Skip to main content

Beyond GoAnimate: Comparing CrazyTalk Animator 2

Introduction

If you're like me and have been using GoAnimate to create low cost explainer videos or other animated cartoons then you'll certainly have discovered many of GoAnimate's limitations. You may even be looking for an alternative? CrazyTalk Animator 2 by Reallusion is a professional animation studio that, like GoAnimate, requires no drawing skills at all but can give you more flexibility to animate your ideas exactly as you visualise them. It may be the animation solution you've really be looking for.



GoAnimate, a cloud based and easy to learn animation studio, gives you access to an extensive library of predefined and pre-animated content. It's pretty great and highly optimised for the business market. However new users run into the limitations very quickly. Usually by discovering a character can't perform some action they need, often having to find some kind of compromise or work around.

Custom Characters created
with Reallusion's Avatar
creation pack.
CrazyTalk Animator 2 is a software application, available for PC or MAC, that brings advanced character animation within the reach of almost anyone. Its relatively easy to learn animation studio includes several ready made, customisable avatars that can be animated with predefined 2D and 3D motions (or you can create your own motions entirely from scratch). Also included is a selection of backgrounds and props to get you started.

Production time between GoAnimate and CrazyTalk Animator 2 is comparable but largely dictated by the needs of each project. I've found that projects of similar lengths can be completed in CrazyTalk Animator 2 in about the same amount of time if sticking to predefined content and motions.

Unlike GoAnimate, CrazyTalk Animator 2 is a one time purchase. There are no ongoing monthly fees and all purchased content is royalty free - meaning you can use it in both commercial and non-commercial productions.

Similarities

GoAnimate and CrazyTalk Animator 2's studio layout is not that different. Like GoAnimate's studio CrazyTalk Animator 2 has a stage (or scene) editor window, content palette/manager and timeline. You will notice quite a few new tool bars and buttons that are less familiar. Fortunately CrazyTalk Animator 2 has a fairly comprehensive selection of video tutorials that will get you animating quite quickly.

CrazyTalk Animator 2's Studio with undocked Timeline.

The studio is drag'n'drop. Characters and props can be made to move around the stage by following transition paths (known as the 'slide' or 'movement' property in GoAnimate).

One important similarity is that CrazyTalk Animator 2 includes automatic lip syncing. Just like GoAnimate you can use Text To Speech voices, record your voice directly or upload a voice file. If you'd rather use speech balloons and other comic effects found in GoAnimate you'll find CrazyTalk Animator 2 has a good selection.

GoAnimate has a number of character creators so you'll be pleased to know CrazyTalk Animator 2 also has it's own Avatar Composer. The main program comes with a few Avatars that you can mix and match to create new characters. You can extend this functionality by purchasing the G2 Head Composer Kit Vol 1 which will give you enough additional content to create likenesses of you, your friends, work colleagues (great for business branding) and even celebrities.

Differences

Both GoAnimate and CrazyTalk Animator revolve heavily around the timeline. The difference is that GoAnimate's timeline uses scenes, in a way that's more akin to creating a Power Point or Keynote Presentation. CrazyTalk Animator 2 uses key frames, which is closer to traditional animation. It can take some getting used to but ultimately gives you greater control over everything.

Key Frames are marked with a dot in CrazyTalk Animator 2's Timeline.

Another key difference is that CrazyTalk Animator 2 is primarily a single scene editor. Although it is possible to create entire 1 to 2 minute animations within a single project a better work flow is to export scenes and assemble them using video editing software. This will give better results and you will gain access to scene transitions, titling and other features of your video editing software.

Which Version of CrazyTalk Animator 2

If you have no drawing skills at all and are completely happy to use predefined but customisable characters then CrazyTalk Animator 2 Standard is the most affordable and the easiest to learn.

There are 3 Versions of
CrazyTalk Animator 2.
Those with a more creative/artistic streak, who would like to create original characters and have more options to fine tune animations, should consider either the Pro or Pipeline versions. The Pipeline version is fully featured but if your budget doesn't stretch that far you can certainly work around not having features only available in the Pipeline edition.

Follow the link for a full edition comparison.

What you can do with CrazyTalk Animator 2 that you can't with GoAnimate

One of the most common complaints I've heard from GoAnimate users is not being able to show characters facing away from the camera. CrazyTalk Animator 2's Multi-dimensional Avatars (characters) consist of ten different views working together so the Avatar can be viewed from almost any angle. The program automatically calculates which view of every body part needs to be displayed in order to achieve your pose or animated sequence. You'll never be frustrated by only one or two viewing angles again.

