The iPad is particularly well-suited to animation thanks to its portability, touch screen, and intuitive user interface. These features make it easy to sketch, design, and animate on the go and to take full advantage of the best animation apps available on iPad. In addition, the iPad’s Apple Pencil provides a precise and accurate drawing experience ideal for animators.
Animation has grown to become an integral part of today’s media landscape. In recent years, it has become increasingly popular across various media, including movies, TV shows, video games, and social media platforms. This popularity has been driven by a growing appetite for animated content and advances in computer graphics technology that have made animation more accessible to a wider range of creators.
Animation apps have emerged as powerful tools for both personal and professional use. They offer a range of functionality, from simple drawing and sketching tools to complex timeline–based and keyframe animation. This makes them an attractive option for a wide range of users, including individuals who want to create animated content for social media and professionals who use animation in marketing, advertising, and education.
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Creativity at Your Fingertips: Best Animation Apps for iPad (2024)
#1. Animation Desh by Kdan Mobile
Rating – 4.2 Star
Price – In-app Purchases
Size – 402.2 MB
Download Link – iPad
A creative app for making storyboards and frame-by-frame animations is called Animation Desk. The ideal tool for storyboarding, animating, and drawing your ideas is the Animation Desk.
Many art fans and professional and amateur animators alike adore this software. Excellent software for making pencil test animations and sketches is Animation Desk.
Users of this one of the best animation apps for iPad have access to a variety of export options. Animations can be exported as Photoshop layers, PDF sheets, or large GIF files. Users of Android, iOS and Windows 10 devices can keep editing the animation sequence.
Because it is so user-friendly for beginners, Animation Desk is perfect for those who are just getting started in the animation industry. With a stylus or even an Apple pencil, it works best on an iPad and an iPhone. This program is quite practical.
Things I Like
- Animation Desk is a versatile software that can be used by both novice and experienced animators.
- The free version includes enough tools to quickly create simple analyses.
Things I Don’t Like
- Although Animation Desk is very likable and decent software in terms of what it offers.
- Reviews indicate that it can take a while to load at times.
#2. FlipaClip: Create 2D Animation
Rating – 4.6 Star
Price – In-app Purchase
Size – 149.2 MB
Download Link – iPad
It is fantastic among all the beginner-best animation apps for iPad that teaches users the fundamentals of short-timescale animation, how to depict movement, uses timing and layers, and how to turn an unfinished project into a watchable clip.
Bring your dreams to life by giving them movement! Frame-by-frame animation is simple using FlipaClip’s robust and entertaining animation capabilities.
To get started animating, FlipaClip includes everything you need. Create animated cartoons with frame-by-frame drawings and add sound (up to eight tracks! and show the world your animated creations!
FlipaClip is an excellent option for a free animation program that has all the benefits of modern animation technology but still has a vintage vibe if you’re trying to make some cartoon animation.
Additionally, it offers the choice to modify onion views and add layers to each frame. Kids can immediately upload images to frames from their devices in addition to creating their own animation.
Additionally, they’ll have access to three different methods for adding audio: voice or sound recording, the app’s audio library (which requires an in-app fee), or transferring audio from the device’s music library.
Things I Like
- This app comes with 100GB of cloud storage.
Things I Don’t Like
- This app is unsuitable for creating professional animations.
#3. Callipeg by Enoben
Rating – 3.5 Star
Price – In-app Purchase
Size – 39.8 MB
Download Link – iPad
A 2D animation program for the iPad and Apple Pencil called Callipeg draws its inspiration from the fundamentals of classic hand-drawn animation.
Create shots at the required frame rate: 12, 24, 25, 30, and 60 frames per second. Anyone who has the desire to continue their education and an interest in learning how to animate should consider using Callipeg.
It offers a variety of brushes so you may create the desired visual style, layers so you can organize and make content easier to use, and audio so you can lend life to your creations.
The app makes great use of the Apple Pencil’s pressing features to display how firmly the artist presses; tilt is reportedly going to be introduced soon.
Touch screen motion graphics are used to move about and interact with the products and canvas. You can also directly drag and drop images from other apps into your animation.
Callipeg comes with a full brush set that includes a pencil, pencil HB, charcoal, china marker, flat brush, Indian ink, soft pencil, and so on. And you can make your own with a fully customizable brush settings panel (from smoothing to tip customization and texture).
