Xtranormal is Saying Goodbye for Now: A Few Alternatives to Try

Xtranormal is a great site for making 3D animated movies. I have always mentioned and showcased a couple examples of Xtranormal creations in my Multimedia Tools webinars. Sadly, Xtranormal recently posted that they will be closing all accounts and removing all the existing videos by July 31, 2013.

Newsletter of Geekiness

This is what was posted on their blog:

To our loyal Xtranormal community:

What have we accomplished? Over the past 5+ years, we have created a simple way to instantly turn your words into a 3D animated movie. Our community and dedicated fans have created some of the most viral and entertaining videos on the Web with millions of users on our platform. We thank you for showcasing your amazing talent and for being such loyal fans.

Where do we go from here? We’re ending Act 1 of Xtranormal as we know it and exploring options for Act 2 in the future. In light of this, we’ll be discontinuing our current subscriptions, points plans and existing services as of July 31, 2013.

What does this mean for you? Over the next month, we encourage you to complete any “in progress” movies and download your completed movies before July 31, 2013.

Click here for more information

For other inquiries, please email us at 
info@xtranormal.com

What’s next? Here’s to raising the curtain again soon…

Sincerely,

The Xtranormal Team

 

Saying goodbye to Xtranormal is hard but now it’s time to seek out a couple alternatives to enhance your website, presentation, blog, or online classroom.

Hopefully they will come back with more awesome version of Xtranormal but in the mean time, give these programs a try.

GoAnimate  provides libraries with thousands of characters, backgrounds, props, music tracks and sound effects. More of these assets are being added all the time. However, if you want to import your own audio, image, video or flash files, there is a simple import tool.There are two production paths on GoAnimate. Quick Video Makers provide the speed and simplicity to create a video in a matter of minutes by following a step-by-step process. Full Video Makers offer full creative control over the camera, characters and other production elements.Publishing videos is a snap. Simply share the link, copy and paste our embed codes or download the video file as an mp4.Videos can be exported in 720p HD. And GoPremium, the top-level business account, allows export in 1080p Full HD.
To help bridge the gap, GoAnimate is offering a 20% discount to any former Xtranormal subscribers who want to try out a GoAnimate for Schools or GoAnimate for Business account. Find out more about this deal.
GoAnimate
Voki is a free avatar speaking program that allow you to create 60 second clips from various types of audio sources. For educators, there is Voki Classroom for only $30 a year for longer clips, more avatars, and other special options for the classroom. 
Powtoon is a way to create animated presentations with easy to use drag and drop functions. Powtoon has various pricing plans for Premium features and a special Educational pricing is available too. Powtoon creations can easily be exported to your desktop or YouTube with a few simple clicks.
Powtoon Marker Style
DoInk app for iOS seems like a great place to simply create animations on the go. For $4.99 you can give it a try. Download from iTunes
doink screenshot
ToonDoo allows you to create your own cartoon. It isn’t free but allows your to purchase and earn tokens used to create and publish your cartoons.
ToonDoo Example

 

37 Comments on “Xtranormal is Saying Goodbye for Now: A Few Alternatives to Try

  1. I there any decent free options out there, other than a 30 day free trial?

    Most of these movie maker programs leave you with a character that sounds like a robot with no real engagement after you hear the first sentence..

    • Actually many of them you can import your own audio, using friends or colleagues voices as your actors. I’ve have done that using Voki for scenarios and has turned out great.

  2. David, what exactly are you expecting to find? Unless you’re willing to record your own voice, there’s no choice but to use text-to-speech computer voices. The worst of those voices really can’t sound good no matter what you do, but the best of them, when using the right vocabulary and pronunciation, can work quite well.

    The other thing is the desire by most to find a web-based system. Yes, that’s convenient, but there’s a lot of reasons Xtranormal died, and pretty high up there was the fact that they were giving access to a 3D render farm without charging enough money. The best place to render animation is locally on your own PC. For various reasons a lot of people are reluctant to just install and run a program, or they go searching for tablet versions instead. But programs like this all fall under the category of “content creation” which is the last bastion of full-fledged PCs.

    Anyway, depending on your point of view, Xtranormal hasn’t died, because I’m redistributing its original desktop platform with my enhancements complete with two sets of voices (acapela and nuance) and a dizzying amount of free assets. To date we have close to 500 members gathered there. Most of the installation issues have been worked out since August so now is a good time to try it. You just have to be patient with the download because so much stuff is being included.

    http://stateplus.net

      • If you mean multi lingual, by having multiple language choices for voices yes… Interface is English only I think tho.

    • Hahahaha, just went to check the link and saw that you sold out exactly like xtranormal did. I suppose in the end you didn’t owe anyone anything, but its funny to see that money sways everyones motives for anything in life.

      • What is wrong with software designers deciding to sell their work? Would you insist that they work for you for free? If so, please come over here and mow my lawn.

        • Well said!
          It’s rather sad that so many people want (expect) this stuff for nothing, then moan when companies go down the pan and they can’t get it any more!

          • Wrong. Nobody expects stuff for free unless what they are asking is just to dip their toes in or try something out. If the product is good then they will happily pay. Xtranormal, like you, do not understand how this type of business should work on the internet. That is, give a little bit for free so (like 90%) of people can make their silly little internet meme of a few seconds with any old character, background and voice types, put it out to the internet, give the company brilliant free advertising and credibility, then charge if you want anything more like, no plugs for the company built in, longer videos, option to download in high quality etc etc. There are so many ways to provide a free entry level package with the option to upgrade.

            But no. Everyone has to charge mega bucks to even use it. How is that going to grow their business and expose it to someone who hasn’t used it before?

            I saw the threadbear Xtranormal website now has identified 2 customers: schools and business (whatever that is). Not the entire internet who wants to make a funny meme and would very happily pay a few quid to use it a bit then more if they use it alot. A £10 monthly subscription to use all the features is going to put off anyone who does seriously want this product specifically as opposed to other businesses providing a similar service.

  3. I’m trying to create educational videos about solar energy solutions and would like to include an animated narrator. Is there any 3d animators that will put characters on a transparent background?

  4. And now if xtranormal is coming back until 31st July 2014. If you want to go to the xtranormal website and it was a xtranormal website is http://www.xtranormal.com if you have xtranormal is available is 31st July 2014. This xtranormal is going to making a movies and making any videos if you want about that for all your digital storytelling needs.

    • State Plus has multiple languages. I know a lot of people have flowed through this page to get here, but I keep seeing suggestions for substitutes which pale in comparison. if you really want the true Xtranormal experience, why settle for anything less than the real deal? It’s here and it’s free.

  5. Xtranormal returned as nawmal everyone!! They offer 2 products, the pro version and educational. New features, new sets and characters available. You can now finally modify the voice rate and pitch! Check it out!

    • Looks great. But very expensive. They will do well to reduce prices. I’m happy to pay but Nawmal is expensive.

  6. Try our new (BETA) iOS app: talkrapp.com. It lets you use your make your own pictures talk with text to speech or your own voice. And it’s free. We need Beta testers!

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