Free Stop Motion Software
- Free Stop Motion Software With Onion Skin
- Free Stop Motion Software Windows 10
- Free Stop Motion Software For Mac
- Verdict: Stop Motion Pro is a stop motion program free that supports creation of still images and animated clips. To use the software, you need a camcorder or webcam and such Windows OS editions as 7, 8, Vista, and XP.
- QStopMotion is one of the best stop motion applications that helps you to create stop motion animation by capturing photos from the webcam and uploading images from the system. This program offers support for JPG, BMP, and TIFF image file formats.
Many feared that the inception of 3D animation would eliminate stop-motion animation in some day. While animation stop-motion animation still shines with its unique charm and the help of stop motion software that simplifies the process of making stop-motion animation.
Then MonkeyJam is the software for you. Available for both Windows and Mac powered systems, this is a 100% free stop motion software. The software comes with a simple user interface. Navigating through the various functions and learning and using the functionalities will be quick and easy.
But what exactly is stop-motion animation?
Stop motion, also referred to stop-frame animation, is a kind of animation technique that objects are photographed with a small amount of movement between each frame, and the whole series of photos are finally combined and played continuously.
You might hear of representative works of the world-class stop motion animation company, such as Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep by Aardman Animations; Coraline, ParaNorman by Laika. And this article has collected 7 best stop motion software that help you make stop motion animation like a pro. Without further ado, let's dive in!
#1. Dragonframe
Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
Dragonframe is full-fledged and professional stop motion software that has the tools needed for the highest quality stop-motion animation production, and is ideal for projects aimed for digital cinema, television broadcast, and commercials.
When shooting and editing stop motion animation with Dragonframe, there are lots of helpful tools available. It can provide a video assist for animator to ensure whether you are doing right with movements, lights and others, but you need to have a camera, webcam, or smart phone that comes with Live View capabilities. If you're unhappy with camera settings made previously, you can regulate ISO, shutter speed, exposure, temperature, etc. directly from the program. More so, you can view the change between frames in real-time using the onion skin feature.
Key Features:
- It uses Live View and onion skin as a video assist for shooting stop motion.
- Frame-based timeline editing. You can reshoot frames in the middle, restore deleted frames, and move frames to any position with ease.
- Animation tools include chroma key, drawing tools, playback/looping marker, configurable hotkeys, etc.
- Rotoscope layer help you yield a better result.
- Export stop motion animation using MOV, MP4, AVI and other formats.
#2. iStopMotion
Platform: macOS
iStopMotion by Boinx is one of the best stop motion software out there. It does not cost too much and requires a low system to run, which is the perfect balance between power and ease of use. A core benefit with iStopMotion is that it makes it possible to have your iPhone /iPod as the cameras and iPad as the controller, so that you can easily switch one camera source from another on your iPad and photograph objects with multiple camera angles. That makes iStopMotion well worth the investment. It should be noted that it is still not available to macOS Catalina currently, which might be prohibitive to some.
Key Features:
- It works with stop motion animation as well as time-lapse videos.
- Compatible with a wide range of cameras, such as Nikon DSLRs, Canon DSLRs, WiFi Cameras, Firewire Cameras and many more.
- Instant playback allows you to watch your projects anytime you want.
- Tight integration with Final Cut Pro X and iMovie. You can export your projects and retouch in other video editing software.
#3. MonkeyJam
Platform: Windows
MonkeyJam is a Windows-exclusive and free stop motion software that lets you capture still images separately from your camera and compiles them into a stop motion movie. What you need to do is to hook up a camera to your Windows PC through a cable, to launch MonkeyJam and set up video as well as camera settings. And you are good to start capturing stop motion. Though it doesn't have onion skin to compare the movement changes between two frames, the limitation, to be honest, isn't a deal-breaker for me as it's completely freeware.
Key Features:
- Easy to use and sheet-driven interface.
- Images are captured in BMP, JPG, or lossless PNG with or without color.
- Customizable FPS rate.
- Export videos as AVI formats.
#4. Stop Motion Pro
Platform: Windows, macOS
Stop Motion Pro is a tool developed for creating stop-motion animation and other forms of animated movies. A host of cameras can be used with Stop Motion Pro, including webcams from Microsoft or Logitech, Canon DSLRs, as well as Nikon DSLRs. Of course, you can either use supported capture cards, scanners, video cameras to shoot the images you want to animate. When it comes to its editing features, you can use drawing tools to create many special effects, or use multiple sound tracks to make your movie vivid.
