Hey guys, what's the best software to use to create simple animations for a beginner?

Replies11

  • Animate is the most logical for a beginner. Toon Boom is hands down the best. Also the most expensive. After Effects is good for puppet animation only. Procreate is fun but super limited. Nice brushes though. One of the problems with Animate is that the brushes are pretty hopeless. And that Adobe owns it.
  • Hi Malika, looking at your art style I think After Effects would be a good starting point, its a bit daunting at first but it has loads of great presets which make animation really easy! [ Shout out to "Wave Warp" ! ]

    Procreate is an amazing tool, especially if your used to using it but might be hard for a beginner as it takes such a long time. If your going to start there, start with something super simple, a characters eyes blinking ect...

    Start at 12 frames per second and let your imagination go wild!!!
  • I've been learning After Effects from scratch by watching YouTube tutorials. YouTube is great for finding out how to use software, so whatever you go for I'm sure you'll find tutorials.

    There's another Adobe program called Animate which I've never looked at but included with CC – my guess is it must be easier to use then After Effects.
  • Hey Malika! Hope you're well. I spoke with one of the Animators on our team and they recommended Toonboom and TVpaint - hope that helps :)
  • It really depends on what type of animation you'd like to do. If its motion graphics After Effects is number one. Simple character animations can be achieved using a free plugin called DUIK or £30 plugin called rubber hose. And there's a bunch of tutorials online to get you started.

    If its frame by frame Photoshop can be good for that, but TV Paint and Toon Boom are more specialised for 2d frame by frame.

    I hope that helps
  • After effects is pretty good and the program Duik as well
  • @Ti Leoni Ohh I love Procreate but I haven’t experimented with the animation features yet. Thank you!
  • Hello Malika! Hope all is well. I use Procreate. This app is AMAZING! You can create whatever you want including animation and is easy to use. If u look at their Instagram. Hope this help! ☺️
  • TV Paint is a great software for animation and it's my go to. There are others like After effects, Toon Boom, Photoshop (though that does tend to take longer for 2D frame to frame). Hope this helps :)

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