Making cartoons is one of the hobbies enjoyed by millions of people throughout the world. To make a cartoon, you first need to decide if you’re looking for a free online cartoon maker or if you’re willing to spend some money on a paid version. Both are great, but if you have no boundaries concerning the length of your work, then it doesn’t really matter since both are available for free.
DigiCel Flipbook is an example, you can draw a background for your cartoon character, Save and share – Make awesome memes or awesome stories starring your awesome cartoon!
DigiCel FlipBook
Easy to use and powerful enough to create great 2D animations
Considered as one of the easiest 2D animation software on the market, DigiCel FlipBook allows you to create traditional frame-by-frame animation. You can draw directly onto the software or scan your paper drawings – it’s completely up to your personal preferences! The software also allows you to create stop motion animations if that’s the type of animation you are looking for. Boosted with very useful features, DigiCel FlipBook is a powerful and easy-to-understand tool for traditional 2D animation.
Features:
- shoot and scan your drawings or draw right into the software;
- lipsync support;
- work on one or multiple frames at a time;
- pan, zoom, rotate, blur, dissolve;
- import/export functions, and more;
- runs on macOS and Windows.
Pricing:
- Free version with a watermark
- FlipBook Lite: $19.99*
- FlipBook Studio: $69.99*
- FlipBook Pro: $169.99*
- FlipBook ProHD: $199.99*
*up to 80% off promotional price at the time of writing this article
Biteable
Price: Free, $23 per month, billed annually.
Compatibility: Online-based platformhttps://www.youtube.com/embed/iv2mW2z3OtQ
The seemingly endless list of template categories Biteable provides will cater for all your online media marketing needs. Besides offering entertaining cartoon templates, the platform also lets you create Facebook covers, motion graphics or content for your social media channels. The best part is that the Biteable is completely free, although the number of watermarked videos you can produce in a month is limited to just five. Opting for one of the available monthly subscription plans will remove the watermarks from your cartoons, enable you to upload your media files, and enjoy the unlimited storage space.
Pros
- Create entertaining cartoons quickly
- Easily customizable templates
- A perfect option for social media managers
Cons
- Registration is mandatory.
- The Download option is disabled on the free version of the platform
- No audio editing options
- File sharing capabilities are limited to Facebook and YouTube
Explee
Price: Subscription plans start at $7 per month
Compatibility: Online-based platform
All of your ideas can be turned into professional-looking animations with the tools supplied by the Explee app. The platform utilizes the Bringlife technology to animate all images, which means that you can easily upload your pictures and bring them to life. There are over 6000 thousand images in the Explee’s image library that are organized by categories and keywords to simplify the search. All the sounds you use in your whiteboard animations can be edited in any way you want using the platform’s Softcut audio editor. Newcomers to the world of animation may need some time to learn how to use this powerful cartoon video maker, as some of its features are aimed at skilled animators.
Pros
- High-end text to speech system
- Excellent audio editing options
- Lots of cloud storage space
Cons
- Limited file sharing options
- No Free subscription plan
- Doesn’t offer a lot of animation effects
Moho (Anime Studio) Debut & Moho (Anime Studio) Pro
Complete 2D Animation Software
While Moho (Anime Studio) Debut is aimed for beginners, even for kids, it includes powerful features that allow you to realize your vision into an animation. The revolutionary tools are combined with an easy-to-understand interface. Once you get the hang of it, you can try the Pro version which is quite more pricy, in fact, but it comes with powerful features that will help you create professional animations.
Features for the Debut version:
- available for Windows and macOS with online or offline activation;
- multilingual support: English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Simplified), and Japanese;
- advanced freehand tools;
- advanced bone rigging, plus pin bones;
- tablet support with pen pressure support;
- animated effects for layers and shapes;
- easy to edit and animate brushes;
- support for images and layered PSD;
- keyframe options: additive cycle, stagger, bounce, elastic;
- advanced masking options, auto freeze tool and more.
Pricing:
- $69.99
- Free trial: 30 days.
Features for the Pro version:
- all features included in the Debut version;
- advanced bone rigging system, plus Physics engine, Dynamic bones, and Smart bones to control complex movements;
- smart wrap for images and vectors;
- frame by frame capabilities;
- vector tools with bezier handles, plus accurate SVG, AI, and EPS import;
- 4k video export, vector export;
- realistic motion blur;
- easy control of multiple layers and channels, and even more.
Pricing:
- $399.99
- Free trial: 30 days.
Toon Boom Harmony
The most powerful software for animation production.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/MI65MRdKfIY
Professional software for animation used by beginners as well as very experienced animators. Toon Boom Harmony is a product with which you can create any kind of animation, be it traditional drawn animation, Flash-style cut-out animation, particle effects, a combination of 2D and 3D animations, and more. The popular software offers advanced tools and features for drawing, rigging, animation and pretty much, all that is required from animation software.
Features:
- runs on Windows and macOS;
- advanced vector/bitmap drawing technology;
- advanced palettes and painting tools providing effective control over texture and color;
- a toolset for traditional frame-by-frame animation;
- integrating 3D elements with 2D characters;
- special effects including volume and lighting effects to characters with auto toning;
- different camera angles and control over the composition;
- cut-out animation with master controllers;
- integration with other software: multilayer PSD and PSB files, Illustrator, PDF, bitmaps, audio;
- easy export to game engines.
