Duration: 40 minutes
Objectives: The objective of this lesson is to introduce additional digital comic ‘generators’, specifically designed for comic creation.
Desirable outcomes and competences: By the end of the lesson, learners will:
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In lesson 15 of this eLearning course, we have seen Pixton as a tool for creating comics, especially for education, and also Canva as a design tool that could be also used for digital comic creation. Those two tools are found to be easy and useful to use for educational purposes in the creation of comic strips, but there are several other ‘comic strips generators’ that could be used as well.
For this lesson (19) we will specifically focus on a selection of additional digital comic strip generators:
StoryboardThat is a platform specifically designed for creating storyboards (3 or 6 panels strip) and offers an improved visual presentation of texts (ex. through infographics, worksheets etc.). The website is rather recent (2012), developed by a US based company, and is mainly used for educational purposes. Also, it maintains an active Facebook page and other social media channels, where the company publishes ideas for using the app in school.
The website does not offer that many guidelines for new users, but one can easily navigate through the pages and start with the comic strip/storyboard creation.
There is a free plan, which is very basic and other monthly plans targeted at different usages. Specifically, the basic “light usage” free plan requires registration with email account). There are packages for personal use (fun), education (teachers) and business (work), starting from $8.99 -$ 14.99. All the plans come with a free 14-day trial. However, the Free plan is very basic and limited (only two storyboards per week). Also, the plan for teachers is compliant with GDPR.
Overall, it is a useful and easy tool to use to create comic strips, with many available option items that users can customize. In addition, there is one text font specifically for Dyslexic people (OpenDyslexic) which makes the tool more user friendly and inclusive.
The platform offers a selection of categories in all respects, from the scenes to the characters, infographics, emojis, shapes, textables and specific examples of worksheets. There are at least 200 scenes/ backgrounds and characters adaptive to all historical periods, including mythological creatures, animals and stickers.
A great feature of the tool is the ability to dress the characters in clothes from different centuries – that could be very useful for certain subjects. Also, the tool offers customization of all colours of all items (ex. even the belt and the shoes colour of a character can be modified). Furthermore, there is a fair amount of options on limb stance (inclination of a character’s head, adjustable arm and leg posture and a few preset poses ex. sad, walking), facial expression and overall appearance, which helps to create the illusion of movement. Nonetheless, some items such as character look and backgrounds, seem a bit outdated.
Items can be moved (90 degrees rotation at a time) and there is a function to expand the item to the size of the cell/panel. The items can be added from the selection panel through a drag-and-drop option, fully supported by clear guidelines and in combination with the above mentioned (also duly supported) customization options. Very useful is the ‘undo’ and ‘redo’ button, as well as the ability to copy and move around items and cells. While copying a cell, there is the option to add the items to the second cell or replace them entirely. The layout of a cell is adjustable to add a title and description.
Users can upload photographs from another application the same team has (Photos for Class), which makes sure that the photos are appropriate. However, they cannot upload their own images or other graphic elements with the free version.
The website allows only for 3 or 6 panels to be created. Once a comic strip/storyboard is done, users can download it in PDF or image. However, there is a watermark on the free version which could be a restriction.
MakeBeliefsComix is a platform created by Bill Zimmerman which is specifically designed for creation of digital comic strips. The website was created in 2006 and is available in 13 languages. It targets many users such as teachers, parents and children, including those with special needs and English language learners. It is active on social media and users can refer there or by email for support, since there is no other customer assistance service.
The subscription is free but requires to be registered with an email address to save up to 18 panels. When users are registered, they can save their creations online or to print them (by sending them in their mailbox).
The platform also has additional resources and lesson plans, specifically for English language learning. Apart from the creation of comics, the platform also has additional resources and lesson plans, and allows creation of printables, greeting cards and creative writing. As such, it is recommended by the American Library Association and their program “Great websites for kids”, as well as by the Parents’ choice foundation. Finally, there is a page on the website with details regarding private policy and explanations about how users’ information is gathered and disseminated.
Overall, it is a somewhat easy to use, free of charge tool, yet some basic functionalities are not implemented like for instance, the possibility to personalize the characters and select another text font.
Make Beliefs Comix is a comic creator that allows users to create and print simple comics with a classic look. It is useful but not so resourceful.
It offers several characters, blank talk and thought balloons but it is limited in the options of colours for the backgrounds, or variety of characters and symbols. Specifically, Users can choose from 25 characters to fill a two-, three-, or four-panelled comic strip. Also, characters are not really customizable: users can choose the pose of the characters, but their options are limited and gender or skin colours for instance are pre-defined. There is also a limitation in the scaling of objects, which leads to some backgrounds becoming bigger than a bubble.
The quality of the elements (e.g. images) is good, but it doesn’t offer possibilities to upload external content and personal resources (e.g. to insert an image or photo from your desktop).
