Animate Your Photos Easily With These Tools

Are you bored of still images and want to try something new? Then it would be best if you tried picture animation. There are countless programs and mobile apps for animating photos, so you can create this effect as well, even if you have never done it before. 

Below, we are going to talk about one of the most popular animation effects – parallax animation. This post also covers three ways to transform images with the help of animation – using mobile apps and a desktop program. Have you got intrigued? Then, let’s figure out how to animate photos right now.  

What is Parallax Animation

Parallax is a type of animation that is used in many creative spheres of life. For example, it’s widely used in video game production, web design, and presentations. This technique is used to add depth and movement to simple images. So, how does it work? 

To create an illusion of movement in your shot, you need to edit its separate layers by changing their speeds, directions, scaling, rotation, opacity, and other settings. In other words, you’re supposed to animate each element separately.

Apps to Easily Animate Any Picture

Now that you have a basic understanding, it’s time to explore three programs for animating images: Movepic, SmartSHOW 3D, and YouCam Perfect. To choose the best app, you must consider the features, ease of use, and required level of skill. Additionally, the chosen program should be compatible with your device. Let’s examine each option to determine which one is right for you.

1. Movepic

One of the standout features of Movepic is its ability to animate specific parts of an image while keeping the rest static. Here, you can select the area you want to animate, such as flowing hair, rippling water, or flickering flames, and apply movement to those elements. This feature of the app provides you with precise control over the animation process. Movepic also lets you adjust the speed and direction of the animation, apply filters and effects, and even add overlays or text to personalize your creations.

Moreover, Movepic allows you to directly share your animated photos on various social media platforms to showcase them to a wider audience in a moment. However, the editing process in this app might feel inconvenient if the screen size of your smartphone is not big enough. 

2. SmartSHOW 3D

To animate your pictures on a computer, you can use SmartSHOW 3D, photo animation software. It is designed to be accessible for both beginners and seasoned users. SmartSHOW 3D lets you create custom animation with professional precision – you can adjust the speed, rotation, opacity, and other settings of the animated elements of your photos.

Along with parallax animation, SmartSHOW 3D offers lots of other effects you might like: 45+ slide effects, 50+ glow effects, 200+ transitions, and so on. You can also use this software to animate pictures with pan and zoom effects and animation paths. Besides, SmartSHOW 3D lets you create photo collages, add text captions, apply filters, and edit pictures.

3. YouCam Perfect

Another photo animation app you can check out is YouCam Perfect. This is a photo editing program that allows you to change the body shape, enhance the quality of pictures, erase objects, touch up portraits and selfies, whiten the model’s teeth, swap backgrounds, apply funky filters, and even create collages with multiple images. It also has live filters that you can try on and then capture a photo or video with them. 

YouCam Perfect also offers some tools for animating your pictures. For instance, in the app, you will find a variety of animated effects and stickers to choose from, including sparkles, sports-themed animations, summer-themed animations, and love-themed animations. Apart from adding animation effects, the app also lets you animate selfies and turn them into video clips using templates. 

But there’s a big disadvantage you should take into consideration before installing the app on your mobile device. The app size is quite big – over 200 MB. So, if there’s not enough free space in your storage, you might face app crashes, freezes, and other performance issues. If you don’t mind this downside, you can download YouCam Perfect from the App Store or Google Play, depending on the device you are using.

Alternative Apps & Tools

Here are some alternative apps and online tools you can use to animate any photo.

Mobile Apps

• PixaMotion: Easy-to-use interface with detailed adjustment capabilities for fine-tuning animations. Offers good selection of effects and overlays.
• Motionleap: Powerful app for high-quality animations, including path and layer animation, stunning 3D effects, and AI-powered tools.
• Pixaloop: Creates captivating animations by adding motion to specific parts of your photo. Great for making hair flow, clouds drift, or clothes swish.
• Zoetropic: Specializes in cinematography, where only a small part of the image animates while the rest remains static. Offers various animation styles and music options.
• Loopsie: Combines photos and videos to create short, looping animations. Ideal for stop-motion effects and sharing on social media.

Online Tools

• Canva: User-friendly platform with a dedicated photo animation feature. Offers pre-made templates, animations, and effects for quick and easy creations.
• Befunky: Free online photo editor with a simple animation tool. Add subtle movements, overlays, and effects to bring your photos to life.
• Kapwing: Powerful online video editor with animation capabilities. Upload your photo and use keyframes to control movement, add effects, and even include audio.
• Unsplash: While not specifically for animation, Unsplash offers a vast library of free high-resolution photos perfect for animating. Find the ideal image and use any of the tools mentioned above to bring it to life.
• Plotaverse: Web-based tool that uses AI to automatically animate your photos. Choose a style, adjust the intensity, and let the AI do the work. (Free trial; Premium plan required for full features)

Final Thoughts

As you can see, you can effortlessly animate your photos like a pro, even if you have zero experience in photo or video editing. But to create a motion effect in your pictures, you need to choose the right software or mobile app. 

In this post, we’ve discussed a trendy type of animation – parallax animation. What’s more, you have discovered three handy programs to edit your images on a PC, Android smartphones, and iOS devices. If you’re still unsure which tool suits you better, consider the ease of use, your budget, needs, and technical requirements of the programs.