Top 12: Best 2D Animation Software (Download Some for Free!) If you are looking for the best 2D animation software, you came to the right place. We've compiled a list of the best 2D animation software currently available, for both beginners and professionals. 1400×1050 or 1600×1200 (aspect ratio 4:3) and 1920×1080 aka Full HD 1080p (aspect ratio 16:9). A big size of video file, but quality is very good. You should choose it only if you want your animation to be watched on big TV screens.

Introduction

Creating an animation in Synfig Studio is really easy. It basically means to change a drawing — you just need to create the first stage and last stage of a change, and Synfig takes care of the steps in between.

Let's look at a simple example. Consider a moving light like the one at the front of the Knight Rider car. Drop the realism, you get a circle moving from left to right and back. In other words, you need to create three 'steps' or 'stages':

1. The circle is on the left.
2. The circle is on the right.
3. The circle is back on the left.

Setting up the workspace

Let's do it. Start Synfig Studio. A new file is created at the start automatically . Click the caret menu (between the horizontal and vertical rules, in the top left hand corner of the canvas), then select 'Canvas → Properties' or select 'Canvas → Properties' from the menu. The Canvas Properties Dialog will appear.

Give a name and description for your canvas, then click 'Apply' (don't click 'OK' yet — we're not quite done with the Properties dialog). Go to the 'Time' tab and make sure to edit 'End Time'. Change '5s' to '2s' — that will make our animation 2 seconds long.

Now click 'OK', select the Rectangle Tool and create a simple black rectangle that will serve as our background. It's not necessary to make it cover the whole canvas.

Now we need a circle. Change the fill color to red, select the Circle Tool and create a circle. It doesn't matter if it's not perfect: You can edit it. Select the Transform Tool and click the circle. It will go into an editing mode which is easy to detect by the small green dot in the middle and the white rectangle around it. You can move the circle by grabbing it on its green dot (the Origin) in the middle.

These are the first steps to draw an object and to move it, but not an animation yet, you may say. Indeed. Let's have a look how this works.

Adding movement

In the beginning, you entered a value of 2 seconds in the Properties dialog. Because the length of your animation is non-zero, your canvas window (the one where you draw) has a grey time slider at the bottom, the Timebar. You can click on it, and a small orange indicator will appear indicating your position in time. Try clicking in several places on the time slider and notice that the entry field on the left of the time slider is changing its values to something like '12f', '1s 15f', etc. You can set your position on the time slider by changing values in that field. For example, if you enter '1s' and press ↵ Enter, the orange indicator will move in the middle of the time slider, and entering '2s' will move it to the end of the time slider.

You may notice that nothing changes on the canvas at this point. Return to '0s' and switch to Animate Editing Mode by clicking the green man button to the right of the gray time slider. The canvas will display a red outline; it reminds you that changes to your objects now affect your animation at the time shown in the time slider.

In animate editing mode, every change to your objects parameters creates a waypoint that associates the changes with the current time. As you will see, Synfig can create smooth intermediate changes between waypoints, and you can even choose the way in which the intermediate changes take place. You will probably find it helpful to associate some or all of your waypoints with keyframes.

Previously, three 'steps' or 'stages' were mentioned. These are represented by keyframes. (Just in case you're familiar with video encoding: No, it's not the same!) A keyframe is an image in time where something important happens with your objects.

Now, go to the '1s' mark in the time slider. The small orange indicator should move there. Then add another keyframe by clicking the small plus sign. Repeat the process with the time slider indicator set to '2s' (it's at the end of your animation). You should now have three keyframes in the list.

The s's and f's: Understanding the Timeline

By now, you may have figured out what those mysterious '1s 10f'-type marks represent. They indicate a specific point on the timeline, expressing a location in terms of seconds (s) and frames (f).

By default each second is divided into 24 frames, much like a meter on a measuring tape is divided into 100 centimeters. The frame markings begin at zero (0) and go up to 24, whereupon a new second is entered and the framecount returns to zero.

For example, when five whole seconds and three frames have passed, using this timeline notation would be '5s 3f'.

The Keyframes Panel

The Keyframes Panel is rather easy to understand. It displays 'Time' which is basically the start time, 'Length' which is self-explanatory, 'Jump' which we'll cover next, and 'Description' which is, again, self-explanatory.