Users can download their strip once finished by sending an email. However, the name of the comic and its author cannot be changed on a previously saved comic. Also, if one saves the comic strip as an image, it leaves a watermarked note “This comic was created at www.MakeBeliefsComix.com. Go there and make one now!”.
As an example, the scaling option in the below strip:
Schulten K., & Gonchar M., (2018, May 17). From Superheroes to Syrian Refugees: Teaching Comics and Graphic Novels with Resources From The New York Times. READING AND LITERATURE. New York Times, Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/learning/lesson-plans/from-superheroes-to-syrian-refugees-teaching-comics-and-graphic-novels-with-resources-from-the-new-york-times.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Flearning&action=click&contentCollection=learning®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
Essler S (2018, December 30). 4 free sites for creating your own comics. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/article/create-your-own-comics/?europe=true
Pappas C (2014, January 14). The 5 Best Free Cartoon Making Tools For Teachers. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/the-5-best-free-cartoon-making-tools-for-teachers
Dallas Thompson (2012, February 17). Make Beliefs Comix How-To.mov [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71GFJpjHKkY
Duration: 40 minutes Objectives: The objective of this lesson is to introduce additional digital comic ‘generators’, specifically designed for comic creation. Desirable outcomes and competences: By the end of the lesson, learners will:
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Following the previous lesson (19) on digital comics creation tools, in this lesson we will present one additional example of the most recent (until today) tool for digital comic creation, named BDNF and also a list of other, 5 most popular freely available online tools with their basic characteristics.
(https://bdnf.bnf.fr/)
BDNF is an independent app developed and published by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) (National Library of France) together with a desktop and a mobile device version. Recently created (January 2020), the website and the app are available for free, in both French and English.
The tool is mainly targeted at educators and students for the creation of comic strips, graphic novels or any other multimedia story mixing illustration and text, and their usage inside the classroom. There is no particular community space, or social network for the app, yet, there are a few tutorials available on Vimeo and YouTube, mainly made by educators and professors.
The platform has a FAQ page and an email for customer support. In addition, the app complies with GDPR and on the website there are the full terms of use and privacy policy according to French law.
Overall, this tool is rather easy to use and it offers a wide range of possibilities to create comics. Also, the website displays educational material and creations by graphic designers, illustrators and comic artists, which is helpful as it offers a lot of inspiration.
The tool allows you to create your own strips either using the provided content on the platform or by uploading your own content. In addition, it provides educational resources to help educators use the app and implement the use of comics in their classroom.
The app provides the templates for the comic design, and users can adjust them (e.g. change the size and design of the frames) and fill them in with content. There are basic features for bubbles, shapes and characters in the app library but there is a wide range of backgrounds, objects, and various resources created for the app or from the Gallica archives. This means that users can constitute their own selection of graphical elements from the BDNF and national documents resources (Gallica database).
There is also the possibility to create your own characters and add images and external material from the personal (computers’) library. One feature that works well (especially for students’ creation of comic strips) is the ability to draw and insert those drawings to the comic as images. Furthermore, users could create lengthy pages (for screen or for printing), and potentially a whole comic book. Finally, users can easily export their projects as an image file (PNG), as a document (PDF) file or as a video file (MP4). In addition, users can even choose to apply filters, manage the quality or weight of the file.
The tool offers great possibilities to users to generate more original or longer forms of comics. For inspiration, check out the examples below, which are made on BDNF and are saved on their gallery:
It is easy to create basic comic strips using the items existing in the Library of the project, but also adding an image from the desktop. Also editing the text is easy and the final result has a very good overall quality (e.g. image). On the other hand, adjusting things (e.g. sizes or changing the order of the frames) is not possible and therefore the app does not allow much flexibility. Also, it requires time and patience to adjust things and edit small details.
There are a handful of comic style characters that have been created for the app with different attitudes and expressions, but users cannot change elements on them. However, they can choose from a wide range of archive images from public patrimony.
The main issue is zooming in and out of the panels when navigating a strip or a page, which is not very instinctive. It’s difficult to work on one panel while keeping the view of the whole comic. Also, one function that could also be useful but is not included in the app, is to be able to copy paste the content of one panel into another or to have a grid to know exactly where you are putting the elements in a panel.
Compared to other existing tools, however, these small drawbacks do not really count, especially since BDNF is free and of high quality overall. While some tools such as StoryboardThat or Pixton only allow for one style of illustrations, BDNF allows use of pictures, illustrations from previous centuries and a few characters created for the app, which allow for a wide versatility. Hence, this tool might probably be the best comic creation tool around for now.
Learners can explore more online tools for comic creation even though the basic consideration from the list available below, or to any application for comic creation, is its predefined characters and themes. It is best for anyone to look at some created comic strips using each tool and see if it can actually fit their classroom needs. Also, most platforms require creating accounts.
