Are You a Novice into Video Editing?

On 24th March 2002, “Shrek,” a Hollywood movie, created history. This was not because it was the first animated movie to win an academy award; it was because it showed the true power of animation to the world. In 2019, a 6-minute feature on hair won the best-animated docu-feature at the Academy awards cementing the conception that animation has revolutionized viewing experience.

How many times have you been asked not to sit close to the television while watching cartoons? How many times have you ignored this advice and sat with gaping mouth watching a cat chase a mouse? If you want to recreate that experience and free intro maker no watermark is your video-editing motto, you should read on to find out more!

The world of animation indeed captured our attention before everything. The animation is not only the next level in cinematic brilliance; it is the next step in viewer experiences too. The animation is its own real life-like parallel universe where imagination and fantasy come into being.

With recent technology changes, the video viewing experience is totally in awe of the various video editing software and the magic they can weave. The basic function of any video editing software is to refine the viewing and create a lasting impression. Many of these video editing tools and software can harmonize animation into the video and completely transform your experience.

It doesn’t matter if you are a novice or a pro in the world of video editing and animations; these tools and software are here to rescue you –

Table of Contents

1. Cartoon Animator 4

This is one program that needs no introduction and is a huge favorite amongst beginners and professionals alike. The software enables you to import videos and images alike to animate pre-illustrated characters and videos. The software features like audio lip-syncing and body puppeteering make it the ‘go-to tool’ in video editing and animation.

The software was previously known as “CrazyTalk Animator” and exists in two versions, i.e.,- Pro and Pipeline. Although both versions support character templates and basic timeline editing, however for a more nuanced experience, seasoned animators prefer Pipeline.

The program allows you to choose from various characters and animation templates to create customized 2D characters. The different motion templates even facilitate 3D motions. All this helps you customize and gain complete control over your cartoon avatar’s animated movements and other features.

2. TVPaint Animation

TVPaint is a highly professional and sophisticated animation tool. The software tool enables an easy rendering of animation from scratch to finish. It uses bitmap technology to facilitate easy animation of natural renderings, image-wise.

TVPaint Animation provides you with several traditional and modern imaging techniques such as gouache, watercolor, pastel colors pen, oil painting, crayon, etc. It is comparatively high priced but has several features worth your money. For skeptical people, TVPaint offers a trial version that is as powerful as any other editor tool in the market.

3. Spine

This program’s inclusion can raise some eyebrows, but it has the features to pack a powerful punch. The spine is the odd one out in the list as characters are not created on the platform. However, it houses simplistic yet powerful animation options to send a chill down your Spine, quite literally!

Spine facilitates the animation of an existing or previous gallery of artwork. If you have tucked away a piece and are waiting for the right tool to bring it to life, look no further! The spine houses some amazing tools to tweak and turn your artwork into Anime.

Spine’s most important feature is the Free-Form Deformation Tool (FFD) and the dope sheet. The FFD helps you to convert mesh vertices and deform your illustrations. The Dope Sheet, on the other hand, gives you a detailed analysis of the timeline to tweak and sync the animation’s timings.

4. Adobe Character Animator

One of the most important struggles for any animator is making the process faster. The latest entrant in a long lineage of powerful tools – Character Animator brings its own set of rules. It makes sure that your animation is not just easier; it is quicker too.

The software allows you to import specific characters for animation. It facilitates easy designing of movements and voice sync through your plugged-in camera and mic. The software can detect your expressions and help you easily animate the same on your character, also called a puppet.

The software also has pre-programmed templates for animation options such as blinking, breathing, and many more. This helps in streamline recording and real-time editing.

5. Piskel

If you are a fan of old arcade games and timeless classics such as Mario and Pacman, this is for you. Teetering out of the mind-numbing realms of real-time, 3D, and motion animations, Piskel allows you to step back in the time zones of Pixel Art and travel back!

Piskel is essentially an online tool enabling animation of pixel arts and creating animated 2D images. The best part about Piskel is that it is easy-to-use and requires no sign up to avail its features. However, most users are free to sign in with their Google accounts to store and utilize their art in a cloud gallery.

Apart from being an online tool, it is also an extremely compatible software for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS systems. It also facilitates a live preview with features like FPM where animations can be transitioned and synced accordingly. Piskel enables a multi-format file importation, be it PNGs, JPGs, BMPs, or animated GiFs apart from the proprietary (.)piskel formats.

Ready, Set, Animate!

The good thing about most of the animation software in the market is that they offer a free trial version or a trial time period before you choose to purchase. The selection of animation software requires a careful evaluation of what you want to do vis-à-vis what features can help you. As a novice about to set foot the first time in this realm, free animation tools may not be such a bad idea!