CrazyTalk Animator 2' Multi-Dimensional Avatars mean
you can view your characters from any angle.

The avatars are not truly three dimensional but the software treats them as if they are. As such you can even import 3D motions created in iClone (Reallusion's 3D movie studio) and use them with your CrazyTalk Animator 2 Avatars (note this is a Pipeline feature only).

Morph base head on
an Avatar body.
CrazyTalk Animator 2 has the ability to create animated characters from photos with it's morphed based heads. Surprisingly easy to create, you can add these heads to any character body for a very unique look to your animation. If you run a business imagine putting yourself right into your animation for a more personal message.

Avatars and props can also be rendered in up to 9 different preset styles in just a few clicks. Choose from line art, neon, pop art and more. You can even control the thickness of your Avatars outlines on individual body parts if you want to emphasise things closer to the camera – or remove the lines altogether.

Just a few of CrazyTalk Animator 2's preset styles.

With a lot of effort, you can simulate perspective in GoAnimate. CrazyTalk Animator 2, by default, creates perspective automatically using a perspective based camera. Move characters and props closer or further away from the camera and their size will be modified accordingly. Pan across a scene and things closer to the camera will move faster than those further away. It's all done automatically – you don't have to think about it all.

The perspective camera includes a number of different lens simulations for added effect or, if you want your entire scene to have a more flat look switch to the orthographic camera.

For business users who rely on Power Point, Keynote or other similar programs, CrazyTalk Animator 2 can be used to create unique character based clip art or custom made animated GIFs to really get your presentations moving. Export single images as transparent PNG files or export animated sequences as GIF animations.

You could also use your PNG Clip art to personalize your products and other illustration based advertising with your CrazyTalk Animator 2 Avatar.

Right now if you take up a trial offer of Crazytalk Animator 2 you can get a whole library of free GIF's for use in your own presentations.

Content Store and Market Place

If you're not one to create your own characters and props, or you just would like a wider variety of content to choose from, you can expand your CrazyTalk Animator 2 content library through the Reallusion Content Store and Market Place. Here you'll find content packs, characters, props and other items created both by Reallusion and members of the CrazyTalk Animator Community.

As a first Content Store purchase I recommend G2 Power Tools Packs Volume 1 and Volume 2 which are optimised for business animations and presentations but will also give you plenty of content for a wide variety of productions.

Everything available for purchase can be used, royalty free, in any kind of project, commercial or otherwise.

G2 Power Tools Volume 2.

Conclusion

CrazyTalk Animator 2 is worth considering if you're finding GoAnimate too limiting. It's relatively easy to learn, includes plenty of content to get you started and its multi-dimensional avatars present almost unlimited possibilities in realising your animated vision.

No monthly fees and royalty free content makes it a great solution for creating business explainer or training videos. If that sounds like something you're interested in then visit Reallusion's business product page to learn more.

If you see yourself as someone who has a wider, more general interest in animation with a vision for creating animated web shorts - or even animation for TV - then visit Reallusion's Product page for Animation Professionals.

- Post supported by Reallusion Inc.

Popular posts from this blog

Using Avatar Maker with Cartoon Animator - Free Vector Cartoon Avatar Creator with Four Art Styles

I'm always on the lookout for cartoon avatar makers of any kind, whether it be ones that 'cartoonify' your photo, or ones that let you build a cartoon likeness from a library of individual features.  Free Avatar Maker  falls into the latter category and can be used for making head and shoulder cartoon avatars. While it doesn't have an extensive library of character features (you may struggle to get a good likeness), uniquely it will make your avatar in four different art styles concurrently, allowing you to save the one you like most, or even all four.  I wasn't overly impressed how my TET avatar looked in the first two styles, but style three is quite possibly the coolest looking version of my avatar I've ever seen in a third party avatar creator. It's a very contemporary style. Style four, line art, is also not too bad. Avatar Maker's User Interface. Switch between the four different art styles shown across the top at any time. I particularly like the

Make Disney/Pixar Style Characters with Reallusion's Character Creator and Toon Figure Bases

The Extraordinary Tourist Classic Coat outfit created using Reallusion's Toon Designer for CC3. I've talked before how I've wanted to get into 3D Disney/Pixar style character animation since I first saw the animated cutscenes for the very first Tomb Raider game back in 1996. It's why I initially bought Reallusion's iClone 3D studio app as soon as I could afford a computer that would run it. But then Reallusion released their 3D Character Creator (CC) for iClone and I wanted to create my characters with that (and I did try with Bat Storm ). But the focus of CC was realism, even with ToKoMotion's stylised body morphs . Now with Reallusion's Cartoon Designer bundle for CC3 which features two packs, Toon Figures , and Toon Hair , designing Disney/Pixar style 3D characters just got a whole lot quicker. The two packs are the bare essentials for creating Toon style characters. Five body morphs (2 male, 2 female, and one adolescent body morph that w

Can You Learn Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5 for Free Using Their 137 Official YouTube Video Tutorials Sorted Into a Logical Learning Order?

