Mattia Basaglia

Posted on Nov 25, 2020

Glaxnimate: Create 2D Vector Animations for the Web

#webdev #news #showdev #python

Glaxnimate is an Open Source animation editor focused on creating vector graphics animations for the web.

Supported Formats

While Glaxnimate also supports more traditional formats (among others GIF, WebP, and MP4), its focus is exporting to Lottie and animated SVG, both of which allow embedding the animation in web pages without losing resolution.

Lottie has been gaining traction as a web format for animations but it lacks good open source editors. Glaxnimate has the goal to fill this gap and to allow you to create and edit Lottie animations without the need of expensive software like Adobe After Effects.

Glaxnimate also allows you to preview how Lottie and SVG animations look in your browser with a click of a button.

Vectorization

If you have existing raster images that you want to animate as vector graphics, Glaxnimate has you covered with its advanced bitmap tracing functionality.

Tweening

Since Glaxnimate is focused on vector animation, it employs the technique known as "tweening". This means that you need to only modify certain keyframes and the animation runs smoothly between the given shapes.
It also gives you a few built-in easing options to easily make extremely smooth animations and it also allows you to fine-tune the transition between keyframes if you need more advanced controls.

Scripting

Glaxnimate has extensive scripting functionality with Python.
It provides a plugin system which you can use to add support for new file formats or simply automate certain tasks.
It also has a script console where you can run small snippets and see the changes live.
It even comes as python package if you want to create, modify, or export your animations programmatically.

Cross Platform

Glaxnimate runs on GNU/Linux, Mac, and Windows. It provides several binary packages on its download page.

Customization

Glaxnimate's UI is fully customizable: you can change colors, icons, layout, and more.

Learn More

If you think Glaxnimate is interesing, here are some resources:

Gitlab Repository - You can show your appreciation by giving a star
Download Page
User Manual
Python API
Python Package on PyPI

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