Top 5 Software to make Character Animation Videos

With the growing popularity and improved results of video marketing, marketers are swiftly turning to character animation videos for promoting their brand, products, and services. These videos are entertaining and informative; thus, they barely fail to convey the message to the audience.

By utilizing videos of different kinds, including explainer videos, testimonials, whiteboard animation, demo videos, etc., marketers can engage their audiences more effectively than before. 

Are you a marketer interested in video marketing but confused about where to start? Well, undoubtedly, you have to start with animation. In this blog, we will share the names and features of the top five software you can use for creating character animation videos. 

So, get ready to pick your favorite character animation maker and get started.

Top 5 Software to make Character Animation 

Before we start listing the cartoon creation software, let us discuss how you can choose the best software for your requirements.

Set a goal: The first step to choosing the right character animation maker is deciding what you wish to do with it. Thus, before you start using an animated cartoon creator, please determine what you want to achieve with it.

Make a list of features you require: After you determine the goal, you will get a fair idea about the features you will need. Thus, you can create a list of those functionalities and check for the same while sorting out your options.

Check for user-friendliness: Depending on your expertise and experience with character animation, evaluate the usability and user-friendliness of the applications you have sorted out. If you are at the beginner level, go for a application that is simple to use.

Analyze the options: Multiple tools are available in the market. One that suits your competitor may not serve you. So, filter out the options that you feel are more suited to your requirements.

Now, let's jump in to find out the five software we think are the best:

Animaker

Source: thenextweb

The best part about Animaker is its versatility and flexibility. It comes with various useful and attractive features, and it is priced to suit businesses of all sizes. You can explore your creativity with this character animation maker and its wide range of features. It is a feature-rich character creator online, free. 

Features

• With Animaker, you can make six video styles, i.e., 2D, 2.5D, handcrafts, whiteboard, typography, and infographic.
• It comes with horizontal and vertical layouts.
• Supports full HD videos.
• The animated infographic maker comes with over 100 charts, 1000 icons, 3000 maps.
• You can utilize the advanced animation features such as record, multi-move, camera in and out, curve, transition effects, enter/ exit effects.
• You can use the animation as a video or an animated presentation owing to the deck feature.
• Animaker also allows audio features such as text to speech, sound effects, voice recording, and the option to import your custom sounds.
• It also comes with a library of pre-designed templates.

Pricing

• Free
• Personal use: $12/month (billed annually)
• For start-up: $19/month (billed annually)
• For businesses: $39/month (billed annually)
• For enterprise: $99/month (billed annually)

Stop Motion Studio

If you are a beginner, this software is perfect for you. You can create high-quality 4K stop-motion animations and mix them with 2D drawings. However, it does not have any free version.

Features

• You can make 4K ultra HD videos.
• Stop motion studio runs on different operating systems, i.e., iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows. 
• You have manual or auto options for focus control, ISO, white balance.
• It comes with DSLR camera support.
• You can import files of your choice like images, audio, video, etc.
• You can avail the green screen option and use the background library.
• The software also offers a grid and onion skinning option.
• It also comes with a frame by frame view.
• Editing is effortless in this app.
• You can add a second device, for example, a remote camera.
• You can also enjoy other handy tools like sound effects, paint tools, magic erasers, etc.

Pricing

The plans for Stop Studio Motion are based on operating systems:

• iOS: $4.99
• Mac: $9.99
• Android: $4.99
• Windows: $1.99

Vyond

Source: vyond

Create amazing explainer videos and whiteboard animations using this feature-rich tool suitable for users of all skill levels. You can explore an array of handy features and create professional animated videos.

Features

• Vyond comes with a rich built-in library of assets and templates.
• You can also import images and videos.
• It offers a wide range of entering and exit effects for your static images.
• Convenient drag and drop tool makes it easy for beginners to operate on it.
• Vyond also comes with automatic lip-syncing.
• You can leverage the built-in library of characters that you can fully customize.
• The software also supports team collaboration and comes with camera tools like camera angles and pan zooms. 

Pricing

• Personal: US $ 49/month or $ 299/year
• Business: US $ 89/month or $ 649/year
• Enterprise: US $ 159/month or $ 999/year

Vyond also offers a free trial of 14 days that users can utilize to check the features and user-friendliness. 

Blender

Source: electronicsforu

Blender is an open-source, 3D character creator online, free that you can exploit to create animations, video games, models, renders, etc. Starting from beginners to advanced level professionals, the rich features of Blender caters to all levels of animators.

Features

• It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
• The Blender comes with advanced tools for modeling, sculpting, and UV.
• A built-in path tracer engine is also supported by Blender that includes a real-time viewport preview, CPU and GPU rendering, PNR shaders and HDR lighting support, VR rendering support.
• It also offers advanced rigging and animation tools.
• You can also draw in 2D model onto the 3D viewport.  
• Users can also enjoy other exciting features like onion skinning, sculpt brush strokes, layers and colors for the stroke and fill, etc.

Wideo

This is another excellent online tool for animation that users from beginners level to professionals can utilize to create various animated videos. Here, you can create your own cartoon character and use them in explainer videos, animated presentations, promotional videos, etc. 

Wideo is an excellent option for those who don't have any prior experience in animation.

Features

• Wideo comes with HD and full HD support for its users.
• You can leverage a rich library of scene templates to create videos of all kinds for any purpose.
• It also offers users a built-in library of assets.
• You can add music soundtracks to your videos.
• Animated videos can be directly uploaded to YouTube.
• The video length restrictions and storage capacity will vary depending on your plan.

Pricing

The licensing plans are based on the level of expertise and features you or your team requires:

• Basic: $19/month (billed annually)
• Pro: $39/month (billed annually)
• Enterprise: $79/month (billed annually)

Wideo also comes with a free trial that lasts for seven days.

Wrapping up

As you can see, all these character animation makers are feature-rich and can be used to full potential for creating engaging content for your videos. 

Although all of the tools mentioned above are equally good, we recommend selecting the one that is most compatible with your business in terms of feature, level of difficulty in use, and pricing scheme. 

Once you select the one, you can start creating content to enhance your marketing efforts and yield better results.

Need assistance with character animation? Contact us!