This is the second of three reviews where we discuss and demonstrate comic strip generator websites.  The first was about StripGenerator.com.

Pixton.com

Pixton recently generated some buzz at the South-By-Southwest interactive festival in Austin last month.

What makes Pixton really interesting is the amazing control you have over the characters.  Using the expression editor, for example, you can make your character smile, show fear, or express other emotions.  For people like me who can’t draw, this functionality is liberating.  I have made many stick figures in my life but have always fallen short of truly showing angst, hatred, or bliss.  With Pixton, I can do much more and all I have to do is select the words of the expression.  It’s very neat.

Similarly, there are editors for colors, clothing style, skin tone, girth, posture, and many more.  With Pixton, I don’t have to move lines or have any of the technical skills to make my character look fat.  I just do a few clicks and voila, my character is fat.

Although possibilities are limitless it comes at a significant cost of usability: there are so many controls, it was often hard to figure out how to use it.   The learning curve is much steeper than StripGenerator.com. Plan to spend some time with the interface to get used to it.

Another drawback to Pixton is that you are confined to create strips within their design parameters.  In other words, while you can make lots of changes to your characters and your strips, you cannot import your own designs.  Not only does it give all Pixton strips a very similar look and feel, it limits artists that want to push the envelope on the look and feel of their strips.

From a community perspective, however, Pixton excels. You can comment, vote, and share each strip.  This functionality seems pretty robust and up to par with other community systems (read: YouTube).

Overall, Pixton, is a great way for beginners to explore the comic strip creation world.  True artists might hit a wall with their creativity but for the rest of the stick figure drawing world, it gives us new levels of power and control.

Next Up: Toon Doo!

Here at Zingerding, we try to be at the forefront of the web comic strip world. That even means discovering sites that are doing things similar to what we’re trying to do.

This is first of three blog posts where we discuss the sites and demonstrate what they can do.

StripGenerator.com

StripGenerator.com encourages you to start creating your strip right from the home page.  A big orange button labeled “Create your strip!” greets you front and center.  Clicking on it brings you right to StripGenerator.com’s rudimentary, but very usable, strip creation tool.  You don’t even have to log in!

Using a simple drag/drop interface you construct your strip by placing the items on each panel, attaching some type of bubble and putting text in the bubble for the dialog.  The items include Humans, Beings (think animals, aliens, and other weirdness), Objects (TVs, baseball bats, etc.), Shapes, and Bubbles (a wide variety of text bubbles).  The simplicity of the interface encourages you to roll your sleeves up while the potpourri of items gives you a decent range of options.  This, in conjunction with the responsiveness of the interface, gets you going on creating the strip.

While the interface is inviting, you are limited to only objects in StripGenerator, a big drawback.  In other words, if you have your own that you’d like to feature, you can’t upload it into the system.  Not only would this dissuade the “power” artist to use the tool, it makes all of the strips look the same.  Could you imagine if your Sunday comics all looked the same?  While you still may laugh at the words, your eyes might be bored.

Another limitation is that strips can only be three panels or less.  While three panels is certainly common for comic strips, it can be severely limiting.  Would Bloom County have been served as well if there were only three panels to work from?  Probably not.  Creative freedom is key if a an artist wants express his/her ideas.  This includes the number of panels provided.

Promotion of the strips is a bit awkward through StripGenerator.com’s strip blogging.  From the home page, this is a separate link.  While it is definitely convenient to not need a login to to create strips, it also unnecessarily complicates the site if you want to share your strip with the world and engage in a conversation.  While this may be good for the people who prefer anonymity if they want to make a point (especially if it’s controversial), it isn’t for those that want to engage in a conversation.  The very nature of the Internet is a vehicle for conversation: the unexpected give-and-take between content creator and consumer.  This lack of tight integration chokes the flow of that conversaion.

All in all, StripGenerator.com is very good site for those that want to get their Comic Strip chops.  It is so easy to use that it practically invites everyone to create their own strips.  Still, after you get your initial chops, you may find its limitations too constraining.

Next Week: A step up with Pixton.com!

Our initial posts about 4-panel blank comic strips and 3-panel blank comic strips were so popular that we’re doing it again in a 2 panel version!

What is a blank comic strip template?

A blank comic strip template is a file created in image editing software such as Photoshop or illustrator that is set up to standard comp strip sizes. These standards are typically set by newspapers since that is where most comic strips have historically lived.

Where can I get a blank comic strip template?

Right here! We have a standard 2 panel template for you to use right here in this post. The dimensions of the whole strip are 3×10 inches. The jpg is 300 dpi which comes to 3000×900 pixels. These can be printed if you prefer to draw them by hand.

Here is a JPEG of a 2 panel blank comic strip.

Here is a PDF of a 2 panel blank comic strip.

Our initial post about blank comic strips was so popular that we’re doing it again in a 3 Panel version!

What is a blank comic strip template?

A blank comic strip template is a file created in image editing software such as Photoshop or illustrator that is set up to standard comp strip sizes. These standards are typically set by newspapers since that is where most comic strips have historically lived.

Where can I get a blank comic strip template?

Right here! We have a standard 3 panel template for you to use right here in this post. The dimensions of the whole strip are 3×10 inches. The jpg is 300 dpi which comes to 900×3000 pixels. These can be printed if you prefer to draw them by hand.

Here is a JPEG of a 3 panel blank comic strip.

Here is a PDF of a 3 panel blank comic strip.

Muslim comic strips or strips that contain Islamic images have become pretty relevant in the news in recent months.

Examples of Muslim comic strips

The following are some recent examples of Muslim comic strips that made headlines:

• In the Netherlands, a series of 12 Muslim comic strips published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten featuring the prophet Mohammed set off a wave of riots amongst in the Islamic community .
• The Washington Post and several other newspapers around the country did not run installment of Berkeley Breathed’s “Opus,” in which the spiritual fad-seeking character Lola Granola appears in a headscarf and explains to her boyfriend, Steve, why she wants to become a radical Islamist. (A response editorial comic strip ran on Cox and Forkum.)
• The New Yorker recently ran a cover that depicted Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama as a Muslim that sent out a wave of protests and complaints including the candidate himself.

Sensitivity to Muslim Comic Strips

There is no question that the sensitivity to Muslim comic strips has been heightened due the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the United States wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If nothing else, we’ve realized that the international Muslim community is vibrant and wants their voices to be heard. Muslim comic strips, and the protests and sensitivities around them, is just one example of how the message is getting out.

The Future Of Muslim Comic Strips in the Public Eye

Is there a way to depict Islamic images and symbols in a way that engages a healthy discussion? Comic strips use iconographic imagery to strongly express a point. The image of the prophet Mohammed or a burqa provide that grounding from which we can begin to make some points. Should we be forbidden from using those images? Are there other ones that are just as powerful?

Let’s hear your thoughts.

One of the fastest ways to get started creating comic strips is to start with a blank comic strip template.

What is a blank comic strip template?

A blank comic strip template is a file created in a image editing software such as Photoshop or illustrator that is set up to standard comp strip sizes. These standards are typically set by newspapers since that is where most comic strips have historically lived.

Where can I get a blank comic strip template?

Right here! We have a standard 4 panel template for you to use right here in this post. The dimensions of the whole strip is 3×10 inches. The jpg is 300 dpi which comes to 900×3000 pixels. These can be printed if you prefer to draw them by hand.

Here is a JPEG of a 4 panel blank comic strip.

Here is a PDF of a 4 panel blank comic strip.

The lightbulb is the punchline. So what’s the best number of panels to use to get there? Of course you know it can depend. Assuming we’re talking about the typical newspaper strip format, let’s explore what panel count does to a strip. A comic strip is limited in size so breaking the space down into different segments creates different experiences for the reader. We’ll talk about single panel strips another time so let’s focus on the common 2, 3 and 4 panel comics.

This isn’t the “rule” for all strips but it’s worth thinking about when laying out a comic. Generally speaking, larger panels denote a longer period of time and smaller ones will portray a more rapid procession of time. The examples below have no content at all so you can see what panel size and count alone can do for the reader experience.

Strip A seems to take longer while C feels like several short segments of time. This is the result of panel count AND panel size. Four panels the size of A would feel different than the four in C. But there isn’t room for four larger panels so the decisions of panel size are crucial to the pacing of your strip.

This does differ from comic books because books have more leeway with layout. Comic strips however, have different space and time challenges. Mixing up panel sizes within a strip can give you great freedom to encourage the pace of your reader’s experience. Now throw some content in there, your characters and dialog, and you’ve got an even more complex system of time progression.

Do you experiment with panel sizes to guide the reader to the lightbulb?

Yo! To join yesterday’s post, here’s another Hubert and Abby comic strip from this past week. I thought I’d post one again to give cartoonist Mel Henze a little boost. We’re all about helping the little guy here at Zingerding. Strips like Garfield don’t need the extra buzz.

– Click to enlarge.

What’s with that bottle of “Fiz?” Did Hubert spill it so he can stand in it? Did he pee on the table? It’s an odd thing to reveal in the final panel. If it has anything to do with the zinger, it is beyond me but I think it’s funny anyway!