- May 09, 2019 Best Free Animation Software for Mac: PowToon This is a fantastic online presentation maker for academic use, presentations and infographics. The program is completely free to use and has a number of animation effects on board that can make anything exported out of the program seem extremely professional.
- Video-editing apps needn't be costly. Plenty of free alternatives exist for both Windows 10 and MacOS. Here's our list of the best free video-editing software.
- HyperEngine-AV is a free video editing software for Mac used to capture, edit, organize the process, and export videos, audios, and texts to create DVD quality movies and slide shows. It comes with twelve studio-quality effects from Arboretum's Hyperprism suite of audio processors.
- Make a video with Adobe Spark, and you'll never have to worry about it looking like all the rest. Using Adobe Spark as a free video maker simply couldn't be easier. After selecting the 'Video' option from the main menu, you'll be taken to a title screen — where you can give your video project a title.
Create a video on Mac OS on the audio and video from your computer, mobile device or video camera. Movavi's video maker offers a wide choice of creative tools: add transitions and titles, apply filters and effects, and even more.
Video is a powerful marketing tool.
85 percent of internet users watch video content at least once a month. And people want more.
In fact, 54 percent of folks think brands should be putting more video content out there.
Putting out video content isn't always easy. Maybe you're running low on ideas. Or maybe you're camera shy. Or you don't have the necessary equipment — not to mention the budget to acquire it.
Luckily, there are some handy free tools you can use.
Yep, you can make animated videos for free (minus your time investment, of course).
Check out some of the best free animation software for beginners and experts, and everyone in between.
Don't wait for someone else to do it. Hire yourself and start calling the shots.
Post Contents
Animaker
Platforms: web browser-based
Animaker is a free animation software for beginners, with easy drag-and-drop functionality and an intuitive interface to match. There are six core types of videos you can make with Animaker:
- 2D
- Infographics
- Handcraft
- Whiteboard
- 2.5D
- Typography
Including full HD support, both horizontal and vertical video layouts, and pre-made graphics to choose from, you can create fun, animated videos in no time.
Audio features include text-to-speech, the option to add background music and sound effects, and voiceover. You can choose from Animaker's library of sounds or upload your own tunes.
If you want to pay for the pro version, you can also get advanced features: in-app camera, multimove, curves, transition effects, and enter/exit effects. It's like all those PowerPoint animations except cool and not so cheesy.
Blender
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Use Blender if you're looking for the best video animation software for pro editors and creators. The free open-source 3D animation tool supports the 'modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing, and 2D animation pipeline.' The platform is a public project, and creatives from all over the world contribute to its ongoing maintenance.
Let's talk features.
- Rendering: Cycles is Blender's ray-trace based production render engine, FreeStyle is an edge- and line-based non-photorealistic (NPR) rendering engine, and real-time feedback speeds up the editing process.
- Modeling: Blender's modeling tools include sculpting, retopology, modeling, curves, and more to help with editing models.
- Sculpting: Digital sculpting tools flexible for each stage of the digital production pipeline.
- Animation and rigging: These tools include a character animation pose editor, Non Linear Animation (NLA) for independent movements, IK forward/inverse kinematics for fast poses, and sound synchronization.
- Grease pencil: Draw directly in 3D and combine 2D/3D art.
- VFX: From camera and object motion tracking to masking and compositing, there are lots of fixes you can make in post-prod.
- Simulation: Create simulations for fog, smoke, rain, fire, liquid, and more.
- Pipeline:Choose from a long list of import/export options.
- Video editing: A built-in video editor allows for basic actions like video cuts and splicing and more complex tasks like video masking or color grading.
Yeah, that's a lot. Blender is a comprehensive tool. And it's all free.
Editor's note:We also review Blender, along with 21 other video-editing tools, in this review.
K-3D
Platforms: Windows, Linux
K-3D is a free 3D animation software specializing in polygonal modeling, an approach to digital graphics that represents and approximates object surfaces using polygons. Designed for artists, the software combines plugins with a visualization pipeline architecture — it adapts to the look and feel of the tools you integrate it with.
Get started with their Wiki tutorials, showing you how to master features like texturing, shadows, and symmetric modeling.
One of its best features? Easy undo/redo functionality, so you can quickly fix a mistake. Most programs only offer the option to undo an action.
