Film Like a Pro: A Beginner’s Guide to High-Quality Video Production

How to Easily Make Professional-looking Movies and Slideshow

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What a magic movie maker means to you? In my opinion, it should not only provide all common video edits that you need to stitch your photo/video clips together to make a complete movie, but also turns them quickly to professional-looking movie or slideshows that will impress everyone. Since you’re here, you probably look for such a magic video maker that make magical videos like this:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

What you need is a user-friendly way to put together film while helping you to add fancy creative effects and perfect for sharing. Wondershare Filmora for example is known for simple ways to connect your video and create a final film.

In this article, we’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your video magical with Wondershare Filmora, and all steps are quick and easy. Get below free trial now.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Import your media files

The magic media maker provides a User’s Album to manage your source files, and keep them intact for convenient access. To import your videos, audio or images to this program, simply click “Import” to browse your file folder or drag them directly to the primary window.

All imported files will show as thumbnails in the left pane. When they come into place, drag and drop these files to their corresponding Timeline.

2 Create your own masterpiece with handy tools

Now, go ahead to edit and personalize your videos. With comfortable Timeline-based editing and comprehensive drag-n-drop feature, you’ll find it easier than ever to get started in the world of video editing. The most important: this application features everything you need.

Basic Edit: Double click a video clip on the Timeline to pop up the editing panel. Here, you can rotate, crop, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation in the video pane, or change volume, pitch, set fade in/fade out effect in the audio pane. Apart from this, you can do cutting, copying, splitting, removing audio, etc. by a right menu click.

Add Elements: Adding elements like smooth transitions and colorful visual filters will polish your video instantly. And this magic video editor can do this by simple drag-n-drop. Click “Text”, “ Effect”, “PIP”, “Transition”, “Intro/Credit”, or “Sound” tab above the Timeline, you’ll see hundreds of free templates available to touch up your videos. Just pick your favorite one and drag them to the position to apply. When it comes into place, you can even adjust the play duration and set animation to achieve more.

Advanced Edit: The advanced editing for this Magic movie editor refers to the professional video editing tools like tilt-shift , mosaic , jump cut, face-off , and flash-n-hold that makes your video extraordinary. To do this, just click the “Power Tools” icon above the Timeline, and you’ll come to a window that helps you complete all the above effect in a click.

3. Save and share your creation

When you’re satisfied with the result in the previewing window, simply hit “Create” to save your creation. You can show off your video on popular video sharing sites like youtube , Facebook, Twitter, or save it in all popular formats to play on the go. Apart from that, you can also burn it to DVD with excellent quality to watch it on TV.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a stunning video ready to share. It’s pretty easy, fast, cool to create a home movie with this magic movie maker, right? Download the free trial and get started now!

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What a magic movie maker means to you? In my opinion, it should not only provide all common video edits that you need to stitch your photo/video clips together to make a complete movie, but also turns them quickly to professional-looking movie or slideshows that will impress everyone. Since you’re here, you probably look for such a magic video maker that make magical videos like this:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

What you need is a user-friendly way to put together film while helping you to add fancy creative effects and perfect for sharing. Wondershare Filmora for example is known for simple ways to connect your video and create a final film.

In this article, we’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your video magical with Wondershare Filmora, and all steps are quick and easy. Get below free trial now.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Import your media files

The magic media maker provides a User’s Album to manage your source files, and keep them intact for convenient access. To import your videos, audio or images to this program, simply click “Import” to browse your file folder or drag them directly to the primary window.

All imported files will show as thumbnails in the left pane. When they come into place, drag and drop these files to their corresponding Timeline.

2 Create your own masterpiece with handy tools

Now, go ahead to edit and personalize your videos. With comfortable Timeline-based editing and comprehensive drag-n-drop feature, you’ll find it easier than ever to get started in the world of video editing. The most important: this application features everything you need.

Basic Edit: Double click a video clip on the Timeline to pop up the editing panel. Here, you can rotate, crop, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation in the video pane, or change volume, pitch, set fade in/fade out effect in the audio pane. Apart from this, you can do cutting, copying, splitting, removing audio, etc. by a right menu click.

Add Elements: Adding elements like smooth transitions and colorful visual filters will polish your video instantly. And this magic video editor can do this by simple drag-n-drop. Click “Text”, “ Effect”, “PIP”, “Transition”, “Intro/Credit”, or “Sound” tab above the Timeline, you’ll see hundreds of free templates available to touch up your videos. Just pick your favorite one and drag them to the position to apply. When it comes into place, you can even adjust the play duration and set animation to achieve more.

Advanced Edit: The advanced editing for this Magic movie editor refers to the professional video editing tools like tilt-shift , mosaic , jump cut, face-off , and flash-n-hold that makes your video extraordinary. To do this, just click the “Power Tools” icon above the Timeline, and you’ll come to a window that helps you complete all the above effect in a click.

3. Save and share your creation

When you’re satisfied with the result in the previewing window, simply hit “Create” to save your creation. You can show off your video on popular video sharing sites like youtube , Facebook, Twitter, or save it in all popular formats to play on the go. Apart from that, you can also burn it to DVD with excellent quality to watch it on TV.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a stunning video ready to share. It’s pretty easy, fast, cool to create a home movie with this magic movie maker, right? Download the free trial and get started now!

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What a magic movie maker means to you? In my opinion, it should not only provide all common video edits that you need to stitch your photo/video clips together to make a complete movie, but also turns them quickly to professional-looking movie or slideshows that will impress everyone. Since you’re here, you probably look for such a magic video maker that make magical videos like this:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

What you need is a user-friendly way to put together film while helping you to add fancy creative effects and perfect for sharing. Wondershare Filmora for example is known for simple ways to connect your video and create a final film.

In this article, we’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your video magical with Wondershare Filmora, and all steps are quick and easy. Get below free trial now.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Import your media files

The magic media maker provides a User’s Album to manage your source files, and keep them intact for convenient access. To import your videos, audio or images to this program, simply click “Import” to browse your file folder or drag them directly to the primary window.

All imported files will show as thumbnails in the left pane. When they come into place, drag and drop these files to their corresponding Timeline.

2 Create your own masterpiece with handy tools

Now, go ahead to edit and personalize your videos. With comfortable Timeline-based editing and comprehensive drag-n-drop feature, you’ll find it easier than ever to get started in the world of video editing. The most important: this application features everything you need.

Basic Edit: Double click a video clip on the Timeline to pop up the editing panel. Here, you can rotate, crop, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation in the video pane, or change volume, pitch, set fade in/fade out effect in the audio pane. Apart from this, you can do cutting, copying, splitting, removing audio, etc. by a right menu click.

Add Elements: Adding elements like smooth transitions and colorful visual filters will polish your video instantly. And this magic video editor can do this by simple drag-n-drop. Click “Text”, “ Effect”, “PIP”, “Transition”, “Intro/Credit”, or “Sound” tab above the Timeline, you’ll see hundreds of free templates available to touch up your videos. Just pick your favorite one and drag them to the position to apply. When it comes into place, you can even adjust the play duration and set animation to achieve more.

Advanced Edit: The advanced editing for this Magic movie editor refers to the professional video editing tools like tilt-shift , mosaic , jump cut, face-off , and flash-n-hold that makes your video extraordinary. To do this, just click the “Power Tools” icon above the Timeline, and you’ll come to a window that helps you complete all the above effect in a click.

3. Save and share your creation

When you’re satisfied with the result in the previewing window, simply hit “Create” to save your creation. You can show off your video on popular video sharing sites like youtube , Facebook, Twitter, or save it in all popular formats to play on the go. Apart from that, you can also burn it to DVD with excellent quality to watch it on TV.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a stunning video ready to share. It’s pretty easy, fast, cool to create a home movie with this magic movie maker, right? Download the free trial and get started now!

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What a magic movie maker means to you? In my opinion, it should not only provide all common video edits that you need to stitch your photo/video clips together to make a complete movie, but also turns them quickly to professional-looking movie or slideshows that will impress everyone. Since you’re here, you probably look for such a magic video maker that make magical videos like this:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

What you need is a user-friendly way to put together film while helping you to add fancy creative effects and perfect for sharing. Wondershare Filmora for example is known for simple ways to connect your video and create a final film.

In this article, we’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your video magical with Wondershare Filmora, and all steps are quick and easy. Get below free trial now.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Import your media files

The magic media maker provides a User’s Album to manage your source files, and keep them intact for convenient access. To import your videos, audio or images to this program, simply click “Import” to browse your file folder or drag them directly to the primary window.

All imported files will show as thumbnails in the left pane. When they come into place, drag and drop these files to their corresponding Timeline.

2 Create your own masterpiece with handy tools

Now, go ahead to edit and personalize your videos. With comfortable Timeline-based editing and comprehensive drag-n-drop feature, you’ll find it easier than ever to get started in the world of video editing. The most important: this application features everything you need.

Basic Edit: Double click a video clip on the Timeline to pop up the editing panel. Here, you can rotate, crop, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation in the video pane, or change volume, pitch, set fade in/fade out effect in the audio pane. Apart from this, you can do cutting, copying, splitting, removing audio, etc. by a right menu click.

Add Elements: Adding elements like smooth transitions and colorful visual filters will polish your video instantly. And this magic video editor can do this by simple drag-n-drop. Click “Text”, “ Effect”, “PIP”, “Transition”, “Intro/Credit”, or “Sound” tab above the Timeline, you’ll see hundreds of free templates available to touch up your videos. Just pick your favorite one and drag them to the position to apply. When it comes into place, you can even adjust the play duration and set animation to achieve more.

Advanced Edit: The advanced editing for this Magic movie editor refers to the professional video editing tools like tilt-shift , mosaic , jump cut, face-off , and flash-n-hold that makes your video extraordinary. To do this, just click the “Power Tools” icon above the Timeline, and you’ll come to a window that helps you complete all the above effect in a click.

3. Save and share your creation

When you’re satisfied with the result in the previewing window, simply hit “Create” to save your creation. You can show off your video on popular video sharing sites like youtube , Facebook, Twitter, or save it in all popular formats to play on the go. Apart from that, you can also burn it to DVD with excellent quality to watch it on TV.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a stunning video ready to share. It’s pretty easy, fast, cool to create a home movie with this magic movie maker, right? Download the free trial and get started now!

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Discover the Best Free Animation Software for Windows, Mac, and More

Best 12 Free Download Animation Software for Windows and Mac

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

In your search for quality animation software, you may have found that many of the programs cost a lot of money no matter it is 2D animation software or 3D animation editor. The good news is that you can choose free animation tools to make different animation types easily.

That is why we created a list of the best animation software on both Mac and Windows. Whether you are a professional editor or just a beginner to start making animation, you will find the tools listed below are easy to use without watermark and won’t cost money to improve your skills.

The best part is you will find these free animation programs are also very useful for content creation on Mac and Windows. Besides, we have listed the pros and cons of each software. Keep reading!

• Part 1: Best Free Animation Software for Mac
• Part 2: Best Free Animation Software for Windows
• Part 3: FAQ about Animation Software for Windows and Mac

Here we have made a table of 12 free animation software without watermark on Windows and macOS. Take a look.

