Animaker Review 2023: Explainer Expert's Opinion
TLDRIn this Animaker review, the reviewer revisits the platform after a few years, aiming to create an explainer video. They explore Animaker's character customization, voiceover features, and animation tools. Despite facing some frustrations with the interface and functionality, they find the text-to-speech and character action features impressive. The review highlights the platform's potential for hobbyists on a budget, though it may not be as intuitive for professional use.
Takeaways
- 😀 The reviewer gave Animaker a second chance after being unimpressed in the past.
- 🚀 Animaker has evolved to include more than just animation, now offering features for social media.
- 👤 The Character Creator allows users to create a character resembling themselves for explainer videos.
- 🎥 Starting with a blank project is recommended to learn the tool's features from scratch.
- 🗣️ Animaker's text-to-speech feature was tested and found to be decent for voiceovers.
- 🎬 The reviewer suggests spending more time on script writing for better voiceovers.
- 💬 The interface can be confusing with many different views and options for scene creation.
- 🕒 The free plan limits recording time, which might be frustrating for users.
- 🎨 The actions and animations available are a strong point of Animaker.
- 🌐 The reviewer found the background and character designs visually pleasing.
- 💸 The free plan has limitations, and upgrading might be necessary for more templates and features.
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 and felt 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 feature of Animaker does the reviewer find particularly strong?
-The reviewer finds the functionality around animation to be the strongest feature of Animaker.
What is the reviewer's advice on creating custom characters in Animaker?
-The reviewer suggests not spending too much time on custom characters, as long as they look somewhat like you, viewers will still connect the dots.
Why does the reviewer recommend starting with a blank project in Animaker?
-Starting with a blank project allows the reviewer to learn the features and functionalities from scratch, which is beneficial for understanding how backgrounds, characters, and actions work.
What is the reviewer's experience with Animaker's text-to-speech feature?
-The reviewer finds Animaker's text-to-speech feature to be pretty decent, suitable for those who do not want to record their own voiceover.
What technical limitation did the reviewer encounter while recording a voiceover on the free plan?
-The reviewer was limited to recording only 10 seconds of voiceover at a time due to being on the free plan.
What does the reviewer like about Animaker's action selection?
-The reviewer appreciates that Animaker shows the actions immediately when selected, eliminating the need to preview the video to see how the action looks.
What difficulty does the reviewer face while trying to use scene templates in Animaker?
-The reviewer struggles with figuring out the different timelines and managing the timing of scene elements, finding it more time-consuming to understand the software's logic than to create content.
What is the reviewer's opinion on the user interface of Animaker?
-The reviewer finds the user interface of Animaker not very intuitive and somewhat confusing, especially with the different views and functionalities.
What is the reviewer's final verdict on Animaker after testing it for explainer video creation?
-The reviewer concludes that Animaker is a cool animation tool that can be used if you're on a budget, but for professional use, they would probably keep looking.
Outlines
🎬 Second Chance with Animaker
The speaker reflects on their initial unimpressed experience with Animaker a few years back and decides to give it another chance. They note the platform's evolution, especially in offering more than just animation, such as social media content. The focus is on creating an explainer video featuring a custom character resembling the speaker. The process involves selecting a character, modifying its features to match the speaker's appearance, and preparing it for the video. The speaker emphasizes the importance of not spending too much time on character customization, suggesting that viewers will still recognize the character as the speaker despite minor differences.
🎥 Exploring Animaker's Features
The speaker begins with a blank project to familiarize themselves with Animaker's features, such as backgrounds, characters, and actions. They create a voiceover, initially using the text-to-speech feature before recording their own. The speaker critiques the limited recording time on the free plan and suggests using the best available microphone for recording. They also discuss the process of adding actions to the character and selecting backgrounds, highlighting Animaker's strengths in action variety. The speaker expresses frustration with the interface, which they find confusing and less intuitive compared to other software.
🕹️ Navigating Animaker's Interface
The speaker continues to explore Animaker, focusing on the challenges of understanding the different timelines and managing the timing of video elements. They express frustration with the interface's complexity and the time-consuming nature of previewing and adjusting scenes. The speaker also discusses the limitations they encounter with the free plan, such as fewer template options and the inability to use certain features without upgrading. Despite these challenges, they manage to create a scene with a character sitting at a desk, showcasing Animaker's potential for customization.
🎞️ Creating a Hero Scene in Animaker
The speaker attempts to create a hero scene, discussing the process of adding background elements, character actions, and scene transitions. They express dissatisfaction with the need to hear the entire voiceover each time they preview a scene and the limitations in music selection due to the free plan restrictions. The speaker also talks about the importance of color coordination in video creation and the intuitiveness of Animaker's smart move feature for character motion. They conclude with a critique of the platform's user interface, suggesting that it is not the most intuitive but could become faster with familiarity.
💸 Animaker's Pricing and Exporting Process
The speaker reviews Animaker's pricing plans, noting the lower cost for the monthly starter plan and the significant discount for an annual subscription. They express skepticism about the listed awards and client testimonials, suggesting that these might be exaggerated. The speaker also discusses the exporting process, highlighting the limitations of the free plan, such as lower video quality and the inability to download videos in higher resolutions. They conclude with a general assessment of Animaker, suggesting that it could be a cost-effective choice for hobbyists but may not meet the needs of professional users.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Animaker
💡Explainer Video
💡Character Creator
💡Text-to-Speech
💡Voiceover
💡Templates
💡Backgrounds
💡Actions
💡Smart Move
💡Music and Ambience
💡Exporting
Highlights
Animaker is given a second chance to impress after initial unimpressive testing years ago.
The platform has evolved to include more than just animation, now offering tools 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, which may affect the quality of the final product.
The reviewer suggests using the best available microphone for recording voiceovers to ensure audio quality.
Backgrounds offer a clean canvas for scene design, allowing for more creativity than pre-built templates.
Animaker's action selection provides immediate previews, streamlining the animation process.
Text templates can be more time-consuming to customize compared to creating text from scratch.
The user interface in Animaker can be confusing due to its various views and functions.
The platform's timeline feature can be challenging to understand, affecting the efficiency of scene management.
Animaker's preview function is crucial for video editing, but the reviewer found it slow, causing frustration.
The importance of a strong voiceover that dictates the visual elements of an explainer video is emphasized.
The reviewer encountered a bug where their character disappeared from the scene, requiring them to redo work.
Animaker's color customization allows for a cohesive color scheme, enhancing the visual appeal of videos.
The platform offers a variety of actions and scene transitions, though the reviewer prefers more subtle movements.
Music and sound effects must be carefully chosen so as not to overpower the voiceover.
The free plan limits video resolution and features, with higher quality options available in paid plans.
The reviewer concludes that Animaker could be suitable for hobbyists or those on a budget, but may not meet professional needs.