Best Free Animation Software

Free animation software has come a long way! Here are 5 of the best free and open source 2D animation programs.
Each is a free, full version, open source program available on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
OpenToonz
opentoonz.github.io/
Learn OpenToonz with this tutorial playlist:
• OpenToonz Tutorials
Blender
www.blender.org/
Tutorials Coming Soon...
Sozi
sozi.baierouge.fr/
Learn Sozi with this tutorial playlist:
• Sozi Tutorials
Krita
krita.org/
Tutorials Coming Soon...
Pencil2D
www.pencil2d.org/
Learn Pencil2D with this tutorial playlist:
• Pencil2D Tutorials
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Visit my Website for Free Software Reviews and Tutorials:
tjfree.com/
#animations #freesoftware

[@markspc1285]

*used for professionals* , "here is my 4 year old kid they made an animation on here"

[@crystalz1839]

He just allows them to try to draw it XD

[@3dguy299]

No the kid is just a professional

[@Jason-with-a-game]

So you're telling me she's not a professional disguised as a kid?

[@GetUnlabeled]

Lol got my vote!

[@helios9947]

@@GetUnlabeled when you think this is reddit

[@oldbrandnamehere]

OpenToonz: Good for animating if youre new! Blender: Need to have a little experience lol Sozi: edits, for editing things, Krita: YES. JUST YES. Pencil2D: sorta like a flipaclip for pc i hope you enjoyed my opinions on this lol

[@oldbrandnamehere]

@@milka1150 :D Yeah!

[@bones2829]

Ty

[@Piyush-bx8tc]

I have photoshop with me, so do i need to download krita? Or they both are similar? (For Animation(frame by frame))

[@oldbrandnamehere]

@@Piyush-bx8tc uh, i dont use krita anymore, so i think frame by frame.

[@Piyush-bx8tc]

@@oldbrandnamehere what do you use?

[@hexagonpolo]

I have been using Krita in my videos, I am not good at drawing at all and I am actually looking for vector animation instead. But the layers and brush options really helped me with creating good looking maps.

[@edsonclaudeciro4482]

Wich software did you pick for vector animation?

[@NightFireXD]

Thank you for being an outstanding teacher. I know this to be an old post but i just wanted to give a shout out to you for helping me to get into animating with these. Most sat on my desktop, but now i can have so much more fun. I have all of these but Sozi. With Dyslexia was hard to learn but now i'm back out there again. How very awesome of you, Namaste.

[@DoubleVanimation]

How tf does this video keep me entertained wtf? My attention span is as good as a newborn goldfish

[@sebastienc.9437]

Thanks you ! Summary : - Opentoonz : 00:36 - Blender : 01:51 - Sozi : 03:03 - Krita : 04:10 - Pencil2D : 05:20

[@TJFREE]

This is great Sébastien, thanks!

[@ijemofili9435]

Pin this

[@thechildinyourbasement428]

Which one do u guys reccomend ?

[@waqarshah6173]

@@TJFREE where can i purchase these software for animation???

[@mayur260]

@@thechildinyourbasement428 Blender

[@zepp8806]

I have always really wanted to learn how to animate but just don't have the money to do it. Thank you.

[@TJFREE]

You're welcome. Good luck!

[@alr2305]

Same

[@impudentsquid]

And I don't have the talent

[@ITSME-tz8qe]

Same

[@camillereid2706]

@memerboi99 lmao the person in the comment said thank you.....

[@nam15504]

A useful and competent explanation, so I tried it and it turned out that everything works fine. Special thanks to the author for such useful content.

[@myerties1261]

Super great video makes excited to learn more and get started! Love the "stay organized" motto !!

[@edelinemae3400]

His kid is animating!! I cry 😭

[@Reddion73]

I'm a kid (13 actualy) and I animate.

[@edelinemae3400]

@@Reddion73 keep doing what you love, kid!

[@Reddion73]

@@edelinemae3400 k

[@sytxexe2183]

tbh it is prettty easy to draw doodle animating i learned it in like maybe 10 min

[@edelinemae3400]

Yeah, animating is kinda easy.. depends on the fps and how much patience you have. I animate but it takes a lot of time.

[@bluerose6118]

When he said "this is my daughter trying to do basic animation", I was like...okay I'm hopeless HAHAAHA

[@bonbonpony]

The key word here is BASIC.

