Animaker Review 2023: Explainer Expert's Opinion
TLDRIn this 2023 Animaker review, the reviewer revisits the platform to create an explainer video, exploring its character customization, animation features, and text-to-speech capabilities. Despite facing challenges with the free plan's limitations, such as short recording times and a less intuitive interface, the reviewer finds Animaker's visual aesthetics pleasing and considers it a cost-effective option for hobbyists. However, for professional use, the reviewer suggests looking for more advanced tools.
Takeaways
- 🔄 The reviewer gave Animaker a second chance after not being impressed years ago, noting significant changes and improvements.
- 🎭 Animaker has expanded its offerings beyond just animation to include templates for social media content.
- 👤 The Character Creator allows users to create a character resembling themselves, enhancing personal connection in videos.
- 🎬 The reviewer suggests starting with a blank project to fully understand Animaker's features and functionalities.
- 🗣️ Animaker's text-to-speech feature was tested and found to be decent, providing an alternative to recording a voiceover.
- 💬 The scriptwriting process is crucial for creating compelling explainer videos, with the reviewer advising to spend more time on it.
- 🚫 The free plan's limitations were noted, such as short recording times and fewer template options.
- 🖥️ The user interface of Animaker was found confusing, with many variations and a learning curve for new users.
- 🎨 The reviewer appreciated the visual aesthetics of Animaker's backgrounds and characters, finding them pleasing and customizable.
- 🎵 Music and sound effects are available, but the free plan restricts access to a full library, requiring payment for more options.
- 💻 The reviewer experienced technical issues like character disappearance and timeline confusion, indicating potential software bugs.
Q & A
What was the reviewer's initial impression of Animaker a few years ago?
-The reviewer wasn't 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 of the reviewer is to create a short explainer video with themselves as the main character using Animaker.
What new features has Animaker added since the reviewer last tested it?
-Since the reviewer last tested it, Animaker has added features for social media and expanded its functionality around animation.
How does the reviewer suggest creating a custom character in Animaker?
-The reviewer suggests finding a character that looks somewhat like oneself, changing features like hairstyle, hair color, eye color, and clothing to match one's own, and then saving the character for use in the studio.
What does the reviewer recommend when starting with a new animation tool like Animaker?
-The reviewer recommends starting with a blank project to learn the features and functionalities from scratch, rather than using pre-made templates.
How does Animaker's text-to-speech feature perform according to the reviewer?
-The reviewer found Animaker's text-to-speech feature to be pretty decent, suggesting it as an alternative if one does not want to record their own voiceover.
What issue did the reviewer encounter with the recording length on the free plan?
-The reviewer noticed that on the free plan, they only get 10 seconds to record, which they found limiting.
What advice does the reviewer give regarding the use of templates in Animaker?
-The reviewer suggests that sometimes it's better to use backgrounds instead of templates because templates have many pre-built elements that might not be customizable to one's needs.
What did the reviewer like about the actions available in Animaker?
-The reviewer liked that Animaker's actions show a preview of what the action looks like without having to preview the entire video.
What difficulties did the reviewer face while trying to manage the timing and scenes in Animaker?
-The reviewer struggled with understanding the different timelines, managing the timing of elements, and experienced some frustration with the interface, which they found confusing at times.
What is the reviewer's final assessment of Animaker's suitability for creating explainer videos?
-The reviewer concludes that Animaker could be a good choice for hobby use or for those on a budget, but for professional use, they would recommend looking for other options.
Outlines
🎥 Second Chance with Animaker
The speaker revisits Animaker, an online animation tool, after an initial underwhelming experience years prior. They aim to create an explainer video featuring a custom character resembling themselves. The process involves selecting a character, adjusting features like hairstyle and clothing, and then placing it into a studio environment. The speaker emphasizes the importance of not spending too much time on character customization, suggesting that viewers will still recognize the character as the creator. They then proceed to create a blank project to familiarize themselves with Animaker's features from the ground up, starting with adding a voiceover.
🤔 Navigating Animaker's Interface and Features
The speaker delves into Animaker's interface, expressing initial confusion and comparing it to other software. They discuss the process of creating a video from scratch, including adding text and choosing actions for the character. The speaker also mentions the limitations of the free plan, such as restricted access to templates and a 10-second recording limit for voiceovers. They encounter a bug where their character disappears from the scene, which they find frustrating, especially when time is lost redoing work. The speaker also comments on the variety of actions available and the ability to customize backgrounds, but they find the overall process of scene creation and timeline management to be challenging and time-consuming.
🕹️ Exploring Animaker's Timeline and Preview Features
The speaker continues to explore Animaker, focusing on the timeline and preview features. They express difficulty in understanding the software's timeline management and the visibility of elements. Despite the struggle, they decide to skip ahead to avoid showing frustration and instead quickly demonstrate the final product. They emphasize the importance of a strong voiceover that dictates the visual content and discuss the need for quick loading times during video previews. The speaker also experiments with different scenes and templates, trying to find one that fits their needs, and comments on the intuitiveness of the smart move feature for character animation.
🎨 Customizing Characters and Scene Transitions
The speaker discusses character customization, mentioning the ability to swap characters in templates while wishing for the preservation of original character expressions and poses. They also touch on the challenges of scene transitions and the importance of matching colors for a cohesive video look. The speaker experiments with different actions, such as 'Hero', and discusses the smart move feature for character movement. They attempt to add a light effect behind the character but放弃 due to library limitations. They also comment on the importance of subtle movements and smooth transitions for a professional look, and the need for music that complements rather than overpowers the voiceover.
💸 Pricing and Exporting the Final Video
The speaker reviews Animaker's pricing plans, noting the lower cost for the monthly Starter plan and the potential savings for an annual subscription. They express skepticism about the listed awards and client testimonials, suggesting that the inclusion of a major brand like McDonald's might be opportunistic. The speaker also discusses the process of exporting the final video, mentioning the limitations of the free plan, such as lower resolution options. They conclude with a general assessment of Animaker's value for hobbyists and professionals, acknowledging its affordability but suggesting that there might be better options for professional use.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Animaker
💡Explainer Video
💡Character Creator
💡Text-to-Speech
💡Voiceover
💡Templates
💡User Interface
💡Timeline
💡Smart Move
💡Scene Transitions
💡Pricing Plans
Highlights
Animaker's product has evolved over the years, now offering more than just animation tools.
The reviewer aims to create an explainer video featuring a custom character resembling themselves.
Animaker's Character Creator allows for easy customization of character features.
Starting with a blank project is recommended to learn Animaker's full range of features.
Animaker's text-to-speech feature provides a decent alternative to recording a voiceover.
The reviewer suggests spending more time on scriptwriting for better voiceover quality.
Free plan users are limited to 10-second recording clips for voiceovers.
Using a high-quality microphone is crucial for recording voiceovers.
Animaker's interface can be confusing due to its various views and functionalities.
The reviewer struggled with managing character actions and scene timelines.
Animaker offers a variety of actions and expressions for characters.
The reviewer found it challenging to customize templates to fit their needs.
Animaker's scene templates can be limiting for free plan users.
The reviewer suggests using backgrounds over templates for a cleaner canvas.
Animaker's character actions are intuitive and varied.
The reviewer encountered a bug where their character disappeared from the scene.
Animaker's user interface can be unintuitive, especially for new users.
The reviewer recommends creating a strong voiceover to guide the visual elements of the video.
Animaker's free plan offers limited music and sound options.
The reviewer concludes that Animaker is a budget-friendly option with a learning curve.