Easy vector-based clip art drawing software with abundant examples and templates! Easy to draw clipart and free download.

Introduction A picture is worth a thousand words. If this is true for an ordinary static picture then what about a picture that contains motion or animation? An animation has far greater impact than an ordinary picture. It offers many more possibilities to creators/artists, enabling them to convey greater meaning to users. An animated format can also hold a lot more content which is almost impossible for a normal static image. There are a lot of image file formats but only three are popular and widely used on the web. These are JPG,PNG and GIF formats.

Among these three formats, GIF is the only file type that supports animation. A GIF file can contain a single image, but to animate an image it will need at least two or more images/frames combined, which can then be displayed for a few milliseconds successively and called as GIF animation. A GIF animator program makes this process much easier. It usually takes only three easy steps, choosing a couple of images, putting them in desired sequence and setting frame rate, looping and other settings. The result is combined into one GIF animation file.

On the right is an animated GIF image of Newton's Cradle, comprising 36 frames and each showing up for about 2 to 5 milliseconds. It's certainly more impressive than a static image if motions are needed to convey more vivid messages to readers. From the selection of GIF animators covered in this review, everyone should find something suitable to create their own animated images.

Express Zip File Compression Software Free Download more. GIF Animator for Photos or Images. Supports only jpg, jpeg, png and bmp images.

Very limited functions. User have only control over frame speed in output. Stick Figure Animator And for a great deal of fun, try, a simple stick figure animation program for you to create an animated GIF by moving sections of the standard stick figure. See this article by Gizmo for more details. Online GIF Animators There are various online services available which allow users to make gifs by uploading picture files from computer or by linking from internet. The main problem with almost every online service is various limitations, watermarks and privacy; some support no watermarks and private output but not all.

It is almost impossible to list them all, but here are some which I was able to find and test. (Please read their TOS before trying them.) • – It limits the number of images you can upload to 24 for a gif.

It is an advance tool with many custom options. You have to select and add every image separately with or without customising it. You can add effects, like charcoal, ripples, thermal, halftone, Warhol and many more; control brightness, contrast, hue and saturation of any or all images; add text, fill to gif and add various shapes in any colour you like; and control over file quality/size and watermark.

Gifpal also gives you full control over output file privacy, ability to download it to your computer or save it online for access with a link or publish it in your public gallery. It gives you full control over gif files that are highly customisable. Overall it is as good as 9 on a scale of 10. • - It limits the number of images you can upload to 10. You have to select every image separately but it gives you custom options like control over size and speed of each frame. The good news is it does not impose any watermark on a gif produced and it also gives user control over file privacy. Although it lacks various options for making a good gif but still is one of the best online services for making a gif.

Overall it is as good as 8 on a scale of 10. • – It limits the number of images you can upload to 20 but you can select them simultaneously which is a good feature.

You can easily arrange these pictures after uploading as it supports drag and drop feature. You have control over frame speed and size of a gif, and can also choose to make it private or public. It also supports making gifs from various sources and file types like videos, youtube urls, webcams and other gifs too besides pictures from your computer. It imposes a small watermark on the output gif even though gif quality is very good. Overall it is as good as 7 on a scale of 10. • - It limits the number of images to 10, and you have to select each image separately.

It gives you very limited custom options like control over size and speed. It imposes a watermark on every gif. It lacks many important features to make gifs more interesting. Overall it is as good as 5 on a scale of 10.

Other GIF Animators These are some GIF animator programs or online apps or related products which were brought up in the comments here or noted from other sources. As they are not rated in this review, I am listing them here with brief descriptions and relevant links for ease of reference. • is a small program for creating animated GIF files but is short of more advanced features. • a free software raster graphics editor good for image editing and retouching. Using this as an animator requires you to go through a steep learning curve; think of every layer as an animation frame. • is a online app which user can use to create a gif animation.

• is a multi-platform stick figure gif animator program, like Pivot Stickfigure Animator. Related Products and Links • • • • • • Editor This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Sahil Waste. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by.. Please rate this article.

