2D Cartoon Animation Software
There are a bunch of different software programs available to help create 2D cartoons. 2D cartoon animation software packages include Toon Boom's Animation-ish, Toon Boom's Flip Boom, Anime 5, Express Animator, TVPaint and DigiCel FlipBook.
Toon Boom makes two different options for 2D cartoon animation software, Animation-ish and Flip Boom, that are marketed as children's drawing software.
Animation-ish has tips and sample animations by Peter H. Reynolds to help give kids ideas, simple to use tools, and three different animation levels to choose from.
Flip Boom won a Parent's Choice award for 2008. It is easy to use. Kids use a paint brush (using their choice of 7 colors) to draw their designs, and then there are buttons to animate their creations. Anime 5 is a 2D cartoon animation software package that lets you use either your own artwork or precreated characters in order to produce short cartoons or movies. You can click on your drawings to add bones and make it easier to animate them. It is compatible with Adobe Photoshop, and you can add sound. It is sold as being for first time animators as it is supposed to be easy to use. Express Animator is a 2D cartoon animation software package that allows you to create Flash animations that can have integrated sound and music. They allow you to download a free trial, and purchase allows you to be able to download any upgrades. TVPaint is a 2D cartoon animation software package that is bitmap based rather than vector based like the Toon Boom software. It has a lot of options for creating your artwork to be animated, including the ability to mix your own colors and media simulation tool types including Pen, Pencil, Airbrush, Oilbrush and Wetbrush. DigiCel FlipBook is a 2D cartoon animation software that lets you draw right on your computer or scan in your own drawings. It is set up so that you can try to do your animations like the professionals do, using storyboards, animatics, lip sync, rough animation, clean animation, ink and paint, and compositing. This seems to be the best program for those who want more complicated and professional looking cartoon animations. This brief look at some of the different types of 2D cartoon animation software out there should give you an idea of what your choices are. There is simple software that kids can use, software that is still relatively simple for beginners, and more complicated 2D cartoon animation software for professionals and more advanced users. There are also options for both bitmap and vector animation software.
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