I Built Kuroga — Draw GIFs Frame by Frame (Web + Mobile)

Kuroga — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:47:35 +0000

Most GIF tools start with a video. Kuroga starts with a blank canvas.

You draw a frame. Then another. Onion-skin ghosts keep the motion honest. Preview the loop, download the GIF, or publish it to a small community feed. That is the product: create animations by drawing frames one by one — on the web and on mobile.

Try it: kuroga.miraiartapps.com

Home feed: browse what people drew, heart favorites, jump into Create.

What I shipped

Kuroga is a GIF drawing app with a matching website. Short handmade loops — not timeline exports.

Two canvases:

Free Canvas — freehand strokes, colors, brush size, backgrounds
Pixel Square — square-cell grid for crisp pixel animations

When you finish: preview → download GIF → or publish with a caption.

Create flow: pick a mode and start drawing.

The loop (product, not fluff)

Open Create GIF
Draw a few frames (neighbors show as onion-skin)
Play preview
Publish or Download GIF

I kept the UI soft and quiet on purpose. The canvas is the product — not a dashboard of panels.

Free Canvas: frame strip, palette, Preview & Publish on the side.

Stack (for the curious)

Not a deep dive — just the shape of the thing:

Surface	Stack
Web	Next.js (Kuroga host + API)
Mobile	React Native (Android / iOS)
Shared	Same API + feed / topics / auth contract

Same community on both: feed, hearts, comments, weekly Tops, and Topics threads.

Tops: most-loved GIFs and creators (this week / all time).

Topics: short discussions — ideas, bugs, “hey this is cute.”

Why build this?

I wanted a place where making a tiny loop is closer to doodling than opening After Effects. Pixel artists and freehand doodlers both fit. Guests can browse; signed-in users publish and climb the weekly rankings.

If you have ever thought “I wish I could make a 1-second GIF of this doodle,” that is the use case.

Web + phone

Web when you want a big canvas: kuroga.miraiartapps.com

Mobile app when you are away from the desk — same feed and create entry points.

Mobile-friendly shell: GIFs, Tops, Topics, Create in one thumb reach.

Open any animation to heart, comment, or peek at this week’s tops.

Try it in five minutes

Open kuroga.miraiartapps.com
Tap Create GIF
Pick Free Canvas or Pixel Square
Draw 2–5 frames → preview → Publish or Download

Feedback welcome in the comments — what would you draw first, and what’s missing from a “tiny GIF” tool?

Kuroga — make a GIF by drawing on canvas.

🌐 https://kuroga.miraiartapps.com