Do you love making cool animations or editing videos but don't want to spend a lot of money on fancy software? Are you looking for a powerful, free alternative to Adobe After Effects that works right in your browser? You might be worried about your privacy too! Well, there's good news! PIKIMOV is a free online tool that lets you create amazing animations and edit videos, just like popular programs like After Effects.
Think of Pikimov like a free photo editor you might know, but for videos and animations! Plus, Pikimov keeps your content private, so you can focus on having fun and being creative.
In this blog post, we'll learn all about Pikimov, what it can do, and why it's perfect for anyone who wants to make awesome videos and animations in Linux and Unix-like operating systems.
Table of Contents
What is PIKIMOV?
Pikimov is a web-based motion design and video editor that offers a free and privacy-respecting alternative to After Effects.
Inspired by Photopea, a free Photoshop clone, Pikimov's developer created this online editor to provide users with a powerful tool for creating motion design compositions and editing videos.
With Pikimov, users can create motion design compositions, crop, cut, or trim videos quickly. The app runs directly in Chrome, requiring no installation or sign-ups.
Pikimov is free and it is compatible with Linux, macOS, and Windows.
More importantly, It respects user privacy by not uploading files to any cloud server or using projects to train AI models.
Key Features and Benefits
One of the standout features of Pikimov is its ability to run directly in the Chrome browser, eliminating the need for installation or compatibility issues. This means that users can access Pikimov from any device with a Chrome browser, including Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.
Pikimov's feature set is impressive, with a large choice of imports, including images, videos, audio files, and 3D models in glb format. The editor uses a layers-based editing system, similar to After Effects.
It offers a range of video effects, including color correction, blur, and glitch effects. Additionally, Pikimov features a keyframed animation system, allowing users to animate almost all properties.
Pikimov Respects User's Privacy
What sets Pikimov apart from other online editors is its commitment to user privacy. Unlike many cloud-based services, Pikimov does not upload files to a server, and it does not use user projects to train AI models.
This means that users can rest assured that their files remain on their local machine, and their creative work is not being used for any other purpose.
Limitations
Despite its many features and benefits, Pikimov is not without its limitations. Currently, the editor is only compatible with Chrome, Edge, and Opera browsers, due to the use of specific web APIs that are not available in Firefox or Safari.
Additionally, Pikimov is not optimized for mobile devices, although some Android tablets may be compatible with some tweaking.
Currently, there is no standalone app version, as the focus remains on maintaining and updating the desktop web version.
Please note that Pikimov is currently in its beta version, and as such, it has some limitations. These limitations include:
- Maximum project duration: 6 minutes
- Maximum resolution: 1920 x 1080 @ 30 fps
System Requirements
In terms of system requirements, Pikimov is relatively lightweight, requiring only a minimum of 16GB of RAM to run smoothly. The editor does not require a powerful graphics card, and internet speed is not a concern, as all processing is done locally on the user's machine.
Future Development and Support
Pikimov is free to use but is not open source. The developer aims to keep it free forever, inspired by Photopea's success. In the future, there may be options for users to support the project through donations.
There are also considerations for developing a Progressive Web App (PWA) and a Flatpak Linux app as the project matures and stabilizes.
Technical Details
Pikimov's rendering compositions are powered by three.js with various effectcomposer passes. Video effects are achieved using GLSL shaders, while the app's user interface is managed by the Ember framework, with some tasks assisted by jQuery.
Video and audio muxing are handled by the mp4-muxer library. The remaining functionalities are built using native vanilla browser APIs, which are mostly available only on Chromium browsers.
This app is very small (about 5MB in size). If you remove the demo projects, it could actually fit on a 1.4MB floppy disc!
Get Started with Pikimov
As stated already, no installation required. PikiMov will run directly in your Chrome browser. It is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.
To get started with Pikimov, go to the following URL from your Google Chrome browser.
You can start a new project or open any existing project from your local system. No files will be uploaded to any remote server.
The developer has also included a few demo projects. You can use one of them to get a glimpse of what you can do with Pikimov.
There is also a short video tutorial available on YouTube to learn the basics of Pikimov.
Get creative and start making awesome animations and videos with Pikimov!
Conclusion
Pikimov is a privacy-respecting free online motion design and video editor that offers a compelling alternative to industry-standard tools.
I briefly tested it in my Debian system. It's super fast and light weight. It might work on a mobile device if you tricked it with desktop mode.
Another feature I appreciate about Pikimov is that it is a fully web-based tool with no sign-up required. Kudos to the developer!
With its impressive feature set, commitment to user privacy, and free-to-use model, Pikimov is definitely worth checking out for anyone looking for a flexible and accessible video editing solution.
