At this moment I’m looking for a software where I could create and make my comics look more refined in an easier manner. So instead of a comic that looks like this, I prefer it looking more like this :
This looks much cleaner and neater in its own strip. I think that you’re able to do this from Photoshop elements, but I think the steps involved are quite tedious. Instead, I’ve been spending my time, researching and trying out the different kind of editors out there.
For now, I’ve stumbled upon Bitstrips and Pixton. They aren’t exactly what I’m looking for as I have my own drawings which I want to use. Nevertheless, I think that they are really fun to play with, so much so that I was completely engrossed playing with them and spent my entire day exploring their different functions.
Pixton
Pixton is an award winning website created by a husband and wife team. I like pixon as it’s easy to edit – you just click and drag by directly on the object you want to adjust.
If I wanted to move my avatar’s limbs for example, I just click on that part of the body and rotate them around. So easy. I also loved that I could adjust the poses and expressions quickly from the templates.
There are so many other customization that you could adjust – like the shape of the hands which I appreciated. It’s the little details like these that gives the overall website a professional feel.
One downside is that free users are limited in what they could do – only a maximum of 2 characters and if you wanted to download your own comics, it requires 25 credits each. You could earn 5 credits by logging in daily, or you could get an unlimited subscription plan for about 4 euro a month.
Here is a strip that I did with Pixton. I love the style of the drawing. I think it even looks good in black and white.
On hindsight, I should have used this for my actual Cart and Rinaz comic.
Bitstrips
For those who are active on Facebook would be very familiar with Bitstrip as its app has been very popular as a way to convey status updates.
But bitstrips also come in an online version where you could create full cartoon strips.The interface is clean and I loved the cheeky look when creating my avatar each time I progressed a step further.
It appears to be completely free, and it seems that you are not limited by the amount of characters that you wish to create here. You are also able to download your strips when you are done.
While there are preset poses that you could use in bitstrips, unfortunately you can’t click on the limbs and move it around directly, and instead you’re required to adjust using the control panel.
Nevertheless, it’s still easy to use and I especially liked that you could even adjust the props. All the furniture in the above strip can be rotated and you can also change its shade.
Here is a strip I made using bitstrips :
I love how cute Bitstrips avatars looks like. And on hindsight, I think I should have made this into a Cart and Rinaz comic too!
Nevertheless, I had so much fun creating and playing around on both the websites and they are both giving me so much ideas on how to improve my own comics. Feeling quite inspired right now. 🙂
Love the program! The comics look very professional and the customization is a great plus factor. Have fun! 🙂
I’m having lots of fun 🙂