Create fun animations on your PC!

If you’re feeling  creative and want to give animation a try, you’ve got a lot of software choices. Pivot Stickfigure Animator is one of the options available to you. Plus, it’s free!

Pivot Stickfigure Animator lets you make stick figure animations by creating individual frames of action and then playing them in sequence. If done correctly, you’ll end up with a seamless cartoon.

The program also gives you a good variety of custom options, like modifying frames, preset characters, the ability to add different colors and even altering the appearance of the background. You can preview every change you’ve made before saving, to ensure your animation comes out just the way you want it to. Take a look!

As you can see, Pivot’s animations are pretty basic, but they’ll give you an idea about how some forms of digital animation work, as well as provide an amusing break for an hour or two. Once you’re satisfied with your animation, you can save it as a GIF and share it however you like.

If you want to create a different type of animation, however, there are lots of programs you can play around with.

GIF Animation

Easy GIF Animator: This simple-to-use tool enables you to create animated banners, buttons and images for use on websites or to share with friends. The program offers limited configuration options, but does get simple jobs done nice and quickly. There’s a preview feature that ensures you’ll know exactly how your animation is shaping up as you go.

Click here for more GIF animation program options.

Facial animation and lip sync

CrazyTalk: Want to add audio to still pictures and even animate them? CrazyTalk lets you do just that. Pick any audio file you want and match it up with a facial image of your choosing. Or create your own audio and match it to your friends’ silly expressions. You can essentially customize everything in CrazyTalk, from a figure’s teeth to their range of motion and facial movements – although this might take some practice. The cost for the program is a little steep for people who just want to create animations for fun, but CrazyTalk also has a trial version, so you can give it a go for 15 days without cost.

Click here for more lip sync and facial animation programs.

Straight-up professional animation

Toon Boom Studio: With five different animation methods, Toon Boom Studio is a really solid program for more seasoned animators. It has some cool features like automatic lip syncing, support for 3D backgrounds and the ability to import a variety of media, as well as great zoom options. You don’t need to know how to animate in Flash to be able to use it, which is a huge plus, even if you’ve been animating  for a while.

Do you have a favorite animation program for recreational or professional use? If so, which one?