Key Features:
- Onionskinning adds a transparent overlay of your previous frame so that you can get the movement right.
- The focus tool lets you check focus of your camera easily and accurately.
- Erase wires, supports, holders with amazing rig removal tools.
- Customizable shortcuts let you fly through your workflow.
#5. iKITMovie
Platform: Windows
iKitMovie is not a one-trick pony in terms of creating stop motion animation. It has a powerful sound library which contains 2200 high quality sound effects, such as Motors, Explosions, Forest Ambiences, Earthquakes, Clocks, Coins and many more. This way, you can totally rely on iKITMovie's built-in sound library and don't need to pay for copyrighted sound effects anymore. You are allowed to record voice-overs for your animation via headsets or microphone in iKITMovie as a matter of course. If you want to turn your stop motion Lego, claymation into a blockbuster, iKitMovie is a good choice.
Key Features:
- Onion skin is a must.
- Green screen/blue screen. It can replace your backdrop in a click.
- Enhance your stop-frame animation with various sound effects and visual effects.
- Export your image sequences to various movie video formats needed.
#6. Zu3D
Platform: Windows, macOS
Having Zu3D stop-motion animation software gives you the opportunity to get pretty good results with your stop action movies. Not only does it allow you to photograph still images of an object, it also provides a variety of tools to enhance your animation. Moreover, it uses a very simple operation philosophy so you'll likely feel comfortable pretty quickly even as a new-comer.
One other important tidbit to know is that it can remotely control webcams, mobiles, and tablets to capture images, which is useful when you've got your hand full.
Key Features:
- Support unlimited video tracks and audio tracks.
- You can add texts, speech bubbles, and credits to your movies.
- Emulate the lip-sync effect with drawing tools.
- Remove unwanted strings, wires, supports with the rig-removal tool.
#7. qStopMotion
Platform: Windows, Linux
Let's say would like to make high quality stop-motion movies with the help of a piece of decent stop motion software, yet you might have a tight budget to spend on professional stop motion software. You can go out with qStopMotion. Once you've experienced this free stop motion software, you will find that qStopMotion to not just complete, but surpass some paid programs in both simplicity and flexibility. It packs with features like onion skin, Live View, camera controls and more.
Key Features:
- Create stop motion animation videos by importing images from a camera live or your hard drive.
- It's possible to control your camera settings in the program.
- Basic editing tools like adding, inserting, deleting, previewing, etc.
- Helpful keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate the program.
Stop Motion Software | Rating | Pricing | Onion Skin |
---|---|---|---|
DragonFrame | $295 | ||
iStopMotion | $19.99 | ||
MonkeyJam | Free | ||
Stop Motion Pro | $18/month | ||
iKITMovie | $69 | ||
Zu3D | $24.99 | ||
qStopMotion | Free |
Final Words
Every character, every expression, every scene in a stop motion animation video needs to be fabricated and built according to a certain ratio, which is time-consuming and has huge labor costs. The good is that the development of stop motion software brings convenience to stop motion animation photographing. It would be challenging to make effective creative decisions for your projects if without stop motion software. Then go and choose one needed from this article.
What is stop motion animation?
Stop motion is a series of pictures taken serially while adjusting an object slightly then merging the resulting photos to create a video. This kinds of video become more and more popular in recent years due to the popularity of social media, and I have to admit that a carefully prepared stop motion animation always can gains a great welcome in the FB, Twitter or Instagram.
Then, what software can I use to make stop motion?
If you're looking for a simple way to make stop motion movies (like me), you've been the right place. This post will introduce 7 advanced yet free online stop motion makers for your reference.
You can compare them and pick up one to make stop mtion video online by yourself.
See Also:How to Make A Stop Motion Music Video on PC/Mac
Now, let's get started...
7 Best Online Stop Motion Maker in 2020 [Free]
1. Kapwing
Kapwing is a tool that allows you to make your own stop motion video online. It does so by taking some frames out of the video. With this tool, you can turn your everyday shot into a compelling cool stop-motion clip that you can share online. The best thing is that this is just possible in just three clicks.
This tool offers this functionality in two forms, you can either create a make your own stop motion video online from a bunch of photos or from another raw video.
