Quick thanks to everyone boosting and making suggestions here. I am making a list!
Might take me a while to go through but I will feedback (with particular reference to whether it's an easy transition from Animate) when I can.
Discussion
Loading...
Please note I am aware of a lot of animation packages out there
Are you aware of any open-source animation packages that do even a half-arsed job of doing what Flash could do in the late '90s (simple vector drawing, keyframe-based animations)? Ideally ones that can export to something viewable in a browser.
I miss Flash.
@david_chisnall Friction2D fits your particular list, but I have never opened Flash.
@david_chisnall @eclectech I don't know how https://friction.graphics compares to Flash or Animate as I've not used Flash in the last two decades and have never used Animate. I rarely do animation work, but have dabbled with Friction on occasion. It's pretty feature rich, but documentation could be better.
@eLearningTechie I'll add that to the ones to take a peek at, ta.
btw Krita looked possible in the first instance @david_chisnall but the vector element seemed lacking for animation tweening.
I just tried Krita for five minutes. I could not work out how to draw two shapes with a line connecting them. That's the thing I do most often in a vector-drawing tool. OmniGraffle 3 had a really nice magnet model, 6 made it worse but still okay.
@david_chisnall For vector drawing Inkscape is my go to tool.
@eLearningTechie The best I can say about Inkscape is that it works, but the UI is incredibly clunky and I spend so much time fighting it that I can't focus on what I'm trying to draw.
3 more replies (not shown)
@david_chisnall The nice easy manipulation of vectors is one of the things I'm struggling to find, but I am on a mission, so will let you know if I find anything.
@eclectech I have a similar issue with non-animated drawing programs. I have been using OnmiGraffle since it came bundled with the first Mac I bought and it's great, but they're increasingly moving to the 'pro' market.
I paid $25 to upgrade to OmniGraffle 3. I'm not. Now the new versions are $75 (upgrade pricing, $150 full price). Except they've moved a bunch of features I use to the Pro version, which is $125 ($250 full price). Oh, there's also a $125/year subscription option, but since I bought OmniGraffle 6 in 2014 and 7 is the latest version, that's a lot more expensive (it does come with the iOS version, but I have zero desire to use an app that is nice on a 43" monitor and a bit of a struggle on a 16" one on my iPad).
And that's just silly money for a thing I use as infrequently as I use it. I tried InkScape, but I cannot overstate how much rage the UI induced.
Basically what I'm screaming into the void here is DON'T MAKE ME LEARN A NEW WAY OF DOING EVERYTHING I DO.
I am aware this makes me sound a bit rubbish, but I really ENJOY making the things I make in Animate. They are very uncomplicated, and I've been doing it so long I don't have to think about the software at all. It just does what I want.
I am sad at the thought of losing that.
Secondary factor is I really don't like Adobe, and would like to ditch them. I have identified alternatives for everything else I use so this is my stumbling block.
Also don't mind paying for software, but would prefer 1. it wasn't Adobe & 2. it was a one off purchase rather than SAAS.
Quick thanks to everyone boosting and making suggestions here. I am making a list!
Might take me a while to go through but I will feedback (with particular reference to whether it's an easy transition from Animate) when I can.
FFS. Four days after asking for suggestions to replace Animate and Adobe announce they're discontinuing the product on 1 March.
So that's put the pressure on finding an alternative.
Also *I* was going to flounce off from you Adobe, not the other way around.
(to be fair, I will still flounce off, but it won't be *quite* as satisfying)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/02/adobe-animate-is-shutting-down-as-company-focuses-on-ai/
