Cartoon Animator vs SpineBones
Cartoon Animator
reallusion.com
SpineBones
spinebones.agara.idSide by side
| Figure | Cartoon Animator | SpineBones |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $149/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · 2D Character Animation Software | 8.4 (#9) | 8.3 (#14) |
| Spec score · Game Animation Software | 8.5 (#7) | 8.2 (#10) |
| Founded | 1993 | 2020 |
| Headquarters | Silicon Valley, United States | Jembrana, Bali, Indonesia |
| Purpose | Cartoon Animator creates animatable 2D characters from images, photos, paintings, layered Photoshop PSD files, and vector graphics. | SpineBones is a 2D skeletal animation editor for building bone rigs, keying them on a timeline, and exporting animations. |
| Rigging | Its 2D Bone Editor lets users build bone rigs and constrain areas with pins. | It supports bone hierarchies, re-parenting, grouping, and inverse kinematics. |
| System requirements | The download page lists Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7 SP1 and requires a 64-bit operating system. | The listed requirements are macOS 12 or newer and Windows 10 or newer. |
Plans
Cartoon Animator
- TrialPrice not published
- Full$149 a month
- Cartoon Animator 5 Full$149, paid once
In their own words
Cartoon Animator
Cartoon Animator has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
SpineBones
SpineBones is a free 2D skeletal animation editor for creating bone rigs, keying motion, and exporting animations. Rigging includes hierarchies, re-parenting, grouping, and inverse kinematics. Its timeline supports keyframe insertion, movement, selection, copying, looping, per-key easing, and audio tracks. Slots accept PNG, JPG, SVG, and WebP artwork, with multiple attachments and frame-by-frame swaps. Attachment meshes can be deformed with keyed vertices, and onion skin shows neighboring poses. SETUP stores the base pose; ANIMATE keys position, rotation, and scale. Exports include WebM video, transparent PNG sequences, sprite sheets with atlas data, and portable .sbn packages; legacy .json projects open too. An MCP bridge supports Claude and other MCP clients for rig elements, keyframes, frame-rate changes, and exports. It runs on macOS 12+ and Windows 10+, with no account, licence key, or trial timer.