(http://www.wittycomics.com/)
This platform answers to the needs of those who prefer to quickly input text rather than spending time on refining the images. It has basic content and limited options, as the comics are based on ready-drawn and fairly simple scenes and predefined characters. No adjustment is possible in colours, fonts, items. It can be useful for writers that want to practice their dialogue and storytelling by letting the words speak more than the images, but not for covering the needs of the diverse students of a classroom.
(http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/games-tools/comic-creator-a-30237.html)
This is another kind of basic comic strip generator tool which uses mainly black and white colour. Perhaps it could be used for younger learners and once printed they could fill the strips with colours (in printed paper). Yet it has overly limited content. In addition, it It works with a Flash on the website.
https://www.culturestreet.org.uk/activities/superactioncomicmaker/)
Interested in something related to space-heros?? Super Acion Comic creator is inspired by superheroes and space life. Unfortunately, the characters and background options for this tool are very limited. Also, there is a limitation on the amount of characters in the text inside the speech frames. Finally, the final result has a bad resolution once it is saved and/or downloaded and printed.
(http://writecomics.com/)
Write Comics is another simple to use application. Colourful but very minimalistic, it follows a very basic and logical way to create comic strips: first select a background, then choose characters, and then complete the story with speech bubbles. On the other hand, it is not resourceful and does not have its own online database where work can be saved or shared.
(http://stripgenerator.com/)
It includes stoic characters, in black and white only, and thus it does not allow users to add their personal style and adjust objects for their classroom needs (e.g. dys-friendly content). No registration required and it works with a Flash on the website. A useful feature is the adjustable frames that the tool offers. So, if users need a specific panel to be a bit wider or longer, they can just drag the wall. In addition, the tool offers a personal library option where users can tweak an image to adjust it and then save it to use again later. However, once the final result is saved and downloaded as PDF, it lacks image and text quality.
Now that you have seen the different available programs and tools for comic creation, why don’t you go ahead and try them out and tell us which one you prefer on the project Facebook page!
Schulten K., & Gonchar M., (2018, May 17), From Superheroes to Syrian Refugees: Teaching Comics and Graphic Novels with Resources From The New York Times. READING AND LITERATURE. New York Times, Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/learning/lesson-plans/from-superheroes-to-syrian-refugees-teaching-comics-and-graphic-novels-with-resources-from-the-new-york-times.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Flearning&action=click&contentCollection=learning®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
Essler S (2018, December 30). 4 free sites for creating your own comics. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/article/create-your-own-comics/?europe=true
Pappas C (2014, January 14). The 5 Best Free Cartoon Making Tools For Teachers. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/the-5-best-free-cartoon-making-tools-for-teachers
Comedots (2011, June 28). 10 Free Online Tools to Create Comics. Retrieved from
https://blog.cometdocs.com/10-free-online-tools-to-create-comics
Bibliothèque nationale de France (2020, January 17). BDnF, la fabrique à BD [Video]. VIMEO https://vimeo.com/385435304
Yannick Guiral-Idoux (2020, April 1). Presentation-application-BDnF [Video]. VIMEO https://vimeo.com/402954437
Bibliothèque nationale de France (2020, January 27). La fabrique à BD – parcours “guidé [Video]. VIMEO : https://vimeo.com/387383287
Duration:
30 minutes Objectives:The objective of this lesson is to present various resources of online graphism, such as banks of images, and get learners familiar with integrating these resources for their comic strips. Desirable outcomes and competences: By the end of the lesson, learners should:
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Duration:
60 minutes to 90 minutes depending on the complexity of the drawing you choose to clean Objectives:One advantage of creating a comic strip or page digitally is the possibility of using existing illustrations. These can be created by the students themselves or come from an image bank adapted to the exercise. However, digitising illustrations often requires cleaning up the image to make it usable. Desirable outcomes and competences:By the end of the lesson, learners should be able to:
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Duration: 60 minutes
Objectives: To get inspiration from a variety of resources
Desirable outcomes and competences: By the end of this lesson the learners will be able to create their own comic strip by getting inspiration and motivation from a series of online resources. |
Sometimes we have to look for motivation and inspiration in others and that is why we have created a collection of resources to help you get through those difficult moments when you do not know how to get started. Each talk is unique and we hope it will inspire you to create your first comic strip.
Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en
Description: Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.