6 Free Animation Software for macOS

5K-3DMiddleIt is a great tool for 3D artists6KritaDifficultPerfect software for 2D animation

Number	Software	Difficulty Level	Highlight
1	Synfig Studio	Easy	Calculate vector shape to animation automatically
2	Pencil2D Animation	Easiest	Straightforward interface for beginners
3	Tupi	Middle	Its community is active to offer solutions
4	Blender	Difficult	It is a powerful animation tool to render and make modeling

6 Free Animation Software for Windows

Number	Software	Difficulty Level	Highlight
1	DAZ Studio	Difficult	For professional users with the fast animation process
2	Terragen	Middle	It can make realistic CG environments
3	Anim8or	Difficult	3D animation is Anim8or’s main function
4	Seamless3d	Easy	It has many features for 3d modeling
5	OpenToonz	Middle	Make cartoon animation with plugins
6	Stykz	Easy	Quickly make animation if you have used Pivot StickFigure Animator

Best Animation Software on Windows and Mac - Filmora

Looking for a simple while powerful Mac video editing tool ? We recommend using Wondershare Filmora. You can use it to create 2D/3D animated texts, shapes, or anything you like for YouTube videos.

The keyframing features will help you make animation effects smooth and precise. When exporting, you can also make it transparent.

Besides, various title templates and transitions are also available for you. Download it now to have a try! Or learn more from Wondershare Video Community .

Key features

• Create various shapes that you like
• Add keyframing to make it move
• Fine-tuning to make it smooth
• Add visual effects/text/color before export it

You can even create photo cut animation which has been very trendy on Tiktok and Instagram. Here is a video to present you how you can do it in Filmora.

Part 1 Best Free Animation Software for Mac

Listed below is free animation software on Mac. Take a look.

01 Synfig Studio - Mac Software to Animate Video

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: You can create many layers once a time and sync audio for your animation.

Con: This one needs much time to learn, especially for beginners.

An open-source 2D animation software that works on Macs, Synfig Studio delivers multiple players while you are creating content. Whether you want to add geometric, filters, distortions, or transformations, it is all possible! And thanks to the high-end bone system, you can create cut-out videos using bitmap images!

The thoughtful part is there are two download versions on the homepage: the stable version and the development version. If you want to enjoy a stable and smooth animation editing experience, choose the stable one. However, the development package gives you access to the use of the latest features.

For a novice, you can learn Synfig from step by step guide in Wikipedia and video tutorials. Four languages are available including English, Russian, Dutch, and French for a video course.

You can free download its latest version 1.3.11. The upcoming version is 1.4.

Features:

• It offers support for many layers within the animation.
• The program’s bone system means that you can easily create animations with bitmap images or vector artwork.
• It allows you to sync your creative work with any sound that you want. Has a full-featured audio editor.

02 Pencil2D Animation - Animation Program for 2D Pencil Lover

Difficulty Level: Easiest

Pro: Easy to start and make animation as the interface is user-friendly for many people.

Con: You need to set your preference every time to open it up, so it takes up some time

Pencil2D Animation is one of the simplest 2D hand-drawn tools available. It will work flawlessly on Mac computers. It is ideal for beginners, as the commands and interface are very easy to understand.

Whether you want to create a simple one, or you want something with many layers for videos on YouTube, you can use Pencil2D animation to get it done. Its timeline is easy to use at first glance. You can add and duplicate different frames on a different track.

The frequency of releasing the new version is very fast as Pencil2D is committed to bringing the lasted features to each user. The newest version is v0.6.4 (as of August 2019). Its user guide is informative with video tutorials, FAQs, and manual material.

Features:

• Lightweight and minimalistic design that makes it very easy for beginners.
• Features raster and vector workflows, with easy switching between them. You can paint and sketch as you want!
• Will run on all platforms - Mac, Windows, and Linux.
• Completely free and open source.

03 TupiTube - Free Animation Application for Mac Users

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: It supports vector illustrations. Besides, various formats are available.

Con: If you want to make 3D animation, it will fail. You can only make 2D effects.

A free software application for YouTube, Tupi will allow you to create 2D animations to your heart’s content. The tool was started by animators who wanted to create something that others could use.

It is an open-source tool, which means that users can make tweaks to the program if they have some interesting ideas. The program works on both Windows and Mac. You need to use Tupi and Papagayo to make lip-sync animation with different mouth shapes.

It also offers a solution for schools with related features including academic license, technical support, and ads-free, so many schools choose to use this one to teach kids how to make an animation video.

Features:

• Support for vector illustrations. You can add rectangles, lines, polygons, and other shapes as you please. To fill areas, just use the paint bucket.
• You can import raster images using this program.
• You can export all your finished images into different file formats.
• Support for tweeting positions, scale, shear, and rotations.

04 Blender - Need Some Time to Learn This Animation Tool

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Really powerful software that you can make for professional users.

Con: It is not easy to make image animation as it focuses on 3D.

Blender is an open-source 3D animation creation suite without a watermark. If you find that 2D is a little bit limiting, we think that you will be very happy with what this free program offers. You can take your projects to a whole new level when you can use this program on your Mac.

You can use Blender to make a video game, modeling, and high-quality animation. However, it involves a steep learning curve. Luckily, there are many tutorials to guide you through the journey. You can also ask for help in the Blender community that millions of talented people like you are there.

Features:

• Creating renders is no problem with this program.
• Modeling, such as sculpting, retopology, and creating curves is not an issue either.
• VFX and animation features are better than any option on the market.
• It offers powerful simulation tools.
• Integration with pipeline tools is easy.

05 K-3D - Best for Animation and Modeling in 3D

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: Ideal for designing simple 3D animations and models.

Con: It has an old-fashioned interface. Also, the built-render (RenderMan) feature is difficult to use by beginners.

K-3D is an animation and 3D modeling software. You can download this tool for free on your Mac. Besides, you can also install and run it on your Windows and Linux systems. If you look at the design, you will find that the software is quite old. But don’t judge a book by its cover. Why so? It is because K-3D is one of the strongest and most versatile tools for 3D artists with many options.

For example, K-3D offers extremely systematic and methodological workflows. You can easily adjust the properties of the features in real-time and get instant results. It has a node-oriented visualization pipeline to enjoy more freedom. That means you can create animation using a variety of combinations.

One of the best things about K-3D is that it has three subdivisions of animation. You can work on your model on one side while showing the other side in a mirrored form. Then, experience the final result combined together. And in case you need to make the changes to the end results, you can simply work on the first subdivision and savor automatic changes to the results.

K-3D has an advanced redo and undo mechanism to ensure you can go back or move forward to make corrections or amendments without limits. Additionally, the tool is developed keeping in mind all the industrial standards. For instance, it has complete support and integration of native RenderMan™ to its user interface. This is an excellent feature because most free animation software for Mac requires third-party render plugins.

Features:

• Parametric workflow.
• 2D and 3D animation tools.
• Allows Python and K3DScript scripting.

06 Krita - For Professional 2D Animators

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Advanced tools with numerous animation options and online training material.

Con: Not suitable for beginners.

If you love 2D animation, then you’ll surely love Krita. It is entirely free software available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Also, it offers a full platform for drawing and frame-by-frame animation.

The number one reason for adoring Krita is its brush library. There are more than 100 professional brushes to give you a wide range of effects. Moreover, the strokes are pretty amazing and similar to Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator.

Another great thing about Krita is the brush stabilization feature designed for shaky hands. You can add a stabilizer to your chosen brush to smoothen its flow. Besides, there’s a special Dynamic Brush tool to make animation more fun. At the same time, you can also customize your brushes through different brush engines, including filter engines, color smudge engines, and many more.

Apart from the basic brush options, the preloaded vector tools are next to admire. These tools help you make great comic panels. All you need to do is choose and drag the word bubble template on your canvas. Then, make changes with the anchor point to make new shapes. At the same time, you can also add text to your animation by using the text tool.

Last but not least, there’s a wrap-around mode to create seamless patterns and textures. That means the image or drawing makes its own references along the x-axis and y-axis. This gives you the freedom to continue painting and enjoy updates to your animation instantly.

Features:

• HDR painting.
• PSD support.
• Python scripting.
• Selection and transformation tools.
• Proper group, filter, vector, and file layer management.
• Complete color management for extraordinary results.
• Drawing assistant to help you with straight lines and vanishing points.

Part 2 Best Free Animation Software for Windows

Below is free animation software on Windows. Keep reading.

01 Anireel - Easy to Use Animation Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

Anireel is a simple yet powerful Video Creativity tool used to make 2D animated explainer videos. Developed by Wondershare, one of the most popular Windows software and tool developers, Anireel uses rich, ready-to-use, and diverse assets to help one effortlessly make animated videos.

Features:

• There are tons of drag and drop characters, actions, props, text, and audio assets.
• Easy Text-to-Speech conversion via deep studying technology.
• Animate integrated and imported assets.
• Tons of templates that match many script types.

02 DAZ Studio - Free Software for 3D Lovers

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: You can make game animation for fun. It also supports GPU accelerated real-time rendering.

Con: It has a high demand for the device, but owns a steep learning curve.

Daz 3d is a powerful and completely free 3D creation tool that will let you create the short videos that you want. Whether you are using this for business or pleasure, you will find the program is very easy to understand. Within a day, you will be completely used to its interface.

3D effects are the core focus of DAZ Studio. You can build a model, render, and pose animation within the skin texture level. It has a high requirement for the device. For Windows 64 bits, its recommended RAM is 3G.

Features:

• Options for 3D morphing, animation, and rendering.
• GPU accelerated real-time rendering, which delivers the best results.
• Interactive tutorials to help you become a better 3D artist.
• Everything you make is yours, royalty-free!

03 Terragen - Use It to Make CG Animation

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: The recently updated version is the best one. Ray-traced preview is a great function to help us make animation.

Con: The interface looks complicated, but it gets easy to know after you are familiar with it.

A completely free program that you can download and install on all Windows computers and tablets, Terragen is the ideal program for you to create the 3D animations and environments that you want. If you want a photo-realistic CG environment, using Terragen is the best way to do it!

Releasing imagination instantly, Terragen Creative is the one tool you’d like to consider. You can use it to make beautiful scenery.

For advanced tools, you can choose FBX to make animation quickly. The featured image gallery on its homepage will give you a deep understanding of the final outcome you can achieve with Terragen.

Features:

• Ray-traced preview. Without watermark after exporting
• Photo-realistic clouds and ozone simulation
• Rendering is twice as fast as the previous version of the program.
• Adding terrain, objects, and shader to your final product is very easy with the intuitive interface.

04 Anim8or - Free Tool to Make 3D Modeling

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Anim8or supports 3D modeler and TrueType fonts to meet advanced needs.

Con: Beginners will find it difficult to learn.

Anim8or is a free 3D modeling program that will let you create the unique work that you want. It is a personal project from an animator, but the program does get regular updates and troubleshooting.

It is not going to give you the same features as something like Studio Max or Maya, but you will get the basics. Beginners who are getting into animations will love this program.

Anim8or is a great tool to step into 3D animation ff you think other software is too different to start. In some way, it means you need to give up some advanced features. But all in all, it’s still recommended for you.

Features:

• A full 3D modeler that allows you to create spheres, cylinders, platonic solids, and any other objects that you want.
• Features support for TrueType fonts.
• Easy to create 3D scenes and output them as video files or images.

05 Seamless3d - Open-source Free Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: It is an open-source 3D modeling package. The good thing is the handy infinite Undo/Redo operation.

Con: Some advanced features are missing like drawing.

Seamless3d, an open-source 3D modeling software that you can download, is among the best animation worktables if you want to create specialized images, animated videos, or 3D characters.

It supports FFmpeg video format, so you can use AVI, MP4, and more. Besides, the forum is not active compared with before, but you still can find answers from many tutorials .

Features:

• It comes with infinite undo and redo options for complete flexibility to correct mistakes.
• It allows for partitioned and seamless texture mapping for YouTube videos.
• Has a specialized tree view interface.

06 OpenToonz - Support Plug in to Make Animation Freely

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: It is open-source software, so you can change the code freely.

Con: The plug-in effects are limited.

This animation program is made for beginners on Windows. It is among the best 2D animation software in the market. You can use plug-in effects to change image style, add lights, and distort details. It supports Windows 7/8/10 only for 64 bit.

Features:

• You can add provisional colors to make your animation more colorful.
• Smooth correction without frame losing.
• Compatible with black-and-white, colored, or without binarization scanning.

7 Stykz - Simple to Use Animation Program for Beginners

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: It is the best stick figure animation if you want to make this kind of video.

Con: The UI is not modern to use and needs time to adapt to using it.

Stykz is completely free to use and without a watermark. If you have used Pivot StickFigure Animator, then you will find Stykz is similar to it, but you can import the previous .stk files to animate it again. You can use it to make animation smooth frame by frame.

With its frame-based feature, Stykz is easy to customize each frame. You can change previous and current frames to get what you want. You can download it to have a try considering its easy-to-use features.

Features:

• There is some animes file on this website, so you can have a reference.
• Edit animation in the software without using another editing window.
• You can share the final work with others including information.

Part 3 FAQ about Animation Software for Windows and Mac

01 Are Macs good for animation?

To be frank, Mac is a better choice to make animation if you want to have a smooth animation experience. For example, screen resolution is a crucial factor to make excellent animation. The good is Mac’s screen will never let you disappointed.

02 What is the best animation software for Mac?

The best animation software on mac includes Synfig Studio, Pencil2D Animation, Tupi, Blender, and more. Mentioned are free-to-use. Maya is also worth considering animation software if you are a professional user. Maya offers a 1-month free trial. After it is ended, the paid plans are month, 1-year, and 3-year.

03 Can you animate in Photoshop?

Yes, you can make basic animation in Photoshop. However, it only supports frame-based animation making. In this case, you need to use other professional software to make animation. But, you still can use Photoshop to meet your needs if you are a beginner.

Conclusion

With any of these free animation maker programs on Mac and Windows, you will have an easy time creating your next 2D or 3D video. Ensure you choose the program that has the features and compatibility that you desire. Then it is up to your creative mind to come up with stunning animations! If you want to make animation easily, you can also find inspiration through classical animated cartoon types with examples .

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

In your search for quality animation software, you may have found that many of the programs cost a lot of money no matter it is 2D animation software or 3D animation editor. The good news is that you can choose free animation tools to make different animation types easily.

That is why we created a list of the best animation software on both Mac and Windows. Whether you are a professional editor or just a beginner to start making animation, you will find the tools listed below are easy to use without watermark and won’t cost money to improve your skills.

The best part is you will find these free animation programs are also very useful for content creation on Mac and Windows. Besides, we have listed the pros and cons of each software. Keep reading!

• Part 1: Best Free Animation Software for Mac
• Part 2: Best Free Animation Software for Windows
• Part 3: FAQ about Animation Software for Windows and Mac

Here we have made a table of 12 free animation software without watermark on Windows and macOS. Take a look.

6 Free Animation Software for macOS

5K-3DMiddleIt is a great tool for 3D artists6KritaDifficultPerfect software for 2D animation

Number	Software	Difficulty Level	Highlight
1	Synfig Studio	Easy	Calculate vector shape to animation automatically
2	Pencil2D Animation	Easiest	Straightforward interface for beginners
3	Tupi	Middle	Its community is active to offer solutions
4	Blender	Difficult	It is a powerful animation tool to render and make modeling

6 Free Animation Software for Windows

Number	Software	Difficulty Level	Highlight
1	DAZ Studio	Difficult	For professional users with the fast animation process
2	Terragen	Middle	It can make realistic CG environments
3	Anim8or	Difficult	3D animation is Anim8or’s main function
4	Seamless3d	Easy	It has many features for 3d modeling
5	OpenToonz	Middle	Make cartoon animation with plugins
6	Stykz	Easy	Quickly make animation if you have used Pivot StickFigure Animator

Best Animation Software on Windows and Mac - Filmora

Looking for a simple while powerful Mac video editing tool ? We recommend using Wondershare Filmora. You can use it to create 2D/3D animated texts, shapes, or anything you like for YouTube videos.

The keyframing features will help you make animation effects smooth and precise. When exporting, you can also make it transparent.

Besides, various title templates and transitions are also available for you. Download it now to have a try! Or learn more from Wondershare Video Community .

Key features

• Create various shapes that you like
• Add keyframing to make it move
• Fine-tuning to make it smooth
• Add visual effects/text/color before export it

You can even create photo cut animation which has been very trendy on Tiktok and Instagram. Here is a video to present you how you can do it in Filmora.

Part 1 Best Free Animation Software for Mac

Listed below is free animation software on Mac. Take a look.

01 Synfig Studio - Mac Software to Animate Video

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: You can create many layers once a time and sync audio for your animation.

Con: This one needs much time to learn, especially for beginners.

An open-source 2D animation software that works on Macs, Synfig Studio delivers multiple players while you are creating content. Whether you want to add geometric, filters, distortions, or transformations, it is all possible! And thanks to the high-end bone system, you can create cut-out videos using bitmap images!

The thoughtful part is there are two download versions on the homepage: the stable version and the development version. If you want to enjoy a stable and smooth animation editing experience, choose the stable one. However, the development package gives you access to the use of the latest features.

For a novice, you can learn Synfig from step by step guide in Wikipedia and video tutorials. Four languages are available including English, Russian, Dutch, and French for a video course.

You can free download its latest version 1.3.11. The upcoming version is 1.4.

Features:

• It offers support for many layers within the animation.
• The program’s bone system means that you can easily create animations with bitmap images or vector artwork.
• It allows you to sync your creative work with any sound that you want. Has a full-featured audio editor.

02 Pencil2D Animation - Animation Program for 2D Pencil Lover

Difficulty Level: Easiest

Pro: Easy to start and make animation as the interface is user-friendly for many people.

Con: You need to set your preference every time to open it up, so it takes up some time

Pencil2D Animation is one of the simplest 2D hand-drawn tools available. It will work flawlessly on Mac computers. It is ideal for beginners, as the commands and interface are very easy to understand.

Whether you want to create a simple one, or you want something with many layers for videos on YouTube, you can use Pencil2D animation to get it done. Its timeline is easy to use at first glance. You can add and duplicate different frames on a different track.

The frequency of releasing the new version is very fast as Pencil2D is committed to bringing the lasted features to each user. The newest version is v0.6.4 (as of August 2019). Its user guide is informative with video tutorials, FAQs, and manual material.

Features:

• Lightweight and minimalistic design that makes it very easy for beginners.
• Features raster and vector workflows, with easy switching between them. You can paint and sketch as you want!
• Will run on all platforms - Mac, Windows, and Linux.
• Completely free and open source.

03 TupiTube - Free Animation Application for Mac Users

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: It supports vector illustrations. Besides, various formats are available.

Con: If you want to make 3D animation, it will fail. You can only make 2D effects.

A free software application for YouTube, Tupi will allow you to create 2D animations to your heart’s content. The tool was started by animators who wanted to create something that others could use.

It is an open-source tool, which means that users can make tweaks to the program if they have some interesting ideas. The program works on both Windows and Mac. You need to use Tupi and Papagayo to make lip-sync animation with different mouth shapes.

It also offers a solution for schools with related features including academic license, technical support, and ads-free, so many schools choose to use this one to teach kids how to make an animation video.

Features:

• Support for vector illustrations. You can add rectangles, lines, polygons, and other shapes as you please. To fill areas, just use the paint bucket.
• You can import raster images using this program.
• You can export all your finished images into different file formats.
• Support for tweeting positions, scale, shear, and rotations.

04 Blender - Need Some Time to Learn This Animation Tool

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Really powerful software that you can make for professional users.

Con: It is not easy to make image animation as it focuses on 3D.

Blender is an open-source 3D animation creation suite without a watermark. If you find that 2D is a little bit limiting, we think that you will be very happy with what this free program offers. You can take your projects to a whole new level when you can use this program on your Mac.

You can use Blender to make a video game, modeling, and high-quality animation. However, it involves a steep learning curve. Luckily, there are many tutorials to guide you through the journey. You can also ask for help in the Blender community that millions of talented people like you are there.

Features:

• Creating renders is no problem with this program.
• Modeling, such as sculpting, retopology, and creating curves is not an issue either.
• VFX and animation features are better than any option on the market.
• It offers powerful simulation tools.
• Integration with pipeline tools is easy.

05 K-3D - Best for Animation and Modeling in 3D

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: Ideal for designing simple 3D animations and models.

Con: It has an old-fashioned interface. Also, the built-render (RenderMan) feature is difficult to use by beginners.

K-3D is an animation and 3D modeling software. You can download this tool for free on your Mac. Besides, you can also install and run it on your Windows and Linux systems. If you look at the design, you will find that the software is quite old. But don’t judge a book by its cover. Why so? It is because K-3D is one of the strongest and most versatile tools for 3D artists with many options.

For example, K-3D offers extremely systematic and methodological workflows. You can easily adjust the properties of the features in real-time and get instant results. It has a node-oriented visualization pipeline to enjoy more freedom. That means you can create animation using a variety of combinations.

One of the best things about K-3D is that it has three subdivisions of animation. You can work on your model on one side while showing the other side in a mirrored form. Then, experience the final result combined together. And in case you need to make the changes to the end results, you can simply work on the first subdivision and savor automatic changes to the results.

K-3D has an advanced redo and undo mechanism to ensure you can go back or move forward to make corrections or amendments without limits. Additionally, the tool is developed keeping in mind all the industrial standards. For instance, it has complete support and integration of native RenderMan™ to its user interface. This is an excellent feature because most free animation software for Mac requires third-party render plugins.

Features:

• Parametric workflow.
• 2D and 3D animation tools.
• Allows Python and K3DScript scripting.

06 Krita - For Professional 2D Animators

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Advanced tools with numerous animation options and online training material.

Con: Not suitable for beginners.

If you love 2D animation, then you’ll surely love Krita. It is entirely free software available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Also, it offers a full platform for drawing and frame-by-frame animation.

The number one reason for adoring Krita is its brush library. There are more than 100 professional brushes to give you a wide range of effects. Moreover, the strokes are pretty amazing and similar to Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator.

Another great thing about Krita is the brush stabilization feature designed for shaky hands. You can add a stabilizer to your chosen brush to smoothen its flow. Besides, there’s a special Dynamic Brush tool to make animation more fun. At the same time, you can also customize your brushes through different brush engines, including filter engines, color smudge engines, and many more.

Apart from the basic brush options, the preloaded vector tools are next to admire. These tools help you make great comic panels. All you need to do is choose and drag the word bubble template on your canvas. Then, make changes with the anchor point to make new shapes. At the same time, you can also add text to your animation by using the text tool.

Last but not least, there’s a wrap-around mode to create seamless patterns and textures. That means the image or drawing makes its own references along the x-axis and y-axis. This gives you the freedom to continue painting and enjoy updates to your animation instantly.

Features:

• HDR painting.
• PSD support.
• Python scripting.
• Selection and transformation tools.
• Proper group, filter, vector, and file layer management.
• Complete color management for extraordinary results.
• Drawing assistant to help you with straight lines and vanishing points.

Part 2 Best Free Animation Software for Windows

Below is free animation software on Windows. Keep reading.

