Cartoon Animator (formerly CrazyTalk Animator) vs Inkscape

What users are saying about

Score 9.1 out of 10

Based on 1 reviews and ratings

Score 8.7 out of 10

Based on 2 reviews and ratings

Likelihood to Recommend

This is a difficult question to answer. This software can be used for a hobbyist or professionals alike. On one hand, you can make fun, simple animations for things like YouTube or Facebook. However, on the other hand, you can use this tool for professional looking animations that can be used in marketing, presentations, etc.I am someone who uses the program for both - as a hobbyist and also professionally. The first time I took it upon myself to make an animation for something job-related, it impressed my colleagues so much that they bought the company their own copy of the software and encouraged me to make more. There have been numerous times where I have used the program to entice new clients. I would even take it a step further by using a potential client's logo or CEO as a character in the animation.In 2015, CrazyTalk Animator (CTA) has even helped me land a new job. I had been laid off and was out of work for a few months. I saw a job opening I was interested but had learned that the position had literally hundreds of potential applicants. Basically, I created a video using CTA of me performing the job as if I already had been offered it. I even included the company logo. In the video, I made an animation explaining why it was a good idea to hire the company. Once I finished the video I included it along with my resume. To make a long story short, I got the job.

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Verified User

Professional in Marketing

Security and Investigations Company, 201-500 employees

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I would 100% recommend Inkscape to anyone starting out with graphic design or illustration, as it isn't that difficult to get the hang of on the first day of using it. I am not recommending Inkscape for beginners alone, even experts in the field can use Inkscape professionally as it cuts of the expense of needing to buy a paid graphic design software which provides almost the same features.Inkscape is also great for beginners because it can be treated like a stepping stone to move onto a paid graphic designing software like Adobe Illustrator, so Inkscape can be used to test the waters before making the leap.Inkscape and Illustrator are almost the same so there wont be any difficulty in switching later on.

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Musab Nismy

Founder

HatwareApparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees

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Pros

The main pro of the entire program is that it makes animation incredibly simple. You are not required to even know how to draw. Once you grasp the gist of the software it is extremely simple to use.
Another great aspect of CTA is the online community. There are a vast amount of online tutorials and an online forum for anyone who has questions. They even provide a content store in which users can sell their own content to other users.
A recent update has allowed Photoshop integration. This allows even more customization of aspects of the animation you are working with.
A characters mouth movements are automatically synced with voiceover audio. I felt this gave me one less thing to animate and has saved me time on more than one occasion.

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Verified User

Professional in Marketing

Security and Investigations Company, 201-500 employees

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Many features, and easily accessible tools.
The keyboard shortcuts are very simple and efficient to use.
Open-source, so there are features to change the theme of the interface and make your workspace look cooler.

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Musab Nismy

Founder

HatwareApparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees

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Cons

Other products made by this company (Namely their 3D animation software) have a character creator. I would love to see something like this with CTA.
I would like to see a bigger integration with social media. Having the ability to live broadcast a CTA character in real-time (like mo-cap) would be amazing. If this were a possibility you could live stream a video chat or Facebook live portrayed as your CTA character.
Allow more in-depth settings for exporting media.

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Verified User

Professional in Marketing

Security and Investigations Company, 201-500 employees

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A few tools and features that can be found in other software are not available in Inkscape.
Inkscape cannot edit .eps files, which are a widely known file format that is used by all designers.
Inkscape doesn't support multiple artboard exports

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Musab Nismy

Founder

HatwareApparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees

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Alternatives Considered

CTA was a program that got me interested in 2D animation. After about a year of using the software, I began looking for other similar products. I had come across a program called Toon Boom. This was another 2D software somewhat similar to CTA. Toon Boom is a fantastic program however the price was higher than CTA. Aside from that, learning how to use Toon Boom had a much higher learning curve. Eventually, I purchased Toon Boom and learned the program. It is definitely a powerful 2D animation platform however I always seemed to bring myself back to CTA. I felt CTA was much more simple to use. It was also easy enough for other people to contribute to my animation projects. Having to reteach my coworkers another program was not going to work for us. Not being solely responsible for animations is a huge relief.

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Verified User

Professional in Marketing

Security and Investigations Company, 201-500 employees

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Adobe Illustrator is also used in our company sometimes however, Inkscape is used most considering the fact that it is completely free while Adobe Illustrator has to be bought through monthly/annual subscriptions that are expensive. For that reason we always opt for Inkscape. Not only is it a free software, but it includes almost all the features and tools that Adobe Illustrator offers, even though there might be some tools missing here and there, for businesses whose main focus isn't graphic design, Inkscape is the way to go. However if Graphic design or illustration is the only or the main factor of your business, I would suggest going for the investment and getting Adobe Illustrator.

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Musab Nismy

Founder

HatwareApparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees

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Return on Investment

Since my company discovered that I was an animator, they are constantly wanting me to make videos. If the company were to outsource someone to create animations like the ones I am creating, they would be extremely pricey. CTA was only a one-time purchase. I have even trained several other employees of the company how to use the software. That way, if I ever exit the company they can continue to create marketing animations without me.

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Verified User

Professional in Marketing

Security and Investigations Company, 201-500 employees

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Inkscape has eliminated our expense on graphic design software, which is great.
We can perform all necessary jobs in Inkscape, thus not needing for a better paid software
Although Inkscape is a great software, it is not recognized for professional use like Adobe Illustrator for example

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Musab Nismy

Founder

HatwareApparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

Yes

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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