RoughAnimator review

RoughAnimator does one job well: traditional hand-drawn animation on almost any device. Its developer describes it as made by an animator for animators, and the App Store version runs on both iPhone and iPad for $7.99 once, with the same price on Google Play and desktop versions for Mac and Windows. The timeline supports unlimited layers and lets you change how long each drawing is held, which suits both pose-to-pose and straight-ahead work. Onion skinning, preview playback and scrubbing cover the basics, and audio import for lip sync and video import for rotoscoping cover the next step. Custom brushes work with Apple Pencil and Logitech Crayon. For people who finish work elsewhere, RoughAnimator projects import into Adobe Flash and Animate, After Effects and Toon Boom Harmony. It is lighter than Procreate Dreams or Callipeg, with no keyframe effects or compositing, and there is no free tier to try first.

Who it is for

Animators who want one paid app on phone, tablet and desktop

Price

$7.99 one-time purchase on the US App Store and Google Play.

RoughAnimator - animation app Draw frame-by-frame animation $7.99
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 11, 2026.

Key features

• Timeline with unlimited layers and adjustable exposure length per drawing
• Onion skinning, preview playback and timeline scrubbing
• Import audio for lip sync and video for rotoscoping
• Custom brushes with Apple Pencil and Logitech Crayon support
• Export to QuickTime video, GIF or image sequence

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Runs on iPhone as well as iPad, unlike most pro tablet apps
• Strength: Projects import into Adobe Animate, After Effects and Toon Boom Harmony
• Strength: No in-app purchases listed
• Weakness: No free version on the App Store
• Weakness: Fewer effects and compositing tools than Procreate Dreams
• Weakness: App Store listing is English only

Key facts

• Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows
• Price: $7.99 one-time
• Layers: Unlimited
• Exports: QuickTime, GIF, image sequence

Where it ranks

RoughAnimator is No. 5 in our Best Mobile Animation Apps verdict.