

Bear in mind that this isn’t a course, but instead an entry-level software that is handy for self-education in the world of computer animation. Obviously, if you are looking to get yourself into professional-grade computer animation then this is a process you will have to learn – but for beginners, it’s a handy way of streamlining an already complicated process so that they can better understand the medium as a whole.Īnd that pretty much summarizes Synfig – it’s a platform for beginners that attempts to facilitate and encourage the learning of the basics, without overbearing the user with a lot of information that can overwhelm them. Filling in these gaps is called tweening, and it’s a process that the Synfig team has tried to eliminate by having the ‘tween’ segments be automated, with the assets you are animating moving between their poses automatically. This is the idea that an animator will draw their subject in major poses in different, nonsequential frames, and then draw their subject moving to these different poses after the principal poses have been established. Realistically, the Synfig software tries to streamline and automate the animation as much as possible to allow its users to enjoy and introduce themselves to the format without having to worry too much about professional-grade steps that might bog users down in other programs.

You can expect both front and back end animation options here, with editing options available both from a visual end and in the code – allowing you to play around and see just how your movements and edits to the visual side of your animation affect the code. Why is this a great program for beginners to 2D animation? Well to start with, it’s free, which means that you can try it out without having to drop any cash into a hobby that you might end up not liking.Īnyway, Synfig works on Windows and Mac-based operating systems (with Linux support as well, if that’s your thing), and it works as a vector-based animation program that offers an easy way into the art form. Synfig is a program that is ideal for all those out there who have no clue when it comes to animation, but they want to learn.

The thing is, it can be hard to decide where to start when it comes to 2D animation as there are so many different options available. 2D animation is a starting point that lots of people like to look into when they are learning to animate on a computer.
