Q&A for How to Make a Cartoon Movie

Adobe Flash, ToonBoom, and Maya (for 3D) are a few good ones.

Definitely! I don't see anything wrong with it. Realistic animations can be amazing, as they are so detailed.

You can use movie software, like Pinnacle or Videoshop, and use it to combine your shots into a longer movie.

Yes, you can. You don't need to draw the characters yourself; you can download them from a lot of websites. You could even ask your friend to draw them for you.

Yes, you can use any traditional document software (like Microsoft Word).

For stop-motion, try Stoppola.

Yes. Toys have been used for stop-motion films for years. LEGOs have been used so much that they have their own sub-genre of movies: brickfilms.

Yes. You can download a special, movie-making app, like iMovie. Keep in mind that many of these apps are not free and cost some money.

You can use any software, but Pivot is a good choice for making stick figure animations.

It's useless to try this with mobile because there isn't a good application that allows you to do so.

Yes you can, using animating apps like PicsArt Animator or FlipaClip.

You can do a free trial with Maya, but you will need to make an account.

Make it yourself, or get friends to help. It may seem daunting at first, but it’s doable. Teach yourself how to do all the things you would need to, to make a movie. However, keep in mind that “no cost” does not mean easy. In fact, it will be incredibly difficult. But if you have the drive to finish it, then you will finish it.

You really only need a laptop. However, a drawing tablet, such as a Wacom tablet, would be useful. If you are going to use voices, you should get a decent mic. The Audio-Technical ATR-2100 is a good USB mic.

Repeatedly open and close their mouth, you can also add different facial expressions to convey emotion.

You can share your film with your family and friends. If you want to get a bigger audience, you can try promoting it online, such as on YouTube or Vimeo.

Yes! Blender is a great (and free) software for 3D animation and Flipaclip is great for 2D or hand-drawn animation. Maya and Adobe animate are very good if you want to make a high-quality animation but they are not free.