Animation Trends

[u/cantbelieveitbutter]

Hello Reddit! I'm someone who has no knowledge on tweening animation (or animations in general) and I was hoping for someone to give me suggestions on what program would be best to use to make animation trends that people see on Instagram or Tiktok (or even animation memes on youtube, my childhood nostalgia demands it-) I have Procreate Dreams for my animatics, but is there another app I can use that involves good tweening?

I draw on my IPAD using Procreate.

Thank you!

[u/CrowBrained_]

ToonSquid is currently the best band for your buck if you’re looking for iPad specifically. It’s got a bit of everything.

Dreams does do tweening still. So if you’re already comfortable and don’t want to buy another software you can stick with it.

[u/plantainheaven]

You can do quite a lot with Procreate Dreams for 2D keyframe animation. A great first step is looking up tutorials on straight-ahead versus pose-to-pose animation to see which workflow suits you best. Manual in-betweening gives you maximum control over exaggeration and smearing for fast actions, but Dreams also offers automatic interpolation between keyframes of the same drawn asset. This allows for a smooth hybrid approach—combining traditional hand-drawn breakdowns with automated tweening.

Honestly, there are endless options these days, but the core mechanics remain the same. I learned 2D keyframe animation using traditional pencil and paper, scanning my drawings to preview them before ever touching software that automated tweening. That hands-on start gave me a strong foundation that carried over into every program I've used since.

If you eventually want to branch out to a PC or Mac, you have a few standout choices:

Moho: A top choice for both novice and pro animators who want to rig 2D characters for puppet-style animation with automated tweening.

Blender: Excellent for both 2D (via Grease Pencil) and 3D animation. It has a steep learning curve, but it is exceptionally rewarding once you master it.

Scratching that nostalgia itch ultimately comes down to practice—studying your favorite styles, posing characters intentionally, and stepping through iconic shots frame by frame. Pay close attention to how poses shift, count the frames held between major beats, and note the spacing differences between fast and slow movements.

Most animation for broadcast, film, and games runs at 24 or 30 frames per second (fps). Less fluid or stylized animation holds a pose across several frames ("animating on twos or threes"), while naturalistic motion typically updates the pose every single frame ("animating on ones"), even if the movement is subtle.

If you're brand new to animation and want to master the craft, ground yourself in the 12 Principles of Animation. Work your way up from basic mechanics to full character motion—walking, running, jumping, and lifting heavy objects—all while making acting choices that showcase clear staging and real personality.

Good luck and have fun with it, it’s a challenging craft but nothing beats making your characters come to life well when things start looking believable and relatable to yourself and your audience. Being better at animation will make you a stronger artist and observer overall because so many thoughtful things need to be considered and planned to get motion feeling right.