Top Five Animation Software to Learn

Picture credit: Pixabay

It has always been said that it is the artist that makes the difference and not the tool. It does hold true to some extent in the world of Animation as well where every imaginable story is created on a computer. With a diverse range of animating software out there, deciding the purpose & use of animations is a key factor in choosing the right one to begin.
It is worth noting that while there are several free tutorials available online if you wish to build a career in animation, choose a multimedia & animation training institute that offers job-oriented training in animation, a range of courses to choose from, expert interactions and job placement assistance as well. 

Below are our top five choices for the software that you must learn:

Adobe Animate 

This is one of the best tools for creating traditional 2D animations. With Adobe Animate, you can animate using a variety of different techniques, including hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation, as well as puppet animation, which allows you to manipulate a character rig without redrawing it. You can even import a character created in Procreate (iOS) or another illustration tool and animate it within this software. One of its sister software is Adobe Character Animator, a powerful tool that allows you to animate a character in seconds. The software is easy to use and comes in handy for beginners who would like to make intuitive 2D cartoon characters and live animations. It can match your expressions from lip-syncing to eye-tracking to animate in real-time.

Blender

This is one of the most popular open free source software for 3D animation. The unique thing about it is that it has been developed by many contributors all over the world according to the needs of users and thus is well-equipped with effects and features for beginners and professionals to make stunning animations. It supports the complete 3D pipeline including rigging, modeling, simulation, animation, composition and motion tracking, video editing and creation. Blender features a built-in great straight path tracer engine called Cycles that offers fantastic realistic rendering. Blender is your go-to software for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, motion graphics, interactive 3D applications, virtual reality, and computer games if affordability is your priority. 

Cinema 4D 

Motion graphics is the strongest suit of this software. Cinema 4D is a 3D animation software that’s ideal for animators at every level, from beginner to pro. Just recently they updated new toolsets like Scene nodes, Scene manager and Scene capsules becoming a tough contender for the industry-grade MAYA. To mention another unique feature is the Mograph that gives motion designers the tone ability to quickly and easily create complex animations. 

Maya 

Autodesk Maya is indispensable to an animation studio and thus it is considered as the benchmark for industry-grade software. It is ideal for character creation, modeling and motion graphics. For the latter, however, Cinema 4D takes the trophy. Nevertheless, the fact that the movie ‘Avatar’ was created in it says volumes about its credibility. Though you can learn it on your own given the extensive community help and a sea of tutorials to help you, it is recommended to get enrolled in a course for a better grasp on the workflow and the features. 

Houdini 

This advanced animation tool known for its node-based workflow has been used in several well-known feature films, including Frozen and Zootopia. Houdini can be used to generate animation in real-time as it allows Animators to create dynamic and realistic effects. As for the nodes, this tool stores memory for every action performed which can be rearranged and adjusted anytime. This provides flexibility and cost-effectiveness that isn’t always possible with other types of software. Even with these advanced features, Houdini is intuitive and easy to use, making it one of the most powerful and robust animation software options available. 

To provide you with a single solution, a lot of studios are interested in Maya and thus the best consideration. Once you know Maya, you can adapt any program within days. Or if you intend to learn multiple packages, then devote yourself to each for a month before jumping to another. This way you could easily compare the workflows and your efficiency with the different software. Have a look at the demo versions and try them out.

Remember that every software has its strength and its weakness. Once you get used to a workflow it will feel like the best software for you. Choose the animation course that teaches the software you wish to learn along with its practical usage and an opportunity to work for the studios that use that software extensively.