The Top 6 Animation Apps

There are countless animation apps available at the tip of your fingers! However, it may be tricky to determine which app is the best app for you when it comes to animation video production. Here’s a list of benefits and drawbacks of the Top 6 Animation Apps to help you find the perfect fit! 

FlipaClip: 

Benefits: 

• FlipaClip is free on IOS and Android devices! 
• This app provides a very useful feature called “Onion layering”. The feature allows you to simplify animation and see all the previous layers while drawing. You can also customize the colour of previous layers to avoid confusion. 
• The array of different colours available on FlipaClip allows you to give life to vibrant animations!
• FlipaClip allows you to import audio to create more unique and creative animations.

Drawbacks: 

• FlipaClip limits access to some features when using the free and basic form of the app. Gaining access to all the premium features on FlipaClip costs $4.99.  
• While using large canvas sizes, the live playback that shows you how your animation is going may lag due to the slow speed of the app. This hinders your ability to view your animations “in real-time”. However, according to the FlipaClip support centre, they’re working on improving the app’s speed.

Animation Desk 

Benefits: 

• The app is free! However, there are available in-app purchases. 
• The Animation Desk Community is a great source of inspiration and motivation that’ll help you find your passion for animation. 
• Animation Desk’s painting tools all include pressure sensitivity. Pressure sensitivity allows you to create more complex drawings through simply adjusting your hand and pen.
• The app uses “Onion skinning” as well, which allows you to see the previous layers of your animation.

Drawbacks: 

• Many functions on Animation Desk are locked and cost money. Unfortunately, this makes it more difficult for users to create complex animations. Gaining access to locked features on the app costs $4.99. 
• Animation Desk does not allow you to import audios, which hinders your ability to create more creative animations. 
• According to numerous reviews, the zoom function in the app is not smooth and tends to cause lagging, making the animation process more difficult.

Adobe Spark

Benefits: 

• Downloading Adobe Spark is free as long as you’re using the free starter plan. 
• They have numerous useful features that allow you to upload images, add audio, and add text using many creative fonts!
• The Adobe Repository allows you to choose from countless images to enhance your animations!
• Adobe Spark provides many ways to share your work with others, in order to build your reputation as an animator. This may get you more opportunities for professional work! 

Drawbacks:

• In order to increase your access to features, you’ll have to spend money. After the two-month free trial, it costs $14.99 to continue using the Individual Plan. Meanwhile, it costs $27 for the Team Plan.
• Unfortunately, due to the app’s simplicity, the video options are limited. This limitation may hinder your ability to create complex animations. 
• Most of the best-looking templates cost money, which not only limits your features but the quality of the templates available for you. 

PicsArt Animator

Benefits: 

• PicsArt Animator is 100% free and doesn’t include ads that’ll interrupt your spark of inspiration!
• The app allows you to draw your animations frame-by-frame, which can help you create more unique and complex animations. 
• It has a play mode option which allows you to view your animation’s progress as you go!
• You can control the length of the animation as well as the speed, which makes your animations more customizable. 

Drawbacks:

• Unfortunately, you can’t upload more than one audio, which limits your creativity.   
• According to several reviews, the app glitches a lot, especially when adding and removing frames.
• This app is more advanced and may be too complicated and difficult to use for beginners. 
• Creating animations using this app can be very time consuming due to its complexity and frequent lags. 

Stop Motion Studio

Benefits: 

• Stop Motion Studio is free!
• The app allows you to have complete control over your camera! Through this feature, you can adjust focus, filters, and more, in order to make your videos unique. 
• You can easily add backgrounds and foregrounds to your videos!
• One of the most useful features on this app is that it allows you to import your own videos and draw over them. This feature can help you create videos that truly stand out!

Drawbacks:

• According to several reviews, it’s very difficult to transfer projects to any device.
• There are several features that cost money, such as uploading photos. Unfortunately, this hinders beginners’ ability to try out the app easily. 
• Unfortunately, Stop Motion Studio doesn’t have the “Onion layering” feature, and so you can’t see the previous layers while drawing. 

Animoto Video Maker

Benefits: 

• Animoto Video Maker has a shared library catalogue which gives you access to countless soundtracks that you can use in your videos!
• The app lets you upload your own images and videos, which makes your animations more customizable. 
• There are many storyboard templates on the app that you can use to create your videos!

Drawbacks:

• Memberships on the app can be costly! The Professional Membership costs $32 per month, meanwhile, the Team Membership costs $59 per month. 
• Unfortunately, regardless of when you cancel your membership, there are no partial refunds available.
• Animoto Video Maker is one of the most expensive video animation maker apps when it comes to memberships.

So, what’s the takeaway? In order to choose the right app for you, you should begin by checking the complexity of the app. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert is very important when choosing an animation app. In addition, you should keep in mind the pricing of in-app purchases, so that you can choose the app with the least limitations. There are countless animation apps that you can choose from, each with a list of benefits and drawbacks. Therefore, choosing the right app must depend on what you want!