Live2D Cubism vs Pixelpart

Live2D Cubism Editor turns drawn illustrations into animated 2D models, with tools for shaping expressions through mesh deformation, physics, and lip sync. Live2D says its technology is used in mobile apps, console games, VTuber streaming, and animation. The editor runs on Windows and macOS, including Apple Silicon and Intel Mac versions, and exports PNG, JPEG, GIF, MP4, WebM, MOV, MOC3, model3.json, and motion3.json files. Editor files are supported by nizima LIVE and other third-party applications; Live2D also provides an After Effects plug-in and Photoshop scripts. The PRO trial lasts 42 days, after which the Editor continues as the FREE version. FREE is limited to one 2048 px texture file, 100 ArtMesh, 30 motion parameters, 50 deformers, and 30 parts; exceeding those limits prevents saving. FREE commercial use is restricted to General Users and Small-Scale Enterprises with annual sales under 10 million yen. Cubism PRO for indie is listed at $13.26 a month.

Pixelpart is an application for making 2D and 3D visual effects for games, with a particle-based workflow. It provides particle emitters, force fields, colliders, light sources, and group nodes, alongside keyframe animations and motion paths. Effects can be exported as videos, sprite sheets, image sequences, or animated images. Inputs and triggers allow its game-engine plugins to respond to game-state changes, and runtime plugins are listed for Unity, Godot, and GameMaker. The maker describes those plugins as free and open-source; they work with effect files from Pixelpart 1.9.x. Documented engine requirements are Unity 2021.3 or later, Godot 4.3 or later, and GameMaker 2024 or later. The application runs on Linux and Windows; its listed minimums are Ubuntu 20.04 x64 with X11 or Windows 10 x64. Plugin documentation also names macOS, iOS, Android, and Web/HTML5 runtime targets. A free Demo is available for simple effects. Professional costs $24.99, paid once purchase and includes all features, unlimited nodes and particle types, unlimited inputs and triggers, and unrestricted video and sprite export.