Thw color can be selected using the color wheel, sliders, or by creating your own palettes for your projects. Enjoy the color history as well, so you never lose a color again.
Callipeg has a completely left-handed interface that can be accessed through the settings panel. Callipeg will pay off for those who put in the time and effort to use it.
The general framework for other new digital apps will have been established, and they will have a great innovative outlet that can make beautiful animations.
Things I Like
- Callipeg is a genius.
- There are numerous options, including audio layers, drawing layers, video layers, and node layers, and you can have an unlimited number of each type of layer.
- Brushes are cool because they can be edited.
Things I Don’t Like
- According to feedback, the experience with this app was pretty painful because navigating could be tedious.
- Using gestures for a lot of things, the timeline and adjusting frames would be the biggest gripe
- The buttons were too small or couldn’t be pressed
#4. RoughAnimation By Jacob Kafka
Rating – 4.6 Star
Price – $5.99
Size – 24.3 MB
Download Link – iPad
There is a tonne of features in Rough Animator. Everything you need to produce some fantastic animation projects is right here. You can alter the refresh rate to accelerate or retard the animation while selecting from a variety of brushes.
You can also choose to watch a preview of your animated film project before saving it. This app is powerful enough for professionals while remaining user-friendly for beginners. Everything you need to create traditional frame-by-frame animation on the go! Features:
- A timeline with unlimited layers and easily adjustable exposure lengths for individual drawings, allowing for pose-to-pose or straight-ahead animation.
- Skinning onions
- Playback preview
For occlusions or straight-ahead animation, this program offers a timeline with limitless layers and easily configurable exposure length of separate drawings. The projects can also be imported into Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe Flash/Animate, and After Effects.
An excellent tool called Rough Animator makes it simple for amateurs and experts to build fantastic animations. The absence of any instructions within the program is the only issue with it.
It’s probably definitely worth the expense if you really want to make excellent animations.
Things I Like
- It meets all requirements, such as onion skin, layers, camera, and audio scrubbing.
- So far, it’s a fantastic animation app!
Things I Don’t Like
- Some users have expressed dissatisfaction with the audio workflow.
#5. CLIP STUDIO PAINT BY CELSYS
Rating – 3.2 Star
Price – In-app Purchase
Size – 487.1 MB
Download Link – iPad
Over 20 million amateurs and professional artists utilize Clip Studio Paint as their primary drawing, comic, and animation tool. When pictures are sketched on paper, they must be redrawn after every change.
Many professional graphic content creators, such as illustrators, manga artists, and animation studios, use CLIP STUDIO PAINT. It is also taught in over 50 universities and other specialized schools.
With Clip Studio Paint, you can have more fun with your artistic process! Consequently, a location to keep a lot of illustrations is required.
It is also difficult to remember which version of the illustration is the most recent and when it was updated. If images are damaged by water or are torn, it is challenging to repair them.
On the other hand, since digital data are saved on a device, they don’t take up any physical space and can easily be sorted by the dates they were updated.
Additionally, you have the option of backing up your work to a remote server, such as a cloud service. In the case of a computer crash, this offers comfort.
Things I Like
- Various platforms are supported.
Things I Don’t Like
- There aren’t many iPad tutorials (Mostly Desktop version)
#6. Animatic
Rating – 4.6 Star
Price – $9.99
Size – 279.2
Download Link – iPad
It is software for creating straightforward visuals and films that can be exported. There are free and premium versions, and it works on Kindle and iOS.
You can sketch with Animation using your fingertips or a low-cost pen stylus. An elegant way for designers to bring their concepts to fruition via moving images is provided by animatics.
It is ideal for beginning animators and includes an overlay of your most recent drawing to make it simpler to recall how you created your most recent frame.
Create your designs on a blank canvas, add text and frames, and then save them in one of the two accessible file formats. Tap to add a new frame, modify the animation speed, export, and change the drawing tools and colors (pen, highlighter, etc.).
Then post the GIFs and videos to social media or website sites. Export your work as a video and then edit it in your preferred video editor program to add sound.
Lip sync apps like “Animate It!” and “CrazyTalk” make the animation process easier by automatically synchronizing the character’s lip movements to the spoken dialogue, which saves time and effort in post-production.
