We propose a set of algorithms to efficiently make speech animation for 3D cartoon characters. Our prototype system is based on blendshapes, a linear interpolation technique, which is widely used in facial animation practice. In our system, a few base target shapes of the character, prerecorded voice, and its transcription are required as input. We describe a simple technique that amplifies the target shapes from few inputs using a generic database of viseme mouth shapes. We also introduce additional lip‐synch editing parameters that allow designers to quickly tune the lip movements. Based on these, we implement our prototype system as a Maya plug‐in. The demonstration movies created with this system illustrate well the practicality of our approach. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.