There are some people who believe in brevity, which is about using less to convey more. We’ve always had different ways of representing the less-is-more philosophy, and Cartoons have been one of them for sure. It takes just a second to think about the actual brilliance of these things. You take a piece of paper, draw some characters and give voice your thoughts through simple conversations. Thanks to the digital world, you need not know pen & paper or advanced drawing skills to create cartoons right now. There are both software and websites that allow you to create superb cartoons, for various purposes.
We have created a list of the 5 best cartoon making software and websites you can find right now. Some in the list are for making cartoon movies while others work fine with hand-drawn cartoons too. In both cases, you have an option to choose from the web and software variants. You can be a teacher, blogger or even a corporate professional; you can make use of cartoons in variety of instances, from a lecture to a snappy PPT presentation and from a blog post to social media updates. It’s just that you need the best tool to bring out the idea you have in mind.
#1 Pencil2D
Having Pencil2D is like having a dedicated tool for drawing and cartoon-making using your Mac, Windows or Linux device. Instead of sticking onto cartoon-making, Pencil2D has included more drawing-oriented options. It’s completely free to use and is powered by open source: you can download for all the three OSs. In spite of its professional interface, this cartoon-maker is for newbies, mostly. If you just started drawing cartoons and have a native sense for drawing, you can go ahead with Pencil2D. Some noticeable features include the multi-layer support, various export modes and complete support for FLV-based animation.
#2 Cartoon Maker Zone
Cartoon Maker Zone is a free cartoon-making website from Cambridge English Online. As you can guess, it’s been made for education purposes. Even so, you can use Cartoon Maker Zone to create some impressive set of cartoons. You can create both strip cartoons and superhero cartoons from the interface, and everything is just a click away. Basic level of customization is available throughout the web app. You can choose the size of paper, add the characters you like and even customize their details. At the end of the day, once you have enough content, you can print or export the cartoon for easier access.
#3 Pixton
Are you looking for something more than traditional black-and-white cartoons? Well, if you are planning to make some comics, you can definitely try Pixton. It’s more of a platform where you can share your comic as well. The service doesn’t expect you to be so nerdy, either. In fact, you can create a professional-level comic or cartoon using Pixton, with ease. All you need to do is selecting the size of cartoon, select the background where your story is set, pick the number of characters and start working on the comic. You can bring in a lot of resources, including icons and actions. Once you have everything on screen, download or publish it.
#4 Artoonix
If you are looking for a dedicated cartoon maker software, Artoonix is a worth-considering pick from the big list. It actually promises to cut down the huge costs and other reliabilities of authoring a cartoon physically. It also says that you can save months when you shift from drawn cartoons to Artoonix. You can use the same tool to create static cartoons as well as animation movies — the choice is yours. This free tool is having in-built support for audio-track syncing and convenient file exports. Some animation features are available in its registered versions only.
#5 Inkscape
We’d never recommend Inkscape for beginners who have zero technical knowledge about vector graphics. If you have no idea, keep in mind that Inkscape is a fully-fledged vector graphics designer, available for Mac, Windows and Linux. It’s a somewhat heavy software and requires some experience. You may want to check out some tutorial videos or courses before you plan to establish your expertise with Inkscape. The best part, however, is that your cartoons will never compromise when it comes to quality. You know, you are making your cartoons in Vector and there is no scarcity for resources either.
Wrapping Up
Our personal favorites from the list are Pixton and Pencil2D. While Pixton allows easier creation of stunning cartoons and comics, Pencil2D is the right blend of customizability and cartoon-making features. If you look from the productivity point of view, both have an impressive environment to offer. So, if you just need funny stuff for time-pass, Pixton would be a nice choice. By the way, is there any other cartoon-making software or website that you like to recommend?