Pros:
• Allows you to make your own stop motion video online from both image and video.
• Very easy to use.
• Allows converting from URL when converting from video.
Cons:
• Requires a steady network situation and connot work while you're offline.
2. Stop Motion Animator
Stop-motion animator is a simple chrome extension to make your own stop motion video online using a webcam. The created stop motions are saved in the popular WebM format. Other features of the tool include the ability to add a soundtrack and ability to extend previously created soundtracks.
The process of getting the tools is easy, you just need to head over to Chrome Web Store, search for Stop Motion Animator and install it. After this, the tool can be accessed by going to Menu > More tools > Extensions.
Pros:
• Free and open source.
• Ability to extend previously recorded stop motion videos.
Cons:
• Need to install chrome extension.
3. ImageToVideo
This is another tool that allows you to make your own stop motion video online by combining images and transform them into a stop-motion video. These images should be captured in quick succession and adjusting the object slightly every time.
The tool also allows you to add a soundtrack to act as background music which is quite cool. Unfortunately, this tool supports up to 30 images but for beginner users, this should suffice.
Pros:
• Free to use with no ads.
• Supports adding a soundtrack for music.
Cons:
• Supports up to 30 images only.
4. Pholody
Pholody is a free online stop motion maker. Although the tool was built to create slideshows, you can use it to make your own stop motion video online from the still photos you had taken earlier. The website also provides a bunch of templates including birthday, Mother's Day, Merry Christmas among other.
If you also want to add a background music, then there is also an option for that. The tool works by dragging around the photos to determine at what point the should begin showing. Having the photos overlapping seems to work better for stop motion video.
Pros:
• Free to use without any advertisements.
• Very easy to use, just a couple of drag and drops.
• Provides a couple of templates to give your stop motion video some life.
Cons:
• Built to be used for slideshows not stop motion video.
5. MP3Cares' photo to video tool
Although MP3Care usually works around MP3 files, it provides a tool to make your own stop motion video online by combining up to 20 images. After selecting images, you decide the time interval between images. Ideally for stop motion this should be around 0seconds but the tool only allows a minimum of 5 seconds.
Pros:
• Supports tiff image format.
• Supports rearranging images to appropriate order.
Free Stop Motion Software With Onion Skin
Cons:
• Supports only up to 20 images.
• Shows advertisements in the website.
Free Stop Motion Software Windows 10
6. Culture Street
Culture Street is a website that enables you to make your own stop motion video online of different websites provided by the tool. You essentially choose scenery of interest, and from it, create a stop-motion animation. This tool also has the capability to rotate and resize the different objects in the scene and when done take a picture of the scene to insert a keyframe.
Pros:
• Comes with basic scene manipulation tools like rotation and scaling.
Cons:
• Limited in capability as can only use scenes provided.
7. Photo Snack
With a bit of creativity, anyone can make your own stop motion video online using their own photos by taking advantage of this tool. You also have the option to add some music to act as background music. Other than local uploads, the tool also supports uploading photos from Facebook, Instagram and even google photos.
Pros:
• Free to use.
• Allows uploading photos from Facebook, Instagram and Google Photos on top of the usual uploading from local computer.
• Ability to add background music to stop motion video.
Cons:
• No as easy as some tools in this list.
Conclusion
Traditionally, stop-motion videos could only be created using high-end DSLR cameras, but now you can capture your still photos using a normal camera and turn them into a stop-motion video using suitable software.
In the above page,
I have recommended 7 advanced online stop-motion creators each with both pros and cons, but you know, online video maker have a high requirement of the network situation and most of them are suitable for a novie or beginner.
So, if you wanna to create a stop-motion video with amazing effects, I'd like to recommend you to have a try on the desktop video editing software like Filmora Video Editor. With it, you can enjoy the basic and advanced video editing tools, 1000+ video effects, etc. without restrictions.
Filmora Video Editor
- It is built with basic editing options for videos, audio and images such as brightness, contrast, saturation, trim, crop, split, merge and delete..
- With it, you will be able to add titles, captions, filters, effects, overlays, transitions and elements.
- It allows you to add background music to match the theme and mood of your video.
- You can record PC screen activities and also capture quality audios from the microphone.
Free Stop Motion Software For Mac
Let's check how to use the Filmora Video Editor to edit videos on PC easily.