3D animation software is used to create movies, short animations, game sprites, and special effects that can be later used in video games or other movies.
This type of software is usually much more advanced than 2D animation software, simply because you always have to consider one additional dimension for all scenes.
There is a verity of 3D animation software on the market, most of which come at a pretty high price. For starters, you can use free software like Blender which is more than enough for a beginner and can also serve you later in your animation career.
List of best 3D animation software
| Name | Price | G2 Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3ds Max | $1620/year | 4.2 |
| Motionbuilder | $1855/year | 3.9 |
| Blender | Free | 4.5 |
| Cinema 4D | $59.99/mo | 4.6 |
| Clara.io | Free/$100/mo | 4.2 |
| Daz3D | Free | 🕳️ |
| Houdini Apprentice | Starting $269 | 4.5 |
| iClone | $199 | 4.8 |
| iPi Soft | Starting $695 | 🕳️ |
| MakeHuman | Free | 4.2 |
| Maya | $205/mo | 4.3 |
| Mixamo | Starting $25/mo | 3.8 |
| modo | $599 | 4.5 |
| Poser Pro | $199 | 3.9 |
| Terragen | Starting $15/mo | 🕳️ |
| Smart Body | Free | 🕳️ |
| Boats Animator | Free | 🕳️ |
| Dragonframe | $305 | 5 |
| Wings 3D | Free | 4.3 |
| K3-D | Free | 4.5 |
| Source Filmmaker | Free | 🕳️ |
Conclusion
As you can see, there's a lot of 3D animation software to pick up from. Some of it is designed for a broad purpose like Blender, and some are dedicated to creating only parts of a scene.
