Best software for Animation?

I have been using the in Unity animation editor and it's got to hard to use. Does anyone have any good recommendations for good easy software for animating. I will mostly be animating stuff like simple player idles and movement with the occasional Ak 47 reload, thanks have a nice day

 

If you are looking for ONLY an animation package. Check out akeytsu - https://www.nukeygara.com/
Personally I prefer 3D Max but it's not free.
Blender is something others use, and is free.

 

Is 3D Max good and easy to get into or is it a hard learning curve and thanks for the advise

 

I would say Maya for it's user friendly interface.

 

I would say Max is very easy to get into. The interface is very straight forward and there is nothing hidden behind small hidden buttons.
One of my dislikes with Maya is - when I used it last - was the difficulty with it's finding the right place I needed to in the interface. It seemed like stuff was buried and only if you knew what you were doing - could you find the proper panel for stuff. That is pretty vague but so was Maya's interface to me.
Maya is the top dog for rigging and skinning though. Animation can be accomplished in both Max and Maya without difficulty, only talent.

Consider checking out some getting started videos on the 3 main offerings, Max, Maya and Blender and see which one you think is best fit for you.

 

Blender is quite good. I have only done mechanical animations so far but it is easy and fast once you get the hang of it. I have also confirmed that it is easy to get working rigs and animations out of Blender to Unity 5 and Unreal Engine 4.

I personally didn't like Maya user interface much. It may have great animation tools, but I like Blender more. Not only because I'm used to it, but because Maya lacked some simple things and needs more time to mature.

 

Modo?
https://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/modo/
It even have Renderview shaders for Unity and Unreal.
There is an Indie version available.

You can also have a look at Lightwave 3D (lots of app for the price imho).

 

Use KeyShot, OpenToonz, Animaker

 

I'm also looking for 3D-software to use, but my background is from CAD-software like Siemens NX and Fusion 360 and I would like something more free (and not dependant on real physics).

What are the pros and cons of these different 3D-software tools?
There is mention of many I haven't heard before like Lightwave, but no mention of Zbrush or Cinema 4D. Is there a reason for this?

 

Zbrush is first and foremost a sculpting program. Its animation tools are very poor and only for internal use. Cinema I have no idea about. Should be decent all-in-one 3d editor.