CreaToon

How to activate CreaToon: The application is freeware. However, it displays a nag screen at startup that requires license activation. To unlock it (for free), download the Unlocker from Softpedia, unzip it to any location on your hard drive, run CreaToon, then run the unlocker. It's only necessary to run the unlocker once for activation.

Please note that CreaToon hasn't received updates for a very long time and it seems to be discontinued. You might encounter compatibility issues on newer Windows.

CreaToon is a simple program that allows you to create 2D cut-out animations and add various special effects to it. Although its seems simple and obsolete, the functions the program can perform are complex and can create surprising results.

Each side of the workspace of the application is coated with menus, so you can quickly access important functions.

Not much customization can be done to the layout of the program, but the interface is already neatly organized so you can have a great overview of the on-going project.

With CreaToon, you can set the number of frames per second for your animation, as well as the width and height. You can also choose the output file format for your project.

The program also allows you to add special sound effects to your animations, making them a little more realistic and interactive.

With CreaToon, you can easily save your projects manually, or in case you forget, you can let the application worry about it, by taking advantage of the fact that it can automatically save your project every 5 minutes.

Although you don't have many options for it, you can still personalize the sketch tool to act the way you want. You can make the drawing tool more or less precise, or you can play with the continuity of your brush strokes, from sloppy to exact.

CreaToon allows you to separate the elements of your animation project in layers, allowing you to quickly make necessary modifications. You can switch between the four viewing modes of CreaToon, meaning the perspective or the ortographic cameras, that allow you to take a peak of how the final product will look like, or you can switch to rendering or sketching mode, to edit the artwork and revise the frame sequence.

Although complex, the functions CreaToon can perform as a 2D animation software seem to be obsolete and basic by today's standards. But overall, the program creates a balance between advanced and easy to use features, making it an efficient solution even for inexperienced users.