01 Anireel - Easy to Use Animation Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

Anireel is a simple yet powerful Video Creativity tool used to make 2D animated explainer videos. Developed by Wondershare, one of the most popular Windows software and tool developers, Anireel uses rich, ready-to-use, and diverse assets to help one effortlessly make animated videos.

Features:

• There are tons of drag and drop characters, actions, props, text, and audio assets.
• Easy Text-to-Speech conversion via deep studying technology.
• Animate integrated and imported assets.
• Tons of templates that match many script types.

02 DAZ Studio - Free Software for 3D Lovers

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: You can make game animation for fun. It also supports GPU accelerated real-time rendering.

Con: It has a high demand for the device, but owns a steep learning curve.

Daz 3d is a powerful and completely free 3D creation tool that will let you create the short videos that you want. Whether you are using this for business or pleasure, you will find the program is very easy to understand. Within a day, you will be completely used to its interface.

3D effects are the core focus of DAZ Studio. You can build a model, render, and pose animation within the skin texture level. It has a high requirement for the device. For Windows 64 bits, its recommended RAM is 3G.

Features:

• Options for 3D morphing, animation, and rendering.
• GPU accelerated real-time rendering, which delivers the best results.
• Interactive tutorials to help you become a better 3D artist.
• Everything you make is yours, royalty-free!

03 Terragen - Use It to Make CG Animation

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: The recently updated version is the best one. Ray-traced preview is a great function to help us make animation.

Con: The interface looks complicated, but it gets easy to know after you are familiar with it.

A completely free program that you can download and install on all Windows computers and tablets, Terragen is the ideal program for you to create the 3D animations and environments that you want. If you want a photo-realistic CG environment, using Terragen is the best way to do it!

Releasing imagination instantly, Terragen Creative is the one tool you’d like to consider. You can use it to make beautiful scenery.

For advanced tools, you can choose FBX to make animation quickly. The featured image gallery on its homepage will give you a deep understanding of the final outcome you can achieve with Terragen.

Features:

• Ray-traced preview. Without watermark after exporting
• Photo-realistic clouds and ozone simulation
• Rendering is twice as fast as the previous version of the program.
• Adding terrain, objects, and shader to your final product is very easy with the intuitive interface.

04 Anim8or - Free Tool to Make 3D Modeling

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Anim8or supports 3D modeler and TrueType fonts to meet advanced needs.

Con: Beginners will find it difficult to learn.

Anim8or is a free 3D modeling program that will let you create the unique work that you want. It is a personal project from an animator, but the program does get regular updates and troubleshooting.

It is not going to give you the same features as something like Studio Max or Maya, but you will get the basics. Beginners who are getting into animations will love this program.

Anim8or is a great tool to step into 3D animation ff you think other software is too different to start. In some way, it means you need to give up some advanced features. But all in all, it’s still recommended for you.

Features:

• A full 3D modeler that allows you to create spheres, cylinders, platonic solids, and any other objects that you want.
• Features support for TrueType fonts.
• Easy to create 3D scenes and output them as video files or images.

05 Seamless3d - Open-source Free Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: It is an open-source 3D modeling package. The good thing is the handy infinite Undo/Redo operation.

Con: Some advanced features are missing like drawing.

Seamless3d, an open-source 3D modeling software that you can download, is among the best animation worktables if you want to create specialized images, animated videos, or 3D characters.

It supports FFmpeg video format, so you can use AVI, MP4, and more. Besides, the forum is not active compared with before, but you still can find answers from many tutorials .

Features:

• It comes with infinite undo and redo options for complete flexibility to correct mistakes.
• It allows for partitioned and seamless texture mapping for YouTube videos.
• Has a specialized tree view interface.

06 OpenToonz - Support Plug in to Make Animation Freely

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: It is open-source software, so you can change the code freely.

Con: The plug-in effects are limited.

This animation program is made for beginners on Windows. It is among the best 2D animation software in the market. You can use plug-in effects to change image style, add lights, and distort details. It supports Windows 7/8/10 only for 64 bit.

Features:

• You can add provisional colors to make your animation more colorful.
• Smooth correction without frame losing.
• Compatible with black-and-white, colored, or without binarization scanning.

7 Stykz - Simple to Use Animation Program for Beginners

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: It is the best stick figure animation if you want to make this kind of video.

Con: The UI is not modern to use and needs time to adapt to using it.

Stykz is completely free to use and without a watermark. If you have used Pivot StickFigure Animator, then you will find Stykz is similar to it, but you can import the previous .stk files to animate it again. You can use it to make animation smooth frame by frame.

With its frame-based feature, Stykz is easy to customize each frame. You can change previous and current frames to get what you want. You can download it to have a try considering its easy-to-use features.

Features:

• There is some animes file on this website, so you can have a reference.
• Edit animation in the software without using another editing window.
• You can share the final work with others including information.

Part 3 FAQ about Animation Software for Windows and Mac

01 Are Macs good for animation?

To be frank, Mac is a better choice to make animation if you want to have a smooth animation experience. For example, screen resolution is a crucial factor to make excellent animation. The good is Mac’s screen will never let you disappointed.

02 What is the best animation software for Mac?

The best animation software on mac includes Synfig Studio, Pencil2D Animation, Tupi, Blender, and more. Mentioned are free-to-use. Maya is also worth considering animation software if you are a professional user. Maya offers a 1-month free trial. After it is ended, the paid plans are month, 1-year, and 3-year.

03 Can you animate in Photoshop?

Yes, you can make basic animation in Photoshop. However, it only supports frame-based animation making. In this case, you need to use other professional software to make animation. But, you still can use Photoshop to meet your needs if you are a beginner.

Conclusion

With any of these free animation maker programs on Mac and Windows, you will have an easy time creating your next 2D or 3D video. Ensure you choose the program that has the features and compatibility that you desire. Then it is up to your creative mind to come up with stunning animations! If you want to make animation easily, you can also find inspiration through classical animated cartoon types with examples .

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

In your search for quality animation software, you may have found that many of the programs cost a lot of money no matter it is 2D animation software or 3D animation editor. The good news is that you can choose free animation tools to make different animation types easily.

That is why we created a list of the best animation software on both Mac and Windows. Whether you are a professional editor or just a beginner to start making animation, you will find the tools listed below are easy to use without watermark and won’t cost money to improve your skills.

The best part is you will find these free animation programs are also very useful for content creation on Mac and Windows. Besides, we have listed the pros and cons of each software. Keep reading!

• Part 1: Best Free Animation Software for Mac
• Part 2: Best Free Animation Software for Windows
• Part 3: FAQ about Animation Software for Windows and Mac

Here we have made a table of 12 free animation software without watermark on Windows and macOS. Take a look.

6 Free Animation Software for macOS

5K-3DMiddleIt is a great tool for 3D artists6KritaDifficultPerfect software for 2D animation

Number	Software	Difficulty Level	Highlight
1	Synfig Studio	Easy	Calculate vector shape to animation automatically
2	Pencil2D Animation	Easiest	Straightforward interface for beginners
3	Tupi	Middle	Its community is active to offer solutions
4	Blender	Difficult	It is a powerful animation tool to render and make modeling

6 Free Animation Software for Windows

Number	Software	Difficulty Level	Highlight
1	DAZ Studio	Difficult	For professional users with the fast animation process
2	Terragen	Middle	It can make realistic CG environments
3	Anim8or	Difficult	3D animation is Anim8or’s main function
4	Seamless3d	Easy	It has many features for 3d modeling
5	OpenToonz	Middle	Make cartoon animation with plugins
6	Stykz	Easy	Quickly make animation if you have used Pivot StickFigure Animator

Best Animation Software on Windows and Mac - Filmora

Looking for a simple while powerful Mac video editing tool ? We recommend using Wondershare Filmora. You can use it to create 2D/3D animated texts, shapes, or anything you like for YouTube videos.

The keyframing features will help you make animation effects smooth and precise. When exporting, you can also make it transparent.

Besides, various title templates and transitions are also available for you. Download it now to have a try! Or learn more from Wondershare Video Community .

Key features

• Create various shapes that you like
• Add keyframing to make it move
• Fine-tuning to make it smooth
• Add visual effects/text/color before export it

You can even create photo cut animation which has been very trendy on Tiktok and Instagram. Here is a video to present you how you can do it in Filmora.

Part 1 Best Free Animation Software for Mac

Listed below is free animation software on Mac. Take a look.

01 Synfig Studio - Mac Software to Animate Video

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: You can create many layers once a time and sync audio for your animation.

Con: This one needs much time to learn, especially for beginners.

An open-source 2D animation software that works on Macs, Synfig Studio delivers multiple players while you are creating content. Whether you want to add geometric, filters, distortions, or transformations, it is all possible! And thanks to the high-end bone system, you can create cut-out videos using bitmap images!

The thoughtful part is there are two download versions on the homepage: the stable version and the development version. If you want to enjoy a stable and smooth animation editing experience, choose the stable one. However, the development package gives you access to the use of the latest features.

For a novice, you can learn Synfig from step by step guide in Wikipedia and video tutorials. Four languages are available including English, Russian, Dutch, and French for a video course.

You can free download its latest version 1.3.11. The upcoming version is 1.4.

Features:

• It offers support for many layers within the animation.
• The program’s bone system means that you can easily create animations with bitmap images or vector artwork.
• It allows you to sync your creative work with any sound that you want. Has a full-featured audio editor.

02 Pencil2D Animation - Animation Program for 2D Pencil Lover

Difficulty Level: Easiest

Pro: Easy to start and make animation as the interface is user-friendly for many people.

Con: You need to set your preference every time to open it up, so it takes up some time

Pencil2D Animation is one of the simplest 2D hand-drawn tools available. It will work flawlessly on Mac computers. It is ideal for beginners, as the commands and interface are very easy to understand.

Whether you want to create a simple one, or you want something with many layers for videos on YouTube, you can use Pencil2D animation to get it done. Its timeline is easy to use at first glance. You can add and duplicate different frames on a different track.

The frequency of releasing the new version is very fast as Pencil2D is committed to bringing the lasted features to each user. The newest version is v0.6.4 (as of August 2019). Its user guide is informative with video tutorials, FAQs, and manual material.

Features:

• Lightweight and minimalistic design that makes it very easy for beginners.
• Features raster and vector workflows, with easy switching between them. You can paint and sketch as you want!
• Will run on all platforms - Mac, Windows, and Linux.
• Completely free and open source.

03 TupiTube - Free Animation Application for Mac Users

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: It supports vector illustrations. Besides, various formats are available.

Con: If you want to make 3D animation, it will fail. You can only make 2D effects.

A free software application for YouTube, Tupi will allow you to create 2D animations to your heart’s content. The tool was started by animators who wanted to create something that others could use.

It is an open-source tool, which means that users can make tweaks to the program if they have some interesting ideas. The program works on both Windows and Mac. You need to use Tupi and Papagayo to make lip-sync animation with different mouth shapes.

It also offers a solution for schools with related features including academic license, technical support, and ads-free, so many schools choose to use this one to teach kids how to make an animation video.

Features:

• Support for vector illustrations. You can add rectangles, lines, polygons, and other shapes as you please. To fill areas, just use the paint bucket.
• You can import raster images using this program.
• You can export all your finished images into different file formats.
• Support for tweeting positions, scale, shear, and rotations.

04 Blender - Need Some Time to Learn This Animation Tool

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Really powerful software that you can make for professional users.

Con: It is not easy to make image animation as it focuses on 3D.

