2D & Animation Software
Digital painting, illustration, 2D animation.
| Software | Description | Pricing | License | Tags | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aseprite | Pixel art editor and sprite animation tool, sold commercially with its source code public on GitHub. | Open source | Pixel Art · Sprite Animation | Pixel art, sprite animation, game assets | |
| Autograph | USD-based motion graphics, compositing, and VFX (After Effects alternative). Free for individuals incl. commercial use. Originally Left Angle, now Maxon. | Free | USD · Free Commercial | 2D/3D motion design and compositing | |
| Callipeg | Frame-by-frame 2D animation app for tablets and desktop. | From $5 one-time | Paid | Paid · Tablet | Tablet frame-by-frame animation |
| Cavalry | Procedural 2D motion design (After Effects alternative). Free tier available. | Free tier | Procedural · Data-Driven | Data-driven motion graphics | |
| Clip Studio Paint | Industry-standard illustration and comics with animation timeline. See also: Software Reference → Design Software |
Paid | Manga · Frame-by-Frame | Manga, illustration, frame-by-frame animation | |
| DoAnimation | Browser frame-by-frame 2D animation. Layers, onion skinning, GIF/MP4 export. Files stay local. | Free | Browser · 2D Animation | Browser 2D animation | |
| DragonBones | Open source 2D skeletal animation. Flash-origin workflow, runtimes for multiple engines. | Open source | Open Source · 2D Skeletal | 2D skeletal animation (OSS) | |
| Friction | Free open-source motion graphics and 2D vector animation. After Effects-style workflow. See also: Motion Graphics & Video → Motion Graphics: Inspiration |
Open source | Open Source · AE-alt | Open-source motion graphics | |
| Glaxnimate | KDE open-source vector animation app with Lottie and SVG export. | Open source | Open Source · Lottie | Lottie vector animation | |
| GraphicsGale | Pixel art and sprite animation tool (free). | Free | Pixel Art · Free | Pixel art/sprite animation | |
| Hexels | 2D grid-based painting tool from Marmoset. | Paid | |||
| Krita | Free open-source digital painting app from KDE; v5.3 and v6.0 shipped March 2026. See also: Software Reference → Design Software, Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
Open source | Free OSS · Painting | Digital painting, concept art | |
| LibreSprite | LibreSprite is an open source fork of Aseprite. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Open source | |||
| Lightcube | Pixel art editor for Windows w/ PSD, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF support. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Paid | Windows · PSD Support | Windows pixel art w/ PSD | |
| Moho (Smith Micro) | 2D vector and bone-rigged animation. | Paid | Bone Rigging · Vector Animation | Character animation, motion graphics | |
| OpenToonz | Studio Ghibli's animation engine, open-sourced. | Open source | Ghibli Pipeline · Traditional 2D | Traditional 2D animation | |
| OpenToonz GitHub | Source, plugins, and documentation. | Unspecified | |||
| Pencil2D | Free lightweight 2D animation. | Open source | Lightweight · Hand-drawn | Simple hand-drawn animation | |
| Pickle | Desktop pixel art editor for drawing sprites and animated frames. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Paid | Pixel Art · Editor | Pixel art editing | |
| Pixa.Pics | Browser pixel-art tool w/ vectorization. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Free tier | Browser · Vectorization | Browser pixel art | |
| Pixel Composer (itch.io) | Node-based 2D VFX and compositing for pixel art. | Paid | Node-based · Pixel VFX | Pixel art effects, game VFX | |
| Pixelator | Turn any image into pixel art. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Paid | Image→Pixel · Conversion | Image→pixel art | |
| Pixelorama | Free pixel art editor (made in Godot). See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Open source | Pixel Art · Godot-built | Pixel art for games | |
| PixelOver | Convert artwork to pixel art with animation, bone rigging, and pixel-perfect transforms. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
~$20 (free demo) | Paid | Artwork→Pixel · Rigging | Artwork → pixel art conversion |
| Pixen (GitHub) | Open-source pixel art and animation editor for macOS. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Open source | |||
| Pixen (site) | Paid, works on macOS and iOS. Superb OS integration, create pixel art on a tablet using pressure-sensitive drawing. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Drawing & Painting for 3D Artists |
Paid | |||
| Pro Motion | Paid with trial, works on Windows. Advanced features tailored to creating pixel art for games. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Paid | |||
| Procreate | IPad painting app. Procreate Dreams for animation. See also: Software Reference → Design Software |
Paid | iPad-native · Storyboarding | Mobile illustration, storyboards | |
| PyxelEdit | Pixel art editor for tilesets, levels, animations. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Paid | Tilesets · Pixel Art | Pixel art tilesets/levels | |
| Rebelle 8 Pro | Natural-media painting app simulating real watercolor, oil, acrylic, ink with fluid dynamics. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Drawing & Painting for 3D Artists |
Paid | Natural Media · Watercolor Sim | Realistic traditional-media digital painting | |
| REXPaint | Free ASCII art editor with layers, animation, and palette tools. Built for roguelike and terminal art. | Free | ASCII Art · Roguelike | ASCII art, roguelike mockups | |
| Rive | Interactive animation for apps and web. | Free tier | Interactive · UI Animation | UI animation, interactive graphics | |
| Spine (Esoteric Software) | 2D skeletal animation w/ mesh deformation, IK, skins/attachments. Runtimes for Unity/Unreal/Godot/web. Used on Cult of the Lamb, Return to Monkey Island, Tinykin. | Paid | Skeletal · Game Runtimes | Skeletal 2D animation for games | |
| SpriteMancer | 2D VFX and sprite animation. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Paid | 2D VFX · Sprites | 2D game VFX | |
| Spriter Pro | Modern tool for sprite animation (2D bone rigging). | Paid | Sprite Animation · Paid | 2D sprite animation | |
| Synfig Studio | Free open-source 2D vector animation. | Open source | Vector · Cutout | Cutout/bone animation | |
| Tahoma2D | 2D and stop-motion animation (OpenToonz fork w/ modernized UI and features). | Open source | OpenToonz Fork · Stop Motion | 2D / stop motion | |
| TexturePacker | Sprite sheet packing, multi-engine export. See also: Game Development → Game Dev Tools: Sprite & VFX |
Paid | Sprite Sheets · Multi-Engine | Sprite sheet packing | |
| Toon Boom Harmony | Professional 2D animation (studio standard). | Paid | Studio Standard · TV Animation | TV animation, feature film | |
| Toon Boom Storyboard Pro | Industry-standard storyboarding with animatic, camera and audio timeline. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Pre-Production, Storyboarding & Script Tools |
Paid | Storyboarding · Animatics | Pre-production, animatics | |
| TVPaint Animation | Raster frame-by-frame 2D animation software modeled on paper animation. | From about €650 perpetual | Paid | Paid · Frame by Frame | Hand-drawn 2D animation |
Related:
- Aseprite Docs. Official documentation and scripting API.
- PiskelApp. Free Online Pixel Art and Animated Sprite Tool.
- Procreate Handbook. Official guide and brush library.
- Toon Boom Learn. Official tutorials and documentation.
- Wordpress Addon Free tier. Greenshift animation addon allows you to use and configure Rive files directly in the WordPress editor.