In animation, 2D animation software is at the heart of every creative project, for purposes of entertainment, marketing, and education. In such a competitive field, the call for flexibility and intuitive tools serves the needs of both freelancers and studios in bringing an idea to life, perhaps in greater efficiency and quality.
This blog gives you a highly selected list of ten 2D animation software as must-haves for freelance and 3D design firms. Here comes the list with both the free and paid options that have been included to make an easy choice of what perfectly works for your budgets as well as project requirements. Let’s dive right into it!
Toon Boom Harmony
- Type: Paid
- Best for: Professional studios and skilled freelancers
Toon Boom Harmony is actually the industry standard for 2D animation. Disney, Cartoon Network, and Warner Bros. use it, and these are statements in itself to its capability. Harmony offers strong rigging, character animation, and compositing tools with a wide number of choices between frame-by-frame and cut-out animation.
Key Features:
- Powerful rigging tools for cut-out animation
- Smooth pencil lines with pressure sensitivity
- Advanced color management to deal with complex scenes
Cons: The learning curve for the app is steep when taken to it by a beginner; the cost can be a bit pricey for some.
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Adobe Animate
- Type: Paid or subscription
- Best For: Versatile freelancers and agencies
As the most in-demand application within the field of 2D vector animation, Adobe Animate is used through applications, games, and any web-based animation. It also includes multimedia because this Adobe tool integrates quite easily to work with other applications from the same Adobe environment. Such are the reasons this application goes with the mainstream in carrying out multimedia works.
Key features:
- Has an extremely simple user interface which makes it easy to use by everyone
- User-friendly for amateurs and also has exporting options as an HTML5 Canvas, and even up to Flash/Adobe AIR for use in that context
- User-friendly export option for SVG for graphics support
- Humongous library of assets and brushes
Cons: Adobe Animate is subscription-based. Therefore, it might not be apt for freelancers who require or prefer a one-time purchase.
Moho Pro (Anime Studio)
- Type: Paid
- Best for: Character animation and rigging
Moho Pro is an excellent animation tool, which comes with a bone rigging system that rigs the characters with ease. The Smart Bone feature and the bone rigging system ensure character animation is smooth and intuitive for a freelancer who has no idea about rigging.
Key features:
- Excellent bone rigging system for easy character animation
- Smart Bones to control complex animations
- Integrated bitmap and vector drawing tools
Cons: Even though strong, Moho Pro does require a bit of learning to tap all its functionalities, especially in complicated character movements.
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Synfig Studio
- Type: Open source
- Best for: Freelancers looking for free animation solutions
Synfig Studio is free and open source 2D animation that features many capabilities. In such a software, animators can create high-quality animations that are vector-based by not drawing frame by frame. The software uses its capabilities of vector tweening, bones, and different layer types to produce rich animated scenes.
Key features:
- Free and open-source, making it accessible to everyone
- Vector tweening for smooth animations
- Support for cut-out and bitmap animation
Cons: Though it has all the power, Synfig at times becomes very confusing to learn for the newbies since there is very little help content one can easily find.
OpenToonz
- Free version: Available
- Best for: Freelancers and small studios requiring professional-grade resources
OpenToonz is free, open-source software developed by Digital Video S.p.A. and Studio Ghibli. It has an impressive collection of animation tools, available free of charge. As such, OpenToonz was widely used in Studio Ghibli productions; its powerful capabilities include the GTS scanning tool and its effects development kit.
Key features:
- Open source and free with powerful tools for animation
- Integrated effects and GTS scanning tool for drawing scans
- May be personalized using a plugin SDK
Cons: GUI looks a bit dated; users also report instability
Clip Studio Paint
- Type: Paid
- Best for: Digital illustrators as well as frame-by-frame animators
Clip Studio Paint is popular for its illustration and painting tools, but it also boasts a very complete set of 2D animation features. This makes it perfect for digital artists looking to add animation to their repertoire without having to learn a whole new software set.
Key features:
- Complete illustration tools for detailed character and background designs
- Support for frame-by-frame animation
- Recommended for short animations and web series
Cons: A lot of limitations when doing short animations as this may not be perfect for such large productions.