You might be wondering about the entries called '(JMP)'. In fact, these are links just like web links: click them, and the indicator in your time slider will jump to the correct time.

You can use this to edit your image for a given moment in time. For instance, you can now jump to the first second '1s', and move the red circle to the right. There! You made your first movement, your first animation with Synfig!

Wondering where the animation is? Just click to an arbitrary position on the time slider: You will note that the red circle is in a new position, one that you didn't specify! So what happened? Synfig figured out what you would like to do, namely move the circle, and drew all the images between these states. Each image will later make a frame in your animation and the circle will appear to be moving.

Note that you don't need to go to the last keyframe at '2s' and move your circle back to the left. Keyframes make Synfig remember the image states at particular times. That's why when we modified the circle's position at '1s', it stayed on the left at '2s' (as well as at '0s'). If you switch back to the Parameters Panel, and look at the Time Track Panel you will see that three orange diamonds (or green dots depending on the default interpolation) appeared on the right of the 'Origin' parameter. Those are called Waypoints, and they represent times at which object's parameters, like location or color, are instructed to take on specified new values.

Rendering your animation

Before you can see your animation, you need to render your work. There are two ways to do so: using the Synfig Studio (what you have been using so far) or the command-line program called 'synfig'.

Let's try the first way. Leave the Animate Editing Mode by clicking on the red man icon in the timeline editing widget, and save your file; for instance under the name 'BasicKnightRider.sifz'. Then go to menu in the Canvas Window (Canvas Menu Caret button in the upper left corner) and select 'File → Render' or click on the render icon. Change the filename to 'BasicKnightRider.gif' in the same location where you saved 'BasicKnightRider.sifz' and choose 'gif' target format instead of 'Auto', then click 'Render'. Depending on your processor speed it should take a few moments, but finally the image window status bar (located on the bottom of the window) should say 'File rendered successfully'.

Open BasicKnightRider.gif in Firefox or another application that is able to show animated gif's. However, Firefox will replay the GIF all the time which makes your short animation a rather long one. If you're now seeing a red circle moving from the left to the right and back, congratulations! You just made your first animation!

If you would rather use the command line instead of the menu to render your animation, then open a terminal (on Windows, go to 'Start → Run', type 'cmd' and press ↵ Enter), change to the directory you saved the file in, and type something like this:

A few messages appear that don't matter right now. Depending on your processor speed it should take a few moments, but finally a line like this will appear:

Then you are done and can view your animated gif using Firefox or another program as mentioned above and it should look like this.

Conclusion

Of course, the position of an object is not the only thing you can change with Synfig Studio. Other possibilities include its size, its outline, its color, etc. Synfig comes with several example files that should let you dig deeper into the possibilities.

Now, let's continue with the next manual chapter: Adding Layers

Are you looking for an Animation software for yourself? We have accumulated a selection of best animation software for beginners with great features. So, if you are starting out in animation or just looking to change your daily software for something new and more useful, we have got you covered. The list contains both premium and free animation software to meet everybody’s needs.

Table of Content:

Best Paid Animation Software for Beginners

1. Adobe Character Animator: (Premium Real Time Animation)

Adobe Character Animator is one of the premium animation makers for beginners. It holds a wide array of features and functionalities. The Software is available for both Windows and MacOS.

It features advanced painting tools to provide the required texture and color to the character. One of the most highlighted features of Adobe Character Animator is automatic lip-syncing and facial expression animation in real-time with the help of just a webcam. Users can import a puppet made for Adobe Character Animator and can continue to control its facial expression in real-time like mouth, eyebrows, etc.

Adobe Character Animator features predefined basic rules such as walking, holding things, making various hand gestures, breathing, etc. Adobe also offers live chat support for its customers.

Because it is said to be a premium animation maker, it comes at a price. Though, it has a 7-day free trial, it has three different plans for individuals, business, and students. However, users can’t buy Adobe Character Animator alone, they must opt for the whole pool of apps consisting of 20 different creative desktop applications.

