BEST 2D Animation Software Free & Paid

2D animation has become a popular form of creative expression, allowing artists and animators to bring characters and stories to life. Whether you're a professional animator or an aspiring artist, having the right animation software can make a significant difference in the quality and efficiency of your work. In this article, we will explore some of the best 2D animation software options, both free and paid, to suit your specific needs and budget.

Table of Contents

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1.     Introduction

2.     Free 2D Animation Software

·         Pencil2D

·         Synfig Studio

·         Krita

3.     Paid 2D Animation Software

·         Toon Boom Harmony

·         Adobe Animate (Formerly Flash)

·         TVPaint Animation

·         Clip Studio Paint EX

4.     How to Choose the Right 2D Animation Software

5.     Conclusion

1. Introduction

2D animation involves creating movements and actions in a two-dimensional space. With the advancement of technology, a wide range of software tools is available to help animators bring their ideas to life. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced animator, there are excellent free and paid 2D animation software options to choose from.

2. Free 2D Animation Software

Pencil2D

Pencil2D is an open-source and free 2D animation software ideal for beginners and hobbyists. It offers a simple interface and basic drawing tools for creating traditional hand-drawn animations. While it may not have all the advanced features of paid software, Pencil2D is a great starting point for those new to 2D animation.

Synfig Studio

Synfig Studio is another free and open-source animation software with a focus on vector-based animation. It provides a wide range of features, including bone rigging, morphing, and spatial resolution independence, making it suitable for more complex and professional projects.

Krita

Krita is primarily known as a powerful digital painting software, but it also offers robust animation capabilities. With Krita's animation tools, artists can create frame-by-frame animations and even use a timeline for more sophisticated projects. It's an excellent choice for animators who want to combine painting and animation in one software.

3. Paid 2D Animation Software

Toon Boom Harmony

Toon Boom Harmony is a professional-grade 2D animation software widely used in the animation industry. It offers an extensive set of features, including advanced drawing and rigging tools, camera angles, and a powerful timeline. Harmony is suitable for creating everything from traditional hand-drawn animations to complex character animations for TV shows and films.

Adobe Animate (Formerly Flash)

Adobe Animate, formerly known as Adobe Flash, is a versatile animation software that allows animators to create interactive and expressive 2D animations. It offers a user-friendly interface, a vast library of assets, and support for vector-based animation. Adobe Animate is widely used for web animations, games, and short videos.

TVPaint Animation

TVPaint Animation is a professional software tailored to the needs of traditional animators. It replicates the feel of traditional paper animation and offers a wide range of brushes and drawing tools. TVPaint Animation is popular among animators working on feature films, commercials, and TV series.

Clip Studio Paint EX

Clip Studio Paint EX is primarily known as a digital art and comic creation software, but it also includes powerful animation tools. With Clip Studio Paint EX, artists can create frame-by-frame animations, add camera movements, and use various effects for dynamic animations.

4. How to Choose the Right 2D Animation Software

When choosing the right 2D animation software, consider the following factors:

• Skill Level: Some software is more suitable for beginners, while others offer advanced features for professional animators.
• Features: Assess the specific animation tools, drawing capabilities, and effects offered by the software.
• Budget: Determine your budget and whether you prefer a free option or are willing to invest in a paid software.
• Compatibility: Ensure the software is compatible with your operating system and hardware.
• Learning Resources: Check if the software has tutorials and a supportive community to aid your learning process.

5. Conclusion

Choosing the best 2D animation software depends on your needs, skill level, and budget. For beginners and hobbyists, free options like Pencil2D, Synfig Studio, and Krita offer a great starting point. If you require more advanced features and professional-grade animation capabilities, consider investing in paid software like Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe Animate, TVPaint Animation, or Clip Studio Paint EX. With the right software in hand, you can unleash your creativity and bring your 2D animation projects to life with ease.

 2D Animation Tools assist you with making characters, foundations, and storyboards, and applying impacts. A 2D activity represents two-layered liveliness, important characters, and foundations in these kinds of undertakings are made in two-layered, level space. These devices use vector and bitmap illustrations to make and alter energized pictures.

