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When it comes to motion graphics and VFX software, there aren’t many affordable or free options that compete with Adobe After Effects. This is especially true for hobbyists or freelancers who would rather not pay hefty fees. So far, the industry standard has been Adobe After Effects, which I will mostly refer to as AE from now on. But with many not wanting to deal with Adobe’s lock-in, an open-source alternative is available to all.
Friction is an up-and-coming motion graphics and animation tool. It’s still in development, with the project currently at a 1.0 release candidate stage. It’s showing great promise as a serious contender for those who want to create vector and raster animations without all the baggage of Adobe’s products.
From what I’ve seen, it’s going to make 2D animation smoother and more accessible for many people once the developers add more features and work out the kinks. But it’s still worth a try right now.
Friction
Friction is a powerful and versatile motion graphics application that enables the creation of vector and raster animations for web and video.
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Friction is no slouch in the features department
A versatile animation tool for most use cases
The heart of any animation tool is how it handles keyframes, and Friction does this well. You can use it to create a wide range of animations. I even tried creating a simple animation of a spaceman, and the results were impressive. It wasn’t the most efficient workflow, but it allowed me to quickly get acquainted with Friction’s features. If I had wanted, I could have gone deeper and added raster, text, and path effects.
Friction also has an impressive graph editor that lets you fine-tune curves with precision. It gives you control over easing, motion paths, and transitions to produce smooth, natural movements.
As of this writing, the developers recommend downloading the development release of Friction. The official 1.0 release has been delayed, but the recommended download is much closer to what the final product will look like.
Friction also lets you work with multiple scenes at once. Being able to have multiple views, timelines, and graphs offers room for experimentation while making it easy to manage complex compositions.
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Then you have the expressions. Friction has a built-in ECMAScript‑based code editor for automating motion through scripting. Advanced users can use this to, for example, add weight and timing to animations so they look more realistic. This can be easier and better than adjusting keyframes and curves manually.
These are the main features of Friction worth mentioning. As you can see, it doesn’t introduce many novel features, but it establishes a strong foundation.
The biggest draws of Friction — it’s open-source, lightweight, and easier to get into
Friction removes a lot of barriers to entry
The biggest reason to consider switching from Adobe After Effects to Friction is the price. AE costs a lot of money — it’s part of the Creative Cloud (CC) subscription model — and Friction costs nothing. For freelancers (like me), hobbyists, and students, the cost of CC subscriptions can add up. Friction is open-source software and completely free.
Friction is designed to be easy to get into, with a minimalist interface that allows for streamlined workflows. It’s easier to find what you need in Friction without being overwhelmed by a bevy of menus, panels, and tools — something AE is notorious for. Anyone who has previously used animation software should be able to pick it up quickly. The biggest downside to getting started with Friction is the lack of a long-standing community and knowledge base to help new users, like AE has.
Friction is also lightweight, meaning it can run on modest hardware. You just need a minimum of 4GB of RAM, an AVX-compatible dual-core CPU, and an OpenGL 3.3-compatible GPU and driver. Adobe After Effects is resource-heavy, requiring a powerful machine if you want to avoid crashes or losing your work. Furthermore, in addition to Windows and macOS, Friction is available on Linux, bringing this great motion graphics tool to people who also prefer open-source operating systems.
Overall, Friction feels like an open invitation to anyone looking to join the world of animation. No high costs, no steep learning curve, and no need for powerful hardware.
A lack of refinement and missing features may hamper the experience
It will get better with time
All is not perfect in the land of Friction. Currently, it doesn’t yet match After Effects’ capabilities. It would be unrealistic to expect Friction to handle the kind of complex workflows that AE manages so effortlessly. Furthermore, some features feel less polished, and the occasional bug can hamper the experience.
On the latter, I kept experiencing a bug where the image I’m working on would disappear, requiring me to minimize and maximize the app to bring it back. The animations would also freeze, requiring me to press Shift + Space to fix it. I found this solution in the forums.
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Friction also lacks third-party plugins. These plugins make Adobe After Effects the best tool for complex and versatile animation workflows. This is something Friction simply cannot match yet.
However, this is expected from a tool still in development. The pace of improvement remains encouraging despite the delayed release of version 1.0. I do not doubt that as more users adopt Friction and contribute to its growth, its capabilities will expand. Open-source projects often evolve rapidly once they gain traction, and Friction has the potential to follow that path.
Adobe After Effects is still the gold standard, but it has competition
While AE still offers endless possibilities for motion design and VFX, Friction doesn’t need to match it entirely. Many users, including myself, don’t require the full power of AE, which makes Friction more than adequate. For those looking to avoid Adobe’s subscription model, it’s not just good enough — it’s liberating. Friction is worth keeping an eye on, and I’m excited about the upcoming stable release of version 1.0.