[@HungryForTastyFoodAndComicArt]

This video was the uplifting moment I needed during the 2nd worst yuletide of my life, so *thank you* and may you have a wonderful holiday!

[@azeemtariq1702]

back in and recently got soft soft again, it felt strange and i had previously just taught myself the software. Finding your videos is helping

[@elijah48]

This video was just what I was looking for. Excellent job on the content description and overall length of the video, I didn't feel overwhelmed at the end 👍🏼!

[@azuure6488]

I've always been interested in animation, but I could never find the tools I needed to start! Thank you so much for making this, it was super informative! I'll definitely check out your other videos!

[@gustavoxavierribeiro3803]

clicked on. Very detailed and to the point, thank you so much for tNice tutorials! I subscribed and I look forward to watcNice tutorialng and learning more about

[@ostrich8BC]

15 seconds in and he already mentioned all the options without any begging for likes and stuff what a legend

[@theniceumbrella7174]

This guy: says blender Me who thought blender was a 3D animation software: [visible confusion]

[@factoid-xt9cl]

We can use Blender for video editing, VFX, 3d modelling, 3d and 2d animations

[@What-ys4bv]

I have to say, ur name is "The tasty food" so you might like to crave a lot when you hear blender.

[@factoid-xt9cl]

@@What-ys4bv 😒😒

[@factoid-xt9cl]

@@What-ys4bv Well, I am learning 3d modelling and animation with Blender. so I also knew the other uses of that software

[@aanime7186]

in blender app there will be no virus ?

[@pyonabeyonce525]

You got a like, a subscriber and a buzzer on from an old guy. TNice tutorials is the best soft soft tutorial I've seen so far. You covered a lot of

[@JorgedelCampoAndrade]

Interesting how these programs evolve and your review list change year after year. Good job!

[@lekatte]

I always wanted to make 2d animations, I prefer the "frame by frame" animations, and I think pencil 2d will work for my animations! Thank you!

[@billrogers784]

I love 2 D animation myself. What open source free source software you would suggest to start a learning video KZbin channel for kids. Something like 2 D animation, easy and quick to produce. Let's say you want to create an animated video to teach alphabets for toddlers? Any idea? Thanks in advance.

[@imstanley767]

@@billrogers784 I would use pencil 2d or the first one

[@The_SlothySloth1]

same

[@noname2n526]

Thanks for the motivation. I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I might try it eventually.

[@Bonker_SYT]

Hey man thanks a lot. I was really overwheld and confused but now it all makes sense. Thank you.

[@spiralingspiral72]

No kidding, I actually made my first 2d animation using MS Paint (25 frames)...

[@lionblazegd]

my way of "animating" is ms paint and movie maker XD

[@jaimeengot6202]

​@@lionblazegd Guess I'm not alone 😁

[@NoSubsWithContent]

This is one of the instances where an app on your phone does it better

[@TiTi-pm4my]

@PeyGiy My guess is drawing the individual pictures and creating a slideshow out of those in movie maker to create an animation.

[@boxofstuff994]

Me too! 29 frames for me I think... it's also the only video I have posted on this account...

[@Orser82]

thank you so much for these tools I have been wanting to animate for a while but had no money and all the free ones i could find were not very strong thanks again this really helped out! :)

[@videocataloger2744]

Thank you for this introduction. really inspiring and sozi is new to me. I have been looking for something like this to animate instructions for Fast Video Cataloger on our site.

[@MistaSmith]

Yes, really informative. Also liked that you started with the most valuable tools first.

[@kelxy4105]

thank you!! I've been looking around for animation softwares since i want to get into that stuff and all of the ones i've seen are for business and professional work, like i just want to make a heathers animation anyway, thank you!!

[@karaschoonmaker3794]

This is so helpful. Thank you for posting such wonderful information about (and so many tutorials for) free-to-use software!

[@TJFREE]

You're welcome, Kara!

[@raghojiconstructionsandint8344]

TNice tutorials was super helpful, dude! I got the tutorial version of soft soft just to get a taste, and after figuring it out I decided to purchase the

[@ayubfauzihafiz5599]

Best explanation by far for us totally new to the software, thanks for your ti man, really looking forward to learning how to make so

[@alecosaurusrex1266]

As a Broke artist myself, I will say this was SUPER helpful, tysm!

[@ccuny1]

Nice intro tut. Thanks TJ. Curious about the monitors you use. Guess they're not free but if would be useful to get your perspective on Monitors for Graphics/Video/Animation work.