I read through the products.and er, wondering if there is any features that you didn't list that includes animating by dragging the mouse around while the program records your movements? Like, you drew a happy face, then select happy face, and press record, and you move the happy face around with your mouse to make it dance. Then hit Stop Recording and you can play back the animation. Do any of the programs you listed do that? Yeah I saw the features listed, but maybe it wasn't important enough to mention?

Just checking:D Because I've been searching for the past 2 days looking for such a program. I remember I had such a program many many years ago (when I was using the new Windows XP system). For the life of me, I can't remember the name or what the interface looked like.

It may not even be an animated gif program. I'm desperately going around the internet asking people now. Thanks if you or any of the users here know of a program that can do this type of mouse-recorded animation!:) • or to post comments. Hi Shan, What you are looking for is not a animation program but a screen capturing utility, a screen capturing utility can capture dancing smiling face dragged by mouse.

But, as per my knowledge it is not possible with gif animators, if in case i am wrong please correct me, as i love to know this.;) But if you are looking for something similar to this(i created this as an example): I created this with the help of: 1. A screen session recorder and 2. A Paint program you can also create something similar with the help of these or similar products, Please refer to our Best Free Paint Program() and Best Free Screen Session Recorder() sections. If you need further help, you can drop a reply here or post a topic in our forum () ----- Sahil:) • or to post comments. FYI MS GIF Animator comes from Softronic which includes this in their EULA: 'In addition, a toolbar will be offered, and it shall change the User’s home page, default search settings and 404 error traffic, in the event the User selects such options.'

The install option is set by default to install and includes this paragraph: 'By choosing to install and automatically enable the appbario19 Toolbar and SearchProtect in your web browser and set the search features you agree to these products’ terms, license agreements, and privacy policies. I also agree to the Value Apps terms and privacy policies, which may include third-party apps that may access, collect, and use your personal data, including your IP address and the address and content of web pages you visit. By clicking Next you accept the legal terms and the privacy policy of SpeedTest 137, which places a shortcut' • or to post comments. I have done both computer hardware and software design since 1985. Owning my own computer company for a couple decades has filled my retirement years with opportunities to work for the greater good in computers which is all done free of charge. I'm looking for some animation software which is not to expensive where I can make minor changes to photos and create gif animation files. I could use my Adobe Account to get what I need but I've given them enough over the years.

I did 10 solid years in software design so I might have time to work on projects here but my community service work comes first. I need no income, life has been good to me. I'm not saying I won't help but I'm not looking for a job either. I had no idea what to write here so I just like it is. Regards, • or to post comments.

How would you like a chance to find amazing graphic design software, free of charge? This selection of cool image and photo editing software is your 12-way ticket to create cool vector graphics, graphic design artworks, digital sketches and paintings, photo manipulations, logos, original clip art, cartoons, animations and web graphics. Impressive effects and brilliant drawing tools are just a few clicks away with these amazing open source programs, add-ons and tools with capabilities similar to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or CorelDraw - but without a heavy price tag. Take a look at this list of stunning alternatives to the pricey programs, download them for free and start creating fabulous designs. The availability of a wide selection of free tools enables graphic designers, illustrators and web developers on a tight budget to learn graphic design and present their work in a similar manner as if they would work with purchased software.

Well known design software like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, CorelDraw, FreeHand or Flash that are being used for years are going through constant upgrades to provide their users the hottest and the best tools and techniques. Unfortunately a premium price has to be paid for the licenses of these software packs, especially if you wish to use them in numbers. Thankfully open source volunteers have introduced free software, which can considerably reduce your expenses, and yet provide the capabilities of the propitiatory ones.

Inkscape, GIMP, Paint.NET, Xara Xtreme, Artweaver, Draw Plus, Pencil, Picasa, Paint Star, Smooth Draw, Spray and Karbon are free programs that can be used effectively for creating and modifying images and graphics. INKSCAPE Inkscape is a vector graphics editor application similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw or Freehand using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Inkscape is comparatively easy to execute and does not require a lot of experience to be able to use it. The user-friendliness of Inkscape makes you realize that there is not much difference between the capabilities and user experience of Inkscape and Adobe Illustrator. However, creativity is something that an illustrator or designer must posses, so don’t expect miracles. Inkscape is cross-platform and operates on various operating systems like Windows, Mac and all variants of Linux.