With both procedural and parametric workflows, you can make adjustments and see the change immediately. A node-based visualization pipeline means editors can create connections and combinations for different elements within the video. You can work on one side of a model and mirror the other side to see what it looks like welded together.
K-3D is an advanced tool for true creatives.
OpenToonz
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
OpenToonz is one of the top free animation software for 2D videos. The open-source software is free for both commercial and non-commercial use, so you can use it to create marketing videos for your brand.
It's also packed with features, such as:
- Digital drawing tools: vector and bitmap drawing tools
- Indexed color palettes: quick paint and color changing
- Effects and compositing: animated special effects and composite scenes — choose from blurs, lighting, keys, masks, warps, and more than 100 other effects
- Scripting: automations via ECMA-compatible scripting engine
- Motion tracking: combine your animation with video footage
- Scan and cleanup: create vectors from paper drawings
- Frame-by-frame animation: with configurable onionskin
- Motion tweening: link objects or use motion paths to execute complex movements
- Bones character animation: with IK support and mesh deformations
- Particle systems: for rain, dust, and similar effects
You can make some pretty advanced animations with this tool.
COULD MAYBE EMBED AN EXAMPLE HERE https://twitter.com/hashtag/opentoonz some ideas:
If you run into issues using the free animation software, you can always turn to the user community or developer forum.
Pencil2D Animation
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Pencil2D is a simple animation software you can use to create hand-drawn 2D videos. The open-source software is free for both personal and commercial use, so you can use it just for fun or to create videos to promote your products.
The interface is simple and easy to use. That, along with tons of tutorials on the website and forums you can join, makes it a great option to start with.
Other features:
- Image and audio import
- Switch between raster and vector workflows so you can sketch, ink, and paint
- Adjust frame rate
- Add distortion and lighting effects
- Onion skinning
- Toolbar customizations
- Pressure sensitivity
- Multiple export formats
Plastic Animation Paper
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Plastic Animation Paper (PAP) is a free animation software for PC, Mac, and Linux. Though its interface is outdated, the software is completely free to download and use. Beggars can't be choosers, right?
With PAP, you can create hand-drawn 2D animations, while seeing your edits in real time. The editing experience itself can be clunky, but it's easy for beginners to learn and become familiar with. It's a sufficient tool for basic animated videos.
Feature highlights include basic drawing tools, zoom, rotation, cutouts, layers, and more. Contour storyteller windows 10.
Soon, PAP's creator will release a new, more advanced program for $79, Animation Paper.
Best suited for skilled animators, Animation Paper will help animators create 2D graphics from hand-drawn illustrations, along with a long list of features:
- Small and large format frames
- Real-time, smooth rotation and zoom, along with multiple options for flipping
- Advanced and customizable onion skinning
- Layers and lasso
- High-quality lines and stabilization
- Coloring and paint
- Real-time full frame reference on a second monitor for quick editing
When you're done creating your animated video, export options include .mp4, .mov, and .png or .svg frame stacks.
Powtoon
Platforms: web browser-based
The next video animation software that's free is Powtoon, meant for dynamic video presentations. While there are paid options with advanced features, Powtoon also has a stripped-down free tool for videos up to three minutes long.
In addition to what's listed above, Powtoon's free software also has:
- Custom styles
- Change aspect ratios and sizes
- YouTube, Facebook, Wistia, Vimeo, PowerPoint, and PDF export
- Full video, animation, GIF, and image file implementation
It's a great tool for beginners, with several professional-looking templates to choose from, including animated explainer and infographic-style videos, as well as templates built specifically for product promotion. You can also start from scratch or import a theme from PowerPoint.
Stykz
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Stykz is one of the easiest animation software to use. With it, you can make basic 2D stick figure animated videos, like this one:
And this one:
Pretty basic, but totally free.
Stykz is frame-based, meaning you work on one individual frame at a time. It uses onionskins so you can see the previous frame and how to two flow together.
All edits are done within the 'Stage' — in other words, you make your edits and view your changes within the same window. No toggling between views needed.
Edit one or multiple stick objects, fill shapes, and import your own stick figures. Everything will auto-save as you go, so you don't need to worry about losing all your hard work.
Synfig Studio
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
The next free video animation online is Synfig Studio, an open-source platform for creating 2D animated videos. With it, you use vector graphics to create timeline-based animations.
