I thought I would start a new thread as a common resource and guide to software suitable for contributors creating posts.

I recently found some animation software that looks quite easy to use called Animata:

 http://animata.kibu.hu/

I think it was designed for character animation, but having had a look at some of the video tutorials, it could be used to animate molecules vibrating, moving etc. or other interesting stuff (with some imagination).

Looks easy to use.

Not sure what file format it produces though, I assume it is a common one.

Feel free to add your own ideas and experience using software. I think if we can come up with a range of easy to use applications it should be easier for individuals to find solutions to illustrating their contributions.

Thought I would add some more ideas.

I have used Inkscape a number of times, an Open Source drawing program, similar to Adobe Ilustrator.

http://inkscape.org/

SVG is the default file format used but it also produces PDFs, EPS and other formats.

For desktop publishing (not so useful for this site) Scribus works well on a Windows PC (wasn't so good on a Mac the last time I tried, but they may have fixed the problems since then).

Possibly.

If someone wants to move it there, that's fine by me.