The program also provides a few pre-made motions that users can use as starting points and copy to create variations on unique compositions.
Things I Like
- According to feedback Simple User Interface.
Things I Don’t Like
- Doesn’t support Apple Pencil pressure sensitivity.
#7. Looom
Rating – 3.9 Star
Price – $9.99
Size – 43.7
Download Link – iPad
It has completely reimagined frame-by-frame animation and made the entire creation process a lot more enjoyable. Despite not having a “professional” appearance, Looom meets the majority of the criteria on this list.
This can be the best animation apps for iPad of all to approach to producing animations is fast-paced and brash, providing users with a more enjoyable experience rather than a laborious one.
Furthermore, it is a steal considering you will not be paying much for a tool and a great experience all in one. However, while this app will provide you with a lot of functionality, you will have to figure out everything on your own.
There is no video explaining how to use the various tools and features within the application. The iPad app Looom enables instructors and students to produce flipbook-style animations.
Animations are created on “threads,” which serve as the animation’s layers. Students may see earlier frames, which seem translucent, as they add more frames.
This makes it easier for students to arrange each drawing on the following frames. Each thread can be configured to play at a different frame rate, ranging from two to 32 per second, and can display up to 12 frames.
There can be a maximum of five threads in an animation. A final movie can only have a maximum of five colors because every thread can only have one color.
This restricts the tool in certain ways, but it also makes it easier for users to use. On social media, several artists have shared some incredibly intricate and high-quality (albeit brief) cartoons.
The most interesting students will likely find this software to be those with a great interest in animation and painting.
Things I Like
- However, while this app will provide you with a lot of functionality, you will have to figure out everything on your own.
Things I Don’t Like
- There isn’t a video explaining how to use the various tools and features within the application.
#8. Moho
Moho is a potent best animation app for iPad that blends cutting-edge professional animation tools with the most potent animation technology.
Moho’s in-built graphics editor allows you to manipulate items in layers and create storyboards. This animation tool has a large library of characters and visual objects, is integrated with the Unity engine, and has realistic physics.
If you’ve never used your iPad to create animations before, check out the official Moho app for a demonstration. It includes tools and features for 2D vector animation processes as well as several other animation effects.
On your iPad, you can use the best animation apps for iPad to create graphics and animations. Simple to draw, rig, and do animation. You can import photos or Photoshop files while maintaining the link and layer structure, or you can build your characters entirely in Moho using its vector tools optimized for animation.
With a single click, export several layers independently. If you wish to export only specific elements from your environment so that you can combine them externally in different programs, layer comps can be helpful.
For instance, you could make a layer comp that corresponds to characters, a layer comp that refers to foreground components, and a layer comp that refers to backdrop elements.
Things I Like
- This animation software has a sizable library of characters and visual objects.
Things I Don’t Like
- The application can be intimidating at first, especially if you don’t have any instructions or a manual to guide you.
#9. Adobe Animate
Rating – 4.7 Star
Price – In-app Purchase
Size – 163.6 MB
Download Link – iPad
This web design and one of the best animation apps for iPad allows even inexperienced animators to create vector animations and graphics on their tablets in a professional manner.
It’s just as simple to create a finished image as it is to draw one from scratch. ActionScripts, 3D models, sound overlay, and integration with several other Adobe products are among the tools and features supported by the app.
Once the content has been exported, it can be used in games, online videos, and websites. Adobe products are widely regarded as the gold standard for creative applications by most artists, and for good reason.
Adobe has remained an industry leader by being extremely versatile and well-supported. For websites, apps, video games, commercials, TV shows, and other interactive projects, Adobe Animate, which is available for both Windows 10 and macOS 10.14+, is frequently used to produce vector graphics and animation.
One of Adobe Animate’s most well-liked features is the Animate Camera, which enables you to change the movement of your virtual camera to give your animation a more genuine and 360-degree sense.
The possibility of creating a vector brush, just like the one in Adobe Illustrator, is another attractive feature. Additionally, a great timeline function makes it very simple to sync your animations’ audio.
Adobe Animate works well with other Creative animation apps because it is a component of the Creative Cloud. For instance, it’s simple to import content from Animate to It after Effects and instantly publish animated videos across several platforms.
