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What is the best cheap animation software that's one-time pay?
What's the best software or app to animate on that's not a subscription??
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4 answers
Updated
Dr’s Answer
Hey Mishka,
Ah man, the classic hunt for good animation software that won’t drain your bank account every month. I respect it, I totally get it when my sis went over for days! 😅
If you want 2D animation without the subscription nonsense, Moho Debut is a solid pick—one-time payment, lots of tools, and it won’t make you cry from frustration (most of the time).
Annnnd, Want something free but still powerful? Blender’s Grease Pencil is surprisingly great for 2D animation, even though Blender itself is mostly a 3D beast. If you’re feeling extra indie, OpenToonz (used by Studio Ghibli) and Pencil2D are also solid, no-cost options.
If you’re going the 3D route, Blender wins again, an di had totally suggests it, there are even learning methods an videos on it. It’s free, it’s powerful, and if you master it, you’ll basically have superpowers.
Best advice? Download a couple and mess around. Worst case? You hate one, uninstall it, and pretend it never happened. Best case? You create something awesome. Either way, you’re not stuck in a never-ending subscription trap.
Happy animating Mishka, if you need anything reach out always. Good luck!
Ah man, the classic hunt for good animation software that won’t drain your bank account every month. I respect it, I totally get it when my sis went over for days! 😅
If you want 2D animation without the subscription nonsense, Moho Debut is a solid pick—one-time payment, lots of tools, and it won’t make you cry from frustration (most of the time).
Annnnd, Want something free but still powerful? Blender’s Grease Pencil is surprisingly great for 2D animation, even though Blender itself is mostly a 3D beast. If you’re feeling extra indie, OpenToonz (used by Studio Ghibli) and Pencil2D are also solid, no-cost options.
If you’re going the 3D route, Blender wins again, an di had totally suggests it, there are even learning methods an videos on it. It’s free, it’s powerful, and if you master it, you’ll basically have superpowers.
Best advice? Download a couple and mess around. Worst case? You hate one, uninstall it, and pretend it never happened. Best case? You create something awesome. Either way, you’re not stuck in a never-ending subscription trap.
Happy animating Mishka, if you need anything reach out always. Good luck!
Io tried Blender it has magnificent work over 3d.
Uran James
I heard about blender! So thank you!! Wasn’t the newest winner an animation made from only blender?
Mishka
Uran thank you for your insight addition it's great to know that indeed. I also have tried it previously just for making simple 3d images (like a mug learning!) Mishka,Yeah, Blender is a powerhouse! And yep, the newest winner, "Flow", was made entirely in Blender. It’s crazy how far open-source software has come—big studios and indie creators alike are proving you don’t need expensive tools to make something incredible!
Dr H
Updated
Devin’s Answer
Hi Mishka,
Good for you to ask this question! Animation is a vast and growing field, encompassing everything from hand drawn cells to mocap to Pixar style 3-D to stop motion to rotoscoping and much more.
For 3-D (as has been mentioned), Blender is free and very powerful. I also use Moho and Apple Motion, which are (at least to date) not subscription. For website animation, Hype 4 is one time pay and not expensive, and is a great way to animate in HTML5 and Javascript.
You can also animate for 2D and 3D games in engines like Unity and Unreal Engine (both are basically free to get into).
In this diverse field, you might first decide a basic animation direction to pursue and try out some of the free or trial software to see what you like best.
As a long time independent animator, I examine every project to decide what software would be best to get the job done. Many times it’s more than one program.
You might also look at alternatives for subscription based Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for prepping files for animation. Affinity Design makes great vector-based and pixel-based software for reasonable non-subscription prices. Pixelmator is another good Photoshop alternative.
Best of luck on your animation adventure!
Good for you to ask this question! Animation is a vast and growing field, encompassing everything from hand drawn cells to mocap to Pixar style 3-D to stop motion to rotoscoping and much more.
