Animaker Review 2023: Explainer Expert's Opinion
TLDRIn this review of Animaker 2023, the reviewer revisits the platform after two years to test its improvements. He explores the process of creating an explainer video, starting from character creation and voiceover recording. The reviewer finds the user interface a bit confusing, especially with multiple timelines and actions. While Animaker has decent features, such as text-to-speech and a range of animations, the experience is hampered by occasional bugs, a steep learning curve, and limitations in the free plan. It's suitable for hobbyists, but may not be ideal for professional use.
Takeaways
- 😀 The reviewer gave Animaker a second chance after being unimpressed in the past, noting significant changes over two years.
- 🎭 The platform offers a Character Creator feature, allowing users to customize characters resembling themselves for explainer videos.
- 📝 Animaker provides a text-to-speech feature for voiceovers, which the reviewer found to be decent but lacking detail.
- 🔍 The reviewer suggests starting with a blank project to learn the tool's features, rather than using pre-made templates.
- 👤 Custom characters can be created with various features like changing hairstyle, eye color, and clothing, to resemble the user.
- 🎨 Animaker's interface can be confusing with various views and options, which might be overwhelming for new users.
- 💬 The reviewer experienced a bug where their character disappeared, highlighting potential technical issues with the platform.
- 🎥 The platform allows for scene customization, including character actions and backgrounds, but the process can be unintuitive.
- 🎵 Animaker offers music and sound effects, but the free plan limits access to a full library, requiring payment for more options.
- 💻 The reviewer found Animaker's functionality around animation to be strong, but the overall user interface could be more intuitive.
- 💰 The free plan has limitations, and upgrading to a paid plan is necessary for expanded features and higher quality exports.
Q & A
What was the reviewer's initial impression of Animaker a few years ago?
-The reviewer was not super impressed with Animaker a few years ago, thinking they were diluting their product.
What is the main goal of the reviewer in this Animaker review?
-The main goal is to create a short explainer video with the reviewer as the main character.
What changes has the reviewer observed in Animaker over the years?
-The reviewer noticed that Animaker used to be all about animation but now they have a lot of content for social media as well.
How does the reviewer suggest customizing a character in Animaker?
-The reviewer suggests finding a character that looks somewhat like you, changing the hairstyle, hair color, eye color, and clothing to match your own, and saving the character for use in the studio.
What is the reviewer's recommendation for recording a voiceover in Animaker?
-The reviewer recommends using the best available microphone, such as a MacBook or iPhone microphone, to record the voiceover.
What feature of Animaker does the reviewer find particularly useful for character actions?
-The reviewer likes that Animaker's actions show immediately when selected, so you don't have to preview the video to see how the action looks.
What challenges did the reviewer face while trying to use templates in Animaker?
-The reviewer found it difficult to find specific templates and had trouble with the character disappearing, which seemed like a bug.
How does the reviewer feel about the user interface of Animaker?
-The reviewer finds the user interface of Animaker confusing and not very intuitive, especially with the different views and timelines.
What is the reviewer's opinion on the quality of the animations created with Animaker?
-The reviewer finds the animations created with Animaker visually pleasing and of good quality, but suggests that a learning curve and some hassle are involved in the process.
What is the reviewer's final verdict on using Animaker for professional purposes?
-The reviewer suggests that Animaker might be suitable for hobby use, but for professional use, they would probably keep looking.
Outlines
🎬 Second Chance with Animaker
The speaker revisits Animaker, an online animation tool, after an initial unimpressive experience a few years prior. They note changes in the platform, including a shift towards social media content and an expanded range of templates. The goal is to create a personalized explainer video featuring a character resembling the speaker. The process starts with character customization in the Character Creator, where the speaker modifies a template to match their appearance. The speaker emphasizes the importance of the character resembling the user for viewer connection, even if not every detail is captured. They then proceed to create a blank project to understand the tool's features from the ground up, highlighting the learning process involved in using a new animation software.