Following is a handpicked rundown of Top 2D Animation Software and devices, with their well-known elements and site joins. The rundown contains both open-source (free) and commercial(paid) vector liveliness programming.

#1) Animate CC

Vivify CC is an instrument that assists you with planning intelligent bitmap and vector movements for games, applications, and the web. You can add activities to infographics and instructional exercises.

Highlights:

You can make new stances for vector pictures or figures.

It empowers you to organize your layers in a parent-kid pecking order.

It naturally matches mouth postures to voice articulations.

You can send out 360 VR liveliness.

This device permits you to make promotions straightforwardly with Animate.

Trade pictures with the right goal by bypassing the picture streamlining and utilizing picture settings.

#2) SketchBook

SketchBook is a 2D movement application that empowers you to enliven your thoughts with insignificant exertion. It offers in excess of 140 brushes to plan your specialty. This program permits you to add limitless layers that can be mixed together.

Highlights:

Empowers you to draw essential shapes like circles, squares shape, triangles, and so on.

You can change the standards according to your longing.

Permits you to fill tone into your fine art.

It empowers you to import or commodity the layer as PSD (Photoshop Document).

#3) Doratoon

Doratoon perceives itself as a mental 2D movement device giving a simple and expert point of interaction. Being a web-based free movement programming, it offers a few famous choices in creating enlivened characters, and recordings and utilizing impacts to make them look proficient. It is quite possibly the most ideal choice on the lookout for understudies, advertisers, HR, and business people.

Highlights:

Correct photographs that are added inside the movement video.

Utilize the AI Synthesis Tool, or AI Dubbing device for changing over inputted text into sound.

Make drawings naturally with the AI Intelligent Drawing.

Use activity impacts to improve the viewpoint of the video.

Utilize the programmed discourse acknowledgment component to add captions by changing over voice into text.

Track down the best layouts across the stage to enhance new satisfaction.

Distribute and impart your substance to the world with a solitary snap.

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#4) Synfig

Synfig is an open-source 2D vector design and activity program. This product deals with three OS stages Windows, OSX, and Linux.

Highlights:

It permits you to change any picture containing a vector shape into another.

You can connect the boundaries of layers through numerical articulations.

This free 2D activity programming gives in excess of 50 layers to make a movement.

You can make a pattern liveliness impact utilizing bitmap pictures.

#5) Animaker

Animaker is a web-based 2D movement apparatus that gives various energized characters, symbols, properties, BGs, guides, and diagrams. It is one of the most outstanding 2D activity programs that assist you with making an optimal video for your association, show, outsourcing projects, as well as private undertakings.

Highlights:

You can make energized recordings in 6 remarkable video styles 2D, handcraft, whiteboard, infographics, 2.5 D, and typography.

Amateurs can make recordings and use them as both liveliness and energized introductions.

It is one of the most amazing free 2D movement programs that has 200 audio effects to pick from.

This device gives 100 ambient soundtracks.

It empowers you to record direct voice accounts.

Animaker permits the group to team up.

You can trade video in full HD quality.

#6) Cartoon Animator

Animation Animator is a 2D movement item that empowers you to go pictures to control characters and vivified characters. With this product, you can undoubtedly create lip-sync activity from the sound.

Highlights:

It permits you to catch facial movements.

You can change over photoshop layers into 2D characters.

It gives movement way and timetable altering.

You can make intuitive compound movements.

It upholds up to 4K top-quality screens.

Animation Animator assists you with changing the existing substances into 360 heads with movement.

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#7) Krita

Krita is a straightforward 2D movement device that permits you to modify your work process. This free activity programming offers in excess of 100 expertly made brushes.

Highlights:

This liveliness producer programming empowers you to add a stabilizer to brush to smooth it.

Alter brush with 9 interesting brush motors.

You can make comic boards utilizing worked-in vector drawing devices.

Make consistent surfaces and examples by making picture references on the x and y-pivot.

It permits you to import surface and brush packs from different specialists.

You can join, straighten, or request layers to arrange your craftsmanship.