Or you could just buy The Lazy Animator Beginner's Guide to Cartoon Animator . While Reallusion's Cartoon Animator is one of the easiest 2D animation studios to get up and running with quickly, learning it from all of the official, free, video tutorials can be more overwhelming than helpful. With more than 137 videos totaling more than 28 and a half hours of tutorials, spread across three generations of the software (Cartoon Animator 3 through 5) it's hard to know if what you're learning is a current or legacy feature that you either need to know or can be skipped. Many of the official tutorials only teach specific features of the software and don't relate at all to previous or later tutorials. As a result there are many features either not mentioned or are hard to find. To make your learning easier, on this page, I've collected together all of the essential, official, free video tutorials and sorted them into a learning order that makes sense. Simply start at

Inochi2D - Free Open Source 2D VTuber Avatar Rigging and Puppeteering Software (Part 1)

Inochi2D Creator - Free Open Source VTuber Software. If you've been looking for a way to live perform as a 2D cartoon avatar on camera, whether it be for a live stream or for pre-recorded content like educational videos, then VTuber software is a low cost (or even no cost) option worth looking into. In my previous post, How to Become a VTuber - 2D and 3D Software for Creating and Controlling Your Avatar , I took a brief look at the relatively new but completely free and open source Inochi2D  which I thought showed great potential for my own needs of creating a live performance character rig for my own TET Avatar that I use for all my promotional materials. While it is possible to live perform my character using Cartoon Animator itself, Reallusion's MotionLive2D capture system isn't great - with lip sync in particular. More importantly though, I can't exactly teach people how to use Cartoon Animator if I'm using Cartoon Animator to control my Avatar. What is Inochi2D

Moho 14 Released - Still the Best 2D Animation Software for Indy Animators on a Budget

Moho 14 Released. Regular readers know I am a Reallusion, Cartoon Animator advocate through and through. Hands down I would recommend Cartoon Animator 5 first over Lost Marble's Moho 14 to anyone who is just starting in 2D animation, is a team of one, or just needs to animate as quickly as possible. However, feature for feature, Moho is, arguably, the best 2D animation software for the rest of us who can't justify a Toon Boom Harmony , or Adobe Creative Cloud subscription (and even with their applications Moho is very competitive on features). You can get started with Moho Debut for just USD$59.99 which is a cut down version of Moho Pro but it still has the most essential features needed for 2D animation. While Moho Pro is a whopping USD$399.99 (Cartoon Animator, which only has one version, is just USD$149.00) upgrades to new version numbers come down to a quarter of the price at USD$99.00. Even though Reallusion just released features like Motion Pilot Puppet Animation and

Artbreeder - Using AI created Character and Background Content in your Animations

A selection of User/AI generated images from Artbreeder. If you're looking for an endless supply of 2D character and background images for your animations then Artbreeder , an online Artificial Intelligence (AI) that generates image mash-ups you can tweak as much as you like, could be the ultimate content library. What is Artbreeder? Artbreeder is free to use though there are various paid plans, that give you additional features, such as higher resolution download images or more settings to play with. All images created on the site are Public Domain (CC0 License) and can be used in commercial projects. Using Artbreeder's online app you can generate head shot portraits, full body characters, landscapes, and other scenes simply by choosing two or more existing images to mash together then, using a series of sliders, to select which traits from each image you wish to lean toward in the final image. Photo Comparison - Top is my original uploaded photo. Bottom is Artbreeder's ap

Reallusion Releases Cartoon Animator 5 - One Version, More Features, Lower Price!

If you're serious about producing 2D animation as quickly as possible, while still achieving professional results, Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5 makes the most compelling case yet as your animation studio/tool of choice. Cartoon Animator's point of difference has always been its ease of use and accelerated workflow. Creating fast, 2D animation using puppet, bone rigged based characters and props, on a stage with 3D depth for easy scene parallax effects. As it has developed Reallusion has incorporated more advanced features like motion capture for both face and body as well as being able to export scenes to post production tools like After Effects with the addition of plugins. After moving away from Flash based vector image support for a few years, Reallusion is back with full .SVG (scalable vector graphics) support for resolution independent graphics. They've also added Spring Dynamic physics and Full Form Deformation tools, both of which make it ridiculously easy t