Animation Movie Software For Mac

Animation Movie Software For Mac Windows 7
Best Animation Software For Mac

Animated Videos have become one of the signature tools of marketers worldwide for telling a story and creating effective marketing campaigns for the future.

Depending on your purpose and skills, you can choose from different types of software available both offline and online, for professionals and amateur users, 2D, 3D, whiteboard or stop motion animation tool, etc.

Below are our picks for the best animation software for mac of 2019. For more background information, see a more detailed buying advice below the picks.

Motion is the best way to build effects for Final Cut Pro projects, including titles, transitions, generators, filters, and more. Save any effect to make it immediately available in Final Cut Pro, where you can apply adjustments right in the video editor. And instantly jump back to Motion. 8 Best Animated Movie Makers Animated movie makers are assumed to be user-friendly video editing software or tools which not only helps in editing and creating videos, but also in publishing them on different social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and etc.

Part1. Whiteboard Animation Tools
Part2. 2D Animation Tools
Part3. 3D Animation Tools
Part4. Stop Motion Animation Tools
Part5. Motion Graphics Software
How to Choose the Right Animation Software for Mac

Part1. Whiteboard Animation Tools

#1. Best Whiteboard Animation Software for Mac: VideoScribe by Sparkol

This program is produced by Sparkol and it remains one of the best whiteboard animation software programs for both Mac and PC. You can also use it on a number of mobile devices including devices that run android. There are elements of the program that works through the cloud making it very simple to upload and edit video wherever you might be.

Videoscribe works quite intuitively for building business presentations, TED talk style videos, tutorials, creative marketing solutions and more. What is produced out of this program looks hand-drawn and extremely professional for any type of marketing campaign. The best part is that you can use many of these tools to create these effects with very little animation knowledge.

Even children enjoy using this program because of its ease of use. There is a full library of stock images, animation and more as well as an extensive voiceover soundtrack that can be used with the solutions here.

The yearly and monthly subscription also ensures that there is a flexible use for the program. It also comes with a seven-day free trial with features to try before you buy.

#2. 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.

The free templates available in the program as well as the quality of the animations that are presented within the platform make it a true favorite amongst many brands.

A number of major companies now almost exclusively trust their creative tools to Powtoon and it can be used almost anywhere where there is an Internet connection with mass compatibility.

As a fully cloud-based system there’s no use for installation or downloads to take full advantage of it. Its available for free use on any Macintosh computer as long as you are willing to use the watermark.

Part2. 2D Animation Tools

#3. Best 2D Animation Software for Mac: Toon Boom Harmony

This is a program that actually deserves some surprising recognition. The company has partnered with major film companies like Warner brothers, Disney, and Nickelodeon and it’s currently one of the best and most powerful 2-D animation suites for commercial use.

With the use of this program you can build anything from traditional animation all the way to amazing drawing tools that can produce the future of 3-D animation. The 3-D cameras and integration available in this platform can provide fundamental solutions for drawing, rendering and building beautiful projects.

There are tools and tasks available here that can suit small hobby animators all the way up to professional uses. The premium version delivers the top tool professional solutions that you might expect at of any major animation suite. The essentials level of the harmony program is designed more for hobbyists and it delivers a scaled down version of some of their more high and customization techniques.

Toon Boom not only remains one of the best 2-D animation programs for mac but it is a regular fixture in the animation world today.

#4. Runner-up, Best 2D Animation Software for Mac: Adobe Animate

Adobe is one of the successors to perhaps one of the most popular 2-D animation software is available. At the core of Animate are the flash tools that have been working to create high-quality animations since the early days of the Internet. Today the program uses vector-based publishing to produce intuitive and inexpensive animation results.

Although it may not have all of the professional animation tools that you would find in some major production suites, it’s possible to get very professional looking results.

#5. Best Free 2D Animation Software for Mac: Pencil

This is a simple and open source vector-based program that’s designed for the Mac OS X platform. It’s also available on Linux and Windows and it was originally created for producing digital comics. The platform allows animators to use the basic hand-drawn techniques that were experimented with long in the past. Pencil is an ideal program for beginners that don’t want to invest in expensive license for a program. It can teach the basic principles of animation and with a timeline feature it’s possible to add new layers to arrange fun effects.

