ZenAnimator

iPhone · iPad · Android · Windows · Mac

Create stunning animations,
one frame at a time.

A calm, distraction free studio for anyone who loves to draw and wants to see it move. Hand drawn tools, onion skin, and panels you arrange your way.

Free in early release with every feature included. No account, no tracking. Ads and optional premium extras come later.

Made in ZenAnimator

A real animation, drawn by hand.

I filmed my cat, brought the video in as a layer, and traced it frame by frame on a layer above. That is 104 hand drawn frames, made in ZenAnimator on a phone.

  • Import a video or pictures and draw right over them
  • Onion skin shows the frames around you
  • Export as GIF, MP4 or a PNG sequence

Onion skin

See where you have been.

The frames before and after fade in faintly behind your drawing, so every movement flows from one frame to the next.

  • Draw with the last frame showing through
  • Hand drawn tools, layers and 27 brushes
  • Export as GIF, MP4 or a PNG sequence

Your studio, your way

Make every panel your own.

Tap Edit layout, then drag any toolbar or panel by its grip. Flip it vertical or horizontal, resize it, hide it, or build your own panels from the tools you use most. Save whole layouts for sketching, inking and colouring.

  • One Edit layout switch, no clutter the rest of the time
  • Custom panels with tools, brushes, colours and sliders
  • Saved layouts you switch with one tap

Effects

See it before you apply it.

Shift the hue, boost the saturation, or add glow, outline, halftone, line art and more. The live preview shows the result first, and you can hold it to compare.

  • Hue, saturation, brightness, contrast and warmth
  • One layer or all of them, one frame or many
  • 27 brushes and a brush maker for your own

New · Process timelapse

Show how you made it.

ZenAnimator quietly records your process while you draw. When you're done, turn it into a timelapse video in one tap and share it anywhere.

  • 15 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute, or every step
  • 720p free with no watermark; HD and 4K with Pro
  • Recorded on your device, never uploaded

On your phone and tablet

The same studio in your pocket.

Drawing a fox on iPhone Custom panels on iPhone Layer effects on iPhone Pastel theme on iPhone

Everything an animation needs

Small app. Serious tools.

Onion skin showing the frames before and after the fox

Onion skin

See the frames around you while you draw, so every movement flows.

The layers panel with a fox layer above a background layer

Layers

Opacity, visibility and a background layer, on every frame.

The export window set to MP4 video

Export anywhere

GIF, MP4 or WebM video and PNG sequences, with your soundtrack.

The new project screen with the 4K preset selected

4K canvases

From quick doodles to crisp HD and 4K animation.

The import window for images, video and audio

Trace over video

Import photos and video to rotoscope, and add music.

ZenAnimator in the lavender, mint, plum and ocean themes

Eight themes

Hand drawn icons with pastel light and dark themes.

Start animating today.

Free in early release with every feature included. Optional premium extras come later.

Download ZenAnimator Test new features first