Like OpenToonz, it offers a bone system for animation controls so you can create natural movements. Create cutout animation using bitmap images or control your vector artwork, and use the additional Skeleton Distortion layer for complex deformations to bitmap artwork.
Advanced features include linking parameters for layers, allowing you to build character puppets and other advanced dynamic structures. It's certainly not made for beginners, so turn to an easier option to get started before upgrading to Synfig's advanced feature set. There are plenty of video tutorials to help you get used to the program.
Here's an example of a fun animated short created with Synfig Studio:
Free Video Editor Software For Mac
Toontastic 3D
Platforms: Android, iOS
K-3D
Platforms: Windows, Linux
K-3D is a free 3D animation software specializing in polygonal modeling, an approach to digital graphics that represents and approximates object surfaces using polygons. Designed for artists, the software combines plugins with a visualization pipeline architecture — it adapts to the look and feel of the tools you integrate it with.
Get started with their Wiki tutorials, showing you how to master features like texturing, shadows, and symmetric modeling.
One of its best features? Easy undo/redo functionality, so you can quickly fix a mistake. Most programs only offer the option to undo an action.
With both procedural and parametric workflows, you can make adjustments and see the change immediately. A node-based visualization pipeline means editors can create connections and combinations for different elements within the video. You can work on one side of a model and mirror the other side to see what it looks like welded together.
K-3D is an advanced tool for true creatives.
OpenToonz
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
OpenToonz is one of the top free animation software for 2D videos. The open-source software is free for both commercial and non-commercial use, so you can use it to create marketing videos for your brand.
It's also packed with features, such as:
- Digital drawing tools: vector and bitmap drawing tools
- Indexed color palettes: quick paint and color changing
- Effects and compositing: animated special effects and composite scenes — choose from blurs, lighting, keys, masks, warps, and more than 100 other effects
- Scripting: automations via ECMA-compatible scripting engine
- Motion tracking: combine your animation with video footage
- Scan and cleanup: create vectors from paper drawings
- Frame-by-frame animation: with configurable onionskin
- Motion tweening: link objects or use motion paths to execute complex movements
- Bones character animation: with IK support and mesh deformations
- Particle systems: for rain, dust, and similar effects
You can make some pretty advanced animations with this tool.
COULD MAYBE EMBED AN EXAMPLE HERE https://twitter.com/hashtag/opentoonz some ideas:
If you run into issues using the free animation software, you can always turn to the user community or developer forum.
Pencil2D Animation
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Pencil2D is a simple animation software you can use to create hand-drawn 2D videos. The open-source software is free for both personal and commercial use, so you can use it just for fun or to create videos to promote your products.
The interface is simple and easy to use. That, along with tons of tutorials on the website and forums you can join, makes it a great option to start with.
Other features:
- Image and audio import
- Switch between raster and vector workflows so you can sketch, ink, and paint
- Adjust frame rate
- Add distortion and lighting effects
- Onion skinning
- Toolbar customizations
- Pressure sensitivity
- Multiple export formats
Plastic Animation Paper
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Plastic Animation Paper (PAP) is a free animation software for PC, Mac, and Linux. Though its interface is outdated, the software is completely free to download and use. Beggars can't be choosers, right?
With PAP, you can create hand-drawn 2D animations, while seeing your edits in real time. The editing experience itself can be clunky, but it's easy for beginners to learn and become familiar with. It's a sufficient tool for basic animated videos.
Feature highlights include basic drawing tools, zoom, rotation, cutouts, layers, and more. Contour storyteller windows 10.
Soon, PAP's creator will release a new, more advanced program for $79, Animation Paper.
Best suited for skilled animators, Animation Paper will help animators create 2D graphics from hand-drawn illustrations, along with a long list of features:
- Small and large format frames
- Real-time, smooth rotation and zoom, along with multiple options for flipping
- Advanced and customizable onion skinning
- Layers and lasso
- High-quality lines and stabilization
- Coloring and paint
- Real-time full frame reference on a second monitor for quick editing
When you're done creating your animated video, export options include .mp4, .mov, and .png or .svg frame stacks.
Powtoon
Platforms: web browser-based
The next video animation software that's free is Powtoon, meant for dynamic video presentations. While there are paid options with advanced features, Powtoon also has a stripped-down free tool for videos up to three minutes long.
