Developer(s) | Labtoon SAS |
---|---|
Stable release | 0.9a / July 30, 2010 |
Operating system | Unix-like |
Type | Animation |
License | GNU General Public License |
Website | http://www.ktoon.net/ |
KTooN is a software application for the design and creation of 2D animation. This tool, inspired by and for animators, is being developed by an open community. It is covered under the terms of the GNU General Public License v3, meaning that KTooN is Free Open Source Software.
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The project began in Cali, Colombia in 2002 as an initiative of two young animators working at the Toonka Films and Soluciones Kazak companies. They were looking to create software that would encourage the evolution of the incipient 2D animation industry in Latin America at that time. From the beginning of the project they determined that the application would have to be open and portable to as wide a range of operating systems as possible. Initial priority has been given to open source platforms like GNU Linux based distros. During this first planning phase, the name KTooN was chosen for the software, the first interface designs for the application were made and the Qt library was selected as the main library for programming the software.
During the same year the project applied for and received a grant from Colciencias, a public entity of the Colombian government dedicated to the promotion of science and technology. This grant sponsored KTooN's development for the first year, supporting a team of two programmers and one consultant. During this first cycle the project's website was published at http://ktoon.toonka.com, and the first release (version 0.7) was published.
In 2003, looking for new sponsors, the project applied to Sena, a Colombian government institution dedicated to public education. The project received a grant that sponsored KToon for another year of development with a team of programmers similar to that of the first cycle. Release of version 0.8 was completed and the project started gaining popularity with users around the world.
Unable to secure further funding, the project was dormant for three years, until 2009. In 2009 the original creators of the project, now with a new company called Labtoon SAS, resumed work on KTooN with the intention of making it the premier project of its type. In the middle of 2010 KTooN's re-launch was announced from its current domain (http://www.ktoon.net) and version 0.9 of the software was released. There was a considerable re-design made to the graphical interface and the new website focused on catering to the user community with resources such as forums and a public bug tracker. The new model of development includes frequent delivery of the source code with the latest updates.
The funding of the project in its third cycle is based on donations made from the community through the Internet.
A main purpose of this project from the beginning has been to provide an easy user experience, starting from the design of the GUI which allows the creation of simple animations in only 5 steps.
Despite still being in beta phase, the software already includes these features:
The goal of being a tool for introducing rookie digital artists to the world of animation was fulfilled with the first releases. Currently the KTooN team is focused on reaching a professional level that will allow advanced users to make professional-looking animations. Some of the elements of their route map are:
Within the FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) world, two other projects focus on the same topic: