Animations can be a great way to get your work to stand out and the best animated video maker can help you get this effect very easily. Here, we will be helping you find the best way to create animated videos for your particular project.
It is important to point out that there are very many animation programs in the market and choosing the best one will depend on your needs, your style, the feature and tools you need, the cost of the program, and even the export options that each tool gives you.
Before we look at the best ways to create animated videos, let’s start by examining why you would need to use an animated video maker in the first place.
When to Use an Animated Video Maker
There are several reasons why you would want to create an animated video, rather than use traditional video solutions. The following are the most important from a digital marketing standpoint;
Improve Conversion and Sales
Animated videos are engaging enough to improve your conversion and sales. Studies have shown that an animated video can increase both conversion and sales by up to 80%. It may therefore be a good idea to use an animated explainer video to show your potential customers how to purchase a product or service on your website.
Increase Brand Awareness
Because they can be very entertaining and engaging, animated videos can also be a great way to increase brand awareness. And since they can be created very easily and cheaply, they can be a good way to reach potential customers.
Generate Online Leads
Because of the engaging nature of animated videos, you can use them to introduce yourself to potential customers and generate online leads. They have a very high conversion rate, as we have seen before, making them one of the best ways to reach people who would otherwise have never heard of you and your brand.
Explain Complex Processes
It can be very difficult to try to explain very complex ideas such as the mechanical aspect of a certain tool using words. But a well-crafted animated video gives you the chance to explain complex ideas in a fun and engaging way, making it easier for your customers to understand and engage with your brand.
Best Animated Video Makers
The following are the best animated video makers in the market to choose from;
1. Filmora
Created by Wondershare, one of the most popular software companies in the world, you can be certain that Filmora will deliver one of the best video creation and animation experiences you can find anywhere. It is a very easy-to-use, very effective way of creating animated videos that will intrigue your audiences and engage with them in ways traditional video cannot.
To accomplish this, Filmora has numerous features and effects that are not just meant to help you create the perfect video, but also make the process simple, allowing you to create stunning videos in just a few minutes.
For Win 7 or later (64-bit)
For macOS 10.12 or later
The following are some of the key features you can expect when using Filmora;
-
Motion Tracking is a feature that you can use to attach an element to a moving object. The auto motion tracking feature ensures that the elements you attach move smoothly as the object moves.
-
You can also use Filmora to customize an animation by adding keyframes to change various aspects including the positions, scale, rotations, and even the opacity of a clip.
-
The color match feature allows you to match a selected clip’s color to a separate clip from another clip.
-
The auto-ducking feature allows you to choose to fade away background music and make foreground narration or dialogue clearer.
-
You can also add plain text to any section of the video
-
The advanced title editing feature allows you to change the position, rotation, and scale of the video’s title while it is playing.
-
You can also create and edit keyboard shortcut keys that you can then use to edit the video more easily.
2. Animaker
Price: Free with limited features. Paid plans from $10 a month
Best For: marketers, presenters, and freelancers
Link: https://www.animaker.com/
If you are looking for a simple way to create interactive presentations and videos, Animaker is a simple solution to choose. It is a particularly simple solution to use as it comes with numerous ways to create and edit the video, including a huge library of templates and elements that include illustrations, gestures, and characters.
The fact that you don’t have to create these animations from scratch makes it an ideal solution even if you have never used this kind of software before. It also comes with more than 200 music tracks and sound effects that you can add to the video.
Pros
-
It can be used to create all kinds of animations for all kinds of use including business and personal uses
-
It supports the creation of a variety of video styles
-
It can be used to create whiteboard videos
-
It has numerous animation options to choose from including illustrations, characters, and gestures
-
It comes with a free plan
Cons
-
You can only create 5 watermarked videos with the free plan
-
It is only ideal for creating videos and not animated images
3. Visme
Price: Free plan with limited features. Paid plans start from $15 per month
Best For: Marketers, corporate teams, trainers, teachers, and personal use
Link: https://www.visme.co/
Visme is a cloud-based solution that can be used to create all sorts of animated media including animated videos, animated images, presentations, ads, banners, and more. It has numerous interactive features that are aimed at allowing you to create the perfect designs in a matter of minutes.
Since it is a cloud-based solution, you don’t need to download any software on your computer to use it. it also comes with thousands of premade templates and lots of stock-free images and videos that you can use to create your design.
