Kineo — Flipbook Animations for Apple Vision Pro is a delightful program developed by Cocoatype, LLC. With a simple and intuitive interface, Kineo allows you to create hand-drawn animations on your iPhone or iPad. The app closely follows a traditional flipbook style of drawing, which brings a sense of nostalgia and a hands-on experience to users.
One of Kineo’s notable features is its onion skinning function, which offers faint reminders of the previous frames, ensuring that animators can maintain continuity and flow in their work. This is particularly useful for beginners who are still learning the basics of animation. Additionally, the integration of social sharing capabilities means users can effortlessly showcase their creations on various social media networks, bringing an interactive and communal dimension to the app. For those who love personalization, Kineo also allows you to use your animations as stickers in the Messages app, adding a unique flair to your conversations.
The app truly shines when paired with the Apple Pencil. With this tool, the app supports a more nuanced and detail-oriented drawing experience, making it easier for animators to breathe life into their characters. Multi-window mode on the iPad further enhances the creative process, as it allows users to preview their animation while they are drawing. This feature is a game-changer for multitaskers and ensures a smoother workflow. Furthermore, Kineo’s automatic iCloud syncing ensures that your projects are always up-to-date across devices, providing the flexibility to work on your animations wherever you go.
However, despite its strong points, Kineo has areas that need improvement, as highlighted by user reviews. One of the recurring criticisms is the lack of a zoom feature in the free version. Many users express frustration over the need to pay to access such a fundamental tool, and believe that other monetization strategies could be explored. The zoom feature is essential for creating detailed and refined animations, especially for users who prefer small brush sizes.
Another area of concern is the stability of the app. Users have reported that the app crashes when deleting slides, which disrupts the creative process. A stable and reliable platform is crucial for maintaining momentum and ensuring that users can focus on their artistic endeavors without technical interruptions.
The frame rate adjustment is another requested feature that is currently missing. Users desire the ability to customize their frame rates to create smoother animations or experiment with different animation speeds. Alongside this, the absence of a canvas ratio adjustment limits the app’s flexibility, as animators often work with different aspect ratios depending on their project requirements.
In addition, many users have pointed out that the tool bar, while visually appealing, lacks essential functions such as a fill button and layer options. These tools are fundamental for animation work, as they allow for more efficient and sophisticated artwork. The absence of these features makes Kineo less appealing for seasoned animators who require a more comprehensive toolset.
Some users have also commented on the onion skin feature, suggesting improvements in its implementation. They propose having different colors for each onion skin layer to avoid confusion and ensure clarity while animating. Additionally, the option to toggle the onion skin feature on and off would provide greater control over the drawing process.
Kineo — Flipbook Animations has the potential to be a top-tier animation app for Apple Vision Pro, offering simplicity and ease of use for beginners. Its support for Apple Pencil and multi-window functionality on iPad are commendable features that significantly enhance the drawing experience. However, the app requires improvements in stability, tool availability, and customization options to cater to a broader audience, including more advanced users. Addressing these concerns would elevate Kineo from a good app to an exceptional one, capable of meeting the diverse needs of animators at all levels of expertise.
