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Top 8 apps for 2D animation

Hello amazing people!

After the success of our Top 12 alternatives to Photoshop for digital painters and illustrators article, a few questions regarding animation programs appeared in our inbox. There are many, many apps to animate today: in this list we included 2D animation programs only, but these are the best of the best.

Formerly known as Flash, Adobe Animate helps you create interactive web-based content for games and ads using powerful illustration and animation tools.

Pros: user-friendly interface; many, many features; customisable layout

Cons: there are so many features that a few may remain hidden; it may get sluggish with big files (performance depends on the running machine); limited audio tools

Paid

Animation Pro is an app for iPad and it works like any powerful animation app!

Pros: drawing features; layers; lip-synching feature; affordable

Cons: the interface can look confusing to a beginner

Paid

Illustration or animation, CLIP STUDIO PAINT may be the answer to your needs. This program is powerful and full of amazing features and tools for the professional artist - and it made the top ten in our Top 12 alternatives to Photoshop for digital painters and illustrators list.

Pros: several illustration tools exclusive of the program; powerful

Cons: limited audio tools; limited script tools; limited technical support

Paid

Certainly one of the most used programs in the industry, Toon Boom Harmony is a powerful animation program for professional artists. It’s been used for well-known series and films, such as Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name, Rick and Morty, The Simpsons and The Princess and the Frog.

Pros: powerful tools; smart colour palettes; features for character artists; many tutorials

Cons: not easy to use; pricey

Paid

Moho Pro (Anime Studio) is a 2D animation software for professional artists distributed by Smith Micro Software.

Pros: advanced animation tools; user-friendly interface; compatibility with vector programs (ex. Illustrator) for import/export of files

Cons: N/A

Paid

We’ve already talked about OpenToonz, an open-source animation program (see this article).

While this version is the program customised by Studio Ghibli, Toonz was created by Italian Digital Video S.p.A., which distributes other important programs: Toonz Premium, Story Planner and Toonz LineTest.

Toonz is used by important studios, such as, of course, Studio Ghibli (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) and Rough Draft Studios (Futurama, The Simpsons).

Pros: open-source; powerful tools

Cons: not easy to learn; hidden features; “old” interface

Free

Pencil2D Animation is another open-source program for beginner and professional artists.

Pros: simple, user-friendly interface;

Cons: minimal features

Free

Another well-known animation program is TVPaint Animation. Perfect for frame-by-frame animation, this is a powerful program and may even be considered Harmony’s rival. Notable productions are Song of the Sea, Zima Blue and Kitbull.

There are two versions of the program, TVPaint Animation Professional and TVPaint Animation Standard.

Pros: powerful; many tutorials

Cons: pricey;

Paid

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As always, let us know what you think of these apps and what we missed. We still hope you’ll find this list useful!

Thank you and peace out,

G&M

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Other articles:

10 inspiring and helpful YouTube channels for digital artists

6 inspiring Art Podcasts for digital artists