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Pencil2D
- Type: Free
- Best for: New users, freelancing on small projects
Pencil2D is free, open-source 2D animation. It is perfect for novices. It supports both vector and bitmap graphics, letting the animator switch between raster and vector workflows easily. Pencil2D is minimalist in design. It has a very simple interface.
Key features:
- Lightweight and simple to use, perfect for new animators
- Supports both vector and bitmap drawing
- Cross-platform compatibility with Windows, Mac, and Linux
Cons: Limited advanced features make it suitable only for small or simpler animation projects.
TVPaint Animation
- Type: Paid
- Best for: High-end productions and advanced freelancers
TVPaint Animation is a powerful, raster-based animation application well-suited for traditionally trained artists making the transition into digital media. It is most often utilized in feature films and large-scale productions. For professionals who will be meticulous regarding the quality of their output and the excellent richness of tools for their drawings, this ranks right at the top.
Key features:
- Frame by frame unmatched
- Highly rich raster tools for simulating traditional media
- Good for creating textured and hand-drawn animation
Cons: The software is pricey and not so attractive to freelancers.
Blender (2D Grease Pencil)
- Type: Free
- Best for: Experimental animators and studios exploring 2D and 3D fusion
Blender is mainly a 3D modeling tool and offers excellent 2D animation features through its Grease Pencil. A user can work in an area that seems to marry frame-by-frame animation inside a 3D space with 2D animation, bringing out extraordinary 2D and 3D animation styles in one frame in the Blender Grease Pencil environment.
Key features:
- Free and open source with a great community
- Includes 2D and 3D animation under one interface
- Highly developed drawing tools with layer options for very complex scenes
Cons: As Blender is developed in 3D, it could be a lot for someone just looking for features in 2D animation.
Krita
- Type: Free
- Best for: Artists transitioning from illustrations to animations
The latest development in Krita is that it is no longer an exclusive painting program as it introduced animation, thereby catching the eyes of illustrators who will be moving towards animation. Krita also supports frame-by-frame animation in its tools where onion skinning is helpful for first-timers or a person aware of digital artwork.
Key Features:
- All painting tools with the capability to handle animation
- Onion skinning for an accurate and precise frame-to-frame
- Free with regular updates and community support
Cons: Krita’s animation tools are extremely recent. Some of the more advanced tools you may be accustomed to in specialized animation software have not yet made their appearance.
Choosing the right 2D Animation software
This kind of software is very essential in creating engaging, hand-drawn animations that breathe life into ideas in an extremely accessible format. With intuitive tools for drawing, layering, and timing, artists can build detailed characters and expressive movements, leaving room for endless creative possibilities.
It is not just entertainment; 2D animation is used in education, advertising, and game design to make complex concepts visually accessible. The software gives small studios and independent artists the opportunity to do professional quality animation without large equipment, hence democratization of animation that has allowed creative freedom and been instrumental for storytelling across cultures and industries worldwide.
Good animation software is easy to use, and control, and a tool for drawing, inking, and coloring the characters and scenes. The main features include timeline and frame-by-frame, onion skinning on transparency between frames, extensive libraries of brushes, colors, and more, but more advanced support vector graphics, so the scale of your animation can be done to whatever size without losing detail.
It supports customization for shortcuts, allows synchronization by audio, and also features format export options in the context of animation. Such graphic tablets should allow animation done at a frame that gets rendered in a very fluid, professional manner that could help any level of animators with both simplicity and flexibility.
Wrapping it up
Project goals, experience level, and budget will ultimately drive choices for 2D animation software. Thankfully, all variations, from high, full-time grade applications, to open-source ones made highly available and free to independent freelancer works with web-based animated ideas in the works all around on the same lines: as much or little needed by even fully professional studios looking into getting up and making big time 2D works come across to bring into action different kinds of features like what goes on when your whole imagination sets alive.
How Cad Crowd can help
While you always have the final say when it comes to the 2D animation service you will be working with, it’s never recommended to go for the first name that you encounter. Here at Cad Crowd, we will connect you with established freelancers who have mastered both free and paid 2D animation software that can breathe life into your projects. Request a quote today.