This is one of the best programs for beginners and sketching characters as well as setting keyframes can all be done using the pen tool, fill tool and the vector layers tool. The interface on this is actually based off of some of the original Adobe flash platform’s and it produces some good quality graphics even on a tablet device. Perhaps one of the best parts of using this program is that it automatically exports everything in.FLV which gives it mass compatibility with a number of online sources. The videos that you export here will be easy to embed or upload in video sharing sources and more.

Part3. 3D Animation Tools

#6. Best 3D Animation Software for Mac: Maya

Autodesk Maya remains one of the best 3-D modeling software programs that’s designed for Mac, Windows and Linux. The program itself has migrated many of the tools away from Autodesk Mud and now has features that you would normally find in several different pieces of software for creating highly detailed 3-D models. Autodesk Maya is a 3-D modeling software that is designed mostly for professional artists but with the templates that are available for download and the massive amount of tutorials online, it is possible to see quite a difference with this software when you are working with it over time.

#7. Runner-up, Best Free 3D Animation Software for Mac: Blender

Blender is a program that is designed with open source technology for 3-D modeling and it’s made mostly for beginners that want the option to learn how to play and get comfortable with reading modeling on their Mac computer. This open-source program does feature many of the basic features that you can expect to find including rigging, animation, architectural support and even the option to create full games. The philosophy that’s behind it allows for the inclusion of many different templates and it is very well suited to use by a number of creators. Blender remains some of the best 3-D modeling software for creative artists with its completely free use.

Part4. Stop Motion Animation Tools

#8. Best for Making Stop Motion Videos: Dragonframe

Dragonframe remains one of the best stop motion software solutions for mac today. It’s one of the top choices for many of the world’s largest studios like Laika and Aardman. It can produce high-quality masterpieces in stop motion animation and it is a perfectly suited set of professional tools. The program allows for easy capture of a number of precise movements and you can also compose in light various angles using the camera controls on board. Editing images as well as performing advanced image review techniques can all be done through the program as well.

The process of inserting and editing audio can be done according to a characters needs and based off of the animation that you want to create. The advantage to using some of the precise movements and controls in this program is that you can have a wide array of improvements at your fingertips for professional products.

#9. Runner-up: Stop Motion in Movavi Video Editor

We selected this is our runner up because with this program there’s no need to pay for a dedicated piece of stop motion software. This is an open source piece of technology that delivers a full-featured video editor that suitable for many beginners.

The program itself is perfect for getting all of the features that are often teased in many full license software programs. Because it’s open source there are also a number of templates that can make it easy to use. The full-featured video editor is excellent for its features and for the newest features that are being added by the community regularly to keep up with the stop motion technology of today.

Part5. Motion Graphics Software

#10. Best Motion Graphic Animation Software for Mac: After Effects

With a number of motion graphic animation software programs available for Mac, after effects sets itself apart.

Adobe After Effects is truly one of the most masterful programs for any motion graphic artist. Of course many of the features of aftereffects can be found in other Adobe programs, but there is no other piece of software that can be so versatile for the creation of motion graphics. The way to the menus are set up and the way that the program behaves makes it an intuitive leap for 3-D modeling and 2.5 D animation.

The whole goal of aftereffects is to help you produce almost any type of animation that you may want without having to involve 3-D modeling. After effects remains one of the primary pieces of software for motion graphic work in storyboards, motion comics and more. There are elements in this program that are close to Photoshop and illustrator but they have been optimized for the purpose of creating motion graphics here.

How to Choose the Right Animation Software for Mac

When it comes down to choosing the program that you may want to purchase a license for or download on your computer, you need to be very focused into the types of animation that you are looking for and what you need out of any program. The first thing you need to understand is the various styles and techniques for animation and what you might want out of a program:

2d animation

This is the traditional style of animation that comes from the idea of cell shading or digital cell shading. In the past animators would draw images on transparent pieces of paper and then later than one frame at a time to create motion. Today drawings can be rendered and layered on top of one another using a digital timeline and computer vector animations.

3d animation

This is a completely new and different way to look at traditional animation that requires understanding the basic principles of composition, movement and 3-D modeling. Creating 3-D graphics can involve scanning objects or even piecing together various 3-D models to create characters, share complex ideas and then animate all of the items along a storyboard.

