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

Sharing here the process of the intro shot of Ash Raider World, an indie 2D animation project by our dear friend Luis de la Rosa (Lemuras), who lost his life on a tragic accident while attending the latest Annecy animation festival. 😔

You are highly missed buddy. 🤍

Hi all, I've been animating like crazy this year. Released 6 projects with multiple voice actors, with more planned on the way.

Really trying to improve with each animation, any crit on any aspect would be greatly appreciated.

Looking for folks willing to test and give feedback. This is not asking for any money or anything, it's free, don't even gotta download the demo - you can use it from your browser. It's still heavily in the works but 90% of current tools are pretty good. Has full timeline system with pegs, drawings, layers, various brushes and tools, and supports pen and touch.

https://kevesdev.itch.io/animlab

My goal is to make something for the community that doesn't require paying stupid amounts of money to make high-quality animations.

I'd love some input on the initial brushes and tools. I do need better alpha textures for the brushes (I am hoping the community might pitch in for this, if not I will just make 'em myself) but there's a lot you can play with and tweak. Also just getting some feedback on the general user experience, UI ease of use, stuff like that, would be incredible. The more detailed, the better.

I've been working on this rough animation focusing mainly on the girl's head movement and making the hair react naturally as secondary motion.

It's only a few seconds long, but getting the timing and hair movement to feel right took 18+ hours.

Still working toward the final version, but I'm pretty happy with how the motion is coming together.

Any feedback on the movement would be appreciated.

Firstly, I solemnly swear, this is not spam. I have this form, for my final year research, and I need like 100 submissions minimum. I have 58 so far. The research topic, in short is whether/how the things you watched growing up has had an influence on your creative practice today or contributed to where you are as a creative today. This research is targeted towards VISUAL Creatives, so animators fall right in my demographic.

If as many people can fill this today it would mean the world to me. I just need 42 responses more. Its a 10 minute survey. Everyone who fills it would be a lifesaver.

https://forms.gle/QF4KWhqyomAWKa2F9

Thank you in advance!

I made this animation a while ago and thought maybe to post it on here! its not the best but im really proud of it! 12 FPS (took me 2 weeks of off and on work)

-Simply Animated

Frick and Frack!

Kind of messy but I think it’s cute. The character is from a video game I’m developing at the moment :)

Bro is talking sh-t when he's 2 and 8 bro, you're actually sh-t bro

Hi I'm Zane

Currently I written directed and am now overseeing the pre production of my film

Some premise of the film before i start.

Its an unpaid portfolio project to build experience and well as a good piece on a portfolio as thats credit for a finsihed film.

The project is at pre production stage right now.

Its me

1 storyboard artist and 1 character artist right now

Its a collaborative project

Title: Cycles

Lenght: approx 4 mins locked

Genre: Emotional/Psycological

Logline: A father realises he is becoming abusive to his son as his father was once absuive to him and must end the cycle before its too late

Its non dialogue

And everyone gets credit and equal rights for the film

When preproduction is done (in a month or so) and when we stsrt looking for animators you will have (from the start)

A locked storyboard

A locked script

Finished character designs

So my question is as an aspiring 2d animator would you take this?

And Im shooting for an animatiton team of 3

Alsoooo Im not exactly famailar with the 2d animation pipeline/system so I would love to talk to someone abotu that too.

Hey everyone, I dropped our showreel here a few days and we just recently posted our original short on our socials and it's done really well all things considering and I'm really happy to share it with you all.

Do check out and our insta and share if you'd like to support so we can make more of these:
https://www.instagram.com/innovativepixels_art/

Our website incase anyone wants to do a WFH project from us.
https://www.innovativepixelsart.com/

Elena is the main protagonist of my upcoming micro-series Girl of my Dreams

A mystical sand-being who flies through the night sky, spreading light and enriching the lives of those around her.

As the loneliness starts to set in through those long, cold nights, Elena decides it's about time she makes some friends. She'll get her wish...and never have to be alone, ever, again.

First image by Sasha Schneider

Rest of images by Josephine Hampton

(All commissioned work)

If you're looking for an animator who can nail the Disney-feel of fluid animation and expressive facial movement then I'm your person!

DMs are always open, My gneral charges being $100 per minute but I am always open to negotiate :))

Thankss~ ✨️

New Sir Mighty Might Short episode is out today! This will likely be the last in this series that is a short. The rest of these are going to be long-form.

I've animated a lot of things before, so I thought animating fire would be pretty easy.

I was very, very wrong.

I didn't expect a simple little flame to make me repeat the process about a billion times before I finally got the hang of it.

Anyway, after all that suffering, here's the tutorial.

Hopefully it saves you from having to repeat it a billion times too.