Motion2DHow to make a cartoon video
To make cartoon videos, write a tiny story, choose a way to animate it (draw it, pose ready-made puppets, or describe it to an AI), add a voice and music, and export. All three routes start the same way: with a short, clear story.
Start with a tiny story
A character wants something, something gets in the way, they find a way. That's a cartoon. Keep your first one under 2 minutes with at most three characters and two places.
Write it as narration plus a note of what we see. That one page is your script and storyboard.
- One character with one want
- One obstacle
- A clear, satisfying ending
Three ways to make it
Hand-drawn (Krita, OpenToonz, Procreate): total control, steepest learning curve. Puppet and template apps (Animaker, Toonly, Vyond): faster, but you pose everything and the characters are shared. AI (Motion2D): describe it and get a finished, voiced video in minutes; less frame-level control.
Many people start with AI to publish now, and learn drawing on the side if they want to go further.
Example: your first cartoon in an evening
Story: A shy robot at a school science fair is afraid to show its invention, until a power cut means only its solar lamp works. Three characters (the robot, a friendly classmate, a teacher), two places (the hall, the dark corridor), 90 seconds. Written as narration plus what we see, that's about 200 words.
Pasted into Motion2D as a script with notes asking for bright, friendly cartoon, for 7-year-olds, it becomes a voiced, captioned cartoon for 3 credits. By hand in Krita it would be a satisfying, multi-week project.
Making the cartoon look like yours
Viewers recognise a channel by its look and its voice. Pick one palette, one style of character and one narrator, and keep them for every video. Write those choices down once, then paste the same notes into each new video so the look stays consistent. Our guide to animation styles has words that steer the look.
Cartoon videos from other material
You don't always need a new story. A lesson, a blog post or a podcast episode can become a cartoon: paste the text as a script, or turn filmed video into a cartoon on the Pro plan. For PDFs and slides, copy the text out first.
Questions and answers
How do I make a cartoon video for free?
Free options include OpenToonz and Krita for hand drawing. For AI-made cartoons, Motion2D starts at $20 a month.
How do I make a cartoon video on my phone?
Use a mobile animation app, or open Motion2D in your phone's browser.
How long does it take?
By hand, days per minute of animation. With AI, a few minutes.
Can I make a cartoon video from a photo of myself?
Not from a single photo. You can describe yourself in the notes, or turn a video of yourself into a cartoon with video to cartoon.
Can I use cartoon videos in paid ads?
Yes, if you own the content and follow the ad platform's rules. Videos made on Motion2D are yours to use commercially.
Keep exploring
Make animation without drawing a thing
You can make animation without drawing: no tablet, no art skills, no rigging. Describe the scene and Motion2D draws and animates it for you.
An AI cartoon video maker that keeps its characters
Make cartoon videos with AI: characters that keep the same face in every scene, drawn backgrounds, voice and captions. Online, no editing skills needed.
How to animate a story
How to animate a story: break it into beats, choose what each scene shows, time it to narration and keep characters consistent. A practical method.
Your next video starts with one sentence.
Type a topic. Motion2D researches it, writes it, draws it and voices it.
Get started