Pixton is a Flash powered comic creation software, housed online that takes the hassle out of story boarding comics.
Creating comics on the Pixton website ensures artists, or teams of artists’ time is best spent scripting the comic, drawing the images, and cropping and cleaning them in preparation for uploading into an online storyboard creator. What this means is that time, which is the most valuable resource a comic artist has, can be spent on working up the images in Illustrator and Photoshop and other appropriate software.
Scripting and Setting Out the Comic
The easiest, most simple and straight forward way to approach story boarding a comic is to use a traditional template you create for yourself in Word. Here is an example from the comic Grainy Lil’ Girl. This simple Word template is cost effective and ‘does the trick’. By keeping the process simple and using a table with the images in rows, matched by captions in a row below each one, the work can be prepared ready for a rapid transfer. The easiest way to transfer the story into Pixton software is to methodically cut and paste each image and its caption one at a time.
Saving Time for the Things That Count
Because the process of transferring is so simple, it means that the artist does not get discouraged but the complication of type setting. Once the comic has been scripted, and the images created, the next task is to position the image into the cell. There is a simple Flash powered WYSIWYG, with which the artist can scale image size, arrange backgrounds, add props and the like. There is also a neat caption maker that can either act as a speech or thought bubble, or can be dropped into a conventional caption format below the cell. Here is the first section of the comic completed. Grainy Lil’ Girl, you can see that it has gone from a scrappy script to having a polished layout with very little work on the part of the artist.
Linking Sections and Polishing the Final Product
Creating the second installment of the story is a simple matter of making another set of frames and linking the two. I have called the second set of frames Grainy Lil’ Girl 2.
You might think that the final result is not very polished? There is also a section called ‘remix’, and this provides space for those who are learning as they go. When ready, artists are able to return to old comics and polish them. This can be a continual process of renewal, as artist become more aware of the technique and hone skills with regard all aspects of creation.
Why Choose an Online Comic Creation Website?
Besides the fact that the artists cut the amount of time required to set out the comic, and as well as the fact that it can now be uploaded into a readymade online community, and besides the fact that this provides a readymade audience of comic enthusiasts who come to this place to see what new comics have been created. Besides all of this there is a supportive community for artist so that they can share their work and provide feedback for others.
No matter how much fun comic creation can be – there is always the down side. It requires long periods of focused attention. At Pixton the artist can take short breaks from the methodology of it all. here is a ready made community where artists can drop into see other artist at work and to chew the fat about the trade.
Setting Up Hot Spots of Talent
The reader may ask why I have chose to upload this article to a channel called Practice Pits of Creativity. Surely this article about technique belongs in one of the other more practical channels?
It is the community atmosphere of Pixton that I am after for my students. The opportunity for the process of creating comics to be so streamlined that the unrelenting methodology of the task is not the slightest bit daunting.
I am also inviting readers who want to create practice pits of creativity to see if this space Space for Daily Haiku might stimulate a desire for regular self expression.
And just to finish on a humerous note here is a Pixton Made Comic
Copyright Jo Murphy
Global Citizens Art 