Have you have ever wanted to create your own 2D animation, but you don't have the time or expertise to design your own character? The solution to your problem is easy, as many sites offer free Adobe Character Animator puppets for download and use (no credit required).

These downloadable puppets come with built-in triggers, draggers, and programmed movements, making it easy for you to quickly create a 2D animation.

1. Adobe

Adobe Character Animator puppet options

Adobe is always a great place to start when you're looking for premade puppets. It presents over 20 example puppets on the home screen of Character Animator, and selecting the See More option on the homepage will give you access to an additional 37 example puppets to choose from.

Adobe Character Animator puppet list

Adobe offers varying types of puppets, including animated seasonal backgrounds, clay puppets, talking heads, imaginary characters, and more. To download a puppet from Adobe's website, hit Download, extract the ZIP file, and double-click on the extracted puppet file to open it in Character Animator.

2. Okay Samurai

Okay Samurai premade puppets

All of the puppets offered by Okay Samurai are completely free of cost, making it an excellent place to find Character Animator puppets. Okay Samurai is so reputable that even Adobe refers to it as an alternate resource for Character Animator puppets.

Okay Samurai also offers blank templates for you to create your own custom character in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. These templates can be found at the bottom of its puppet download page.

Related: Adobe Illustrator vs. Photoshop: What's the Difference?

To start using a puppet, simply select Download on the puppet you want, extract the downloaded ZIP file, and double-click the extracted puppet file to open it in Character Animator.

3. Graphic Mama

Graphic mama puppet examples

Graphic Mama offers over 50 puppets, all of which are either free or paid. Graphic Mama also offers design bundles that include puppets, accessories, backgrounds, and additional design elements.

Additionally, Graphic Mama includes the original Illustrator or Photoshop file of the puppet, allowing you to make edits directly to the puppet file as your skills advance in Character Animator.

Graphic Mama example puppet

Once you find a puppet you like, simply select the puppet, and click the Download Archive option. From there, extract the downloaded ZIP file, and double-click the puppet file to open it in Character Animator.

Related: How to Use Mixamo to Animate Custom 3D Models

4. Electro Puppet

Although Electro Puppet only offers one free puppet, it does offer a variety of puppets for purchase. The selection of puppets includes clay puppets, flat puppets, presenter puppets, and various seasonal puppets.

Electro Puppets

Electro Puppet's selection may be smaller than the other options, but the advantage is in the uniqueness of its puppets and its large seasonal selection.

You can download the site's complimentary free puppet, named Dudley, from its free puppet page. To download Dudley from Electro Puppet, you will need to provide an email address and sign up for the site's newsletter. After that, Electro Puppet will send you a link to download the free puppet.

Electro Puppet free puppet

For a paid puppet, you will need to select the collection, and then choose the specific puppet you wish to purchase. Once you have selected your puppet and paid for it, you will receive a ZIP download. After you extract the downloaded ZIP file, double-click the puppet file to open it in Character Animator.

Time to Show Off Your New Puppet

Now that you have your puppet selected, downloaded, and open in Character Animator, you just need to decide how you would like to use your puppet. Whether you want to create an animated promotion for social media or you want to appear as an animation in your next virtual meeting, Character Animator can do that and much more.