Pencil2D is an animation and drawing software that lets you create traditional hand-drawn animations using bitmap and vector graphics.

Pencil2D is an animation and drawing software that lets you create traditional hand-drawn animations using bitmap and vector graphics.

Pencil2D is both Open Source and portable, so no installation is required.

There's quite a bit going on in the interface, so it wasn't the easiest program to use for someone who has limited artistic skills. You'll probably want to click around for a bit to see what's possible. A quick reference guide is available online by pressing F1.

Some of the many tools included are bucket, pencil, pen, polyline, move, eyedropper, brush, and more. There is also a color box with an inspector to find HSV or RGB values.

You can opt for which windows appear on the side, including Tools, Options, Color Box, Color Palette, Timeline, Display, and Color Inspector. You can also lock or reset your choices at any time. Many other options are available, including animations.

Overall, even for someone as graphically challenged as we are, Pencil2D is a fun drawing app, and we love that it's Open Source.

  Download