Blender is an open-source 3D animation creation suite without a watermark. If you find that 2D is a little bit limiting, we think that you will be very happy with what this free program offers. You can take your projects to a whole new level when you can use this program on your Mac.

You can use Blender to make a video game, modeling, and high-quality animation. However, it involves a steep learning curve. Luckily, there are many tutorials to guide you through the journey. You can also ask for help in the Blender community that millions of talented people like you are there.

Features:

• Creating renders is no problem with this program.
• Modeling, such as sculpting, retopology, and creating curves is not an issue either.
• VFX and animation features are better than any option on the market.
• It offers powerful simulation tools.
• Integration with pipeline tools is easy.

05 K-3D - Best for Animation and Modeling in 3D

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: Ideal for designing simple 3D animations and models.

Con: It has an old-fashioned interface. Also, the built-render (RenderMan) feature is difficult to use by beginners.

K-3D is an animation and 3D modeling software. You can download this tool for free on your Mac. Besides, you can also install and run it on your Windows and Linux systems. If you look at the design, you will find that the software is quite old. But don’t judge a book by its cover. Why so? It is because K-3D is one of the strongest and most versatile tools for 3D artists with many options.

For example, K-3D offers extremely systematic and methodological workflows. You can easily adjust the properties of the features in real-time and get instant results. It has a node-oriented visualization pipeline to enjoy more freedom. That means you can create animation using a variety of combinations.

One of the best things about K-3D is that it has three subdivisions of animation. You can work on your model on one side while showing the other side in a mirrored form. Then, experience the final result combined together. And in case you need to make the changes to the end results, you can simply work on the first subdivision and savor automatic changes to the results.

K-3D has an advanced redo and undo mechanism to ensure you can go back or move forward to make corrections or amendments without limits. Additionally, the tool is developed keeping in mind all the industrial standards. For instance, it has complete support and integration of native RenderMan™ to its user interface. This is an excellent feature because most free animation software for Mac requires third-party render plugins.

Features:

• Parametric workflow.
• 2D and 3D animation tools.
• Allows Python and K3DScript scripting.

06 Krita - For Professional 2D Animators

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Advanced tools with numerous animation options and online training material.

Con: Not suitable for beginners.

If you love 2D animation, then you’ll surely love Krita. It is entirely free software available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Also, it offers a full platform for drawing and frame-by-frame animation.

The number one reason for adoring Krita is its brush library. There are more than 100 professional brushes to give you a wide range of effects. Moreover, the strokes are pretty amazing and similar to Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator.

Another great thing about Krita is the brush stabilization feature designed for shaky hands. You can add a stabilizer to your chosen brush to smoothen its flow. Besides, there’s a special Dynamic Brush tool to make animation more fun. At the same time, you can also customize your brushes through different brush engines, including filter engines, color smudge engines, and many more.

Apart from the basic brush options, the preloaded vector tools are next to admire. These tools help you make great comic panels. All you need to do is choose and drag the word bubble template on your canvas. Then, make changes with the anchor point to make new shapes. At the same time, you can also add text to your animation by using the text tool.

Last but not least, there’s a wrap-around mode to create seamless patterns and textures. That means the image or drawing makes its own references along the x-axis and y-axis. This gives you the freedom to continue painting and enjoy updates to your animation instantly.

Features:

• HDR painting.
• PSD support.
• Python scripting.
• Selection and transformation tools.
• Proper group, filter, vector, and file layer management.
• Complete color management for extraordinary results.
• Drawing assistant to help you with straight lines and vanishing points.

Part 2 Best Free Animation Software for Windows

Below is free animation software on Windows. Keep reading.

01 Anireel - Easy to Use Animation Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

Anireel is a simple yet powerful Video Creativity tool used to make 2D animated explainer videos. Developed by Wondershare, one of the most popular Windows software and tool developers, Anireel uses rich, ready-to-use, and diverse assets to help one effortlessly make animated videos.

Features:

• There are tons of drag and drop characters, actions, props, text, and audio assets.
• Easy Text-to-Speech conversion via deep studying technology.
• Animate integrated and imported assets.
• Tons of templates that match many script types.

02 DAZ Studio - Free Software for 3D Lovers

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: You can make game animation for fun. It also supports GPU accelerated real-time rendering.

Con: It has a high demand for the device, but owns a steep learning curve.

Daz 3d is a powerful and completely free 3D creation tool that will let you create the short videos that you want. Whether you are using this for business or pleasure, you will find the program is very easy to understand. Within a day, you will be completely used to its interface.

3D effects are the core focus of DAZ Studio. You can build a model, render, and pose animation within the skin texture level. It has a high requirement for the device. For Windows 64 bits, its recommended RAM is 3G.

Features:

• Options for 3D morphing, animation, and rendering.
• GPU accelerated real-time rendering, which delivers the best results.
• Interactive tutorials to help you become a better 3D artist.
• Everything you make is yours, royalty-free!

03 Terragen - Use It to Make CG Animation

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: The recently updated version is the best one. Ray-traced preview is a great function to help us make animation.

Con: The interface looks complicated, but it gets easy to know after you are familiar with it.

A completely free program that you can download and install on all Windows computers and tablets, Terragen is the ideal program for you to create the 3D animations and environments that you want. If you want a photo-realistic CG environment, using Terragen is the best way to do it!

Releasing imagination instantly, Terragen Creative is the one tool you’d like to consider. You can use it to make beautiful scenery.

For advanced tools, you can choose FBX to make animation quickly. The featured image gallery on its homepage will give you a deep understanding of the final outcome you can achieve with Terragen.

Features:

• Ray-traced preview. Without watermark after exporting
• Photo-realistic clouds and ozone simulation
• Rendering is twice as fast as the previous version of the program.
• Adding terrain, objects, and shader to your final product is very easy with the intuitive interface.

04 Anim8or - Free Tool to Make 3D Modeling

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Anim8or supports 3D modeler and TrueType fonts to meet advanced needs.

Con: Beginners will find it difficult to learn.

Anim8or is a free 3D modeling program that will let you create the unique work that you want. It is a personal project from an animator, but the program does get regular updates and troubleshooting.

It is not going to give you the same features as something like Studio Max or Maya, but you will get the basics. Beginners who are getting into animations will love this program.

Anim8or is a great tool to step into 3D animation ff you think other software is too different to start. In some way, it means you need to give up some advanced features. But all in all, it’s still recommended for you.

Features:

• A full 3D modeler that allows you to create spheres, cylinders, platonic solids, and any other objects that you want.
• Features support for TrueType fonts.
• Easy to create 3D scenes and output them as video files or images.

05 Seamless3d - Open-source Free Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: It is an open-source 3D modeling package. The good thing is the handy infinite Undo/Redo operation.

Con: Some advanced features are missing like drawing.

Seamless3d, an open-source 3D modeling software that you can download, is among the best animation worktables if you want to create specialized images, animated videos, or 3D characters.

It supports FFmpeg video format, so you can use AVI, MP4, and more. Besides, the forum is not active compared with before, but you still can find answers from many tutorials .

Features:

• It comes with infinite undo and redo options for complete flexibility to correct mistakes.
• It allows for partitioned and seamless texture mapping for YouTube videos.
• Has a specialized tree view interface.

06 OpenToonz - Support Plug in to Make Animation Freely

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: It is open-source software, so you can change the code freely.

Con: The plug-in effects are limited.

This animation program is made for beginners on Windows. It is among the best 2D animation software in the market. You can use plug-in effects to change image style, add lights, and distort details. It supports Windows 7/8/10 only for 64 bit.

Features:

• You can add provisional colors to make your animation more colorful.
• Smooth correction without frame losing.
• Compatible with black-and-white, colored, or without binarization scanning.

7 Stykz - Simple to Use Animation Program for Beginners

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: It is the best stick figure animation if you want to make this kind of video.

Con: The UI is not modern to use and needs time to adapt to using it.

Stykz is completely free to use and without a watermark. If you have used Pivot StickFigure Animator, then you will find Stykz is similar to it, but you can import the previous .stk files to animate it again. You can use it to make animation smooth frame by frame.

With its frame-based feature, Stykz is easy to customize each frame. You can change previous and current frames to get what you want. You can download it to have a try considering its easy-to-use features.

Features:

• There is some animes file on this website, so you can have a reference.
• Edit animation in the software without using another editing window.
• You can share the final work with others including information.

Part 3 FAQ about Animation Software for Windows and Mac

01 Are Macs good for animation?

To be frank, Mac is a better choice to make animation if you want to have a smooth animation experience. For example, screen resolution is a crucial factor to make excellent animation. The good is Mac’s screen will never let you disappointed.

02 What is the best animation software for Mac?

The best animation software on mac includes Synfig Studio, Pencil2D Animation, Tupi, Blender, and more. Mentioned are free-to-use. Maya is also worth considering animation software if you are a professional user. Maya offers a 1-month free trial. After it is ended, the paid plans are month, 1-year, and 3-year.

03 Can you animate in Photoshop?

Yes, you can make basic animation in Photoshop. However, it only supports frame-based animation making. In this case, you need to use other professional software to make animation. But, you still can use Photoshop to meet your needs if you are a beginner.

Conclusion

With any of these free animation maker programs on Mac and Windows, you will have an easy time creating your next 2D or 3D video. Ensure you choose the program that has the features and compatibility that you desire. Then it is up to your creative mind to come up with stunning animations! If you want to make animation easily, you can also find inspiration through classical animated cartoon types with examples .

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

In your search for quality animation software, you may have found that many of the programs cost a lot of money no matter it is 2D animation software or 3D animation editor. The good news is that you can choose free animation tools to make different animation types easily.

That is why we created a list of the best animation software on both Mac and Windows. Whether you are a professional editor or just a beginner to start making animation, you will find the tools listed below are easy to use without watermark and won’t cost money to improve your skills.

The best part is you will find these free animation programs are also very useful for content creation on Mac and Windows. Besides, we have listed the pros and cons of each software. Keep reading!

• Part 1: Best Free Animation Software for Mac
• Part 2: Best Free Animation Software for Windows
• Part 3: FAQ about Animation Software for Windows and Mac

Here we have made a table of 12 free animation software without watermark on Windows and macOS. Take a look.

6 Free Animation Software for macOS

5K-3DMiddleIt is a great tool for 3D artists6KritaDifficultPerfect software for 2D animation

Number	Software	Difficulty Level	Highlight
1	Synfig Studio	Easy	Calculate vector shape to animation automatically
2	Pencil2D Animation	Easiest	Straightforward interface for beginners
3	Tupi	Middle	Its community is active to offer solutions
4	Blender	Difficult	It is a powerful animation tool to render and make modeling

6 Free Animation Software for Windows

Number	Software	Difficulty Level	Highlight
1	DAZ Studio	Difficult	For professional users with the fast animation process
2	Terragen	Middle	It can make realistic CG environments
3	Anim8or	Difficult	3D animation is Anim8or’s main function
4	Seamless3d	Easy	It has many features for 3d modeling
5	OpenToonz	Middle	Make cartoon animation with plugins
6	Stykz	Easy	Quickly make animation if you have used Pivot StickFigure Animator

Best Animation Software on Windows and Mac - Filmora

Looking for a simple while powerful Mac video editing tool ? We recommend using Wondershare Filmora. You can use it to create 2D/3D animated texts, shapes, or anything you like for YouTube videos.

The keyframing features will help you make animation effects smooth and precise. When exporting, you can also make it transparent.

Besides, various title templates and transitions are also available for you. Download it now to have a try! Or learn more from Wondershare Video Community .

