2D animation apps

Open-source 2D animation apps for Mac for hand-drawn frame-by-frame work, vector keyframe animation and full production pipelines.

2D animation software lets you draw or arrange artwork over time and play it back as a sequence. The main approaches are frame-by-frame drawing, where each frame is drawn by hand with onion skinning, and keyframe animation, where vector shapes are moved and morphed between poses.

The apps here cover both. One is a compact tool for hand-drawn animation, one animates vector artwork with interpolation and layers, and one is a production suite with exposure sheets and compositing. Consider which approach suits your style, how you plan to export, and how much of a pipeline you need.