You can feature the drawing segment.

Krita assists you with integrating it into your ongoing variety of executive pipelines.

Download Link: https://krita.org/en/highlights/features/

#8) Pencil2d

Pencil2d is a 2D hand-drawn liveliness program. It is not difficult to utilize and is lightweight. It is 2D movement programming with the expectation of complimentary which permits you to outline ink and paint in a hurry.

Highlights:

Pencil2D is a cross-stage instrument that sudden spikes in demand for Windows, macOS, and Linux working frameworks.

It tends to be utilized openly for business.

You can rapidly survey work utilizing flipping or moving strategies.

This free 2D activity programming offers help for TIFF design (Tagged Image File Format).

You can import pictures as new layers on specific casings.

#9) Opentoonz

Opentoonz is an open-source movement creation application. It is viable with 4 kinds of checking. It permits you to save the settings of checking.

Highlights:

It is viable with TWAIN (Technology Without an Interesting Name) norms.

It permits you to utilize hostile to associated lines.

This apparatus furnishes a simple method for painting with temporary tones.

You can combine impacts with the Graphic User Interface (GUI) by means of the hub tree.

Pictures can be made with the genuine scale goal.

This 2D activity programming for nothing is viable with both raster and vector pictures.

You can utilize more impacts utilizing modules.

#10) Stop Motion Studio

Stop Motion Studio is a strong 2D movement proofreader that is accessible for iPhone, iPad, and macOS. It upholds cameras from the most renowned camera creators, including Canon, Nikon, and Sony.

Highlights:

It has a casing by-outline view that shows you every one of the pictures in sequential request.

Stop Motion Studio permits you to set in and out focuses to stamp a particular piece of your film for playback and circling.

It accompanies many music clasps and audio effects.

It has different works of art and instruments to paint as you would on a customary material.

This device has an enchanted eraser to eliminate undesirable items in the film.

It assists you with planning title and credit screens.

It gives a wide assortment of impacts to change the vibe of your film.

#11) Celaction

Celaction is an expert 2D movement application for films, promotion plugs, and TV series. This device assists you with taking care of perplexing undertakings effortlessly.

Highlights:

You can utilize bitmaps or vectors or both all the while.

It offers drifting and dockable boards and client quantifiable work areas.

This device gives the client to characterize easy route keys.

You can make sense of taste from in excess of 16 million tones.

It chips away at Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

You can change over vector shapes into deformable, morphable items.

#12) concordance

Concordance is an across-the-board device for effective movement, from attracting to conclusive creation. It permits you to make a work of art, energize, and add sounds and embellishments into movement.

Highlights:

Stabilizer for smooth lines.

It gives 3, 4, and 5-point bent viewpoint guides.

This application permits you to make a cut-out activity.

You can coordinate it with programming accessible in the creation pipeline.

It offers 2D or 3D incorporation.

Concordance assists you with making 2D liveliness for the game.

You can import multi-facet PSB and PSD records, Illustrator, PDF, bitmaps, and media documents.

#13) Blender

Blender is a 2D PC illustration programming application for creating enhanced visualizations, energized films, and games, and the sky is the limit from there. This apparatus permits you to import or commodity recordings in MPEG, QuickTime, and AVI document designs.

Highlights:

This apparatus Provides Python API for prearranging and customization.

You can tweak alternate routes.

It gives a way tracer to reasonable delivering.

You can make, change, shape, and alter your models.

It gives a constant see at the 3D scene and followed the film.

You can transform still characters into amazing movements.

Download Link: https://www.blender.org

#14) FlipBook

FlipBook is a 2D movement device that is utilized in changing over pdf documents to HTML flipping books. It can run on Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X.

Highlights:

It permits you to redo the toolbar.

You can embed and erase casings to eliminate time.

FlipBook assists you with shooting your pencil test drawing simply by tapping on the catch symbol.

Import 4 sorts of pictures into this product like foundations, overlays, films, and cels.

You can amount to three soundtracks.

It empowers you to paint the scene significantly more quicker.

You can utilize the number keys to decide the all-out number of edges you like to paint.

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