Comparison

Drawing Animation vs Art Animator

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Drawing Animation

Features
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Drawing Animation turns your sketches into moving cartoons. Draw frame by frame, play it back instantly, and export with no watermark and no ads, even for free. A sketch, art and GIF maker app in one place: a canvas that feels like paper, a flipbook timeline made for animators, and a drawing app that works just as well with Apple Pencil as with your finger. Sketch, paint, doodle a stickman, or animate a whole cartoon or anime short on iPhone and iPad. NO WATERMARK, NO ADS Every animation you export is clean. No logo burned into the corner, no banners, no interruptions while you work. This is true on the free tier as well, not just after you pay. NEW: SHAPES, LASSO AND SYMMETRY Draw straight lines, rectangles and ellipses with any brush, so a charcoal circle looks like charcoal and a pencil box looks like pencil. Circle part of a drawing with the lasso to lift it off the page, then move it, scale it, rotate it, flip it, copy it or delete it, then drop it in place. One undo takes it all back. Turn on symmetry and draw one half of a face, a butterfly or a pattern while the other half appears mirrored as you go, vertically, horizontally or in four quarters. DRAW OVER VIDEO Import a clip and it becomes a reference layer, frame by frame. Trace the motion, then hide the video and keep only your own drawing. Rotoscoping is open to everyone here, not locked behind a purchase. SEE THE MOTION WHILE YOU DRAW Onion skin shows the frames before and after in different colors, so you always know where the movement is heading. Hold any frame in the timeline to preview it over your canvas. Play back slower or faster, loop it, and fix the timing before you commit. A TIMELINE THAT KEEPS UP Add, duplicate, delete, and reorder frames by dragging. Select many at once and move them together. Work across layers, lock transparency, color with the bucket tool, add titles and captions with the text tool, and change brush thickness without leaving the canvas. Grid overlay and zoom help you keep proportions steady, and the grid never shows up in your export. YOUR WORK IS SAFE Everything saves by itself while you draw, and a crash brings your draft back. Deleting a frame or a layer can be undone. Deleted projects wait in the trash before they go for good. iCloud backup is on for free accounts too. SOUND AND MUSIC Record your own voice straight onto the animation, or pick a track from the built in music library. Trim it, mute it, and set the level for each track separately. EXPORT AND SHARE Save to Photos or share anywhere as video or GIF. An export keeps running when you leave the app, so you do not have to sit and watch the progress bar. MADE TO FEEL RIGHT Left handed mode, dark theme, keyboard shortcuts on iPad, and a streak counter to keep you drawing. Sample projects are there when you want to take something apart and see how it was built. PREMIUM For the creator who outgrows the free tier: unlimited projects and frames, and up to 20 layers. More brushes, including ink, charcoal, watercolor, chalk, pixel, spray, glow, and your own custom brush. Symmetry drawing in three modes. 2160p canvas and export, higher frame rates, transparent GIF, and PNG sequence. Blend modes, a reference photo layer, eyedropper, and custom palettes. Longer video import with Magic Cut, which lifts a person or object off the background onto its own layer. Longer voice recording, a second audio track, your own music files, and the full music library. Ping pong loop. Premium is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or as a one time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least a day before the current period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your Account Settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://rsndijital.com/link/drawing/privacy-policy.html

About

Art Animator

Read full description

ArtAnimator is a powerful, easy-to-use 2D animation studio. Draw frame by frame, layer by layer, and turn your sketches into animations you can share anywhere. DRAW WITH POWERFUL TOOLS • Pen, eraser, fill, line, rectangle, circle, and speed lines • Smooth zoom and pan, grid overlay, and adjustable brushes • Unlimited undo and redo ANIMATE FRAME BY FRAME • Frame timeline with add, delete, and duplicate • Onion skin to see previous and next frames while you draw • Instant playback at your chosen frame rate WORK IN LAYERS • Multiple layers per frame • Visibility, opacity, reorder, and merge controls • Import reference images, with AI background removal ADD SOUND • Record with your microphone or import audio files • Up to 6 audio tracks with volume and mute controls • Audio stays in sync during playback and export EXPORT AND SHARE • MP4 video export • GIF export • PNG image sequence saved straight to your photo library MADE FOR EVERYONE • Simple enough for beginners, capable enough for experienced animators • Available in 22 languages • Clean, distraction-free dark interface Whether you're sketching a quick doodle loop or building a full cartoon scene with sound, ArtAnimator gives you everything you need to bring your ideas to life — right on your phone or tablet. Download ArtAnimator and start animating today! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/privacy-policy-for-artanimator/home

Screenshots

Drawing Animation4 screens
Art Animator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Drawing Animation at none against Art Animator's shown. Art Animator's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Drawing Animation sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Art Animator sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drawing Animation ships an update every 5 weeks, Art Animator every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Drawing Animation versus Art Animator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrawing AnimationArt Animator
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdem UresinMalook Shah

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Drawing Animation

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$6.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$49.99
2 purchases

Art Animator

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Drawing Animation free?
Drawing Animation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Art Animator free?
Art Animator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Drawing Animation or Art Animator have ads?
Art Animator shows ads; Drawing Animation does not.
Which is updated more often, Drawing Animation or Art Animator?
Drawing Animation ships an update every 5 weeks, and Art Animator every 4 days. Most recently, Drawing Animation was updated on October 31, 2026 and Art Animator on October 31, 2026.

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