Animaker Review 2023: Explainer Expert's Opinion
TLDRIn this 2023 review, the creator revisits Animaker, an online animation platform, to test its capabilities for making explainer videos. Despite initial skepticism, the review highlights the platform's improved features, including character customization and a variety of templates. The review focuses on creating a video with a custom character, navigating the interface, and the challenges faced during the video-making process. The reviewer also discusses the text-to-speech feature, the importance of a solid voiceover, and the platform's pricing plans. The conclusion suggests Animaker could be suitable for hobbyists or those on a budget, but for professional use, further exploration might be necessary.
Takeaways
- 😀 The reviewer gave Animaker a second chance after being unimpressed in the past.
- 🎬 The focus was on creating an explainer video with a custom character resembling the reviewer.
- 🚀 Animaker has evolved to include more than just animation, now offering tools for social media content.
- 👤 The Character Creator allows for personalization, but the reviewer advises not to spend too much time on minor details.
- 💬 The built-in text-to-speech feature was tested and found to be decent, offering an alternative to recording a voiceover.
- 🎥 The reviewer recommends starting with a blank project to understand the tool's full capabilities.
- 🗣️ Voiceover recording was limited to 10-second clips on the free plan, which the reviewer found restrictive.
- 🤔 The interface was described as confusing, with many views and options that were not intuitive.
- 💨 The reviewer experienced a bug where the character disappeared, indicating potential stability issues.
- 🎨 Despite some frustrations, the reviewer appreciated the visual aesthetics of Animaker's backgrounds and characters.
- 💰 The free plan has limitations, and the reviewer suggests considering a paid plan for more templates and features.
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 testing Animaker again?
-The main goal is to create a short explainer video with the reviewer as the main character.
What is the reviewer's opinion on Animaker's text-to-speech feature?
-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 advice does the reviewer give regarding the creation of custom characters?
-The reviewer advises not to spend too much time on custom characters, as they need to look somewhat like you for viewers to recognize, but not every specific facial feature is necessary.
Why does the reviewer recommend starting with a blank project in Animaker?
-Starting with a blank project allows one 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 the voiceover recording limit on the free plan?
-The reviewer found it frustrating that the free plan only allows 10 seconds of recording per clip, suggesting that this limit might not be present on paid plans.
What does the reviewer like about Animaker's action selection?
-The reviewer appreciates that Animaker shows the action previews when selected, eliminating the need to preview the entire video to see how an action looks.
What difficulty does the reviewer face with scene templates in Animaker?
-The reviewer struggles with the limited selection and the process of replacing characters in scene templates, as it does not retain the original character's expressions, direction, or pose.
How does the reviewer feel about the user interface and functionality of Animaker?
-The reviewer finds the user interface and functionality of Animaker not very intuitive and somewhat confusing, especially with the different timelines and scene management.
What is the reviewer's final verdict on Animaker for creating explainer videos?
-The reviewer concludes that Animaker is a cool animation tool that can be used if one is on a budget, but for professional use, they would probably keep looking.
Outlines
🎬 Second Chance with Animaker
The speaker reflects on their initial underwhelming experience with Animaker a few years ago but is willing to give it another try. They note the platform's evolution, now offering a mix of animation and social media content creation tools. The focus is on creating an explainer video featuring a custom character resembling the speaker. The process includes selecting a character, adjusting its features, and preparing it for the video studio. The speaker emphasizes the importance of the character's resemblance to the user for viewer connection, suggesting that minor inaccuracies won't deter this connection. They also discuss the benefits of starting with a blank project to understand the tool's full capabilities, rather than relying on pre-made templates.
🎤 Voiceover and Character Customization
The speaker describes the process of creating a voiceover for the explainer video, mentioning the option to use Animaker's text-to-speech feature. They record a test voiceover, critique its lack of detail, and resolve to spend more time on scriptwriting. The focus then shifts to character customization, where the speaker locates a character resembling themselves and modifies features like hairstyle and clothing to match their own appearance. They save the character for use in the studio and discuss the importance of a good microphone for voiceover quality, suggesting using a MacBook or iPhone due to their decent built-in microphones.
🖥️ Navigating Animaker's Interface
The speaker encounters challenges while navigating Animaker's interface, particularly with the different timelines and scene management. They express frustration with the disappearing character issue, which they suspect might be a bug. The speaker also discusses the process of adding text and adjusting font styles and colors. They mention the availability of scene templates but find the interface confusing due to its varied views and functionalities. The speaker's experience suggests that Animaker's interface could be more intuitive, especially for new users.
🕹️ Exploring Animaker's Features and Templates
The speaker continues to explore Animaker's features, focusing on the timeline and scene management. They express difficulty in understanding when elements appear or disappear and how to manage the timing. The speaker decides to skip over their frustration and move on to previewing the video. They discuss the importance of a strong voiceover that dictates the visual elements and the desire for more templates in paid plans. The speaker also experiments with character expressions and scene transitions, noting a preference for more subtle movements and transitions that enhance storytelling rather than those that are overly flashy or frequent.
💸 Animaker's Pricing and Final Thoughts
The speaker reviews Animaker's pricing, noting the $19 per month starter plan and the option to save up to 50% by committing to a yearly plan. They express skepticism about the listed awards and user testimonials, suggesting that the inclusion of a major brand like McDonald's might be opportunistic. The speaker concludes with a mixed review of Animaker, acknowledging its affordability but also its learning curve and potential limitations for professional use. They decide not to purchase the service at this time, preferring to stick with their current animation tool.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Animaker
💡Explainer Video
💡Character Creator
💡Text-to-Speech
💡Voiceover
💡Templates
💡User Interface
💡Scene Transitions
💡Smart Move
💡Music and Ambience
💡Exporting
Highlights
Animaker is being given a second chance to impress after a previous underwhelming experience.
The platform has evolved, now offering more than just animation with a focus on social media content.
The Character Creator allows for the design of custom characters, enhancing personal connection in videos.
Starting with a blank project is recommended to fully understand Animaker's features.
Animaker's text-to-speech feature offers a decent alternative to recording a voiceover.
The free plan limits voiceover recording to 10-second clips, potentially impacting video quality.
Using a high-quality microphone, like those in newer MacBooks or iPhones, is advised for better audio.
Backgrounds provide a clean canvas, allowing for more creative control than pre-built templates.
Animaker's action library is robust, offering various actions without the need to preview the entire video.
Text templates can be more time-consuming to customize than creating text from scratch.
The user interface can be confusing, with different views and functionalities that may not be intuitive.
The platform's timeline and scene management can be frustrating, especially for new users.
Animaker's visual aesthetics are praised, with appealing character and background designs.
The platform allows for color customization to match branding and create a cohesive look.
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 quality and fewer template options.
Animaker's pricing is competitive, with discounts available for annual subscriptions.
The platform is suitable for hobbyists and those on a budget, but professionals might seek more advanced tools.