ktoon - test
The guys over at ktoon had published a (relatively) stable version of ktoon for ubuntu so that me and others like me can start experimenting with the application. Since i was looking for an application to draw cartoons, this was a welcome gesture. And to start with here is my first test:
The nicest thing about ktoon in my opinion is the ability to directly export swf-files. Also exporting mpg, avi or even SMIL files as well as a series of images are the other options. Although i wasn’t able to open neither the SMIL, nor the gif files..
With ktoon it’s possible to draw multiple layers, clone or copy whole frames or specific objects to other frames. Also one is able to see the preceding and/or following frames as shaded underlayers so that drawing frames subsequently and arranging the layers is as easy as drawing using the classic method of overlaying the new paper with the one preceding it..
The user interface of ktoon is rather slow and uncomfortable at this time. And editing the image is really a pain, since ktoon seems to solely support vector graphics but at the same time, selecting vertexes and moving them around isn’t possible.
Actually i wanted to test synfig, which seems to be much more potent, but right now, i’m having problems with creating anything beyond some basic circles and rectangles and linking their coordinates. “linking” by the way, is very nice feature, but i don’t know exactly for what i would want to use it in a normal cartoon… But then again, i’m just starting to start to grasp the idea behind cartoon creation..
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Tags: Ubuntu
Open Source | 
Omar | 1. Juni 2007
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By , 12. Juni 2007 @ 19:11
Hey there,
After checking out ktoon 0.8.1, i was less than impressed. The interface seemed to arbitrary and looked like it had been constructed by someone with a lot of screen real estate (on account of everything looked big and clumped together).
Editing was pretty clunky, not to mention buggy (e.g. i was trying to move around points on a polyline and the points moved, whilst their associated markers didn’t).
In the end i just gave up and decided not to use it.
I also tried synfig a while back, but for some reason it didn’t really want to work properly. Coupled by the fact that i couldn’t find any useful documentation on how to actually use it, and i was left with an equally dissapointing impression of it. I hope the latest version fares better.
I think open source Adobe Flash ‘IDE’ killers in general still have a long way to go before they beat the relative simplicity and power of the Flash ‘IDE’.
Regards
James