Key features

• Create various shapes that you like
• Add keyframing to make it move
• Fine-tuning to make it smooth
• Add visual effects/text/color before export it

You can even create photo cut animation which has been very trendy on Tiktok and Instagram. Here is a video to present you how you can do it in Filmora.

Part 1 Best Free Animation Software for Mac

Listed below is free animation software on Mac. Take a look.

01 Synfig Studio - Mac Software to Animate Video

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: You can create many layers once a time and sync audio for your animation.

Con: This one needs much time to learn, especially for beginners.

An open-source 2D animation software that works on Macs, Synfig Studio delivers multiple players while you are creating content. Whether you want to add geometric, filters, distortions, or transformations, it is all possible! And thanks to the high-end bone system, you can create cut-out videos using bitmap images!

The thoughtful part is there are two download versions on the homepage: the stable version and the development version. If you want to enjoy a stable and smooth animation editing experience, choose the stable one. However, the development package gives you access to the use of the latest features.

For a novice, you can learn Synfig from step by step guide in Wikipedia and video tutorials. Four languages are available including English, Russian, Dutch, and French for a video course.

You can free download its latest version 1.3.11. The upcoming version is 1.4.

Features:

• It offers support for many layers within the animation.
• The program’s bone system means that you can easily create animations with bitmap images or vector artwork.
• It allows you to sync your creative work with any sound that you want. Has a full-featured audio editor.

02 Pencil2D Animation - Animation Program for 2D Pencil Lover

Difficulty Level: Easiest

Pro: Easy to start and make animation as the interface is user-friendly for many people.

Con: You need to set your preference every time to open it up, so it takes up some time

Pencil2D Animation is one of the simplest 2D hand-drawn tools available. It will work flawlessly on Mac computers. It is ideal for beginners, as the commands and interface are very easy to understand.

Whether you want to create a simple one, or you want something with many layers for videos on YouTube, you can use Pencil2D animation to get it done. Its timeline is easy to use at first glance. You can add and duplicate different frames on a different track.

The frequency of releasing the new version is very fast as Pencil2D is committed to bringing the lasted features to each user. The newest version is v0.6.4 (as of August 2019). Its user guide is informative with video tutorials, FAQs, and manual material.

Features:

• Lightweight and minimalistic design that makes it very easy for beginners.
• Features raster and vector workflows, with easy switching between them. You can paint and sketch as you want!
• Will run on all platforms - Mac, Windows, and Linux.
• Completely free and open source.

03 TupiTube - Free Animation Application for Mac Users

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: It supports vector illustrations. Besides, various formats are available.

Con: If you want to make 3D animation, it will fail. You can only make 2D effects.

A free software application for YouTube, Tupi will allow you to create 2D animations to your heart’s content. The tool was started by animators who wanted to create something that others could use.

It is an open-source tool, which means that users can make tweaks to the program if they have some interesting ideas. The program works on both Windows and Mac. You need to use Tupi and Papagayo to make lip-sync animation with different mouth shapes.

It also offers a solution for schools with related features including academic license, technical support, and ads-free, so many schools choose to use this one to teach kids how to make an animation video.

Features:

• Support for vector illustrations. You can add rectangles, lines, polygons, and other shapes as you please. To fill areas, just use the paint bucket.
• You can import raster images using this program.
• You can export all your finished images into different file formats.
• Support for tweeting positions, scale, shear, and rotations.

04 Blender - Need Some Time to Learn This Animation Tool

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Really powerful software that you can make for professional users.

Con: It is not easy to make image animation as it focuses on 3D.

Blender is an open-source 3D animation creation suite without a watermark. If you find that 2D is a little bit limiting, we think that you will be very happy with what this free program offers. You can take your projects to a whole new level when you can use this program on your Mac.

You can use Blender to make a video game, modeling, and high-quality animation. However, it involves a steep learning curve. Luckily, there are many tutorials to guide you through the journey. You can also ask for help in the Blender community that millions of talented people like you are there.

Features:

• Creating renders is no problem with this program.
• Modeling, such as sculpting, retopology, and creating curves is not an issue either.
• VFX and animation features are better than any option on the market.
• It offers powerful simulation tools.
• Integration with pipeline tools is easy.

05 K-3D - Best for Animation and Modeling in 3D

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: Ideal for designing simple 3D animations and models.

Con: It has an old-fashioned interface. Also, the built-render (RenderMan) feature is difficult to use by beginners.

K-3D is an animation and 3D modeling software. You can download this tool for free on your Mac. Besides, you can also install and run it on your Windows and Linux systems. If you look at the design, you will find that the software is quite old. But don’t judge a book by its cover. Why so? It is because K-3D is one of the strongest and most versatile tools for 3D artists with many options.

For example, K-3D offers extremely systematic and methodological workflows. You can easily adjust the properties of the features in real-time and get instant results. It has a node-oriented visualization pipeline to enjoy more freedom. That means you can create animation using a variety of combinations.

One of the best things about K-3D is that it has three subdivisions of animation. You can work on your model on one side while showing the other side in a mirrored form. Then, experience the final result combined together. And in case you need to make the changes to the end results, you can simply work on the first subdivision and savor automatic changes to the results.

K-3D has an advanced redo and undo mechanism to ensure you can go back or move forward to make corrections or amendments without limits. Additionally, the tool is developed keeping in mind all the industrial standards. For instance, it has complete support and integration of native RenderMan™ to its user interface. This is an excellent feature because most free animation software for Mac requires third-party render plugins.

Features:

• Parametric workflow.
• 2D and 3D animation tools.
• Allows Python and K3DScript scripting.

06 Krita - For Professional 2D Animators

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Advanced tools with numerous animation options and online training material.

Con: Not suitable for beginners.

If you love 2D animation, then you’ll surely love Krita. It is entirely free software available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Also, it offers a full platform for drawing and frame-by-frame animation.

The number one reason for adoring Krita is its brush library. There are more than 100 professional brushes to give you a wide range of effects. Moreover, the strokes are pretty amazing and similar to Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator.

Another great thing about Krita is the brush stabilization feature designed for shaky hands. You can add a stabilizer to your chosen brush to smoothen its flow. Besides, there’s a special Dynamic Brush tool to make animation more fun. At the same time, you can also customize your brushes through different brush engines, including filter engines, color smudge engines, and many more.

Apart from the basic brush options, the preloaded vector tools are next to admire. These tools help you make great comic panels. All you need to do is choose and drag the word bubble template on your canvas. Then, make changes with the anchor point to make new shapes. At the same time, you can also add text to your animation by using the text tool.

Last but not least, there’s a wrap-around mode to create seamless patterns and textures. That means the image or drawing makes its own references along the x-axis and y-axis. This gives you the freedom to continue painting and enjoy updates to your animation instantly.

Features:

• HDR painting.
• PSD support.
• Python scripting.
• Selection and transformation tools.
• Proper group, filter, vector, and file layer management.
• Complete color management for extraordinary results.
• Drawing assistant to help you with straight lines and vanishing points.

Part 2 Best Free Animation Software for Windows

Below is free animation software on Windows. Keep reading.

01 Anireel - Easy to Use Animation Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

Anireel is a simple yet powerful Video Creativity tool used to make 2D animated explainer videos. Developed by Wondershare, one of the most popular Windows software and tool developers, Anireel uses rich, ready-to-use, and diverse assets to help one effortlessly make animated videos.

Features:

• There are tons of drag and drop characters, actions, props, text, and audio assets.
• Easy Text-to-Speech conversion via deep studying technology.
• Animate integrated and imported assets.
• Tons of templates that match many script types.

02 DAZ Studio - Free Software for 3D Lovers

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: You can make game animation for fun. It also supports GPU accelerated real-time rendering.

Con: It has a high demand for the device, but owns a steep learning curve.

Daz 3d is a powerful and completely free 3D creation tool that will let you create the short videos that you want. Whether you are using this for business or pleasure, you will find the program is very easy to understand. Within a day, you will be completely used to its interface.

3D effects are the core focus of DAZ Studio. You can build a model, render, and pose animation within the skin texture level. It has a high requirement for the device. For Windows 64 bits, its recommended RAM is 3G.

Features:

• Options for 3D morphing, animation, and rendering.
• GPU accelerated real-time rendering, which delivers the best results.
• Interactive tutorials to help you become a better 3D artist.
• Everything you make is yours, royalty-free!

03 Terragen - Use It to Make CG Animation

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: The recently updated version is the best one. Ray-traced preview is a great function to help us make animation.

Con: The interface looks complicated, but it gets easy to know after you are familiar with it.

A completely free program that you can download and install on all Windows computers and tablets, Terragen is the ideal program for you to create the 3D animations and environments that you want. If you want a photo-realistic CG environment, using Terragen is the best way to do it!

Releasing imagination instantly, Terragen Creative is the one tool you’d like to consider. You can use it to make beautiful scenery.

For advanced tools, you can choose FBX to make animation quickly. The featured image gallery on its homepage will give you a deep understanding of the final outcome you can achieve with Terragen.

Features:

• Ray-traced preview. Without watermark after exporting
• Photo-realistic clouds and ozone simulation
• Rendering is twice as fast as the previous version of the program.
• Adding terrain, objects, and shader to your final product is very easy with the intuitive interface.

04 Anim8or - Free Tool to Make 3D Modeling

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Pro: Anim8or supports 3D modeler and TrueType fonts to meet advanced needs.

Con: Beginners will find it difficult to learn.

Anim8or is a free 3D modeling program that will let you create the unique work that you want. It is a personal project from an animator, but the program does get regular updates and troubleshooting.

It is not going to give you the same features as something like Studio Max or Maya, but you will get the basics. Beginners who are getting into animations will love this program.

Anim8or is a great tool to step into 3D animation ff you think other software is too different to start. In some way, it means you need to give up some advanced features. But all in all, it’s still recommended for you.

Features:

• A full 3D modeler that allows you to create spheres, cylinders, platonic solids, and any other objects that you want.
• Features support for TrueType fonts.
• Easy to create 3D scenes and output them as video files or images.

05 Seamless3d - Open-source Free Software

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: It is an open-source 3D modeling package. The good thing is the handy infinite Undo/Redo operation.

Con: Some advanced features are missing like drawing.

Seamless3d, an open-source 3D modeling software that you can download, is among the best animation worktables if you want to create specialized images, animated videos, or 3D characters.

It supports FFmpeg video format, so you can use AVI, MP4, and more. Besides, the forum is not active compared with before, but you still can find answers from many tutorials .

Features:

• It comes with infinite undo and redo options for complete flexibility to correct mistakes.
• It allows for partitioned and seamless texture mapping for YouTube videos.
• Has a specialized tree view interface.

06 OpenToonz - Support Plug in to Make Animation Freely

Difficulty Level: Middle

Pro: It is open-source software, so you can change the code freely.

Con: The plug-in effects are limited.

This animation program is made for beginners on Windows. It is among the best 2D animation software in the market. You can use plug-in effects to change image style, add lights, and distort details. It supports Windows 7/8/10 only for 64 bit.

Features:

• You can add provisional colors to make your animation more colorful.
• Smooth correction without frame losing.
• Compatible with black-and-white, colored, or without binarization scanning.

7 Stykz - Simple to Use Animation Program for Beginners

Difficulty Level: Easy

Pro: It is the best stick figure animation if you want to make this kind of video.

Con: The UI is not modern to use and needs time to adapt to using it.

Stykz is completely free to use and without a watermark. If you have used Pivot StickFigure Animator, then you will find Stykz is similar to it, but you can import the previous .stk files to animate it again. You can use it to make animation smooth frame by frame.

