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4.7 star rating
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Game Development
Animation
What are the best free 2D animation tools?
14
Options
Considered
38
User
Recs.
Jan 25, 2024
Last
Updated
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13
Options
Considered
Best free 2D animation tools
Price
Platforms
Technology
--
Spriter
-
-
-
--
Blender
Free
Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD
C, Python
--
Krita
Free
Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
C++, Qt
--
OpenToonz
Free
Windows, Linux, Mac
C++
--
Expressive Animator
Free
Windows, MacOS, chromeOS, Linux, Web
-
See Full List
--
Spriter
My Rec
ommendation
for
Spriter
My Recommendation for
Spriter
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
6
--
Blender
My Rec
ommendation
for
Blender
My Recommendation for
Blender
All
8
Experiences
2
Pros
5
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
2D animation features
You can create 2D animations and combine it with 3D elements
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RationalEmpusa's Experience
I've been using Blender since it's early days in classes that I teach and it just keeps getting better. There's nothing even close on the 3D market that compares for the price of $0! The new Eevee engine is simply awesome. I have been experimenting with the 2D grease pencil and I have to say that it's pretty remarkable.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD
Technology:
C, Python
3D:
Yes
2D:
Yes (as of 2.8)
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Has a large community
There's a huge community to help you get started immediately.
See More
AmiablePabilsag's Experience
After Blender 2.8 update it's very powerful as 2D animation software and it gets extra value for being able to combine 2D with 3D elements if you want to. Biggest weak point is the limitations on traditional 2D painting tools when comparing to for example Photoshop and since it's a 3D software it might be difficult for beginners to use Blender's tools to their fullest.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Includes video editing & compositing tools
Blender's node-based compositor has comprehensive video sequencing and post-processing features.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Has a powerful rendering engine
Blender runs the Cycles path tracing engine under the hood. Cycles is a very powerful rendering engine capable of full path tracing (light fall off, caustics, volumetrics). It is mostly compatible with OpenCL and CUDA rendering, and is implementing mycropolygon displacement features. The upcoming release has a viewport engine called EEVEE whereby you can see and interact with your work in render mode in real time!
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open source
Blender is licensed under the GPL. Some Blender modules such as the Cycles rendering engine are licensed under the Apache 2.0 license.
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
4
--
Krita
My Rec
ommendation
for
Krita
My Recommendation for
Krita
All
5
Pros
4
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Amazing support for displaying brushes
Krita's preset brushes are one of the default dockers. Each brush has a preview on mouseover that shows a detailed view of the type of brush involved. All the brushes also have useful and descriptive names such as "HP Pencil" or "Textured Fuzzy".
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
Technology:
C++, Qt
License:
Open source
Top
Pro
•••
Very customizable
Although the UI is rather busy, Krita is very customizable. The editing window can be themed and the sidebar can be customized extensively throw many dockers or panes.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use layout
All the most used and useful tools are easy to find in Krita's UI and are often just one click away. They are not hidden behind menus or dropdowns.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open source
Krita is completely free and open source. They have raised a couple of successful Kickstarters in the past to get the initial financing and now they are accepting donations.
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
2
--
OpenToonz
My Rec
ommendation
for
OpenToonz
My Recommendation for
OpenToonz
All
2
Pros
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open-source
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac
Technology:
C++
Hide
Free
Recommend
3
--
Expressive Animator
My Rec
ommendation
for
Expressive Animator
My Recommendation for
Expressive Animator
All
6
Pros
3
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open-source
See More
Top
Con
•••
Beta
Still in its early stages.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, MacOS, chromeOS, Linux, Web
Top
Pro
•••
Works offline
Can be installed on the desktop as a PWA, and used offline.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Chrome only
Only supports Chrome and Edge browsers.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Frequent updates
The app is still in development, but with every update it gets more and more powerful.
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
1
--
Animation Paper
My Rec
ommendation
for
Animation Paper
My Recommendation for
Animation Paper
All
2
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Still in Alpha
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac
Hide
Free / paid
Recommend
2
--
Enve
My Rec
ommendation
for
Enve
My Recommendation for
Enve
All
2
Pros
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Open-source
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux
Technology:
C++
Hide
Free
Recommend
2
--
Motionity
My Rec
ommendation
for
Motionity
My Recommendation for
Motionity
All
4
Experiences
1
Pros
1
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free
See More
Top
Con
•••
No SVG export
See More
RickZeeland's Experience
Motionity is a free and open-source web-based animation editor.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Web
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
1
--
Express Animate
My Rec
ommendation
for
Express Animate
My Recommendation for
Express Animate
All
5
Experiences
1
Pros
3
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Onion skinning
See More
RickZeeland's Experience
Express Animate is free for personal use, create text and graphics animations and export as video, html5, flash or animated gifs.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac
Top
Pro
•••
Effects
Apply video and audio effects.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Free version
See More
Hide
See All
Free / paid
Recommend
1
--
Pencil2D
My Rec
ommendation
for
Pencil2D
My Recommendation for
Pencil2D
All
6
Pros
3
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Slow workflow
See More
Top
Con
•••
Very limited UI
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to learn
See More
Top
Con
•••
Limited to frame by frame
All frames have to be created by hand.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
--
Animaker
My Rec
ommendation
for
Animaker
My Recommendation for
Animaker
Hide
Paid
Recommend
1
1
--
Synfig
My Rec
ommendation
for
Synfig
My Recommendation for
Synfig
All
3
Pros
1
Cons
2
Top
Pro
•••
Fast workflow
See More
Top
Con
•••
Complicated UI
See More
Top
Con
•••
Very hard to learn
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
--
TupiTube
My Rec
ommendation
for
TupiTube
My Recommendation for
TupiTube
All
4
Pros
1
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use
See More
Top
Con
•••
Buggy (in an early version)
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac, Linux, Android
Based On:
KToon
Top
Con
•••
Complicated UI
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
Don't see your favorite option? Add it.
--
Animation Desk
My Rec
ommendation
for
Animation Desk
My Recommendation for
Animation Desk
Free
Recommend
14
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