Paint illustrations and concept art with custom brushes and layers.
Free desktop download; commercial use allowed. No image quota; optional store editions are paid.
Design & creative
OpenToonz
Free optionOpen sourceLocal
Draw, ink, paint and composite traditional 2D animation.
What you can use it for
Draw, ink, paint and composite traditional 2D animation.
- Traditional animation drawing, ink/paint and compositing in one application.
- Free application use for commercial and noncommercial projects.
Workflow coverage and comparison notes
Replace Adobe Animate for new hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation, ink/paint and compositing. Not FLA migration, ActionScript or HTML5 publishing.
Before you switch
A substantial learning curve. This is a new drawn-animation workflow, not a drop-in replacement for Animate FLA files, symbols, ActionScript or HTML5 Canvas publishing. Check licences for included samples and third-party assets separately. Requires a desktop computer; no paid AI API is needed.
Alternatives to these paid apps
Each comparison covers the workflow described above, rather than every paid feature.
More for the same workflow
See alternatives →
Synfig StudioAnimate vector artwork with keyframes, bones and automatic tweening.
Free desktop animation software · no render credits
Tahoma2DCreate drawn, cutout and stop-motion animation with an approachable OpenToonz fork.
Free BSD app · Windows, macOS & Linux · no subscription