In addition to what's listed above, Powtoon's free software also has:
- Custom styles
- Change aspect ratios and sizes
- YouTube, Facebook, Wistia, Vimeo, PowerPoint, and PDF export
- Full video, animation, GIF, and image file implementation
It's a great tool for beginners, with several professional-looking templates to choose from, including animated explainer and infographic-style videos, as well as templates built specifically for product promotion. You can also start from scratch or import a theme from PowerPoint.
Stykz
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
Stykz is one of the easiest animation software to use. With it, you can make basic 2D stick figure animated videos, like this one:
And this one:
Pretty basic, but totally free.
Stykz is frame-based, meaning you work on one individual frame at a time. It uses onionskins so you can see the previous frame and how to two flow together.
All edits are done within the 'Stage' — in other words, you make your edits and view your changes within the same window. No toggling between views needed.
Edit one or multiple stick objects, fill shapes, and import your own stick figures. Everything will auto-save as you go, so you don't need to worry about losing all your hard work.
Synfig Studio
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux
The next free video animation online is Synfig Studio, an open-source platform for creating 2D animated videos. With it, you use vector graphics to create timeline-based animations.
Like OpenToonz, it offers a bone system for animation controls so you can create natural movements. Create cutout animation using bitmap images or control your vector artwork, and use the additional Skeleton Distortion layer for complex deformations to bitmap artwork.
Advanced features include linking parameters for layers, allowing you to build character puppets and other advanced dynamic structures. It's certainly not made for beginners, so turn to an easier option to get started before upgrading to Synfig's advanced feature set. There are plenty of video tutorials to help you get used to the program.
Here's an example of a fun animated short created with Synfig Studio:
Free Video Editor Software For Mac
Toontastic 3D
Platforms: Android, iOS
Google's own free animation software for Android, Toontastic 3D is meant for kids, but brands can also use it to make animated 3D videos. Ideal for storytelling, you get started with Toontastic by creating your own characters, either from scratch or based off an uploaded photo. Then it's time to insert your characters into a story.
Toontastic is meant to encourage budding storytellers to get create with their narratives, and brands can do the same. Plan your storyline, animate, add narration and music, and then export it to share it with the world.
Your storyline is based on Toontastic templates, each with a different number of scenes. Toontastic also has premade scenes to choose from, so the only 'drawing' you need to do is when it comes to the characters.
If it sounds like a lot of steps, Google says you can create a one-minute video with up to six scenes in just a minute — though that doesn't include the time it takes to create your characters upfront. It also works offline so you can create videos on your daily commute or when the WiFi's out.
If you're looking for more control and creative flexibility, Toontastic isn't the best option. It's best-suited for those who are Disk inventory x mac download. very new to the world of animated videos. Soon you'll graduate to one of the others on this list!
Honorable Mentions
- DigiCel FlipBook (note that the free version includes watermark)
Summary
The best free animation software really depends on your skill level, your hardware, and the types of videos you want to make. In sum:
- Animaker: simple, browser-based animation software for beginners, with paid upgrades available
- Blender: advanced open-source 3D animation software for people with video experience
- K-3D: 3D animation software with polygonal modeling
- OpenToonz: 2D animation software with a long list of features for proficient or expert video folks
- Pencil2D: hand-drawn, 2D animated videos with a simple interface that's beginner-friendly but loaded with features
- Plastic Animation Paper: helpful for incorporating hand-drawn characters into 2D animated videos
- Powtoon: great for creating simple, three-minute explainer or infographic videos in presentation-style format
- Stykz: beginner-friendly, stick-figured based 2D animation software
- Synfig Studio: robust software for creating vector-based animated videos with advanced character control
- Toontastic 3D: for people who are very new to creating animated videos; meant for kids but can create simple, storytelling- and character-based videos for brands as well
Want to Learn More?
Screen recording has become one of the best methods to create a footage of your desktop activity with ease. There might be several occasions when you want to capture your gameplay, record streaming videos, or either make some video tutorials or software reviews on your Mac. In case these circumstances arise, a good screen recorder is necessary. Actually, there are lots of screen recording software that are available online. However, most of these tools only offer paid version or have a poor recording quality. In this article, we will introduce the best free screen recorder for Mac.
Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder
Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder is a free but in the meantime very comprehensive program that you can use to create high-quality videos. With the help of this tool, you will have an easy access to the experience of using a brilliant screen activity recorder that doesn't leave any watermark at all on your video after a successful registration. Moreover, this program can capture your desktop activity together with the audio coming from your system and microphone. Overall, there is surely no doubt that Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder is one of the best free screen recorders for Mac available on the market. To utilize this program, you can follow the step-by-step guide below.
