Studio Ghibli’s prominent software animation that has been used for popular animated such as Princess Mononoke becomes free and open source.

Software animation Toonz was created by Italian studio Digital Video as a tool for creating traditional 2D animation. Toonz was first launched on the market in 1993 and was used to turn hand-drawn art into vector graphics. It quickly became one of the most powerful tools in 2D animation. Studio Ghibli has been using it since 1995 and used it to produce Futurama, Asterix, and even some video games like Discworld 2.

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Currently, the Japanese media and telecommunications company Dwango acquired it and plans to openly distribute it. It will also focus on customization and training, but will still sell a premium version to companies at a very competitive price. Toonz will include features developed by Studio Ghibli which has been a long time Toonz user. Through OpenToonz, Dwango will create a platform that will aspire to have research labs and the animated film industry actively cooperating with each other.

"Our requirement was that in order to continue producing theatre-quality animation without additional stress, the software must have the ability to combine the hand-drawn animation with the digitally painted ones seamlessly," said Atsushi Okui, Studio Ghibli's executive imaging director.

Toonz has the potential to expand the limits of the somewhat insular creative world of animation. Both novice animators and established studios can now have access to a professional-level suite. Its flexibility is one of its most valued abilities, as the software can work with old-school hand-drawn animation as well as completely digital productions.

Toonz is also used by Rough Draft Studios, the group behind Futurama and The Simpsons Movie.

TagsStudio Ghibli, Toonz, Hayao Miyazaki, futurama, Dwango, animation, Studio Ghibli movies