Features in Brief:

• Real-Time Animation
• Pre-loaded Puppets
• Pre-loaded behavioral movements, walking, breathing, blinking, etc.
• Live-Streaming

Pricing:

• For Individuals: $52.99/month Billed Annually
• 7-Day Free Trial
• For Business: $79.99/month Billed Annually
• Students and Teachers: $19.99/month Billed Annually

Visit for more info: Adobe Character Animator

Also Read: How To Install Adobe Flash Player on Android Phone or Tablet

2. Autodesk 3Ds Max (For to be Professional Creators)

Another premium software for animation Autodesk 3Ds Max. Autodesk 3Ds Max is known for cell-shaded 3D animations. These animations have changed the trend for making hundreds of sketches for every single movement in all angles.

This animation software is for people who are not complete beginners and pretty much have the idea of what they are doing. For people trying to refine their skills, Autodesk 3Ds Max can be a great option.

3D Animation tools simplify this process because once the character is ready for use, you can use it in pretty much real time. Autodesk 3Ds Max animation maker is being used by video game creators, 3D films, etc. Like Adobe Character Animator, Autodesk 3Ds Max excels in color palettes and textures for hair and fur.

Pricing:

• Monthly Plan: $205/month for 1 user.
• Yearly Plan: $1620/month for 1 user.
• 3 Year Plan: $4,375/month for 1 user.

Features in Brief:

• 3D Rendering for Real Time Animation
• VR Support
• Refined Shape modeling
• Excels in color palettes and textures for hair.

Visit for more info: Autodesk 3Ds Max

3. Moho (Anime Studio) (2D Animation made easy)

Moho (Anime Studio) is another premium animation software available for both Windows and MacOS. It is a powerful animation maker packed with features and perks. It’s easy to use interface is aimed for kids and beginners. There are two different versions available for Moho, Moho Debut and Moho Pro.

It offers advanced bone rigging for seamless skeletal animation and smooth character movement. Pen pressure support for tablets comes in handy while designing the anime characters for use. If you are looking to create 2D animation to bring your brand anime and logos to life, Moho is the Animation Software for you.

Features in Brief:

• Different Keyframe options: Addictive cycle, stagger, bounce, etc.
• Premium Freehand tools
• 4K Video Capability
• Tablet and Pen pressure support
• Advanced masking options

Visit for more info: Moho Anime Studio

Best Free Animation Software for Beginners:

1. Blender Open-Source 3D Creation

Blender, though a free animation maker, has a pool of very powerful and useful tools to help you in bringing your favorite anime to life. With Blender you can create lively animations for video games, anime films, etc.

Blender features auto and manual tracking, real time preview, and more. To turn your imagination into a 3D model, it offers advanced modeling, sculpting, and UV tools. If you are looking for a free open-source anime creation tool, Blender is one the best animation software available in the market.

Best Animation List

Features in Brief

• Available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux
• Intuitive UI
• Onion Skinning and layer support
• Premium modeling and sculpting tools
• Path-tracer built-in

Visit for more info: Blender

2. Pencil2D (Quick hack for amazing YouTube Video and Tutorials)

If you have been to YouTube for Tutorial or informational videos, you must have seen those 2D pencil drawn graphics to better explain the concept. If you are looking forward to creating such animations, Pencil2D can be your go to tool. Pencil2D is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Pencil2D comes pre-equipped with various lighting effects. Various handy animation tools make using Pencil2D a charm.

Features in Brief:

• Supports Windows, MacOS, Linux
• Various Lightning effects
• GIF export
• Multiple useful animation tools

Visit for more info: Pencil2D

3. Synfig Studio (Breeze to work with)

Best Animation Imdb

Synfig Studio is a 2D animation software to help you bring your imaginations to life. The most highlighted feature of Synfig is it’s easy to use controls. Instead of creating frame by frame animation, you can create almost real time animations with Synfig Studio.

Synfig Tutorial

It offers extraordinary control on different animations and artwork and hence, a great tool to create 2D animations.

Synfig Wiki

Features in Brief:

Best Animation Synfig Youtube

• Exclusive control over Vector Editing
• Variety of filters and effects
• Intuitive control to create puppets.

For more info: Synfig Studio

Synfig Animation Tutorial

So, these were 6 most popular paid and free animation software available in the market. Premium/paid animation software excel in tools and editing options they offer. However, free animation software aren’t bad either, especially if you are a beginner in animations. Do let us know how you liked our list of best paid and free animation software in the market.

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