# pencil2d/pencil

Pencil2D is an easy, intuitive tool to make 2D hand-drawn animations. Pencil2D is open source and cross-platform.

Repository: https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pencil2d-pencil
Homepage: http://pencil2d.org
Language: C++
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: animation, drawing, qt5, graphics2d, cartoon, cplusplus, bitmap, multi-platform, pencil2d, onion-skin, linux, macos, hacktoberfest
Last push: 2026-08-05T08:31:25+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 89/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 96, release rhythm 74, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4816, "days_push": 28, "days_rel": 174, "gap_med": 5, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1791, forks 312 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:37.080168+00:00)

## What it is
Pencil2D is a free, open-source desktop application for creating traditional 2D hand-drawn animations using both bitmap and vector graphics. It features a minimal, lightweight design with tools like onion skinning and a timeline, and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD.

## Use cases
- make 2d hand-drawn cartoon animations
- draw frame-by-frame animation with onion skinning
- sketch and ink animations in raster and vector
- free alternative to paid 2d animation software
- create traditional animation on linux mac or windows
- teach animation basics to beginners

## When to choose
- you want a lightweight, minimal tool focused on traditional frame-by-frame 2D animation
- you need free, open-source software usable even commercially
- you want to switch between bitmap and vector workflows in one app
- you need a cross-platform tool that runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD

## When to avoid
- you need advanced cut-out/rigged character animation like dedicated 2D rigging tools
- you require built-in 3D capabilities or compositing/VFX pipelines
- you need collaborative or cloud-based animation workflows

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: graphics, animation, image-processing
- domain: graphics, media, cross-platform, desktop-applications
- platform: windows, bsd, cross-platform, cpp
- tags: 2d-animation, hand-drawn, onion-skinning, raster, vector, drawing, cartoon, qt5, traditional-animation, macos, linux, desktop

## Member repositories
- pencil2d/pencil (main) score 89

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:37.080168+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:23:06.859991+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:37.080168+00:00, sha 9eae3d7d9619)
  - homepage: http://pencil2d.org (fetched 2026-08-29T11:02:05.055245+00:00, sha f726c462f528)
  - site_page: https://www.pencil2d.org/2025/12/windows-installer-available.html (fetched 2026-08-29T11:02:05.069551+00:00, sha 470c63e63adb)
  - site_page: https://www.pencil2d.org/doc/faq.html (fetched 2026-08-29T11:02:05.066966+00:00, sha 5d6d527e8917)
  - site_page: https://www.pencil2d.org/doc (fetched 2026-08-29T11:02:05.064710+00:00, sha c78a654cc792)
  - site_page: https://www.pencil2d.org/2024/10/pencil2d-0.7.0-release.html (fetched 2026-08-29T11:02:05.071435+00:00, sha 6437c8229212)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.