iClone vs Pencil2D
iClone
reallusion.com
Pencil2D
pencil2d.orgSide by side
| Figure | iClone | Pencil2D |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 8 | 2 |
| Spec score · Animation Software | 9.2 (#5) | 8.8 (#16) |
| Spec score · Cartoon Maker Software | 9.0 (#6) | 8.4 (#12) |
| Export formats | FBX,OBJ,ABC,USD | MP4,WEBM,AVI,GIF,APNG,PNG image sequence |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Official pipelines connect iClone with Character Creator, Unreal Engine, Unity, Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Marmoset Toolbag and NVIDIA Omniverse. | GetApp reports that no integrations were found for Pencil2D. |
| Licence | The software and iContent are proprietary; the EULA prohibits copying, sublicensing, reverse engineering and redistribution. | The GitHub repository identifies the project licence as GPL-2.0. |
| Supported platforms | windows | Windows,macOS,Linux |
| Rating on G2 | 4.8 out of 5 from 13 reviews | 4.1 out of 5 from 16 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | 4.4 out of 5 from 10 reviews | 4.2 out of 5 from 13 reviews |
| 2D animation tools | No | Yes |
| What it does | iClone is Reallusion's real-time 3D animation environment for character performance, scene design and cinematic storytelling. | Pencil2D is a lightweight tool for creating traditional hand-drawn 2D animations. |
Plans
iClone
- PersonalFree
- iClone 365Priced on request
- iClone 8Priced on request
- iClone 8Price not published
- iClone Personal EditionFree
- iClone 365$16.58 a month
- iClone 365 Pro$23.28 a month
- iClone 8 Perpetual License$359, paid once
In their own words
iClone
iClone is a Windows application for character rigging and real-time capture, including facial tracking. It supports Windows 10 and Windows 11 and exports FBX, OBJ, ABC, and USD files. The listed capabilities do not include 2D animation, 3D modeling, motion graphics, or cloud collaboration. iClone uses a freemium model with a Free Personal Edition priced at free, with no time limit and 30 3D exports. The iClone 365 and iClone 8 plans each list 2,000+ free assets, but their prices are not provided. Capture sources are both, and the product is intended for users working with rigged characters and captured motion on Windows. The maker is headquartered in Hsintien, New Taipei City, Taiwan, and was founded in 1993.
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.