Pencil Alternatives

Pencil is described as 'Animation/drawing software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics' and is a popular Vector Graphic app in the photos & graphics category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Pencil for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Web-based and Android apps. The best Pencil alternative is OpenToonz, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Pencil are Glaxnimate, Wick Editor, Pencil2D and Synfig Studio.

Pencil iconPencil
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Pencil is an animation/drawing software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn...

More about Pencil
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Pencil alternatives page was last updated Jul 1, 2025
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  1. EasyToon icon

    EasyToon

     8 likes
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    Easytoon is a program that can create small animated gif friendly, a simple sequence of images giving the illusion of movement. It sounds simple written like that but it is quite complicated to implement, finally brief.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    EasyToon screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The project is no longer developed. Final version, 1.9.9, released in November 2010, can be still downloaded from the official website.

    EasyToon VS Pencil

     

  2. CreaToon

     5 likes
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    CreaToon is a free easy to use animation program. It is different from other programs however, because you don't draw the objects in the program, it is a cutout based animation program. What that means is you make the parts in something like Gimp or Inkscape, and then you...

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • BE flagBelgium
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Wine
    CreaToon screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The official website is no longer available. Last version, 3.0.0.55, released in March 2014, can be still downloaded from Softpedia.

    CreaToon Features

    1.  Rendering
    2.  OPENGL

    CreaToon VS Pencil

     
  4. Brush Ninja icon

    Brush Ninja

     5 likes
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    Brush Ninja is an online, browser based, animation tool. It’s an easy way to create simple animations, for free, without the need to learn complex software (or spend a fortune).

    24 Brush Ninja alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    Brush Ninja screenshot 1

    Brush Ninja Features

    1.  Keyframe Animation

    Brush Ninja VS Pencil

     
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Xara Designer Pro icon
    Xara Designer Pro

    Xara Designer Pro offers tools for illustration, photo editing, and desktop publishing, with exceptional vector design capabilities. Suitable for billboards, business cards, and more, it supports diverse file formats, provides ab...

    https://www.xara.com
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  6. Rubber Hose 2 icon

    Rubber Hose 2

     2 likes
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    Rubber Hose is an After Effects tool for animation rigging. Connect layers from Illustrator and Photoshop into two new stretchy rigs – RubberPin and RubberRig. Style hoses unlike ever before. Major speed updates and key-frame baking let you work faster.

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Adobe After Effects
    Rubber Hose 2 screenshot 1

    Rubber Hose 2 VS Pencil

     
  7. Creative Docs .Net icon

    Creative Docs .Net

     8 likes
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    Creative Docs .NET is a vector-based graphic design tool with support for rich text, ideal to quickly write short documents, manuals, posters, illustrations, schemas, plans, flow charts, and much more.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CH flagSwitzerland

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Creative Docs .Net screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The program seems to be no longer updated. Last version, 3.3.6, released in October 2011, can be still downloaded from the official website.

    Creative Docs .Net VS Pencil

     
  8. SVG Flipbook icon

    SVG Flipbook

     4 likes
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    SVG Flipbook runs next to your SVG editor and lets you animate your creation. Each layer in your SVG becomes one frame. You can use whatever SVG editor you like. Inkscape and Illustrator both work great.

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    SVG Flipbook screenshot 1

    SVG Flipbook Features

    1.  Keyframe Animation
    2.  SVG to PNG
    3.  Export to SVG

    SVG Flipbook VS Pencil

     

    • SVG Flipbook is the most popular SaaS alternative to Pencil.

    • SVG Flipbook is Freemium and Open SourcePencil is Free and Open Source
  10. Trangram icon

    Trangram

     3 likes
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    Trangram is a free one-stop platform to create, animate and share motion graphics.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    Trangram screenshot 1

    Trangram Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Ad-free

    Trangram VS Pencil

     
  11. Ella icon

    Ella

     5 likes
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    Ella (an acronym for Elegant Light Linux Animator) is a light animation software intended to achieve a aim of the Linux world : a functionnal and WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) 2D animation sofware.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Ella screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The project is no longer developed. Last version, 0.4.2, released in 2012, can be still downloaded from Launchpad.

    Ella VS Pencil

     
  12. gokigif icon

    gokigif

     2 likes
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    gokigif is a lightweight program used to create hand drawn frame-by-frame animations and manipulate animated gifs. Import and export animated GIFs with control of disposal, frame length, and transparency support.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    gokigif screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    Developer deleted his reddit account and no update since 2014. See https://www.reddit.com/r/gokigif

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    gokigif VS Pencil

     
  13. Fliiipbook icon

    Fliiipbook

     1 like
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    Draw frame-by-frame animations and create GIFs directly in your browser. Simple, fun, and powerful animation tool with onion skinning, timeline controls, and instant GIF export.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    Fliiipbook screenshot 1

    Fliiipbook Features

    1.  Onion skinning
    2.  Custom Brushes
    3.  No registration required
    4.  Keyframe Animation
    5.  Undo and redo
    6.  Web-Based
    7.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    8.  Timeline-based
    9.  Support for Hotkeys

    Fliiipbook VS Pencil

     
  14. PageFocus Draw icon

    PageFocus Draw

     1 like
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    This is an easy-to-use, and yet powerful desktop publishing program. It contains a broad range of tools for meeting your publishing requirements. Use it for creative drawing, document, newsletter, brochure, flyer, and ID card.

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    PageFocus Draw screenshot 1

    PageFocus Draw VS Pencil

     
  15. White Elephant icon

    White Elephant

     4 likes
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    This is a simple animation line testing software written in C++ with Qt toolkit.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    White Elephant screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The project is no longer developed. Last version, 1.6.3, released in November 2012, can be still downloaded from Google Code Archive

    White Elephant Features

    1.  Portable

    White Elephant VS Pencil

     
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