How to Make Smooth-Looking Cartoon Animation

Toy Story was the first full-length computer animated movie.

To make an animation, you need to have several images shown one after another, with each image being a slight variation of the last. When you project these images, it creates the illusion of movement within the images. The key to making smooth-looking cartoon animation is to animate at least 24 frames for each second of screen time. Rather than doing all of this animation by hand, you can use a computer program to help you create your cartoon.

Instructions

1. Use Toon Boom, found at ToonBoom.com. Toon Boom Studio allows professionals and hobbyists to make smooth- looking cartoon animation. You can import images or draw on the computer to make your cartoon, then adjust camera angles, add audio tracks and lip-sync your animations. Toon Boom costs $225 as of the date of publication.

2. Go to Pencil-Animation.org and download Pencil, a 2D animation software that lets you make smooth-looking cartoons out of pencil drawings. The program allows you to add colors and modify drawings on your computer. Pencil is open-source, which means you can download it for free.

3. Use Synfig Studio, located at Synfig.org. Synfig uses bitmaps and vectors to make your cartoon, which means that you don't have to animate every single frame to get a smooth-looking video. Synfig Studio is an open-source project that is available to Mac, Windows and Linux users.

Resources

• Toon Boom: Toon Boom Animation - Fun Animation Software
• Pencil Animation: Pencil - a Traditional 2D Animation Software
• Synfig: Synfig Studio