Adobe Character Animator vs Pencil2D
Adobe Character Animator
adobe.com
Pencil2D
pencil2d.orgSide by side
| Figure | Adobe Character Animator | Pencil2D |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 9 | 2 |
| Spec score · 2D Character Animation Software | 9.2 (#3) | 8.4 (#10) |
| Spec score · Animation Software | 9.1 (#8) | 8.8 (#16) |
| Spec score · Cartoon Maker Software | 9.1 (#3) | 8.4 (#12) |
| Documentation | The help center covers setup, projects, puppet creation, rigging, behaviors, recording, keyframes, export and streaming, plus known issues and release notes. | Official documentation includes a user guide, tutorials, FAQ, user manual and a reference manual described as an initial work in progress. |
| Export formats | Exports include H.264 video, Adobe Media Encoder output, PNG sequences and WAV audio. | MP4,WEBM,AVI,GIF,APNG,PNG image sequence |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Licence | Adobe lists Character Animator under Creative Cloud software governed by Adobe's general terms; it is proprietary commercial software rather than open source. | The GitHub repository identifies the project licence as GPL-2.0. |
| Supported platforms | Windows,macOS | Windows,macOS,Linux |
| Rating on G2 | 4.2 out of 5 from 33 reviews | 4.1 out of 5 from 16 reviews |
| 2D animation tools | Yes | Yes |
| What it does | Adobe Character Animator is a performance-based 2D animation application that brings layered characters to life in real time. | Pencil2D is a lightweight tool for creating traditional hand-drawn 2D animations. |
Plans
Adobe Character Animator
- Character Animator StarterPrice not published
- Character Animator StarterPriced on request
- Creative Cloud Pro for students and teachersPriced on request
- Creative Cloud Pro for students and teachersPrice not published
- Creative Cloud Pro for teamsPrice not published
- Creative Cloud Pro for teamsPriced on request
- StarterFree
- Creative Cloud Pro annual billed monthly$34.99 a month
- Creative Cloud Pro$69.99 a month
In their own words
Adobe Character Animator
Adobe Character Animator has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Pencil2D
Pencil2D is free, open-source software for creating hand-drawn 2D animations. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and, according to the homepage, FreeBSD. The project provides stable builds for Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.14 or later on Intel, and both 32-bit and 64-bit Linux. Artists can switch between raster and vector workflows for sketching, inking and painting. A timeline manages keyframes, while dockable tool and color windows accompany an unlimited canvas with a camera field. Onion skin displays drawings before and after the current keyframe, with controls for drawing count and transparency. Sound can be imported through a sound layer, although waveform display is still pending. Exports include MP4, WEBM, AVI, GIF, APNG and PNG image sequences. Video importing, text tools and shape tools are not implemented. Pencil2D is free for commercial use. Help is available through its forum, Discord, tutorials, FAQ and user manual.