Inkscape imports formats such as PNG, JPEG, TIFF and exports PNG as well as multiple vector-based formats. Shapes, text, markers, transforms, patterns, clones, paths, gradients, alpha blending, and grouping are supporting features included in the program. A lot of icon packs which are being used for Linux have been created using Inkscape. Using Inkscape, you can brand your projects, create icons for desktop, design web pages, create marketing materials, as well as create maps for gaming.

These features make Inkscape perfect to be used instead of a proprietary SVG graphics editing utility. You can create and modify objects like maps, logos, and icons - similar to Illustrator. Some of the common tools in Inkscape are the pencil tool, calligraphy tool rectangles, text tool, pen tool, ellipses, stars/polygons, spirals, embedded bitmaps, clones etc. All objects created by Inkscape and other SVG files are easy to modify and edit using vector editing programs. Affine transformations, grouping objects, Z-order operations, copying and pasting objects, alignment and distribution commands, multiple layers are some of the features available to the designers.

The work of a designer is not just limited to image creation and manipulation, but also includes working on typography. Just like designing and aligning the layouts of print projects and magazines, designers also need to adjust, align and layout the text provided. Inkscape provides graphic designers with tools to adjust the text elements according to their needs.

A few tools of importance concerning text manipulation can be used to work on multi-line text, right-to-left scripts, kerning, installed outline fonts, letter spacing, line spacing adjustments, text on path and text in shape. Inkscape supports Creative Commons meta-data, complex path operations, layers, flowed text, bitmap tracing, direct XML editing, node editing, text-on-path and more advanced features.

To obtain dynamic images, you need to play around with color, layers and gradients in an image. Fill and stroke images can be used with other elements like text and graphics. Color selector, color picker tool, dashed strokes, a gradient editor capable of multi-stop gradients, copy/paste functions, pattern fills, path markers are some of the options provided in Inkscape.

Sometimes the images may not be imported to the program directly. As a result these images and their paths need to be worked out. Meta data of these images requires editing to some extent.

Inkscape facilitates this and provides node editing, converting to path, Boolean operations, path insetting and outsetting, Bitmap tracing features and path simplification for achieving the best possible results. You can download Inkscape from GIMP GIMP or GNU Image Manipulation Program is a raster graphics editor mainly used as an editing and image-retouching tool. This program can also be used as a basic paint program, an online batch processing system, an advanced photo-retouching program, mass production image render software and an image format converter. You can download it for free for Mac, Windows and variants of Linux. All these capabilities make GIMP an excellent replacement for Adobe Photoshop.

The software uses GIMP toolkit called GTK+ to build its interface. Since the beginning GTK+ has evolved into an individual library, and is now available as part of the setup engine. Using GIMP you can also create simple animated images in the GIF format, and edit and create original graphical essentials of web pages, images, icons, and art for the user interface elements of free software. Although GIMP was originally designed for Linux, it has evolved for easy usage for Windows and Mac as well.

You have to follow a set of steps to install GIMP, just like any other purchased software that in installed on your operating system. You can download the appropriate installer the GIMP.org website and save it in the desired destination folder or select the default install option on GIMP. You can control specific aspects using the custom install feature, but the ideal way to do it is through the full install. The GIMP installer automatically installs GTK+. GIMP runs like other Windows/Mac program once it’s installed. XCF, the native format of GIMP, is designed to store an image with all its features specific to GIMP like its channels, layers, and vectors. Read only formats include Adobe PDF documents.

GIMP also has the ability of exporting to MNG layered image files, ASCII Art and HTML. GIMP has import and export support for popular image formats such as PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and GIF along with the file formats of several other design programs like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop. Other formats with read/write support include X bitmap image, PostScript documents, and Soft PCX. GIMP can also read and write path information from SVG files and read/write ICO Windows icon files.

