Inchworm Animation will be released for the handheld Nintendo DSi platform on April 25. The app will be available for download from the DSiWare store for 500 points (or $5). It looks to be a solid tool for introducing animation to the younger set but with enough functionality that may make it appealing to more advanced animators as well. It was developed by Austin, Texas-based Flat Black Films which created the rotoscope animation in Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly.

A list of Inchworm’s features:

– create multi-layer flipbook animations

– variable-thickness antialiased brushes

– use the camera for stop-motion & time lapse

– rotoscope by tracing on top of camera footage

– different layers can have different frame lengths

– circles, rectangles and polygons (w/ border)

– translucent color and pattern fill

– custom palette storage

– pattern editor

– individual animation frame timing

– onionskin

– 6 levels of zoom

– export to SD card (SWF, BMP sequence)

– work on images up to 9999 x 9999 pixels

– cut/paste to clipboard

– rescale clipboard images

– flip and 90-degree rotate

– undo

(Thanks, Pierre Fontaine)