Additionally, you may use the CC library to develop and share your assets while collaborating with programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Muse, and InDesign.
Things I Like
- Adobe has remained an industry leader by being extremely versatile and well-supported.
Things I Don’t Like
- The one major disadvantage is that, despite having a feature-rich user interface, it is generally difficult to use and will take time to master.
#10. Pencil2D
A very elegant 2D animation program for beginners is Pencil 2D. It is a cost-free open-source and the best animation apps for iPad. You may swiftly build 2D animations using its interface, frame by frame.
Pencil 2D is the best option for anybody just beginning out who needs open-source software, while not allowing for highly intricate animation.
The animations can also incorporate color. Your work can be exported in video format. Basic animations can be created by creating individual images in Pencil 2D.
The software specializes in the production of images through drawings, such as using a brush, pen, or pencil. You can draw using just a pen or a brush in addition to the previously stated tools.
The size of the pens or paintbrush you use can be changed. In addition, you can select hues from the palettes and add tones to the artwork.
As you would anticipate from such an application, the tool offers all the features you could possibly need to produce stunning drawings. When you’re finished, you could export your work as a video, an animation, or an image sequence.
You can make fantastic 2D animations, along with drawings, photos, and movies, by using the drawing program Pencil 2D Animation.
Processing raster and vector graphics and animations efficiently can help improve both filters and effects. It also includes examples and tips to help new animators get started.
This minimalistic app is an excellent alternative to many of the more expensive products available. Furthermore, it is a cross-platform product that includes all of the necessary features and tools for animation.
Overall, if you’re a beginner looking for a free animation tool with a simple overall design, you should definitely check out Pencil2D.
This app works very well as an animation program, but it lacks the painting and drawing features found in other art-focused animation apps.
Things I Like
- This app works very well as an animation program.
Things I Don’t Like
- It lacks the painting and drawing features found in other art-focused animation apps.
#11. Anime Studio Pro
This is also one of the best animation apps for iPad for 2D cartoons, advertisements, and music videos is called Anime Studio Pro. Bone-rigging, a quick and effective substitute for time-consuming frame-by-frame animation, is used by the application.
Note: In animation, rigging refers to the process of creating a digital skeleton of a character or object that can be manipulated and animated by an animator, which saves time and effort compared to frame-by-frame animation.
To control, for example, arms or legs, you could add a skeleton to any picture by dragging and clicking to construct a bone that overlays the portions of your image.
The ability of this suite to genuinely allow users to create an animation that appears professional is its most alluring feature. The necessary tools are not always available, but Anime Studio Pro provides everything you need.
With each new edition, the interface is improved and updated, making it simple to complete tasks and gain access to even the most sophisticated and specialized animation-making procedures.
Although Anime Studio Pro is expensive and can be challenging to completely learn despite the excellent job the developers have done on the UI, it is the best tool available for creating animation.
Anime Studio Pro has a modern user interface and is a useful program that allows users to import items created with other apps. Unfortunately, you can’t fully work with volumetric animations and graphics in normal mode.
However, you can upgrade it by using the manufacturers’ Unity 3D engine compatibility. Layer Referencing is one of the new features added to this application.
Users can now duplicate layers while keeping some connection to the originals. Furthermore, collaborators can now work on projects concurrently while easily updating changes.
Another intriguing new feature is the ability to animate bone targets. When working with animated bone targets, users can now easily switch between target bones.
Things I Like
- Some obvious advantages of using this animation software.
- Include the ability to change your backgrounds, detailed highlighting, and so on.
Things I Don’t Like
- The interface is not difficult to grasp, but it is a little complex for animation software.
Eleggible’s Final Words
Making cartoons and animations isn’t as difficult as some people claim, especially if you have a great animation tool on your side. It is up to you to first determine your goal and then your animation experience before deciding on the best one for you.
However, the most important thing is to get software that is appropriate for your skill level and includes all of the necessary drawing and design features.
With that said, Callipeg is the best animation tool on this list in my opinion. This not only has a wide range of best animation apps for iPad, but it’s also very visually appealing.
We hope you were able to find the best animation apps for iPad that best meet your needs. All of the apps listed above are excellent for various types of animations.
