7 Best Programs to Create Cartoons

Last update: 04/10/2024

Programs to create cartoonsThere are not a few of us who feel attracted by the animation, especially since we see amazing movies, series and cartoons that are created through different methods, but mainly, using the programs to create cartoons.

These come with multiple specialized tools, which serve to develop your illustrations and convert them into a traditional animation, as well as make them completely computerized or with stop motion techniques.

The 7 Best Softwares to Create Cartoons

Many of these cartoon creation programs They are used by the major film and television industries, so you can develop them yourself and even sell them on the market.

While it is true that not all of them have the same complexity curve, as some tend to be more difficult to use and understand than others, in this article we tell you about several options so that start by creating an animated project from your computer.

▷Read: 6 Best Programs to Download Free Cartoons

1. Pencil2D

If you are starting out in the world of animation and want to master the basic tools or essential notions, 2d pencil It is a very good alternative to start with. And this is because 2D animation making program is limited to traditional animation.

To do this, you have a simple, but quite fluid interface that works through frames. In each one you will have to draw your characters and then generate the movements manually, which will then be joined with the program processing.

In this sense, Lápiz2D works through a canvas of bitmap, so the illustrations are made in maximum quality and you can export it in various formats. For this you have some brushes, paint cans and an eraser, so you will notice that it looks like a drawing software.

You'll also find a color palette, if you want to spice up your designs. It's free, but you won't be able to create advanced or modern animations, as It's a super basic app.

Download it on their Website |

2. Adobe After Effects

Many know After Effects for being the special effects program Adobe's most popular, but not much is said about its 2D animation tools, which are amazing for making good cartoons from your PC.

On the one hand, you have the possibility to use the webcam as a movement guide, which will copy your actions and features and then adapt them to one of its characters and templates, which can be easily customized to your own tastes.

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But Adobe After Effects is even more complete, because in addition to serving to work with the frames from your animations, also includes an extensive catalog of functions for applying high-level FX special effects.

The green screen is a perfect opportunity to remove backgrounds, although you will also be able to add glows, explosions, make 3D graphics spins, among other things that make it stand out against the backgrounds. programs for making cartoons.

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3.PowToon

In case you don't want to make manual animations, or draw, powtoon will be a great ally. We are talking about an online platform that serves to make animated videos, but it comes with a wide range of characters, backgrounds, vectors, graphics and many elements to decorate your scenes.

In fact, the application is quite professional and even allows you to record your audios to add voice-overs, dub characters or incorporate soundtracks from those offered by the system itself.

PowToon is not entirely free, so if you want to use all of its features and vectors, it is important that you subscribe and pay for a usage plan. Otherwise, a watermark will appear on every element you add to your animation, which is totally annoying.

In any case, it is more recommended for make video tutorials, animated lectures, slides, presentations and the like, since you have several formats to export and even to upload them directly to YouTube.

Download it on their Website |

4. Animator

Although it is very similar to PowToon, Animaker It is also an alternative that is difficult to discard, with several pre-designed animated elements that you can customize according to the needs of your project.

The advantage is that you have characters, backgrounds, objects, clothes, scenarios and many other vectors. To each one you can add different animations and movements, in a drop-down tab that indicates directions, actions and even special flips, how about that?

Animaker even provides us with a varied catalog of sounds, including musical effects, soundtracks and even dubbed expressions for each character. You can also add your own audios and burn them with your PC.

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This is a program to make cartoons online, as it works entirely from the cloud. Its subscription fee is paid monthly, but if you use the free version, you are limited in terms of the number of videos you can animate per month.

Download it on their Website |

5. Adobe Animate CC

Among the market professionals we have: Adobe animate cc, which is integrated with other company programs and allows you to import vector graphics, since it works through this system to scale the animation resolutions and prevent them from losing quality.

The software is used not only to create animated videos, but also advertisements, music videos, short films, movies and even graphics for video games, which makes it a versatile proposal.

In addition, Adobe Animate CC allows the export of content in formats such as Snap SVG, HTML5, WebGL or Canvas, widely used in the programming web, so you can easily adapt them to online platforms.

 If you prefer to use traditional formats like AVI or mp4, the application supports several of them, including the Support for resolutions up to 4K, something we had not found until now.

There are advanced tools, it works with layers, you can add pre-developed animations and more.

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6. TVPaint

Perhaps TVPaint It is one of the most expensive on the market, but in terms of editing tools and animation quality, it can be one of the most useful. It only supports 2D animations, although it can be combined with traditional and stop motion methods.

For this you have a timeline that supports frames and even allows you to mark them to identify scene changes, particular characters, among other things. Its graphics system is bitmaps.

TVPaint also contains a tool for modify the lights, in case you want to apply shadows, highlights and some special effects. It also provides us with a catalogue or image bank, which are nothing more than the bases of different drawings to use as a guide.

If you like shortcuts, then there are some buttons to apply default animations, although generally, you will have to work through frames as in other programs to animate drawings on the PC.

Download it on their Website |

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7. Crazy Talk Animator

With Crazy Talk Animator We are moving away from traditional animation a little, but not completely. The platform includes some tools for creating mechanical and computer animations, since the drawings will not be done manually.

This means that if you want to make a move, you just have to select it from the list of options, which includes walking, jumping, running, moving arms, talking, speaking, among many other useful opportunities.

You will also find a function of Lip Sync, which will apply an automated mouth movement, based on the sound waves you load. That's why it's important that your dubbing is clean and the app itself allows you to optimize it.

Other features such as the elastic animation are available, which used to be used in the early days of cinema and help make characters as flexible as we want, an option we don't find in other alternatives on the list.

Download it on their Website |

Conclusions

Make your own short films, create videos, commercials and movies, apply special effects and more with cartoon creation software. You don't have to be a professional filmmaker to create your own cartoons. become a renowned animator.

The most important thing is to choose the right software and in this review you have 7 proposals that adapt to different needs, but also with multiple difficulty levels, so you can download the one that suits you best.

▷You should read: 6 Best Programs to Create Animations

It is known that animation is not such a complicated process, but it does require a lot of work. The advantage of using animation apps for pc, is that many of these jobs are streamlined, since they already come with templates, characters and even pre-established movements.

But if your thing is the old school animation, that is, the traditional one through frames and drawings, we have selected a few options for you to download.

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