When it comes to motion graphics and VFX software, there aren’t many affordable or free options that compete with Adobe After Effects. This is especially true for hobbyists or freelancers who would rather not pay hefty fees. So far, the industry standard has been Adobe After Effects, which I will mostly refer to as AE from now on. But with many not wanting to deal with Adobe’s lock-in, an open-source alternative is available to all. Friction is an up-and-coming motion graphics and animation tool. It’s still in development, with the project currently at a 1.0 release candidate stage. It’s showing great promise as a serious contender for those who want to create vector and raster animations without all the baggage of Adobe’s products. From what I’ve seen, it’s going to make 2D animation smoother and more accessible for many people once the developers add more features and work out the kinks. But it’s still worth a try right now. Friction is no slouch in the features department A versatile animation tool for most use cases …