[@temmysevgi]

Wow, so well done! Thanks for posting, man! Very helpful.

[@user-bp2pl4fn2o]

Bro thank you so much! I’ve had tNice tutorials software for like a year and was super intimidated by all the bars and windows. The way you’ve

[@zoltanracz9105]

Remember when i started with Pivot Animator.... oh god those were the times as beautiful as it was i dont miss it XD

[@jabir5768]

Maaaaaan I remember the good old days

[@jabir5768]

@HanHanPlayz Good for you ! I also lost all my animations, I kinda wanna look at them again (as I think I was getting somewhere around the end).

[@cornguy1514]

@Tayam Gaming No it's not, those are false alarms

[@tausiftaha12]

@Tayam Gaming you're probably a guy who would believe scams and fake ads.

[@hybridchicken2789]

OH MY GOD THANK YOUUUUUUUUU! I love animating but I have a drawing tablet I can connect to my computer and draw on. I have wanted to animate for so long now. Thank you!

[@martinxi2439]

Excellent video. Clearly explained all the basics to get started on soft soft. Thanks

[@marisagonzalez679]

I feel like double liking your video! Thank you!

[@kaungsattthar7693]

Thanks for the opinion.I have Krita but I think that Blender is going to be better for animation because you don't really need to scale stuff and I have been having trouble with some animations with Krita but Krita is a very good Digital Art Program.I think that using Blender would save me a lot of time and the only reason that I sometimes take a long time animating because I don't have a drawing tablet, yet because The Co-Vid's been happening.

[@engininci8347]

Woah, great video mate!

[@deepgulve5822]

future! Great tutorial and wholeso community! Stay safe in these tis and keep your heads up! Do what you want that inspires you,

[@futurestoryteller]

The idea of me doing animation is ridiculous. And I watched the video anyway.

[@JaredJudson]

The idea of me animating with anything other than blender is ridiculous, I watched the video anyway

[@amberanimates2061]

The problem with Blender is the frame rate. You can put the frame rate at 60 fps and have it play back at 5fps. The main problem with that is when your trying to animate something to a song or sound, you cant get it at the right timestamps.

[@harshith9880]

I could listen to Nice tutorialm talk for hours man what a passionate dude ❤️

[@a_confused_spoon]

Question: do all/some of these programs allow you to make animations on videos? Like, is it possible to use a video as a "canvas" and work on its frames to do an animation, like, "on top" of the original video? These seems very advanced programs, so I suppose they do, but I want to make sure. (I'm kinda new to this...)

[@jbroeland]

Where have you found the video of behind the scenes of The amazing world of Gumball project ?? I'm interested for watching it. Please share the link if you have it. 😊

[@TJFREE]

It's one of the Blender Grease Pencil samples: cloud.blender.org/p/gallery/5cb249bf808c0e1b8eb7ea21

[@accha-6925]

BROOO thankyou so much, this really helped and the tutorial was really easy to use as well :)

[@hariharan309]

This tutorial is amazing and you are really good at teaching !! great job sir !

[@mudit_mathur]

been following your tutorials for a while ....they were really helpful. Please make tutorials on synfig.

[@TJFREE]

Thanks so much! I recently stared playing with Synfig again, its been a while. Its a great program, I'll see what I can do.

[@mudit_mathur]

Thanks.... looking forward to blender grease pencil series

[@somebody8547]

1:11 me: ow is that dog's head okay?

[@agrimbura1236]

cool video it helped out a ton with starting out and composing my first soft

[@creativosspa9526]

Wow! You're a natural teacher. I feel like I can do Nice tutorialts now

[@FlyingNote]

This has started my animation career lol (Thanks Krita)

[@shinatr1357]

Hello , are you recommended Krita, I want to start make animations to , but I cant select a software ":3

[@saadfadhil_personal9119]

Thank you for this video. I am a physics lecturer as University.I want to represent some physics concepts in animation way (2D and 3D) to make them easy to be understood. Can you advice me which software suit for this ?

[@letouristedunet3921]

www.geogebra.org/

[@catalinarivera7477]

IT'S ALWAYS THE UNDERRATED VID THAT'S LEGIT! THANK YOU!

[@gabrielgagliano9839]

Fantastic video! Exactly what I was looking for! Congratulations!

[@Michael_Lak]

I thought this video was going to be lame bit it was awesome. Good job.

[@TJFREE]

Thanks Michael!