Description: Is your school or workplace divided between the “creatives” versus the practical people? Yet surely, David Kelley suggests, creativity is not the domain of only a chosen few. Telling stories from his legendary design career and his own life, he offers ways to build the confidence to create.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz4JqAJbxj0
Description: In this humorous talk, former teacher and graphic novelist Gene Yang shares some unexpected insights and urges educators to bring comic books into the classroom.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA1vshSuyQU
Description: Karrie Fransman creates comic strips for The Guardian, Telegraph and The Times. Her graphic novel ‘The House That Groaned’ was chosen as the graphic novel of the month by The Observer and her moving life story of Iranian immigrant Ebrahim has received critical acclaim.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSGf6is3U2w
Description: Stan Lee is known to millions as the man whose superheroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. In this video he shares some of the things he has learnt over the years about comic creation.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TXEZ4tP06c
Description: Why is it that so many people think they can’t draw? Where did we learn to believe that? Graham Shaw will shatter this illusion – quite literally – in a very practical way. He’ll demonstrate how the simple act of drawing has the power to make a positive difference in the world
Below you can find a list of websites that provide information and resources on how to use comics in the classroom. You will discover tools, activities, worksheets or videos that could be very useful when you are planning your lesson.
Link: https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2018/01/teachers-guide-to-use-of-comic-strips.html
Link: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/12/comics-classroom
Link: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/graphic-novels-comics-andrew-miller
Link: https://classtechtips.com/2019/09/16/comics-in-your-classroom/
Link: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/activities-using-comic-strips
Link:https://www.makingcomics.com/2014/01/04/begin-story-inspiration/
Link: https://oupeltglobalblog.com/2019/02/04/eight-ways-to-use-comic-strips-in-the-classroom/
Link: https://busyteacher.org/7225-10-creative-activities-with-comics.html
If you are interested in learning some more advanced notions related to comic creation such as colour theory, Photoshop colouring techniques or inking in Illustrator CC; below you can find various videos and tutorials that can help you develop or improve these skills.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRGUV0A3NHk
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfcFFsVj2Ks
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxm7CSuVIMs
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sPuXmTLBj4
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb1eMQ4K17Y
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huJttJFmqFA
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wm9ti-gzLM
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUvbxe72Dzk
Duration: 60 minutes
Objectives: The objective of this lesson is to help you take comic-making a step further by introducing you to co-creation.
Desirable outcomes and competences: By the end of the lesson, learners should be able to:
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Co-creation can be defined as the collaboration of both experts and stakeholders (e.g. clients or suppliers) in order to create concepts, solutions, products and services together with experts and/or stakeholders (such as customers, suppliers etc.). A famous example of co-creation is ‘open source’ software where all kinds of experts and stakeholders collaborate to create free software tools.
In education, co-creation refers to inviting the whole-class to actively collaborate and negotiate with the teacher and each other elements of the learning process. This negotiation may include the contents of the class, the instruction methods, the assessment, and more. Co-creation can be staff, teacher, or student led.
It is believed that involving the students, other teachers and other staff in creating e.g. a course (its aims, its content, its delivery, etc.) induces a shared responsibility among all of them, which, in turn, implies a greater level of student agency that will result both in better quality content learning, as well as student empowerment and higher organisational and transactional skills. The effects on staff will be similar, while the institution itself might experience a change of culture, becoming more of a community.
Co-creation may make staff and students accustomed to working more independently feel somewhat stressed and excluded. Furthermore, the concept itself might be perceived as a challenge to teacher expertise by teachers and students alike. As with all tools, it should be used with moderation and in combination with other approaches and methods.
Co-creating comics in the classroom along with students and/or other teachers may take many forms. The first two things to think about while preparing a comics co-creation activity are the following:
Then, the key question is: what role should each student have? Should I involve somebody else, e.g. a staff member or a teacher of another subject? The most frequently encountered roles for students in collaborative learning groups are:
To these, further ad hoc roles could be added according to the project needs. Such roles could be:
Whatever roles you might choose to assign, however, you need to:
The same holds true for involving other teachers or staff members or outsiders: their role should be clear, while allowing them leeway to adjust their role to their personality and needs.
Finally, you should be ready to compromise if need be.
Now you are ready to ideate, develop and share your comics in the classroom and beyond. We hope that comics will be a useful tool in your class and that you enjoyed the course. Keep creating and if you would like, share some of your creations on our facebook page.
Bournemouth University. Collaboration and co-creation. Retrieved from: https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/our-people/centre-fusion-learning-innovation-excellence/tel-toolkit/pedagogical-approaches-tel/collaboration-co-creation (2020, August 7th)
Edinburgh University. (2019). An introduction to student and staff co-creation of the curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.teaching-matters-blog.ed.ac.uk/an-introduction-to-student-and-staff-co-creation-of-the-curriculum/ (2020, August 7th)
Fournier, A. (2019). What is Co-Creation and Why is it so Valuable?. Retrieved from: https://www.braineet.com/blog/co-creation/ (2020, August 7th)
Fronteer. 120 graphic design terms to help cut through the jargon. Retrieved from: https://fronteer.com/what-is-co-creation/ (2020, August 8th).
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