With its frame-based feature, Stykz is easy to customize each frame. You can change previous and current frames to get what you want. You can download it to have a try considering its easy-to-use features.

Features:

• There is some animes file on this website, so you can have a reference.
• Edit animation in the software without using another editing window.
• You can share the final work with others including information.

Part 3 FAQ about Animation Software for Windows and Mac

01 Are Macs good for animation?

To be frank, Mac is a better choice to make animation if you want to have a smooth animation experience. For example, screen resolution is a crucial factor to make excellent animation. The good is Mac’s screen will never let you disappointed.

02 What is the best animation software for Mac?

The best animation software on mac includes Synfig Studio, Pencil2D Animation, Tupi, Blender, and more. Mentioned are free-to-use. Maya is also worth considering animation software if you are a professional user. Maya offers a 1-month free trial. After it is ended, the paid plans are month, 1-year, and 3-year.

03 Can you animate in Photoshop?

Yes, you can make basic animation in Photoshop. However, it only supports frame-based animation making. In this case, you need to use other professional software to make animation. But, you still can use Photoshop to meet your needs if you are a beginner.

Conclusion

With any of these free animation maker programs on Mac and Windows, you will have an easy time creating your next 2D or 3D video. Ensure you choose the program that has the features and compatibility that you desire. Then it is up to your creative mind to come up with stunning animations! If you want to make animation easily, you can also find inspiration through classical animated cartoon types with examples .

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Fast Forward Your Video Editing: Time Lapse Techniques in Final Cut Pro

How to Make a Time Lapse Video in Final Cut Pro

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It will be more interesting to change the speed of a video to give your project a totally different feeling, for example, by speeding up a video of a city’s traffic or the flow of clouds. Final Cut Pro offers users multiple options to adjust video speed easily, including time-lapse.

In this article, we are going to show you how you can easily increase the speed of your video from 2X up to 20X with Final Cut Pro. Also, you can choose manual custom speed as you like.

You May Also Like: How to Make Freeze-Frames and Slow Motion >>

---

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, a professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac (Originally Wondershare Video Editor for Mac). This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below to try it right now. And here’s a video tutorial on how to make a time-lapse video with Filmora for your reference:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Make a Time-Lapse Video in Final Cut Pro

Step 1 Import Clips

Choose File > New > Event. Name it and click OK. Label the project Timelapse. Then go to File > Import Media. Browse to source clips folder. Click Import Selected. Drop the clips onto the timeline.

Step 2 Apply Time-lapse Effect

Click the Retime pop-up menu below the viewer and choose Fast (or you can access Modify > Retime > Fast). There are 4 preset options you can choose: 2x, 4x, 8x, 20x. Or you can customize the speed by selecting Custom.

You can set any speed by adjusting the Rate. Reset the speed by clicking on the little arrow on the right side of the window.

You can also drag the retiming handle to adjust the speed: dragging to the left increases the speed, and dragging to the right decreases it.

Note: To set speed separately for different parts of one clip, you can choose Blade Speed first, and then blade the clip where you want to set different speeds.

That’s it. You may also want to learn this: how to add a countdown-timer in fcpx

If you have any questions about making time-lapse videos, feel free to drop a line below.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It will be more interesting to change the speed of a video to give your project a totally different feeling, for example, by speeding up a video of a city’s traffic or the flow of clouds. Final Cut Pro offers users multiple options to adjust video speed easily, including time-lapse.

In this article, we are going to show you how you can easily increase the speed of your video from 2X up to 20X with Final Cut Pro. Also, you can choose manual custom speed as you like.

You May Also Like: How to Make Freeze-Frames and Slow Motion >>

---

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, a professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac (Originally Wondershare Video Editor for Mac). This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below to try it right now. And here’s a video tutorial on how to make a time-lapse video with Filmora for your reference:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Make a Time-Lapse Video in Final Cut Pro

Step 1 Import Clips

Choose File > New > Event. Name it and click OK. Label the project Timelapse. Then go to File > Import Media. Browse to source clips folder. Click Import Selected. Drop the clips onto the timeline.

Step 2 Apply Time-lapse Effect

Click the Retime pop-up menu below the viewer and choose Fast (or you can access Modify > Retime > Fast). There are 4 preset options you can choose: 2x, 4x, 8x, 20x. Or you can customize the speed by selecting Custom.

You can set any speed by adjusting the Rate. Reset the speed by clicking on the little arrow on the right side of the window.

You can also drag the retiming handle to adjust the speed: dragging to the left increases the speed, and dragging to the right decreases it.

Note: To set speed separately for different parts of one clip, you can choose Blade Speed first, and then blade the clip where you want to set different speeds.

That’s it. You may also want to learn this: how to add a countdown-timer in fcpx

If you have any questions about making time-lapse videos, feel free to drop a line below.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It will be more interesting to change the speed of a video to give your project a totally different feeling, for example, by speeding up a video of a city’s traffic or the flow of clouds. Final Cut Pro offers users multiple options to adjust video speed easily, including time-lapse.

In this article, we are going to show you how you can easily increase the speed of your video from 2X up to 20X with Final Cut Pro. Also, you can choose manual custom speed as you like.

You May Also Like: How to Make Freeze-Frames and Slow Motion >>

---

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, a professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac (Originally Wondershare Video Editor for Mac). This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below to try it right now. And here’s a video tutorial on how to make a time-lapse video with Filmora for your reference:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Make a Time-Lapse Video in Final Cut Pro

Step 1 Import Clips

Choose File > New > Event. Name it and click OK. Label the project Timelapse. Then go to File > Import Media. Browse to source clips folder. Click Import Selected. Drop the clips onto the timeline.

Step 2 Apply Time-lapse Effect

Click the Retime pop-up menu below the viewer and choose Fast (or you can access Modify > Retime > Fast). There are 4 preset options you can choose: 2x, 4x, 8x, 20x. Or you can customize the speed by selecting Custom.

You can set any speed by adjusting the Rate. Reset the speed by clicking on the little arrow on the right side of the window.

You can also drag the retiming handle to adjust the speed: dragging to the left increases the speed, and dragging to the right decreases it.

Note: To set speed separately for different parts of one clip, you can choose Blade Speed first, and then blade the clip where you want to set different speeds.

That’s it. You may also want to learn this: how to add a countdown-timer in fcpx

If you have any questions about making time-lapse videos, feel free to drop a line below.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It will be more interesting to change the speed of a video to give your project a totally different feeling, for example, by speeding up a video of a city’s traffic or the flow of clouds. Final Cut Pro offers users multiple options to adjust video speed easily, including time-lapse.

In this article, we are going to show you how you can easily increase the speed of your video from 2X up to 20X with Final Cut Pro. Also, you can choose manual custom speed as you like.

You May Also Like: How to Make Freeze-Frames and Slow Motion >>

---

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, a professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac (Originally Wondershare Video Editor for Mac). This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below to try it right now. And here’s a video tutorial on how to make a time-lapse video with Filmora for your reference:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

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How to Make a Time-Lapse Video in Final Cut Pro

Step 1 Import Clips

Choose File > New > Event. Name it and click OK. Label the project Timelapse. Then go to File > Import Media. Browse to source clips folder. Click Import Selected. Drop the clips onto the timeline.

Step 2 Apply Time-lapse Effect

Click the Retime pop-up menu below the viewer and choose Fast (or you can access Modify > Retime > Fast). There are 4 preset options you can choose: 2x, 4x, 8x, 20x. Or you can customize the speed by selecting Custom.

You can set any speed by adjusting the Rate. Reset the speed by clicking on the little arrow on the right side of the window.

You can also drag the retiming handle to adjust the speed: dragging to the left increases the speed, and dragging to the right decreases it.

Note: To set speed separately for different parts of one clip, you can choose Blade Speed first, and then blade the clip where you want to set different speeds.

That’s it. You may also want to learn this: how to add a countdown-timer in fcpx

If you have any questions about making time-lapse videos, feel free to drop a line below.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

FCP Voice Over Essentials: Mastering the Basics

Quick Tips on Recording Voice Over with Final Cut Pro

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

With the help of Final Cut Pro you can easily create various changes to audio file with time, one can adjust volume fading and apply audio enhancement as per need. With this advanced video editing application, it is possible to record audios on live channels as Final Cut Pro can directly process input signals taken from external as well as built-in microphones.

Check more articles here, if you are also interested in other audio editing tips in Final Cut Pro like how to fade in/out audio with FCP.

Related article: How to edit audio files in Final Cut Pro >>

---

If you are new to the world of editing and find Final Cut Pro little difficult to use then it is good to try another professional tool for ease and learning. Experts suggest using Wondershare Filmora for fast video editing on Mac devices. This latest and advanced software tool contains all interactive features and can be used by beginners without any special training. To download its trial version for free.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Record Voice Over with Final Cut Pro

Most of you might be interested to know how to record voice with Final Cut Pro. Actually, the method is quite simple and can be used by beginners too.

What is Audition in FCP:

The term auditions are commonly used on FCP platform that represents sets of some related clips out of which you have to select anyone for your final project. Users are allowed to take multiple inputs of different clips for the composition of the audition and the other interesting task is to apply different effects on the same clip to create an audition with multiple versions. During live audio recording, this software tool allows automatic grouping of auditions with several retakes. You can easily find created auditions in the top left corner of your timeline as well as on the browser.

Now in order to record voice over FCP, you need to follow the steps as below:

Step 1

First of all, you need to place your playhead at a specific location on the timeline from where you wish to start your recording.

Step 2

Now in order to start your recording, you need to press Shift+A from the keyboard or simply go to Window then select Record Voiceover, and finally hit Record Button.

The countdown will automatically start.

Step 3

As soon as your recording is complete then you need to stop the process by simply pressing space bar or hitting the Shift+A button again.

Note that as the recording is stopped, the playhead automatically returns to initial position and it asks you for retake. If you click on the option ‘Create Audition from Takes’ by selecting the checkbox then FCP automatically starts creating auditions.

Here we recommend you keep this box selected because it can make your timeline looking disordered if you uncheck this box.

Step 4

It is possible to record numbers of voiceovers for same audio section. For this you simply need to press record button or initiate retake by pressing Shift+A.

Note:

• The retakes never sweep over previously created voiceover as the final audition of FCP will be containing all recordings.
• In case if you wish to record a fresh section then user needs to move playhead manually to starting point.

Step 5

Now it is time to select the desired voiceover from auditions and you can preview them all for better selection. All that you need to do is:

• Simple select your desired audition out of which you need to review voiceovers and then open recordings either by simply pressing Y or go to Clip then select Audition and finally choose Open.
• Select the take from Audition window and press space bar to play it or you can also switch it on by using Control+Command+Y command.

• Once you find your desired take then select it and hit Done. Note that a selected take appears in yellow outline.
• Now as you want to finalize your decision so choose your clip then go to auditions and then press Finalize Audition.

Step 6

It is also possible to extract desired recordings from auditions; for example if you wish to edit any take from a set of clips available in a certain audition or you want to join two different takes to create one final take then it is possible to extract audio sets from the audition by simply choosing Clip and then hit the option “Break Apart Clip Items”, it can also be done by pressing Shift+Command+G. Hence, it is possible to edit audio clips using FCP to create a unique output.

Ok, that’s all about how to record a voice-over in FCPX. Click here for more tips about recording and adding tips.

FAQ

How to sync voiceover with my video with FCPX?