[@wahidurrahmanriad7371]

Do I really need to have a graphics tablet for blender? I'm familiar with blender and make 3D but I dont have graphics tablet to do a 2D animation.

[@_Unpleasant_]

i dont think so

[@extrze9177]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and detailed videos! On to the soft!

[@LandersWorkshop]

The man revealed!

[@UkrArtDesign]

Its good overview!

[@TJFREE]

Thank you! Even has a little of your work in it ;)!

[@UkrArtDesign]

@@TJFREE Yes, i see )))

[@martinarmoa9898]

Thanks for the video, very helpful and well explained. Off to make so soft

[@carlajeanpicolados9019]

TNice tutorials is exactly what I needed to understand the UI. Great tutorial!

[@Daisy-ip5vq]

2 dislikes are the rich people hating what are you doing down here

[@playerbloxgaming2117]

I am going to reply to a reply replying to a reply

[@playerbloxgaming2117]

@spark Moxy no

[@playerbloxgaming2117]

Yes

[@hentaiprotag7122]

And the other dislikes is from the people who doesn't know how to draw such as me

[@hentaiprotag7122]

@Hentai protag But you didn't dislike

[@findthetruth3021]

Many thanks for this amazing video, but i am looking for best free softwares to create infographic videos. Thnx in advance

[@TJFREE]

Thanks! I have some recent tutorials for infographics on this channel. One video showing creating the infographic using Inkscape, and another showing how animate it using Sozi. Hope that helps!

[@camilamessias3170]

Fantastic tutorial, keep up the great videos!

[@dealanwilson8284]

Thanks TJ! We appreciate this.

[@vickyboi1200]

the last time i saw ur channel it had very few subs also pause at 0:20 for a cool effect lololol

[@christianmulen702]

is it his face? lol 😂

[@norealleader8076]

I am currently practicing animation and I am doing it with different png files and then putting them together in movie maker....so many..files..

[@crystalz1839]

Oooof

[@MewMewSun]

Thats how I practice 😢

[@marccallueng3752]

TNice tutorials is actually a very good and straight forward tutorial. No having ask questions or guess, no over-explaining elents, and brings

[@m416_squad4]

Wow.......That' s so cool. Keep going Sir. TNice tutorials motivtes too.

[@knarly]

i have a honorable mention : firealpaca

[@crispybacon282]

1:03 that dog do be having a seizure tho

[@sillylikestodraw]

LMAO I CANT-

[@isaiahlopez798]

s and a couple EDM and Dubstep goals for myself, and I guess I better start learning sowhere. Thanks for the great vid!

[@elisaguillerminalopezayala4250]

Thanks dude this really helped me a lot I did the steps that's you did thanks man!

[@Maxlmao46]

When you finally found the best animation software but your drawing tablet's pen decides to go missing : 👁️👄💧👁️ :

[@sleepystories8958]

tough day huh?

[@crystalz1839]

Uh oh s a m e h e r e

[@MewMewSun]

I have my pen but I lost the sensor... 😢✊🏼 i feel you bro

[@arby6922]

That Donald Trump made me subscribe, Thank you for demonstrating that! 😂👍

[@mamamalou3876]

TNice tutorials one is really good, among all other basics videos

[@aleyshaaedo4774]

TNice tutorials was so detailed! Great video for beginners. Thank you!

[@shollenberg1]

Great tutorial! Our non-profit would like to offer an animation class for pre-teens and we are not sure what software to use. We have decent computers for video editing, but would prefer not to purchase tablets at this point. The program should be easy to learn/teach, and it would be great if they could create a little narrative with sound. (Class is 25 hours of instruction) All of your featured programs look good. Any recs on which one you would chose to teach beginners? Thanks in advance!

[@TJFREE]

Good question, Sue. I would go with Krita or Pencil. Pencil is fairly basic, and would be best for beginners, while Krita is a little more advanced, but still beginner friendly. Krita can also be used as a drawing only program, and learning it will give users a versatile skill for the future.

[@shollenberg1]

​@@TJFREE Thank you! Do you need a tablet for Krita?

[@thetwicksshow4726]

Can someone help me plz Opentoonz:Not user freindly Krita:You cant hear your audio one you have placed it Sozi:Is only vector Blender:IS WAY TOO HARD

[@alr2305]

Then No animation

[@pinkuyen3018]

Pencil2D? You didnt list that, so I guess go with that...

