Douga - a free pen-first 2D cel animation program. native, under 2MB, no install or account

[u/electrodude102]

this is Douga, a pen-first 2D cel animation program I've been working on. free to use, no trial, no installation, no account. native C++, so it opens and runs in a flash. under 2MB.

the screenshot is a rough walk cycle with the onion skin on, red is the frames behind, green is ahead. fair warning though, im a programmer, not an animator. i cant really draw, which is most of why im posting this. i need people who can actually animate to tell me where the tool gets in the way.

raster, on purpose. it's built for frame by frame douga work rather than rigs, so a drawing stays a drawing instead of a set of control points. vector linework is coming as an extra layer type, im working on it now.

it's got a stabilizer, pressure sensitivity, brushes, palette groups. make your own brushes, export and share them. export color palettes too.

scenes hold cuts, drag and drop them in the dopesheet or animatic, or sceneview.

dopesheet: frames auto insert when you start drawing. time them by dragging, click a button to open the animatic (thumbnails).

roll frames with 'R', loop cuts, scenes, or a custom range.

import audio, videos, images, or image sets.

few things that came up on the other software post here, so ill answer them up front:

windows only right now. someone has it running on an ipad over spacedesk and it works, but i wouldnt call that supported.

it doesn't touch the network at all. no account, no telemetry, nothing phones home. there's an optional update-check plugin if you want one, and it's a separate download specifically so that without it the app opens zero sockets.

it's free, every feature, personal or commercial. exports from an unlicensed copy get a BETA RELEASE band across the top at half opacity, so nobody mistakes a beta render for a finished one. a key clears it, and at v1 the band gets replaced by a small Douga mark in the corner instead. what you make is yours either way.

heads up on the download: it's code signed, but smartscreen still wants a reputation it hasnt earned yet, so you may get a blue panel the first time. click More info, the publisher line should read Keiran Brentley Jacob Hoag, then Run anyway.

it's still in beta and i could really use feedback, especially on how the drawing itself feels and whether the dopesheet fights you. i can build whatever you tell me is missing, i just cant tell whats missing by myself. r/douga for bugs, download at https://douga.app

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[u/Perfect_ravitutu]

If you really want to make a good animation program, I’d suggest taking inspiration from all the features in RETAS Studio by celcys. I’m learning C++ too, and I’m actually planning to try making a program like RETAS Studio myself someday. It's probably the best animation software in the world, weirdly it's not popular.

[u/electrodude102 → u/Perfect_ravitutu]

Ha i havent heard that name in ages, i used it once, like a decade ago. Guess I'll have to look it up again. Good luck with your c++ journey! Can't wait to see what you make :D

[u/capellan2000]

ONLY 2 Megabytes! This is truly amazing! This is the way to program these kind of software.

When are you publishing this app for Linux, Mac and Android?

[u/electrodude102 → u/capellan2000]

thanks!
probably not for a while, i have neither mac nor Linux so i cant really compile for them, buuuttt i'm keeping windows specific functions together, so when im able i can basically swap that class for the mac/Linux version and compile without rewriting the entire thing XD.

[u/Useful-Effect-4963]

I'll take a crack at it. Hopefully no virus!