
iCartoon is a small program that helps you create simple animations. You can draw or import a background, which will be a static image. The dynamic image is called an “actor” and it can also be drawn or imported. Each actor can have many frames, which can be looped (this can help create a bird flapping its wings for example). In the final animation, you can move actors around and make them grow or shrink (to simulate in-depth movement). This application is ported from a Mac version so it has a specific interface.
Now here is a list of minor and major problems. When you open this software, you will notice that it goes into full screen mode and the window cannot be resized (even the taskbar is covered). Familiarizing yourself with the buttons and tools takes a while, especially because no tooltips are offered when you hover your mouse over them. The animations are jerky and the frame rate cannot be adjusted. After you quit the application, some part of it remains open. This is specific for the Mac operating system but it can be confusing for Windows users. You have to hit ALT+F4 two times to close everything. Last problem to be mentioned (but not the last that exists) is that when you have a black background, some cursors will not be visible anymore, making it hard to start sketching something.
The good part is that the drawing tools work well and their icons are self-explanatory.
Considering that the list of disadvantages heavily outweighs the list of advantages, the buying price is too high.
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