Cartoons and Comics

 

I wish I had known about these resources just a few short days earlier! I recently had my students create storyboards, inspired by my increasing knowledge of graphic novels. I enjoy seeing their work on paper but there are many students that really need technological help when it comes to creative products. Now I know about three free online resources to help create comics and cartoons and I will definitely be working in a repeat project very soon with this option added, I can't wait to see what the kids come up with!

I started with FotoJet. I had an idea in mind of what I wanted to create but as I looked over the template options I was inspired to go a completely different direction. I found FotoJet easy to use and fairly quick since I chose to simply upload some pictures and edit the words in the conversation bubbles that were already there. To be honest, I really only saw that I needed to upload photos and then I was inspired and I did not experiment much with this one to see what could be created in an academic setting. After completing my collage I saw there there was a library that could be searched and clipart as well. I was inspired by the very boy-vibe (to me at least) of my template to create a birth story of sorts. I hope you will indulge my personal creation.

Next I used Pixton to create a comic strip. I started with the same basic idea as before but stuck with it this time. As I mentioned, I recently had my students create storyboards. Their topic was the causes of the Texas Revolution and so this was the topic I had in mind. I found Pixton to be a bit more time consuming as I searched the plethora of options for characters alone. I wish I had known that after choosing the character I would still be able to make so many changes to outfit, coloring, and hair. I liked that I could build characters and use or not use them in each frame. Even though it took a little longer, once I realized all my options it actually went faster. I could definitely see my students getting sucked into the details and not actually getting to the final product any faster than when I ask them to draw on paper! Check out my Stephen F. Austin comic.

Finally I tried Make Beliefs Comix. I was immediately a fan because I did not have to register or give any information whatsoever. The choices were a little more limiting but what could I expect without having to at least share my email address? The limits only forced my creativity and so my characters do not come close to reflecting the actual appearance but rather reflect some aspect of their story. This site was easy to use although sometimes frustrating due to the lack of options - I really wanted to move the funnel of the speech bubbles to point to the characters mouths! I also wished that I could size them the same way that I can when using Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. Even so, this was solid for a free resource. I look forward to checking out more that is offered, specifically the Comic Starters. This creation is not a comic in the sense that it tells a story but each frame represents a different individual significant to the Texas Revolution.

All of these resources were winners for me. They were easy to use, contain plenty of options, and best of all were free! Comment below with other resources you recommend. Also, can you understand why I chose the characters I did for the significant individuals of the Texas Revolution? Some of them are fairly obvious but a few may not be!