GIMP has a number of tools such as a circular and rectangular selection tool, a fuzzy select tool and a free select tool that can be used to create custom shape selections. The advanced selection tools include the select by color tool which selects adjacent regions of color, and the scissors select tool which semi-automatically creates selections between areas of highly contrasting colors. The quick mask mode allows you to use a brush to paint the areas of selection. You can extract foreground elements such as a person or a tree in focus with the help of the foreground select tool. You can create vectors using the path tool.

Paths can be applied to create complex selections around natural curves, which can also be named, saved, and painted with brushes, patterns, or a variety of line styles. You can select a variety of colours through palettes or use an eyedropper tool to select your color of choice on a canvas.

The inbuilt color choosers include RGB/HSV selector or scales, CMYK selector, watercolor selector, and a color-wheel selector. You can also select colours by using hexadecimal colour codes. GIMP has native support for indexed and RGB colour spaces, whereas other color spaces are supported using decomposition where each channel of the new colour space becomes a black and white image. The blend tool can be used to do colour blending. Gradients are also included into tools such as the brush tool.

When you use the brush tool to paint the output colour slowly changes. The GIMP includes several default gradients, and you can also create custom gradients with the tools provided. With GIMP, you can import any image using the open image option from the files menu or even through drag and drop. You can even play around with different layers and channels in an image. The layers toolbar on the right side of the software can be used to separate different channels of the image. Click on the view of a particular channel to be provided with its functionality. Once the channels are separated you can control them as individual entities.

You can resize and play around with this image by using the drag and control tool present on the left. A perspective toolbox can be used to view and edit the relative effects on channels. Game Converter Software Free Download Full Version. The common tools in GIMP include a pencil, paintbrush, airbrush, eraser and ink tools that create new or blended pixels.

The smart tools feature the clone tool that copies pixels using a brush, and the healing brush which copies pixels from one point to another and corrects the tone and color. The bucket fill tool and blend tool are used to blend images and change large regions of space in an image. The blur and sharpen tool is a brush that blurs or sharpens.

The dodge and burn tool is a brush that makes target pixels lighter or darker. The GIMP transform tools include the align tool, crop, shear, rotate, move, scale, perspective and flit tools. GIMP has approximately 150 standard effects and filters including blur, drop shadow, motion blur and noise filter. An image is made up of several layers that are all stacked up, and each layer is made of several channels. The text tool enables you to create text layers that allow you to write on an image. Download GIMP installer from PAINT.NET Paint.NET is a free, open-source image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows. The Paint program started as a college design project mentored by Microsoft, but is currently maintained by alumni who originally worked on it and an enthusiast group of volunteers.

Intended as a free replacement for the Microsoft Paint software that comes with Windows, Paint.NET has grown into a simple and powerful graphic design and photo editor tool. An active online Paint.NET community provides help, plug-ins and tutorials. This freeware design program features an innovative and intuitive user interface with support for special effects and a wide variety of useful tools. Paint.NET supports the common image formats PNG, JPG, TIFF and GIF but not high-resolution RAW files. The open-source freeware editor includes tools to resize images, rotate, crop, create collages and adjust colors. The pleasing interface supports layers and history functions, has an action manager and basic effects as a red-eye removal tool, dents and crystallize effects and surface blurs.

If you look for a free and easy program for tasks as basic photo retouching or image composition, Paint.NET is a must-have. Download Paint.NET from XARA XTREME No matter what’s your level of experience, Xara Xtreme is a fast yet powerful graphics tool, illustration and vector-based drawing program for Windows. This top-notch program is suitable for your illustration projects, compositing, web graphics, technical drawings, cartooning and animation. Xara Xtreme supports CMYK colors for print, zero-memory bitmap editing and 32-bit alpha-channel bitmaps.

You can draw with the pen tool, quick shapes function, shape editor or pressure-sensitive natural media brushes or create navigation bars, rollovers or image maps and export your images as optimized web graphics. With the new photo tool, you can also enhance bitmap based images and photos, crop or rotate them without leaving the program. You can add shadows, transparency, bevels and feathering effects to bitmap or vector-based objects.

