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FlipaClip

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FlipaClip
Developer(s)Visual Blasters LLC
Initial release2 April 2012; 12 years ago (2012-04-02)[1]
Operating systemAndroid, iOS, Windows, macOS, ChromeOS
Available in15 languages[2]
LicenceEULA[3]
Websiteflipaclip.com

FlipaClip is a 2D animation software application. FlipaClip was mainly developed by the three Meson brothers of Miami-based company Visual Blasters. It was initially made available for Android in 2012 before being released for iOS, Windows, macOS and ChromeOS. FlipaClip has an online community of mainly young creators.

Features

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Basic layout on a horizontal tablet (left) and a vertical phone (right) with a blank project

FlipaClip allows users to create 2D frame-by-frame animations.[4][5] Besides the basic drawing features, users can use a customizable rule tool; import images, videos and audio files; create multiple frame layers at various frames per second;[6][7] and export their work in various file formats.[8]

The software has a free and a paid subscription version (FlipaClip Plus) with more features.[6][9]

History

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FlipaClip was developed by Visual Blasters LLC, a Miami-based mobile app company founded in 2010 by Argentinian-born[10] brothers Jonathan and Marcos Meson.[4][5] The brothers have prior experience in software engineering, marketing, internet radio and motion graphics design.[5][4][10] In 2012, their youngest brother Tim joined the company as a lead engineer.[5][11][n 1]

The idea for FlipaClip was inspired by the Meson brothers' previous animation software creations and concepts going back to 2008, prior to the company's founding.[10][11][12] The project began in earnest in 2012 with a submission to a contest with a one-month deadline hosted by Samsung for stylus-based apps.[11] Jonathan and Tim worked on technical aspects like coding, while Marcos dealt with the visual design.[10]

While the brothers did not win the contest, the app launched on Android in April 2012 and was further developed thereafter.[1][5][11] Visual Blasters made a deal with children's tablet computer company Fuhu in 2014, which resulted in FlipaClip being pre-installed in over 400,000 devices.[5] In March 2017, the app was made available for iOS;[5] it was also eventually released for Windows, macOS, ChromeOS and Huawei devices.[13]

In November 2024, 900 thousand users were exposed in a data breach due to an exposed Firebase server. The app's team stated that they subsequently solved the issue.[14]

Community

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In February 2017, the Android app attained 5.5 million downloads, and 550,000 users were reported to be monthly active.[5] During the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020, the number of monthly active FlipaClip users doubled, which the Miami Herald partially attributed to its use by teachers.[10][n 2] By 2022, FlipaClip had been downloaded 60 million times and reached 6 million monthly active users.[10][11]

The app formed an active community of creators, many of which share their animations on social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.[10] 70% of its users were reportedly under 18 by 2022, which, according to Miami Inno of The Business Journals, indicates traction among members of Generation Z.[11] As part of one of the app's sponsored contests, "Beat COVID-19", 300,000 creators animated educational videos about the virus.[10]

Reception

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In her review for Common Sense Media, Ana Beltran rated the app 4 stars out of 5. She mentioned how the app's introductory tutorial encouraged new and experienced creators, and despite the "somewhat distracting" advertisements in the free version, the interface and navigation were nonetheless regarded as "inviting" and promoting creativity in children.[6]

In 2019, Apple nominated FlipaClip for the App Trend of the Year distinction.[4][10] FlipaClip was awarded "Best for Chromebooks" in Google Play's Best of 2023.[15]

Notes

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  1. ^ By 2022, the Visual Blasters team had reached 16 employees.[11]
  2. ^ The app's gross revenue during the pandemic's early stages saw a growth of over 100%.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b "FlipaClip: Create 2D Animation". Google Play. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Languages Available". flipaclip.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "FlipaClip App Terms of Use". flipaclip.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Tomoyose, Guillermo (December 6, 2019). "De Tucumán al mundo: FlipaClip, la app argentina destacada como una de las mejores del año por Apple" [From Tucumán to the world: FlipaClip, the Argentinian app featured as one of the best of the year by Apple]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Dahlberg, Nancy (April 30, 2017). "You, too, can be an animator. Yes, there's an app for that". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Beltran, Ana. "FlipaClip: Cartoon Animation". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  7. ^
  8. ^ "Saving Animations as a Movie". flipaclip.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "FlipaClip Plus Explained". flipaclip.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oropeza, Daniel (August 21, 2022). "Three Miami brothers built an animation app children are using to create digital images on phones, tablets". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Portero, Ashley (July 20, 2022). "How three brothers created an animation app with millions of users". Miami Inno. The Business Journals. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "Flipaclip App: tres argentinos fueron premiados por Apple" [Flipaclip App: three Argentines were awarded by Apple]. La Voz del Interior (in Spanish). December 5, 2019. Archived from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  13. ^
  14. ^ "Pwned websites". Have I Been Pwned. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  15. ^ Porter, Jon (November 30, 2023). "And the awards for best Android apps go to..." The Verge. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
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