Remember the time when you were inspired by your friend who’s a graphic designer to create a cartoon that seemed so cool but when you actually started making an effort to create it, you failed. Yeah that must have been unpleasant which is exactly why Adobe Animate is going to be a life-changer for you. With adobe animate, one can design catchy animations and create hand drawn animation, making the work seem flawless and it allows one to fulfill their dream of finally putting the cartoons once dreamt of to reality. Moreover, with its user-friendly interface Adobe Animate allows the user to create illustrations not just limited to cartoons but also games, ads and even GIFs and fully allows one to get into the spirit of the animation. However, so far we haven’t discussed the best part which includes how Adobe Animate allows one to code and design in the same platform and also, provides a platform where one can devour their work and reach huge audiences very feasibly. Adobe Animate is one of the best animation apps since it has features that are undeniably the finest. Here I’m going to briefly discuss a few features of adobe animate that really stand out.
Assets Panel
This panel allows one to locate and manage assets easily into multiple tabs. These tabs include a Default tab which consists sections like Animated, Sound, and Static and also includes functions where you can download assets yourself. By using these sections simultaneously one can create multiple attractive animations. Moreover, the sections used in saving and exporting are present in the custom tab. These 2 tabs are integral to work on data and categorize and delete them. These premade tabs make one’s work comparatively easier and faster.
Quick publish and share
In order to give more exposure to your work, Adobe Animate CC allows you to publish data to video, GIFs and HTML5 Canvas. This not only makes your work faster but also more accessible to a larger audience on applications like Twitter and YouTube and thus is a highly coveted feature of the new update of Adobe Animate. You can also convert your work to animated GIFs and share your creations without any hassle.
Advanced rigging
When making cartoons and animations it is insanely important for all the parts of character to be in sync and follow a similar format thus in order look more cohesive. The advanced rigging feature is a complete game changer since it allows connecting different body parts to one another and control motion with respect to each body part. The functions like Rip Mapping and Apply Skeleton help give the character more structure thus allowing more accessibility and controlling power of the user towards its character.
Timeline and symbol enhancements
Like the name explains timeline and symbol enhancements allows the user to make changes to customize and personalize the characters. It includes functions like
- Customize timeline tools which allow editing options in the timeline panel
- Convert layers to symbols
- Break apart symbol to layers to break apart layer at any part on stage without hassle
- Reverse play and loop support for graphic symbols
- Copy-paste tween settings to copy, paste or reset settings using frame tab of properties.
With all these features kept in mind it is undeniable that the features offered seem truly out of the box and the interface too keeps the user motivated to work due to the easy accessibility, sharing and various premade tools to further lessen one’s workload. Here I am going to be discussing some commonly asked questions or FAQs when discussing Adobe Animate to make the user more aware.
Is Adobe Animate free? If not, how much does Adobe Animate cost?
The Adobe Animate is definitely not a free application since it offers a vast variety of features and functions which are usually not available in other applications. Currently a user can get Adobe Animate as a part of Creative Cloud for US $20.99/month after the free trial.
Which adobe program is best for animation?
There are multiple Adobe applications that are commonly used including Character Animation, Animate and After Effects but for the purpose of creating flawless and easily accessible animations Animate is one of the best programs.
Can Animate be used on Windows and Mac?
Yes adobe animate can be used on both Mac and Windows and can be accessed through your creative cloud account on any device.
Is adobe Animate easy to use?
Like all adobe softwares, Animate too is made to give user fine experience and put his creativity to work without much effort. However for beginners it may be a little difficult to learn the basics, once learnt, the work is seamless and very easy to do.
Adobe animate vs. After Effects
Adobe animate is better for creating cartoons since it allows you to create animation more easily whereas After Effects helps to create motion graphics more conveniently. Narrative and hand drawn animations are the forte of Animate while video composting and motion are finessed in After Effects. Depending on the kind of work one prefers, it is easier to choose a particular software.
Any Adobe Animate Alternative?
All this being said, it is often plausible for one to not have access to Animate and there could arise a need for various other applications that can be used as an alternative to Adobe Animate.
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Krita
Krita is a free to use open source and has an easy to use interface and panels. It has multiple color themes and brushes available to make your work look more enhanced. Along with that Krita allows one to use different in-built markers and inking styles. These various functions allow the work to be easier to perform, however it does not have functions like Advanced Rigging.
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Toon Boom
Toon Boom is a 2d animation software with various products like Harmony, Storyboard and Producer. Harmony comes with advanced brush tools and color schemes with special effects while Storyboard has functions to enable easy drawing and editing. However, each of these products are differently charged and not included in the same package, like Creative Cloud.
With these alternatives also kept in mind, I would like to end this review by noting down that along with having some of the finest functions like advanced rigging and assets panel Animate is also easy to use and is available in a very reasonable price for the functions it possesses. For one to enjoy good animation creating experience, Animate is mandatory.