Pencil2D vs SpriteForge
Pencil2D
pencil2d.orgSpriteForge
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Pencil2D | SpriteForge |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · 2D Character Animation Software | 8.4 (#10) | 7.1 (#39) |
| Export formats | MP4,WEBM,AVI,GIF,APNG,PNG image sequence | Exports include Spine 4.x-style JSON, atlas and PNG files, a standalone runtime.html player, and MP4 previews. |
| Integrations | GetApp reports that no integrations were found for Pencil2D. | The specification says exported Spine JSON can be used with runtimes including Phaser, PixiJS, Unity, Godot, and custom runtimes. |
| Purpose | Pencil2D is an intuitive tool for making 2D hand-drawn animations. | SpriteForge is a browser-based editor for rigged 2D sprite animation. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
SpriteForge
SpriteForge has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.