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!