iToony allows you to use your iPhone's camera to take a photo or to select one from your photo library, saved iToony "works in progress" or even your flickr or Picasa Web Albums account.

If you have not already connected your flickr or Picasa Web Albums account to iToony, you may do so here. This is also where you can delete your flickr or Picasa Web Albums connection information from iToony. More details on this connection are below.

Once you have selected a photo, iToony allows you to edit that photo in full screen mode. In the bottom right corner, you will notice an “info” icon. Clicking there will bring up a quick help screen that should describe some of the gestures and other features of iToony.

You can create captions by simply drawing a horizontal line across the screen. This will bring up a keyboard allowing you to start typing your caption. Once finished, the caption can be moved by simply dragging it across the screen. To change the text of a caption, simply click on it. This open the keyboard again, allowing you to type. Captions have other properties that can be customized like text color and background color. These are accessible by holding your finger down on the caption for about 1 second. These are also available through the “Caption Properties” button while editing the caption text.

You can create a speech or thought bubble by simply drawing a circle on the screen. Start the circle where you want the tail. Drawing a circle will bring up the keyboard allowing you to type your message. As with captions, bubble text can be edited by clicking the bubble; bubbles can be moved by dragging. Bubble properties such as bubble type (thought or speech) and bubble tail direction can be changed through the “Bubble Properties” menu.

While iToonifing a photo, you simply click anywhere on the screen to briefly display the menu. From here, you can access various features of iToony.

• actions menu

  The actions menu is the curving arrow icon in the lower left corner. This menu allows you to change the current pen color and the border color. This menu also allows you to share/save your photo. Sharing and saving info is detailed below.

• restore image

  You may restore the image by clicking the trash can icon on the menu bar. This will remove all your changes. This action cannot be undone so you will be prompted to confirm that you want to restore.

• bubble/drawing mode

  The bubble/drawing mode selection allows you to switch between modes. In drawing mode, you are able to free-form draw on the image. In drawing mode, you are still able to create captions and bubbles by pausing for about 1 second after drawing a horizontal line or after drawing a circle. This pause allows iToony to determine that you are trying to create an object rather than trying to draw.

• load image

  Load image will allow you to choose another image from the photo library or to take another image with the camera. Your current work is always “auto-saved” so you will not loose your changes by selecting “Load Image”. The camera icon on the top left is there to allow you to go directly to the camera and take another photo.

In drawing mode, simply draw on the screen with your finger to create fun images. You may change the pen color through the “Action Menu”. You can also undo any drawing by swiping two fingers backwards across the screen. In drawing mode, you are still able to create captions and gestures quickly and easily without changing modes. To do this, simply draw the gesture with your finger and pause after drawing -- similar to the pause used in Safari for bringing up the action menu on an image. iToony will flash the gesture when you have paused a sufficient amount of time to trigger a gesture.

iToony uses online photo hosting services to share photos with others. iToony will also save your iToonified images to your photo library. From there, you can use email to share them directly, you can sync them with your mobile me® account or you can sync them with your favorite photo app on your Mac or PC.

• sharing account setup

  When you first choose to share a photo and you have not setup a sharing account, you will be prompted to do so. From here, you can connect to an existing flickr or Picasa Web Albums account, or your can create a new flickr account. Connecting to or create a flickr account will take you to the flickr website where you will be prompted to sign-on or sign-up. From there, you must choose to allow iToony to upload images to your account. You will only need to make this choice once; iToony will store your connection information and sharing will be fast and easy. There are some settings that deal with how photos are shared in the User Preferences. You may want to review these in the section below.

• sharing a photo

  Choosing “Upload and Email” will upload your photo to Picasa Web Albums or flickr. iToony uses a default name for the image and also tags the image with some iToony tags to enhance the sharing experience. Both of these can be changed in the User Preferences. Once uploaded, iToony will exit and create an email for you. You can then fill out the addresses and customize the message that iToony sends. If you do not wish to exit iToony and send an email, you may choose “Upload”. Choosing this will only upload the image to your hosting service.

• saving to photo library

  You can choose “Save Image” to save the image in your photo library. From there, you can do all the normal things with your iToonified image that you could with any other image, only, of course, it'll be funner.

iToony automatically saves images and your drawings as you make them. This enables you to quickly get back to your masterpiece if you get interrupted. When you open iToony, you will be brought back to the image you were last working on. If you want to clear out some of the old saved images, you can go to the “Load Image” screen and look at “Saved Toons”. Here, you will see an “Edit” button which will allow you to delete your works in progress.

if you have a website that is often visited by people with iToony on their phones, you can have some fun by inviting them to “iToonify” some of your photos. Simply create a link to the photo, but replace the normal “http:” portion with “itoony:”. For example, if you have an image that looks like: <img src=”http://mycoolsite.org/photos/atTheBeach.jpg”/> you can put a link under it like: <a href=”itoony://mycoolsite.org/photos/atTheBeach.jpg”>iToonify Us at the Beach</a>.

iToony has several settings available from the “User Preferences” app. Look for the iToony icon to change these settings.

• pen color

  You may change the default pen color here. This is the same as changing it through the application.

• max resolution

  This affect the max image resolution that is sent to your photo hosting service. If your have a slow connection and your images are taking too long to upload, changing this to a lower setting may help.

• drawing mode

  This allows you to toggle iToony between drawing mode and bubble/caption mode. This is the same as changing it from within iToony. For more information, see the “Drawing Mode” section above.

• sharing info
  • default file name

    This is the file name that iToony uses when sharing the photo

  • default tags

    These are some tags that iToony tags the photos with when sharing. Tags are a useful way to organize your photos. Tags also help others find your photos.

  • add iToony link

    By default, iToony adds a description or comment to your photo that lets your friends know about iToony so they can share in the fun. If you would rather not have this link on your photos, simply turn this setting off. Photos already uploaded will still have the link. To remove it, you will need to edit them in your web hosting service website.

• accounts
  • picasa web albums

    Here you can setup your Picasa Web Albums user name and password. You can also see if iToony has recently successfully connected to Picasa Web Albums.

  • flickr

    Since flickr requires authentication at their website, this area only allows you to see if iToony has recently successfully connected to flickr.