Pros
-
It is an all-in-one solution to create both animated images and videos
-
It is a simple soliton even for beginner users
-
You get thousands of different resources that can be used to create unique designs limited only by your imagination
-
You don’t need to download any software to use it
Cons
-
The numerous resources can make it a confusing solution for beginners
-
The free plan is very limited
4. Adobe Animate
Price: Starts at $20.99 per month
Best For: Cartoon makers, YouTubers, and game designers
Link: https://www.adobe.com/africa/products/animate.html
Adobe Animate is an improvement on Adobe Flash Professional in every way. It is one of the best ways to create interactive graphics a 2D animations that can then be added to whatever project you are working on.
You can use the numerous tools in Adobe Animate to animate various aspects of your design including characters, shapes, avatars, and other assets. The animations can then be exported in various formats including Flash, HTML5, WebGL, SVG, and more.
Pros
-
You have a lot of options when it comes to exporting and sharing the animations you create.
-
It allows you to animate elements in numerous ways
-
It has an extensive library of tools that can be used to create unique animations
Cons
-
Like most Adobe tools, it can be very difficult to use, especially for beginner users
-
There is no free trial version
5. Crello
Price: Free plan with limited features. Paid plan starts at $10 a month
Best For: Marketers, freelancers, and business owners
Link: https://create.vista.com/
Also known as VistaCreate, this is a simple solution for creating both animated videos and images. It makes this animation process quick and easy by providing you with a veritable library of templates and thousands of pre-animated characters and objects. It is therefore one of the best solutions to choose even if you don’t have the necessary technical skills to create a credible animated video.
One of the things VistaCreate can do so well is combining videos and animated GIFs with images to create short animated videos that you can share on social media.
Pros
-
Create animated videos and export them in various formats, ideal for all devices
-
It is one of the best ways to create animated social media posts
-
It has a mobile app that allows you to create designs on your device
Cons
-
The free version is very limited in creative assets and storage capacity
6. Biteable
Price: Free plan with limited features: Paid plans start from $49 a month
Best For: Marketers, Educators, and Trainers
Link: https://biteable.com/
Biteable is the best option when you want to create simple small animated videos that can be used as Ads or videos that you post to social media. It has numerous premade templates that make creating these simple videos a matter of simply editing one of the templates.
If you feel uninspired, it has thousands of stock footage clips and scenes that you can put together to create a complete. It also has collaborative features that can allow a team to work on the same project.
Pros
-
It can be used to make all kinds of marketing videos
-
It is an ideal choice for explainer and demo videos
-
It provides a wealth of resources to create your videos including stock footage
-
It has a free plan
Cons
-
The free plan places a watermark on the video
-
You can only export the videos in MP4 format.
-
At $49 a month, it is a very expensive option.
7. PixTeller
Price: Basic free plan with no animation features. Paid plans start at $12 per month
Best For: Freelancers, marketers, and bloggers
Link: https://pixteller.com/
PixTeller is a great way to animate videos and images for both professional and personal use. if you don’t want the complications that come with a dedicated video editing software, PixTeller is a good option to consider as it is very simple to use.
You can use it to create simple animated short videos by setting frame-by-frame motions and then editing the attributes in each frame. Some of the attributes that you can use PixTeller to edit include colors, opacity, rotation, and more.
Pros
-
Editing frame by frame on a timeline makes video creation very easy
-
The free version has various editing features
-
It can be used to create both animated videos and images
Cons
-
It lacks the advanced editing features that you will find on some of the other options on this list
-
You can only download the videos in MP4 format
-
The free plan doesn’t have animation features
8. Blender
Price: Free
Best For: Scientists, Students, Engineers, Animators, and Artists
Link: https://www.blender.org/download/
If you want to create stunning animations for free, Blender is the open-source software to use. This free program allows users to use the command line to create, render and model 3D animations. It can be used on all platforms including Linux, Windows, and Mac.
Even though it is free, it comes with numerous features including the ability to draw and edit in 3D mode, advanced video editing in VFX, motion tracking, masking, and compositing. But because it uses command-line programming, it may not be an ideal solution for most users.
Pros
-
It is a completely free solution
-
It has pretty advanced animation and rendering features to create all kinds of videos
Cons
-
It may not be the most ideal solution for beginner users even though there are hours of video tutorials to refer to.
Related FAQs
1. How Do I Turn my Video into Animation?
The best way to turn a video into animation is to use one of the animation software solutions that we have outlined above. Each tool has its features and you should choose one that has the necessary features to fit into your video project.
2. How Do I Make an Animated Video for Free?
The only way to make an animated video is to use animation software. And although most programs are not free, there are some open-source solutions like Blender that may be able to help you make an animated video for free.
3. How Do You Animate in PowerPoint?
PowerPoint allows you to add animation to objects and text. To do that, select the object or text that you want to animate and select “Animations.” From the options presented, select the animation that you would like to use and it will be added to the selected object or text. If you would like to add an effect, choose “Effect Options.”