🤔 Navigating Animaker's Interface and Features
The speaker delves into Animaker's interface, expressing initial confusion and frustration with the tool's various views and functionalities. They discuss the process of creating a voiceover, mentioning the text-to-speech option and the limitations of the free plan, which restricts recording time. The speaker also touches on the importance of using a high-quality microphone for voiceovers. They explore the character and action options, noting the tool's strength in animation but also encountering bugs and usability issues, such as characters disappearing or scenes not behaving as expected. The speaker's experience is a mix of appreciation for certain features and frustration with the learning curve and interface design.
🕹️ Overcoming Challenges in Animation Creation
The speaker continues to grapple with Animaker's interface, particularly the timeline and scene management, which they find unintuitive and frustrating. They express a preference for starting from scratch over using templates to have full control over the animation. The speaker also discusses the importance of a strong voiceover that dictates the visual elements of the video. They experiment with different scenes, characters, and actions, aiming to create a cohesive and professional-looking explainer video. Despite the challenges, the speaker remains determined to produce a quality video, highlighting the need for patience and creativity when using new software.
🎞️ Finalizing the Animation and Reflecting on the Experience
The speaker concludes their testing of Animaker by discussing the final steps in creating their explainer video. They mention the need for subtle movements and actions for a professional look, the challenge of adding a light effect behind the character, and the limitations of the free plan when it comes to music and other assets. They also touch on the importance of a clean color scheme and the use of scene transitions that enhance the storytelling. The speaker reflects on their overall experience with Animaker, noting the learning curve and the potential of the tool for hobbyists or those on a budget. They end with a critique of the pricing page's speed and a final assessment of the video quality they achieved with the free trial.
💭 Weighing Animaker's Value and Considerations for Future Use
In the final paragraph, the speaker reflects on their overall experience with Animaker, weighing its value against its usability and the cost of its subscription plans. They consider the tool's potential for hobbyist use and its affordability but express reservations for professional use due to the challenges encountered. The speaker also humorously notes the listing of McDonald's as a user and questions the authenticity of such endorsements. They conclude with a decision not to purchase Animaker at this time, preferring to stick with their current animation tool, and summarize their thoughts on the platform's strengths and weaknesses.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Animaker
💡Explainer Video
💡Character Creator
💡Voiceover
💡Templates
💡Text-to-Speech
💡Backgrounds
💡Scene Transitions
💡Smart Move
💡Timeline
💡Pricing Plan
Highlights
Animaker is being given a second chance to impress after an initial underwhelming experience.
The platform now offers a wider range of features beyond just animation, including options for social media content.
The Character Creator allows users to design a character resembling themselves for explainer videos.
Animaker's text-to-speech feature provides a decent alternative for those who do not wish to record their own voiceover.
The free plan limits voiceover recording to 10-second clips, potentially impacting the quality of the final product.
Using a high-quality microphone, such as one on a MacBook or iPhone, can significantly improve voiceover quality.
The interface can be confusing, with various views and functionalities that may not be intuitive for new users.
The platform's action library is robust, offering many variations of actions for characters.
Customizing text templates can be more time-consuming than starting from scratch due to the need for personalization.
Scene templates may not offer the flexibility needed for precise customization, unlike using individual backgrounds.
The platform's user interface has a learning curve, which might be a barrier for some users.
Animaker's visual aesthetics, including backgrounds and characters, are praised for their pleasing design.
The platform allows for color customization of elements within the scene.
The 'smart move' feature enables characters to move between points with ease, adding a dynamic feel to the animation.
Music and sound effects must be carefully chosen to complement the voiceover and not overshadow it.
The free plan has limitations, such as lower video resolution and fewer template options, which affect the final output quality.
Animaker's pricing is competitive, with a starter plan at $19 per month, but higher plans offer more features and resources.
The review concludes that Animaker could be a suitable choice for hobbyists or those on a budget, but professionals might need more advanced tools.