- Firstly, you need to visit the official website of Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder.
- On the main page of the site you can click the 'Start Recording' button to launch the screen recorder.
- Once you launched it, you can set to record screen or webcam, custom recording area, and change audio input, etc. You can also go to settings and make some configurations.
- Once done settings, hit the red recording button to start recording. During the recording process, you can add a webcam to your screen, and you can even add some annotations to it.
- After you have finalized the recording, click the stop button to stop it. At this point, a preview window will pop up. On the preview window, you can save the video by clicking the 'Save video' button, or even share the video with your friends by clicking the share button.
Monosnap
Monosnap is another mentionable flexible program specifically developed for Mac OS. You can use this program not only to record your screen but also to take quick screenshots in case you need to use it as a powerful screen recording software. In addition, this tool can be used as a storage software. This program can also offer the option of capturing your webcam, microphone or system sound as you can just set it before you start recording according to your need. Aside from that, the mentioned program can record in 60 fps. This means that you can record smoothly even you are playing high framerate games. If you want to use this free video recording software for Mac, you may follow the steps below.
- Download and install Monosnap.
- After successfully finalizing the installation, click the Monosnap's drop down menu, then choose 'Record Video' to start recording.
- In case you want to stop this program from recording, just click its drop down menu again then click 'Finish recording' to end it. Afterwards, your recording will be saved automatically, and you can check it right away at the location of your choice of saving.
OBS Studio
The next free screen recording tool for Mac that you can rely on according to our list is OBS Studio. This is a free and open source screen recorder that is available on both Windows, Mac, and Linux. The suggested program will allow you to capture real-time activities and create excellent live streaming videos. Moreover, this program has the ability to incorporate footage from your previous recordings or add exiting videos. On the other side, this program is to some degree complicated, in the sense that you can take certain time familiarizing its interface and configurations. Here are the steps on how to use this program.
Free Video Creation Software For Mac Windows 10
- First of all you need to have OBS Studio installed in your computer.
- Once you have it, launch OBS, then click 'Scene' > 'Source' > 'Add Icon', and then click 'Windows Capture'.
- After the previous step is done, a pop up window will show and allow you to rename your video you are going to record. Once done, click the 'OK' button to proceed.
- Next, select the window you want to record.
- Lastly, you only need to hit the 'Start Recording' button to initiate recording. Once done recording, just click the top button to end it.
Jing
Another free screen recording software for Mac is Jing by Techsmith that has been very popular on the market for a long time. This program is very simple and easy to use that are the pillars of its popularity. It comes with a movable sun icon that can be placed anywhere on your display, which enables you to easily utilize its function. Aside from screen recording, you can use this tool to take screenshots and edit it right after capturing. However, this program can only record up to 5 minutes. If you are still interested to use this program despite its time limitation, you can follow these steps.
- First and foremost, download and install this program on your pc from the official Techsmith website.
- Hit the 'Sun' icon and select 'Capture'.
- Once you are inside the options panel, simply adjust the frame according to your preference then select 'Capture video'.
- To stop the recording, simply hit the 'Stop' button, and then the recorded file will automatically pop up for preview.
Quicktime Player
The last recording program for Mac is the Quicktime Player. This is an extensible multimedia framework that can be used not only to record videos but also to play, edit and share videos on Mac. This tool can be characterized with that it has a very intuitive interface which makes it very easy to use even for beginners. This program can create footage of your Mac screen with a web camera or iPhone screen. You can follow the instructions below to capture your screen using this best free screen recorder for Mac.
- To begin with, you have to launch Quicktime Player at the first hand.
- Once you see the interface, click 'File' and select 'New Screen Recording', then a screen recording window will pop up. On this window, you can configure your recording settings. After configuring, hit the red round recording button to start recording your screen.
- Once done with the complete recording process, click the 'Stop' button in the menu bar, then your recorded file will automatically pop up.
Conclusion
As you can see, the aforementioned programs are the currently best free Mac screen recording software you can find on the market. You can decide which program you will use for your recording. I highly recommend Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder. Compared to the other programs above, this program can be used to quickly record your screen, audio, as well as a webcam as it is a web-based application. Aside from that, it has an easy interface and even beginners can use it.
Related posts:
