Cartoons and Comics

Have you ever wondered how you could "up your game" in the library??

Did you know that you can create your own comic stripes?!

And it turns out, there's an endless amount of ways to utilize them within you library!  Let me show you what I came up with.  I reviewed three platforms you can use to create your own and I'll also talk about ways you can use them with teachers and students!

Fotojet

The first comic generator I found was Fotojet.  It's free to sign up and their comic layouts really give that comic book feel.  The pre-made layouts look exactly like something you would see if you opened up an actual comic book.  Then they have a fairly good selection of pictures to choose from.  I ended up using real photos of a cat.  One thing I liked about this site was I didn't really have to read any instructions.  The layout of the site was very user friendly and professional looking.  One thing I didn't like is they tried to trick me into giving them my credit card information in order to give me a 7 day free trial.  After the 7 days, they would charge me for a full year!  I closed the box and kept scrolling.  Down toward the bottom there's a hassle free sign up tab...and I didn't have to give my card information.  Tricksters.  Anyways...Here's the comic I created using Fotojet.  I made the comic praising a teacher for encouraging her kids to turn in their library books.  This would be a good strip to put in the library newsletter highlighting the importance of returning books.

Pixton

Pixton, Pixton, Pixton.  I'm pretty sure this was my favorite comic generator platform.  It had more of the "cartoonish" feel and the characters you create had multiple options for poses and facial expressions.  Once on the site, I instantly new how to use it, which means the layout and graphics were very well made.  But just to be on the safe side, the company gives you a how-to video for your convenience.  Because of its usability, I would highly recommend this one to you if you were thinking about having your students create a comic for themselves when doing an assignment.  If you are at all familiar with Google Classroom, I feel the layout of Pixton is very comparable to it, because you can share your create with the class.  You can also create multiple classes!  The downfall to this one were the limited choices of backgrounds and characters.  But that all can be fixed if you decide to purchase the program rather than mooching off the free one.  :)  Here is an example of a comic you can make using Pixton.

MakeBeliefsComix

MakeBeliefsComix was probably my least favorite platform to use, because it was very confusing to the eye the second I clicked on the page.  There was no informative video when you first started and only a typed out "to do" list of how to create the comic.  The graphics to choose from were extremely limited and no option to upgrade.  You don't even have a search bar to look for specific items you are wanting.  You just have to use what is offered to you through a scroll menu at the bottom (which took me forever to locate).  This site would definitely involve alot more "how to" instruction if you are wanting to teach how to make a comic strip to your teachers or students.  Alas, here is the comic I created using MakeBeliefsComix.  Enjoy!

My Take

Ranked from best to least best, I would personally choose Pixton, Fotojet, and then MakeBeliefsComix.  For the most part each comic was fairly easy to create, just some more than others.  I would use Pixton to teach how to create their own.  But I would probably use Fotojet for personal use and maybe utilize my creations for weekly newsletters to teachers or upload my images to my library website.  I hope this helps you with the creation of your OWN comics. Enjoy!