Blender
Open Source 3D creation. Free to use for any purpose.
Blender is a cross-platform free 3D creation suite offering a powerful arsenal of tools. By using Blender, you can create animations, video games, renders, models, and more 3D based projects. The software is open source and developed by many contributors from around the world. The feature-rich 3D suite software is suitable for beginners, as well as advanced users.
Features:
- available for Windows, macOS, and Linux;
- a built-in path-tracer engine that includes a real-time viewport preview, CPU & GPU rendering, PBR shaders & HDR lighting support, VR rendering support;
- advanced modeling, sculpting, and UV tools;
- advanced rigging and animation tools;
- powerful visual effects: auto and manual tracking, camera reconstruction, real-time preview of your tracked footage and 3D scene, and more;
- drawing in 2D mode оnto the 3D viewport;
- full animation support including onion skinning, layers and colors for stroke and fill, sculpt brush strokes, and more;
Pencil2D
Light and easy to use tool for 2D hand-drawn animations
If you are into traditional hand-drawn animation, then maybe Pencil 2D is a great software to start your animation project. This free software lets you use both raster and vector graphics and you can switch easily between the two types of artwork. Pencil 2D is a cross-platform tool and lets you focus on animating even when you are on the go. Since the software is completely free and open source, users can have access to the source code and add features.
Features:
- runs on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux & Free BSD
- supports raster and vector images;
- includes various handy tools;
- includes distortion and light effects;
- import/export as a GIF is available;
Synfig Studio
Open-source 2D animation software
Very easy for those of you who have worked with Flash and are looking for a similar animation software instead of a frame-by-frame animation software. Synfig is based on vectors and allows you full control on editing the vector artwork in the animation. You also have advanced control on your characters, as well as the option to create character puppets.
Luckily, Synfig is 100% free and you can use it on Windows, Linux, and Mac. Since the software is open-source, you also have the option to access the source code.
Features:
- full-control vector editing which allows automatic calculation of frames;
- a variety of over 50 layer types including geometric, gradients, filters, distortions, transformations, etc.;
- control over your character by using a bone system and complex deformations;
- advanced controls for creating character puppets and other dynamic structures.
Pricing:
- Free
Best Cartoon Video Makers for PC
Animiz
Price: Free version available, subscription plans start from $29 per month
Compatibility: Windows XP/Vista/Win7/Win8/Win10
Diversity is the word that best describes this platform, because its users can create cartoons in a wide range of styles, in only a couple of minutes. More than 300 scene templates, as well as assets such as shapes, roles, or audios, enable you to unleash your creativity and produce breathtaking animations.
This cartoon video maker is also equipped with animation effects that can ensure smooth transitions between scenes or make your animations even more compelling. The maximum number of scenes and cameras you can use in a video, as well as the size of the videos you export, depends on your current subscription plan.
Pros:
- An impressive library of templates and royalty-free vector images
- Powerful Voiceover and Subtitling features
- Zooming, Panning and Rotating Camera effects
Cons
- Expensive
- Videos can be exported in only six different file formats
- The quality of cartoon videos depends on the subscription plan
Adobe Animate CC
Price: $26 per month if purchased as a single app or $66 per month if purchased as a part of All Apps subscription plan.
Compatibility: Windows, Machttps://www.youtube.com/embed/yzpRywY0nB8
Adobe Animate has been one of the most powerful animation software products on the market for decades. You can use it to animate images you want to use for games, film or online and produce HTML 5, WebGL or Flash content. The Bone tool that makes the character movement fluid or Sound Synchronization feature that syncs the music with images are only a few among numerous options that enable Adobe Animate’s users to create perfect animated videos. If you are not familiar with this software, or animation learning how to create cartoons with it, will take a lot of dedication and effort.
Pros
- Excellent choice for complex animations
- Puppeting features
- Freehand drawing capability
Cons
- It takes years to master the software
- You may require other Adobe’s software while working on a project
- Ill-suited for non-professional users
Toonboom Harmony
Price: Subscription plans start at $19 per month, billed annually
Compatibility: Mac, Windowshttps://www.youtube.com/embed/GzOIpXJj5eg
This software lets you create 2D animations for video games, TV and Film in a wide range of styles. It also enables you to integrate other software in the production pipeline, so you can use PSD, PDF, bitmaps or audio files in all your projects. The Premium version of this cartoon video maker offers the option to animate 3D models that can be later integrated with 2D characters. Universal Studios, Ubisoft, Lucas Film or Fox are just a few entertainment industry giants that use this software to create movies, TV shows or video games.
Pros
- Excellent choice for the creation of the Cut-Out or Paperless animations
- A wide range of drawing tools
- Extensive library of special effects
Cons
- Not the quickest option to create a cartoon video
- Inexperienced animators may have to overcome a steep learning curve
Conclusion
With the help of our online cartoon maker, create your own cartoons in minutes. All you need to do is upload an image in the appropriate format in the body of the cartoon maker. You will then be taken to a screen in which you can select your character’s face and clothes, their shape, size and color.