Motion graphics

A motion graphic is considered to be one of the newest forms of animation. These motion graphics are fairly common in items like banner ads, short comics and more. Usually these types of graphics are designed for commercial purposes.

Stop motion

Stop motion involves taking photos of an object and manipulating it ever so slightly to eventually produce a storyboard of motion. Completing and repeating this process over and over eventually gives the full allusion of movement. This is a very time-consuming process that often involves manipulating objects slowly over hours of movement to create just a few seconds of animation.

Presentation or whiteboard style

This is a popular style of animation that has taken off over the past few years. The online marketing videos that are produced and the specific programs that have been created for building whiteboard videos are proving that this is a format that truly keeps people engaged and remains a trend for school projects, business presentations and more.

1. PowToon

PowToon is a free and awesome software that enables the users to create animations. Previous animation-related projects are considered to be expensive and often out of reach from common users. However, the introduction of PowToon has made this typically expensive work of art, more affordable, or at no cost at all and most importantly, simple to navigate.

One particular feature of this software that clearly distinguishes itself from others is that it allows you to choose between the presentation and video mode. It also supports the output export file format as an MP4 movie, fully catering for playback on the web and even uploading onto YouTube. The other advantage of PowToon is that you don’t have to download the software in order to use it. All you need to do is sign-up and do everything on the online platform.

Prior knowledge of Flash or Photoshop is also non-essential, as you only need to drag-and-drop the characters or props and then carry on with process. It’s an instant favorite among beginners as well as those who prefers a clean-cut interface.

2. iClone5

iClone5 provides real-time 3D animations to the users. iClone5’s real-time engine and motion capturing capability clearly offers a strong competitive edge over other similar software. The software can also be used to help expedite the project deliveries as well as completion of timeline, which is often the main challenge in the broadcasting (both traditional and digital) and marketing industry. Instead of having to invest a hefty amount on camera equipments or those alike, iClone5 offers you a more affordable solution, that doesn't jeopardize the quality.

The standard version is priced at $79.95, whilst the pro version at a premium of $199.95. Instead of jumping right into a purchase, there’s a downloadable 30-days trial version, so you might as well give it a go before parting with the cash. Upon installation, simply launch iClone5 and start the animation project. Besides creating and producing from scratch, you can always make use of the built-in templates for a quick one.

The same goes for a direct recording of your acting with any off-the-shelf depth camera and effortlessly turn them into an animation. iClone5’s suitable for any users whose looking for additional features to explore and getting professional about making animations, yet without causing themselves a migraine.

3. GoAnimate

GoAnimate is another great animated movie maker software that lets you create animated videos effectively and efficiently. You can either sign up for free or check out the various plans and pricing available. The main differences would be the quality of resolution (i.e. high definition up to 1080P), removal of watermarks, unrestricted access to all features and libraries, project collaboration and so much more.

Apart from the standardized built-in themes or backgrounds, props and characters, you can actually customize, explore and turn your ideas into a highly personalized animation that’s totally diversified in representation. There are plenty of character actions, wardrobe changes and hairstyles to select from, all just within a click of the mouse.

Determined to impress your audience? Lip-sync your characters by adding voice recording, voice-over or simply import the audio files. It’s definitely more engaging than a plain scripted or visualized storyboard. You want more? You can also drag-and-drop to apply audio effects as well as adjust the timing. Once completed, just hit the share button!

Here’s a YouTube video on 'How to use GoAnimate':

4. Video Explainers

Video Explainers is a bit different from the other software mentioned. It provides a user with complete animated movies that can be easily used in classes or in a conference room. They claimed to have designed more than 800 videos for more than 500 organizations, some well-recognized amongst reputable organizations.

The whole process of publishing an animated video consists of 5 stages from Discovery to Scriptwriting, Storyboarding, Animation and Delivery. It includes the 4 important people with 3 promises to deliver 2 great outcomes and 1, ultimate, amazing result.

It actually works in a manner where the Scriptwriter will initially write a script, then creatively transformed into a masterpiece by the Animator/Illustrators. The Accounts Manager (if required or as and when necessary) would carry on with the project in terms of tracking timelines and etc., whilst the whole project being administered or overseen by the Producer.

