Subtitles are part of the picture.

If you add them only after the cartoon is finished, you may discover that the perfect place for text is exactly where the character's face is.

Plan for captions.

Keep lines short enough to read

A subtitle should not become a paragraph.

Break speech into natural chunks.

Instead of displaying an entire long sentence at once, time the text to the spoken phrasing.

The viewer should be able to read and watch.

Match the spoken words

Do not paraphrase casually if the subtitle is intended as an accessibility caption.

Accuracy matters.

For stylized on-screen marketing text, you have more freedom---but that is not the same thing as captioning dialogue.

Use readable contrast

Text must remain visible over changing backgrounds.

Depending on the visual style, that may require:

  • outline;
  • shadow;
  • background box;
  • controlled placement.

Test against the brightest and darkest scenes.

Avoid faces

In cartoons, expressions carry information.

Do not routinely cover:

  • mouths;
  • eyes;
  • hands performing important actions;
  • products or props the dialogue refers to.

If the bottom of the frame is consistently busy, adjust the composition or caption position.

Time captions with the performance

A subtitle that appears too early can spoil a joke.

A subtitle that stays too long can collide with the next line.

Review captions in motion, not as still frames.

Differentiate speakers when necessary

If two characters speak quickly or off screen, the audience may need help knowing who is talking.

Use an established captioning convention appropriate to the platform and accessibility requirements.

Do not invent a complicated color system unless it is genuinely useful.

Remember vertical interfaces

For Shorts, Reels and TikTok, captions compete with platform UI.

A caption position that works on a clean exported file may be obscured in the app.

Verify the current platform layout before publication.

Where MyToonMaker fits

At publication time, Codex should verify whether captions/subtitles are generated, edited or exported inside MyToonMaker.

If they are not, this article should transparently explain the external finishing step.

Finish Your Cartoon.