For 3-D (as has been mentioned), Blender is free and very powerful. I also use Moho and Apple Motion, which are (at least to date) not subscription. For website animation, Hype 4 is one time pay and not expensive, and is a great way to animate in HTML5 and Javascript.
You can also animate for 2D and 3D games in engines like Unity and Unreal Engine (both are basically free to get into).
In this diverse field, you might first decide a basic animation direction to pursue and try out some of the free or trial software to see what you like best.
As a long time independent animator, I examine every project to decide what software would be best to get the job done. Many times it’s more than one program.
You might also look at alternatives for subscription based Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for prepping files for animation. Affinity Design makes great vector-based and pixel-based software for reasonable non-subscription prices. Pixelmator is another good Photoshop alternative.
Best of luck on your animation adventure!
Updated
Sabrina’s Answer
Hi Mishka, it depends what type of animation you are pursuing. If you are pursuing 2D I have a few recommendations.
Free: Flip a clip. It’s a super beginner friendly animation app.And you just have to pay once for extra layers per frame and to remove the watermark.
Once time payments: Procreate and/or Procreate Dreams. Both are great one time payment apps that give you a variety of brushes and overall versatility you can add to your workflow. However if you want to try out animation and also have a software you can do sketches, or illustrations I recommend you purchase procreate first. I even heard you can do some 3D models in it though I never tried it myself.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
Free: Flip a clip. It’s a super beginner friendly animation app.And you just have to pay once for extra layers per frame and to remove the watermark.
Once time payments: Procreate and/or Procreate Dreams. Both are great one time payment apps that give you a variety of brushes and overall versatility you can add to your workflow. However if you want to try out animation and also have a software you can do sketches, or illustrations I recommend you purchase procreate first. I even heard you can do some 3D models in it though I never tried it myself.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
Hello! Thank you for that! Ive used flipaclip before and I thought it only offered a subscription!
Mishka
Updated
Wyatt s’s Answer
Hello Mishka,
I have liked using Aseprite a lot. It only costs $20. StopMotionStudio by CatEater is even better for it's versatility and is as low as $6. Both of these are one-time purchase and you own them; I love that. I am about to show kids what they can do with animation with virtually no money and a little bit of imagination. We will definitely be using StopMotionStudio; It is a power tool that can be easily used with just a little skill and know-how. My own kids have already done incredible things with it in no time that I wish I could show you. I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Wyatt
I have liked using Aseprite a lot. It only costs $20. StopMotionStudio by CatEater is even better for it's versatility and is as low as $6. Both of these are one-time purchase and you own them; I love that. I am about to show kids what they can do with animation with virtually no money and a little bit of imagination. We will definitely be using StopMotionStudio; It is a power tool that can be easily used with just a little skill and know-how. My own kids have already done incredible things with it in no time that I wish I could show you. I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Wyatt
Thank you for the response!!
Mishka
Aseprite is a fantastic pixel art tool, especially for game developers and animators. It’s got everything you need—onion skinning, frame-by-frame animation, an intuitive interface, and a solid color palette system. The best part? It keeps that old-school, pixel-perfect aesthetic while being super user-friendly. Wyatt very simple and good advice man. Aseprite makes pixel art feel like magic, my sister is an artist and she started off with this as well. It's a good starter.
Dr H
Dear Dr H,
I have seen how active you are in this community. Thank you for taking time time out of your life to care about and assist the rising generation; they are more brilliant, and good, and precious than you or I can possibly comprehend. You will be greatly blessed for helping them.
Sincerely,
Womble Dean
Wyatt s Miles
Wow, Womble Dean, your kind words truly mean the world to me. The rising generation holds incredible potential, and if I can play even a small role in guiding them, it’s an honor. Thank you for your thoughtful message—it’s encouragement like this that keeps me going. Wishing you all the best!
I just want to dedicate as much as I can before the rising busy days arrive, so I’d be happy to help get students settled in.
Truly appreciate your support and am supr happy to be in this journey alongside you! ✌️ Stay blessed.
Dr H