[@noellschulte1418]

Blender is easy to learn (they have tutorials too) if you put time in it (it's still hard for me)

[@GhostSamaritan]

Try VPaint?

[@alr2305]

@@GhostSamaritan it's very expensive

[@AlcalaSMS]

cool! im gonna try pencil2d for now

[@wr3ck3dd10]

i’m getting my own ipad this christmas for my animations and my digital art. i’m downloading all of these programs for separate uses lol thank you

[@Nogardtist]

speaking of krita i went from drawing on paper to MS paint To Gimp 2.8 then Krita tried photoshop but hated it and krita does same or similar things to photoshop in terms of basic stuff but UI is different krita has a smaller team so it cant overthrow photoshop yet oh and krita mask tool is a bit clunky but overall a solid option if you dont want to pirate adobe overpriced products monthly subscriptions thats like a year worth of wage if you live in third world country

[@GhostSamaritan]

Try Affinity Photo! It's 50% off right now ($30, one-time payment).

[@TingTechGameDev]

i'm learning blender :)

[@fkstudios469]

2d or 3d?

[@TingTechGameDev]

@@fkstudios469 in 3d. a lot of things to learn. I like your attempt of photo realism. Good job :)

[@fkstudios469]

@@TingTechGameDev thanks

[@KolawoleGbenga]

@@TingTechGameDev share your experience. I want to learn blender

[@TingTechGameDev]

@@KolawoleGbenga my line of work doesn't really related to 3d and animation. Its just my interest in learning to build 3d objects. So I checked here in youtube on tutorial about 3d modeling and it seems I was directed to this tutorial ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/epqsoIqohNF8iNk) simple and easy to follow so I download the blender application. There are lots of blender tutorial out there that might catch your interest.

[@motattoos8501]

im just starting and tNice tutorials video was perfect.Well explained and easy to follow for a beginner.I never understood soft soft till i watched tNice tutorials.

[@chekaroxas9262]

Thank you so much bro. Sending virtual hugs. Worked like a charm ;-)

[@theboyofjoyy]

One day I'd installed blender on my ×32 BIT PC with great excitement. Then it said ×64.

[@theepattikolli]

Appaadiya. Appo 32 bit ittu pakkalame!?

[@theboyofjoyy]

The latest version only supports 64-bit.

[@GrandNecro]

krita is my go-to. good for doing anime style animation since there's so much control to what you can draw. it's like Photoshop with a animation timeline

[@SkepticalCaveman]

Well, Studio Ghibli used Opentoonz.

[@Keyfur91]

HA! Krita is terrible! But if you can use it then I guess that is all that matters at the end of the day. Bu personally I've tried it and it's awful.

[@schnoig_]

Keyfur how come you think it’s awful?

[@Keyfur91]

@@schnoig_ - I think the interface is bad and isn't convenient for beginners, I don't like how you can't use Ctrl + Alt + Z to undo mistakes, there's NO FREAKING ERASER, and I just have a hard time trying to set up layers and stuff. Again, if you and others can use it, more power to you guys, but I personally tried it and I cannot stand it. It clashes with me. That's all.

[@schnoig_]

Keyfur odd, I can undo and use erasers :p

[@k4iolx349]

Thank you! That was a great tutorial!

[@kostasg-hp6mf]

I have installed. Works flawlessly thanks!

[@markanne54]

I'd have thought SketchBook Pro might've got a mention.

[@hish5125]

Ok, as I have an interest in 3D in the future, I'm choosing Blender. Thanks.

[@legalstudio6438]

What a legend only one ad in the beginning . Your so damn underrated

[@HieuNguyen-cq4ur]

thank you for the detailed guide, it helped me install this soft

[@Call.Me.Franny]

your daughter animates better than me

[@martysh1226]

"Blender" Haha as a 3D modeler I totally agree.

[@SaifAli-rq7rf]

What a great video, helps A LOT in the beginning.

[@federalbureauofinvestigati186]

With your videos my learning curve will shrink drastically. Thank you.

[@tacothealien9805]

Best one for mobile: FlipaClip

[@chocolatemonkeylover4048]

true

[@crystalz1839]

Not always though, it’s opinions (:

[@rexcraven3365]

yeah i just dont know why its so laggy to zoom in

[@kimaly7718]

@@rexcraven3365yeah.. and when I want to zoom out is even worse so I just use the button to go back to canvas size and then zoom in again 😑 but I kinda got used to it 😅