With the Xara Xtreme live tools, your can apply effects interactively and check the results in real time, so you can see exactly what results you're going to get. The new rendering engine in Xara Xtreme performs as its name says extremely fast. Professional designers and illustrators who require high-end features such as multi-processor support, advanced output and color separations can purchase the Xara Xtreme Pro Version. If you're just getting started with illustration software, Xara offers video demos and tutorials to help you design and create your own images. Download Xara Xtreme free trial version from MORE FREE, COOL & CREATIVE SOFTWARE ARTWEAVER Artweaver is a Windows freeware program, allowing you to create sketches from photos and existing images, experiment with colors and simulate natural brush tools with the help of a huge range of creative painting tools. Similar to commercial programs like Corel Painter and Photoshop, Artweaver produces artistic effects as airbrushes, pencils, oil paintings, acrylic or pastel strokes to create natural looking creative images. Artweaver supports TIFF, PNG, PSD, GIF, JPEG and BMP formats and offers image editing tools like magic wand and lasso selection, crop, fill, emboss, mosaic, sharpen, blur and gradients tools and pen tablet support for a realistic results.

Free program download DRAW PLUS DrawPlus is a cool graphic software pack by Serif's creative design program developers that enables you to create vector images, eye-catching layouts and high impact animations. Features include vector drawing tools, color selection and schemes, studio resources, editable envelopes, blends and transparency functions, backdrop and watermark wizard functions.

If you are a design enthusiast or vector art lover, DrawPlus is an excellent creative weapon of choice. Download free design software by Serif PENCIL Pencil is a free and open source drawing and animation program for Windows, Mac and Linux. Pencil lets you create hand drawn cartoons using both vector art and bitmap format. That makes Pencil a great application for illustrators wanting to create breathtaking, funny and original cartoons and animations. Download free Pencil software from PICASA Share your art with the world! Picasa is Google's free desktop photo management application and photo-hosting service. You can easily manipulate your pics with Picasa and use the 1GB of free hosting to upload your images and share them with the friends, family and the creative community.

Picasa supports TIFF, JPEG, PSD and standard movie files and let you fix red eyes, crop without quality loss and enhance your original pictures with several handy tools. Download the free application SPRAY VECTOR GENERATOR Spray Vector Generator was originally developed to be used with Xara X, but the program also functions with Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw. Spray helps you to kick start your graphics by generating a huge number of shapes with random positions. Functions include outline color, fill objects, rays, grids and random paths. You can export the generated Spray shapes through the clipboard to your favorite vector illustration program. Download free Spray application from PAINT STAR Digital image processing software suitable for such tasks as image morphing, composing and authoring digital artworks, retouching of images.

Paint Star supports the common editing techniques and offers many tools and filters: gradient fill, transformation tools, pencil, paintbrush, blur and sharpening effects, filter brushes, smudge, cloning, airbrush and eraser. Download free software SMOOTH DRAW The good news about Smooth Draw is that this powerful freehand drawing program let you produce smooth and expressive design strokes with your graphic tablet, but also adapts mouse input for digital artists who don’t have a tablet.

The free version of Smooth Draw is limited, but offers several kinds of cool graphic effects: pencils, pen, bristle brush, airbrush, image hose and dry media. Definitely a great application for illustrators starting to explore the world of digital freehand drawing.

Download free trial version from KARBON Karbon is a free vector drawing application by the Koffice development team and offers creative solutions for the lovers of vector logos, illustration art, artistic clip art or photorealistic vexel images. Karbon is a cross-platform application and works with Mac, Windows and Linux. Karbon comes with a user-friendly interface that lets you chose where to put your toolbars and supports graphic formats SVG, PNG, PDF, ODG and WMF.

Functions include pattern and gradient tools, snapping features, various drawing tools, standard shapes as stars and circles, calligraphy drawing tool, snapping features and complex path operations. Download Karbon for free from the Koffice website Illustrations.