Every so often, someone lets you know about a product that might be interesting to try. Such was the case at Gamersinfo.net when I was e-mailed about a product that required a review, and was anyone interested? I went and checked the website, reading with curiosity about the product and what was offered. Well, that had me hooked to at least try out the trial version.
As the title states, you can become a budding comic book artist. Brought to you by Planetwide Games, Comic Book Creator can give you all the essential tools needed to produce fun comic books, or single page layouts, using a large number of templets. The trial version gives you thirty days to be creative, using any type of photos that you might have saved. Whether family photos scanned in, screen shots of your favorite online games, or using the basic set provided with the program.
As with all trial software, a number of features have been left out. But if you like the trial version, you can always buy the retail software. The purchase price is a reasonable $19.99, and you will receive additional templets, clipart, fonts, and other tools. One thing I found out fast had to do with the save feature. The trial version won’t let you save in the more popular formats, as I was getting messages to install this or that feature.
When the C.B. Creator opens, you will get a number of screens asking to make a new comic, or continue with one that’s saved, create title and author, and what pack you want to use. Depending on what is chosen, we get either the default basic tools, or what was currently used for your creation. Since this was my first time, I began with the basic pack. You can change the files to pick your clip art, add additional fonts, balloons, etc. A nice feature is being able to pick what type of page layout you want to begin with. Say you have no idea what the cover will look like - you can then insert that later just with a couple of clicks. The same goes for any part of the comic, front to back.
How does one add the clipart to a page? Just click and drag to the pane where you want it to appear. Don’t like where you put it? Then right click on the pane and delete it. It’s just as simple as that. Centering the important parts of the clipart just requires you to drag and hold on it, then move. You can see what is happening as well by looking at a mini screen in the lower right. Each pane you are working with is independent of every other pane on the screen. So if there was a mistake made, it won’t affect the rest of the page. If you need to zoom in or out a part of the clipart, you have a zoom tool that pops up next to the pane you’re working on. This is great for any clipart that may have edge problems, since you can zoom in far enough to hide them.
Other add-ins let you put comment boxes in various colors and styles. Text balloons, as well, come in different styles and positions. There are text boxes, as well as action boxes, that can be used. You can change the colors of the text, even the background text shadows. Everything can be positioned in different areas of the box. You can even overlap past the border to give it some flair. Depending on your imagination, you can accomplish most anything. If you manage a website and want to spice up your screen shots, then turn them into a comic page. As I play a few online games, I’ll take screen shots of interesting items or friends in action. With that in hand, I could design a single page using the graphics, then they could be used to put together action pages from a humorous light to a deep dark atmosphere.
There were very few negative parts with the trial version. Such things as publishing the finished art work, saving in a different format, or minor problems clicking on the different text boxes, did not diminish the fun I had. If you always wanted to be that next great cartoonist, or just having fun displaying what you’ve created, then I’m sure you’ll appreciate Planetwide Games’ Comic Book Creator.
Father of two, now grown children.What are my kind of games? Strategy, RTS, RPG, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and online games such as Dark Age of Camelot and Asheron's Call. Of my dislikes I would say puzzle games such as Myth, FPS type games such as Doom. Also simulation type games, and games that are just plain bad.
My knowledge of the industry mostly evolves around beta testing games, such as Earth & Beyond from EA, Saga of Ryzom, and companies like MSN and Acolade. Self taught web design is another interest I have. Family life is entertaining at times. It also can get weird as well, after you have been married 31 years.
