Level up your video editing game with these animation apps – make your videos stand out and engage your viewers like never before.
When we talk about education, we tend to believe that it’s going to bring us straight to or closer to the profession we dream about. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes it’s not, and sometimes it’s half true.
It’s true when you want to be a writer and graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in English literature. It’s not when you’re planning to become an actor but get a degree in software development. And it’s half true when you have two strong talents, but don’t know which one to choose as a focus of your future profession.
Who says you can’t be a songwriter with a degree in law? Besides, it makes sense as you want to protect your intellectual property.
And no one says that you can’t be a content creator with a nursing degree. You enjoy making videos on various stuff, and it brings you some passive income. But you’re passionate about caring for others, so you’re getting a degree in nursing.
Having two polar talents doesn’t mean you have to decide between them. However, it does mean that you’ll need to seek help from nursing paper writers from time to time to finish your videos.
When working on your content, you may want to add animation to your videos. The best way to do it nowadays is by using one of the numerous apps out there.
And while you don’t have to choose between your passions, you surely have to select the app to use. In order to make it easier for you, check out those listed below with their benefits and disadvantages.
Blender
Blender is a free app, and it’s perfect if you want to add animation to your content. Especially, if you’re into 3D.
The app allows you to get into digital sculpting and motion tracking. Basically, you can use the application not only for adding animation to your videos but for creating video games as well, if you want to do that as well.
Pros:
- It’s free
- Stunning feature set
- Active community
Cons:
- Confusing interface
- Limited tutorials
There are always downsides. One of the weak points of Blender is its interface, which a lot of users find confusing.
Especially, when you’re just starting to use the app. Each feature has a tutorial. Unfortunately, tutorials are often limited and don’t provide a clear picture of what the feature is about.
But Blender is still great, as you can avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks.
The app has quite an active community of users. And if you find something confusing, you can always seek help from more experienced users.
Also, there are frequent updates to the application that allow it to get better. So, chances are that by the time you get your hands on Blender, it will have a more user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials on each feature.
SideFX Houdini
While everything depends on your needs and preferences, why set on simple apps when you have a chance to use an app that is frequently used in the film industry?
SideFX Houdini is a perfect choice if you want to create stunning animation. The fact that the application is frequently used by professional animators for video games and movie productions, makes it even more attractive.
If that sounds way too professional, and you start thinking that using it is going to be difficult for an amateur, you’re wrong.
SideFX comes with multiple tutorials, which, unlike the previous entry, allow you to get into details about how each feature works. And, unlike Blender, SideFX has a user-friendly interface.
Knowledge of coding may come in handy, but not necessary for using the app.
Pros:
- Drag & drop editing
- User-friendly interface
- Excellent tutorials
Cons:
- The free version is limited
- Subscription is quite expensive
Yep, Blender is completely free, while SideFX Houdini’s free version provides limited options. Basically, the free version exists for new users to get used to the application.
But if you want to get a complete toolkit, you need to choose one of the five subscription plans, none of which is cheap. But, if we are completely fair, would you expect anything else from an application that was used for creating blockbusters like “Frozen”?
Lottie Files
Lottie Files comes as a cross between two previous entries. There’s a paid subscription plan, but you can use it for free with certain limitations.
Lottie Files allows you to create stunning animations for anything from your YouTube videos to websites. Yet, the application is not as pompous as SideFX Houdini, when it comes to its reputation.
After all, it wasn’t used for creating Hollywood blockbusters.
The application has an easy-to-navigate interface, so you can learn how to use it without the help of more experienced users. All in all, it’s quite easy to figure out what’s what in Lottie Files even without checking tutorials.
And the most important aspect, the application has over 50,000 free animations for you to use. You can easily create customized animations using the snippets in the app’s designer.
Pros:
- Free plan
- Over 50,000 animations
- Has a mobile version
Cons:
- Only one project for free plan
When it comes to disadvantages, you must keep in mind that the free version allows you to only create one project. Yes, you can use as many animation snippets as you want, and it can be a project of any scale, but only one.
If you want to create multiple projects and collaborate with other creators, you’ll have to opt for a subscription plan.
The good news is that the subscription plan is far from being expensive. The individual plan costs only $19.99 per month and is billed annually. If you want to collaborate with other creators, you can opt for a team plan, which will cost you $24.99 per month and is also billed annually.
Final Thoughts
So, here you have 3 apps you can use to add animation to your videos. You can opt for an absolutely free Blender, and end up designing video games. You can get closer to Hollywood productions by using an expensive SideFX Houdini. Or you can use a more wallet-friendly Lottie Files.
The main point is that each of the three apps provides you with the tools to craft perfect animation for your content.
