Cartoons and Comics

I have always liked coloring! Yes, coloring! Drawing...well, not so much! Does tracing count? Probably not! For those of us who are not very creative or artistic, there are ways you can create comic strips online! There are great sites that can help you create comic strips without worrying about not knowing what do draw: ToonDoo, Pixton, and MakeBeliefsComix. These sites provide different images that you can easily incorporate in your comics. And what you want to do with them is up to you!

ToonDoo

ToonDoo is a very neat site that allows you to get creative and provides all the tools you may need to create a comic strip. On the Toons tab, there is a drop down menu that allows you to Create a Toon. Once you click on it, your next step is to select a layout. You have two categories: Horizontal Layouts and Vertical Layouts. This is where you have to decide whether you want to design something simple or more detailed. If you are going for a more complicated comic strip, you may want to choose a lay out with more boxes. Once you select a layout, you will have a white canvas ready for you to work your magic! You can choose different characters, places, props, and even add talking bubbles. Once you have your characters ready, you can also modify their body posture and facial gestures! The comics are very easy to create since you have all those tools at your finger tips! Saving the comic strip was easy. All I had to do was publish it and then save it to my computer. I did panic for a few seconds because when I was waiting for it to be published, it was showing me a "loading" icon. I was afraid I had lost my work. But, no I didn't! All I had to do was practice PATIENCE! I cannot wait for my students to get a hold of ToonDoo! They will definitely create more entertaining comic strips, but that is the whole point!

Pixton Cartoon

Pixton

Pixton also allows you to create comics strips. Unfortunately, it is not free. The good news is that they give you a fifteen day trial. What I liked about Pixton is that they provide you with a tutorial that guides you through the steps for completing a comic strip. It is pretty neat because it has a large variety of options from characters to backgrounds. But, I personally feel that the elementary students I serve may have a harder time using Pixton. I was having trouble moving items. Items that I did not want them to move would move. I guess with a little more patience, anyone can create a amazing work of art! Now, saving the items was a little difficult. In order to download the comic strip, I had to subscribe to the full version!

MakeBeliefsComix

MakeBeliefsComix was simple, fun, and easy to use. Registration is not necessary, so this is perfect for elementary children who still have a hard time using their e-mail accounts or just simply do not have access to an e-mail account to register for any online resources. This site was not overwhelming with millions of characters nor backgrounds. This is where the saying "Less is more!" fits in! And saving the comic strip was a piece of cake!

Everybody should try to create a comic strip in their life time! It is pretty fun! Now, if you are educator, you can certainly have fun with it as well. But, you can also give your students an opportunity to create comics strips to allow them to use their imagination. They will certainly be challenged because in order to create a comic strip, they will need to decide what it will be about, who will they choose for characters, and what background fits their comic strip. And if you are a writing teacher, don't get me started! There are many ways you can use comic strips. Students can create them and then swap and write a story that goes with their partner's comic strip! How about to improve reading comprehension? After reading a passage, students can create a comic strip focusing on the beginning, middle, and end of the passage.  I plan to share those ideas with my teachers! For sure! I can expose them to all three of the above mentioned resources, but they will get to choose which one they prefer. I personally had a lot of fun with MakeBeliefsComix. And, I can say it was my favorite!