You try the auto-sync feature of FCPX. For more details please read this: Practical Guide on How to Sync Audio and Video in Final Cut Pro X 2021.

How to get my missing sound effect back in FCPX?

It’s quite common in FCPX. If reopening the software or rebooting Mac won’t fix it, you may want to refer to this article: Proven Ways to Get Missing Sound Effects Back in Final Cut Pro.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

With the help of Final Cut Pro you can easily create various changes to audio file with time, one can adjust volume fading and apply audio enhancement as per need. With this advanced video editing application, it is possible to record audios on live channels as Final Cut Pro can directly process input signals taken from external as well as built-in microphones.

Check more articles here, if you are also interested in other audio editing tips in Final Cut Pro like how to fade in/out audio with FCP.

Related article: How to edit audio files in Final Cut Pro >>

---

If you are new to the world of editing and find Final Cut Pro little difficult to use then it is good to try another professional tool for ease and learning. Experts suggest using Wondershare Filmora for fast video editing on Mac devices. This latest and advanced software tool contains all interactive features and can be used by beginners without any special training. To download its trial version for free.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Record Voice Over with Final Cut Pro

Most of you might be interested to know how to record voice with Final Cut Pro. Actually, the method is quite simple and can be used by beginners too.

What is Audition in FCP:

The term auditions are commonly used on FCP platform that represents sets of some related clips out of which you have to select anyone for your final project. Users are allowed to take multiple inputs of different clips for the composition of the audition and the other interesting task is to apply different effects on the same clip to create an audition with multiple versions. During live audio recording, this software tool allows automatic grouping of auditions with several retakes. You can easily find created auditions in the top left corner of your timeline as well as on the browser.

Now in order to record voice over FCP, you need to follow the steps as below:

Step 1

First of all, you need to place your playhead at a specific location on the timeline from where you wish to start your recording.

Step 2

Now in order to start your recording, you need to press Shift+A from the keyboard or simply go to Window then select Record Voiceover, and finally hit Record Button.

The countdown will automatically start.

Step 3

As soon as your recording is complete then you need to stop the process by simply pressing space bar or hitting the Shift+A button again.

Note that as the recording is stopped, the playhead automatically returns to initial position and it asks you for retake. If you click on the option ‘Create Audition from Takes’ by selecting the checkbox then FCP automatically starts creating auditions.

Here we recommend you keep this box selected because it can make your timeline looking disordered if you uncheck this box.

Step 4

It is possible to record numbers of voiceovers for same audio section. For this you simply need to press record button or initiate retake by pressing Shift+A.

Note:

• The retakes never sweep over previously created voiceover as the final audition of FCP will be containing all recordings.
• In case if you wish to record a fresh section then user needs to move playhead manually to starting point.

Step 5

Now it is time to select the desired voiceover from auditions and you can preview them all for better selection. All that you need to do is:

• Simple select your desired audition out of which you need to review voiceovers and then open recordings either by simply pressing Y or go to Clip then select Audition and finally choose Open.
• Select the take from Audition window and press space bar to play it or you can also switch it on by using Control+Command+Y command.

• Once you find your desired take then select it and hit Done. Note that a selected take appears in yellow outline.
• Now as you want to finalize your decision so choose your clip then go to auditions and then press Finalize Audition.

Step 6

It is also possible to extract desired recordings from auditions; for example if you wish to edit any take from a set of clips available in a certain audition or you want to join two different takes to create one final take then it is possible to extract audio sets from the audition by simply choosing Clip and then hit the option “Break Apart Clip Items”, it can also be done by pressing Shift+Command+G. Hence, it is possible to edit audio clips using FCP to create a unique output.

Ok, that’s all about how to record a voice-over in FCPX. Click here for more tips about recording and adding tips.

FAQ

How to sync voiceover with my video with FCPX?

You try the auto-sync feature of FCPX. For more details please read this: Practical Guide on How to Sync Audio and Video in Final Cut Pro X 2021.

How to get my missing sound effect back in FCPX?

It’s quite common in FCPX. If reopening the software or rebooting Mac won’t fix it, you may want to refer to this article: Proven Ways to Get Missing Sound Effects Back in Final Cut Pro.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

With the help of Final Cut Pro you can easily create various changes to audio file with time, one can adjust volume fading and apply audio enhancement as per need. With this advanced video editing application, it is possible to record audios on live channels as Final Cut Pro can directly process input signals taken from external as well as built-in microphones.

Check more articles here, if you are also interested in other audio editing tips in Final Cut Pro like how to fade in/out audio with FCP.

Related article: How to edit audio files in Final Cut Pro >>

---

If you are new to the world of editing and find Final Cut Pro little difficult to use then it is good to try another professional tool for ease and learning. Experts suggest using Wondershare Filmora for fast video editing on Mac devices. This latest and advanced software tool contains all interactive features and can be used by beginners without any special training. To download its trial version for free.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Record Voice Over with Final Cut Pro

Most of you might be interested to know how to record voice with Final Cut Pro. Actually, the method is quite simple and can be used by beginners too.

What is Audition in FCP:

The term auditions are commonly used on FCP platform that represents sets of some related clips out of which you have to select anyone for your final project. Users are allowed to take multiple inputs of different clips for the composition of the audition and the other interesting task is to apply different effects on the same clip to create an audition with multiple versions. During live audio recording, this software tool allows automatic grouping of auditions with several retakes. You can easily find created auditions in the top left corner of your timeline as well as on the browser.

Now in order to record voice over FCP, you need to follow the steps as below:

Step 1

First of all, you need to place your playhead at a specific location on the timeline from where you wish to start your recording.

Step 2

Now in order to start your recording, you need to press Shift+A from the keyboard or simply go to Window then select Record Voiceover, and finally hit Record Button.

The countdown will automatically start.

Step 3

As soon as your recording is complete then you need to stop the process by simply pressing space bar or hitting the Shift+A button again.

Note that as the recording is stopped, the playhead automatically returns to initial position and it asks you for retake. If you click on the option ‘Create Audition from Takes’ by selecting the checkbox then FCP automatically starts creating auditions.

Here we recommend you keep this box selected because it can make your timeline looking disordered if you uncheck this box.

Step 4

It is possible to record numbers of voiceovers for same audio section. For this you simply need to press record button or initiate retake by pressing Shift+A.

Note:

• The retakes never sweep over previously created voiceover as the final audition of FCP will be containing all recordings.
• In case if you wish to record a fresh section then user needs to move playhead manually to starting point.

Step 5

Now it is time to select the desired voiceover from auditions and you can preview them all for better selection. All that you need to do is:

• Simple select your desired audition out of which you need to review voiceovers and then open recordings either by simply pressing Y or go to Clip then select Audition and finally choose Open.
• Select the take from Audition window and press space bar to play it or you can also switch it on by using Control+Command+Y command.

• Once you find your desired take then select it and hit Done. Note that a selected take appears in yellow outline.
• Now as you want to finalize your decision so choose your clip then go to auditions and then press Finalize Audition.

Step 6

It is also possible to extract desired recordings from auditions; for example if you wish to edit any take from a set of clips available in a certain audition or you want to join two different takes to create one final take then it is possible to extract audio sets from the audition by simply choosing Clip and then hit the option “Break Apart Clip Items”, it can also be done by pressing Shift+Command+G. Hence, it is possible to edit audio clips using FCP to create a unique output.

Ok, that’s all about how to record a voice-over in FCPX. Click here for more tips about recording and adding tips.

FAQ

How to sync voiceover with my video with FCPX?

You try the auto-sync feature of FCPX. For more details please read this: Practical Guide on How to Sync Audio and Video in Final Cut Pro X 2021.

How to get my missing sound effect back in FCPX?

It’s quite common in FCPX. If reopening the software or rebooting Mac won’t fix it, you may want to refer to this article: Proven Ways to Get Missing Sound Effects Back in Final Cut Pro.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

With the help of Final Cut Pro you can easily create various changes to audio file with time, one can adjust volume fading and apply audio enhancement as per need. With this advanced video editing application, it is possible to record audios on live channels as Final Cut Pro can directly process input signals taken from external as well as built-in microphones.

Check more articles here, if you are also interested in other audio editing tips in Final Cut Pro like how to fade in/out audio with FCP.

Related article: How to edit audio files in Final Cut Pro >>

---

If you are new to the world of editing and find Final Cut Pro little difficult to use then it is good to try another professional tool for ease and learning. Experts suggest using Wondershare Filmora for fast video editing on Mac devices. This latest and advanced software tool contains all interactive features and can be used by beginners without any special training. To download its trial version for free.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Record Voice Over with Final Cut Pro

Most of you might be interested to know how to record voice with Final Cut Pro. Actually, the method is quite simple and can be used by beginners too.

What is Audition in FCP:

The term auditions are commonly used on FCP platform that represents sets of some related clips out of which you have to select anyone for your final project. Users are allowed to take multiple inputs of different clips for the composition of the audition and the other interesting task is to apply different effects on the same clip to create an audition with multiple versions. During live audio recording, this software tool allows automatic grouping of auditions with several retakes. You can easily find created auditions in the top left corner of your timeline as well as on the browser.

Now in order to record voice over FCP, you need to follow the steps as below:

Step 1

First of all, you need to place your playhead at a specific location on the timeline from where you wish to start your recording.

Step 2

Now in order to start your recording, you need to press Shift+A from the keyboard or simply go to Window then select Record Voiceover, and finally hit Record Button.

The countdown will automatically start.

Step 3

As soon as your recording is complete then you need to stop the process by simply pressing space bar or hitting the Shift+A button again.

Note that as the recording is stopped, the playhead automatically returns to initial position and it asks you for retake. If you click on the option ‘Create Audition from Takes’ by selecting the checkbox then FCP automatically starts creating auditions.

Here we recommend you keep this box selected because it can make your timeline looking disordered if you uncheck this box.

Step 4

It is possible to record numbers of voiceovers for same audio section. For this you simply need to press record button or initiate retake by pressing Shift+A.

Note:

• The retakes never sweep over previously created voiceover as the final audition of FCP will be containing all recordings.
• In case if you wish to record a fresh section then user needs to move playhead manually to starting point.

Step 5

Now it is time to select the desired voiceover from auditions and you can preview them all for better selection. All that you need to do is:

• Simple select your desired audition out of which you need to review voiceovers and then open recordings either by simply pressing Y or go to Clip then select Audition and finally choose Open.
• Select the take from Audition window and press space bar to play it or you can also switch it on by using Control+Command+Y command.

• Once you find your desired take then select it and hit Done. Note that a selected take appears in yellow outline.
• Now as you want to finalize your decision so choose your clip then go to auditions and then press Finalize Audition.

Step 6

It is also possible to extract desired recordings from auditions; for example if you wish to edit any take from a set of clips available in a certain audition or you want to join two different takes to create one final take then it is possible to extract audio sets from the audition by simply choosing Clip and then hit the option “Break Apart Clip Items”, it can also be done by pressing Shift+Command+G. Hence, it is possible to edit audio clips using FCP to create a unique output.

Ok, that’s all about how to record a voice-over in FCPX. Click here for more tips about recording and adding tips.

FAQ

How to sync voiceover with my video with FCPX?

You try the auto-sync feature of FCPX. For more details please read this: Practical Guide on How to Sync Audio and Video in Final Cut Pro X 2021.

How to get my missing sound effect back in FCPX?

It’s quite common in FCPX. If reopening the software or rebooting Mac won’t fix it, you may want to refer to this article: Proven Ways to Get Missing Sound Effects Back in Final Cut Pro.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

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