and modeling functionalities. It is an ideal program for developing 3D games as well as in other entertainment media.

Price: $185 per month (Free Trial Available) & 3 years free for Students

4. Houdini

Houdini is actually a great option for animators looking for excellent graphics options for their 3D animation project. It is bundled with all the major features such as texturing, modeling, animating, and rigging, which is essential for a reliable 3D animation tool. Professional animators can use Houdini to create a 3D universe of their own imagination as well as add 3D elements to the real world with images and videos. Animators would find Houdini as an excellent 3D animation software for Windows for its node based user interface as well as supporting plugins.

Price: Starts at $195 per yer. (A learning edition for free is also available)

5. Modo

Top 2d Animation software, free download

Modo is designed to help both artists and designers to make the most out of their photography and imaginations. Animators can use this professional 3D animation software for Windows to create amazing 3D animations. You can also add 3D effects to your real life photography using the minimalist tools bundled with this program.

Price: Permanent License for $1799 with additional $399 per year maintenance (Annual License for $599 is also available)

Best Free Animation Software

Conclusion for free animation software for Windows

Well, everyone has their own creative skills and requirements. Hence, you must be wise in choosing the right animation software for your next animation project. Also, let us know your views in the comments about this list of free animation software for Windows. Also, feel free to mention any free animation software that you consider to be added to this list.