Cartoons and Comics

Cartoons and Comics

Creating cartoons and comics are good ways to convey information and tell stories.  The graphics are eye catching and help with understanding and interpreting the meaning of the topic.  This week, I have looked at three different applications that help create comics.  Fotojet, Pixton, and Make Beliefs Comix are all websites that have free versions.  Each are unique in their layout and functionality.  The topic for all the comics is netiquette.  I illustrate how the topic can be explained using each of the applications.

Fotojet


This application can be used to make many graphic designs such as posters, invitations, magazine covers, and cards.  It can also be used to to edit photos and make collages using photos that can be used to create a comic.  The comic above was created using pictures available in the gallery of the site.  The site is easy to navigate but creating the comic took time.  I had to position the pictures, conversation bubbles and text boxes on the template, making adjustments and editing as I went.    






Pixton


I love the templates in Pixton's website.  It is designed so that you work on one pane at a time.  It allows you to choose characters, background, focus, and whose talking and what they are saying in a sequential order that is efficient.  You are allowed to go back and edit if you see mistakes.  In the free version of course there are limited choices for templates, backgrounds, and characters but in my opinion there are enough to make your comic unique.  Avatars can be created of the teacher and the students.  I think this feature is helpful in the current state of virtual learning. Out of all three websites, this one is the easiest to use.





Make Beliefs Comix


This site is dedicated specifically to making comics.  Each panel is created using the various characters, balloons, and  pictures.  Technically there is only one template, it puts all the panels together.  There are enough choices to make the comic unique but they are cartoon type illustrations that are fixed.  You can not customize them like in Pixton. 

All three websites were user friendly but Pixton was the easiest to use.  I think students would be able to use Pixton easily as well.  It was easy to save my creation on all three websites.  I saved them as a JPG or PNG.  They all provided enough variety in terms of templates, graphics, and backgrounds to make the comics unique and interesting for the free versions that they are.  I would consider upgrading Pixton to have access to more.  This is the one that I think I will get the most use out of.  I will use Pixton to create comics for my fellow teachers to communicate upcoming events in the library, information on topics to be shared with students such as netiquette, copyright information, health and school safety, and book trailers and reviews.

Sources

FREE Comic, Storyboard & Graphic Novel Maker. (n.d.). Pixton EDU. Retrieved July 16, 2020, from https://edu.pixton.com/educators
Make Beliefs Comix. (n.d.). Make Beliefs Comix. Retrieved July 16, 2020, from https://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/
Online Graphic Designer | Collage Maker | Photo Editor – FotoJet. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2020, from https://www.fotojet.com/apps/?entry=collage


Comments

  1. Bearded LibrarianJuly 16, 2020 at 3:10 PM

    I agree with you that Pixton would be the popular choice among students. It was really easy to navigate and use, and the customization of characters was really what set it apart. Even though the characters are a bit "cartoonish" I feel that the site could be useful for conveying all types of information. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amparo's Book ReviewsJuly 17, 2020 at 8:00 AM

    I enjoyed reading your comic strips, very entertaining! It looks like Pixton is the winner amongst our classmates, most of us chose Pixton as the most user friendly and the one that provides the most options. I like the idea of using comics to create book trailers. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ashley SaenzJuly 23, 2020 at 10:07 PM


    Lois,
    I agree that Pixton was the easiest comic application to use. I love the ideas you shared on how to use it when creating comics to support school events and library events. I also plan on using them for topics that could seem “boring” to students such ad copyright information and internet safety. I think the comics will be a great avenue to engage students and get their attention.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ms. Nichols ReadsJuly 27, 2020 at 8:32 PM

    Your comics would be great to hang up in a library close to a computer section. Comics are a great way to relay information to students in an informal way.

    ReplyDelete

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