How do you animate a cartoon?

Answer 1

One of two ways.

1. With paper and ink.
Draw one frame on a piece of paper. Give the frame number on the corner of the
paper.
Put another piece of paper over the paper you just drew on. Since you drew the first
picture in ink, you should be able to see the last frame. If not, you need paper that
isn't so thick.
After you have all of your frames done, scan them into the computer btmo a scanner.
Use a program like GIMP to do the coloring of each individual frame, as well as add in
transparencies if you plan on doing multiple layers.
Save the images as .tiff or whatever is supported in the movie software you plan to
use.
Import all of your images into a movie creating software, and add in the frames and
timing in as you like.
2. Digitally make your animation.
Many people use flash to make animation. It's a lot easier...
If you want to use flash just look at their tutorials.
There are lots of other free animation programs you can find on the internet.
Just be aware that it's 10x more difficult to make an animation look good if you
create the images on a computer.

Most importantly, be aware that animation takes LOTS of time. If you do it alone,
you can probably accomplish 5 minutes of animation in a day... more or less depending
on the quality and amount of frames in your animation.

The professional animation you see everywhere is made by groups of lots and lots
of people who specialize in an individual task. Don't expect to get too far on your own.