You can also outsource the voice-over to the video production services team in order to locate the best voice talent possible for your animated video for a professional makeover. After that, you’re ready to publish it wherever you want to.

5. Wideo

Wideo is one of the best and user-friendly online video app used for producing animated videos. Besides the creation of animated videos, you can also share them on Facebook and Twitter or embed it onto your blog.

This online video app helps you in making not only an appealing, but truly engaging animated videos for your products (or services), businesses, educational subjects, presentations and etc. Wideo is totally accessible， free of charge and you just need to sign up for an account to get started. If you wish to get rid of the watermark, you’ll need to only pay a small fee.

If you’ve never try making one, you can always practice by using the templates available. You can save your progress halfway and then continue to edit it at a later time, rather than rushing through. In order to add some personal flair, it’s also possible to use your own selection of images, logos, pictures and audio.

Check out the '7 Ways of using an online video in the classroom':

6. Toon Boom Studio

Toon Boom Studio is a multi-faceted animated movie making tool and that’s why it has been widely used by Cartoon Network, Disney, Nickelodeon and many others. Through Toon Boom Studio, animated movies can be made from scanning or copying the images, with plenty of templates to choose from. It’s also one of the best animated movie makers for the education industry, whereby the visually illustrative animation can help to cultivate artistic abilities that are topped with written (or narrative) skills.

You’ll be able to try the multi-technique animation software for yourself with it’s trial version before deciding upon the best plan that suits your animation needs. As for educational institutions, students and teachers, don’t forget to check out your privilege pricing with their representative.

Other than previously built-in features, you’ll be basically spoilt with it’s newly added Blockbuster effects, lip-syncing engine, natural movement for your characters and scene transitions. The Toon Boom Studio provides you with not only an easy option to create lively animated movies, but also the resources to make it happen, just like any other pro-animators.

7. Dvolver

The Dvolver animated movie maker is a very straightforward tool. You don’t even need to sign up for an account in order to create an animated movie of your own. Just in case you’re not aware, Devolve's formerly known as Dfilm and there’s been more than 8 million movies made using the platform, up-to-date. Once you've open up the website, dive straight on to Make a Movie and you’ll be on the work interface instantly. You’ll be given your options on the left with the displaying grid on the right.

Unfortunately, the drag-and-drop function isn't supported and hence, you’ll need to literally click to select your options. Start with choosing a theme for the background and then proceed by clicking NEXT to select your character/s. You’ll be prompted an alert or message if you've not completed the current screen/slide. However, you can always click BACK to return for any changes or edits.

It might be slightly disappointing to find out the limited character options or features, but it’s perfectly acceptable when you’re new to the whole animation idea. Plus, you can also contact them for a customized setup. Before you actually hit the SEND button to share your new creation with family and friends, you can have a quick preview of the animated video.

Animation Movie Software For Mac Windows 7

8. Zimmer Twins

Similar to some of the reviewed animated movie makers above, Zimmer Twins is free for use. However, you’ll need to subscribe to the service (different plans offered) if you’ll like to be able to access extra features, share, rate or comment on the animated videos. It’s a well-liked tool among parents due to it’s simplicity as well as user-friendly interface.

Best Animation Software For Mac

In the free version, you’ll have 4 main Clips to work with; Talk-bubble, Chase, Close-up and Star. All you need to do is click on the desired option in either Clips and it’ll instantly appear on the timeline underneath. In order to arrange your scenes, simply click, drag-and-drop it on the timeline. You can view your creation as you go along in real-time whenever you want. You can also change the characters and etc. by clicking on the underlined words right above the timeline.

Other than that, you’ll notice that there’s a backward and forward arrow on top of the viewing screen. That’s to undo and redo your edits. Just make sure you’re logged in before you save your animated video at the end, or else it’ll all be lost when you leave the page and that’s the last thing you want happen.

Let it be for business, education or pure entertainment, any of the above mentioned software can help you to easily create an animated video. The software are specifically developed and designed to assist users to craft a story of their own, with minimal costs and time, but of high quality. The features are of course, restricted according to each and every individual online platform. Therefore, it’s best for you to try it out beforehand. Plus, there’s no harm in actually using a few of them at the same time, unless you’re planning to go pro with the animated videos.

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