Create your own comic

7 tools for doing it yourself

If you have more time than money — and if professional quality is not an issue — you might consider creating your own comic.

A gazillion online tools make it possible to put simple comics together.

Among my favorites:

1. Halftone

I could waste the rest of my life doodling around on Halftone, a 99-cent iPad app that turns photos into comic panels.

Here’s a Halftone panel I created for a piece on the “Trash compactor” story, where you squeeze the life out of a piece by cutting words.

2. Comic Life 2

This $29.99 application lets you make comic strips using your own photos and images.

3. http://stripgenerator.com

You can create a simple strip using this site’s characters and props. Here’s a strip by Quag54.

4. WeeMee

I downloaded this app to keep the most adorable girl in the world — aka my 5-year-old niece — entertained at restaurants.

But “the world’s most popular avatar” maker also lets you create comic-like characters on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Here’s WeeWorld’s own “Tech Master.”

5. Xtranormal

Create your own comic videos with your story and Xtranormal’s sets, actors and sounds. Here’s one I’m working on about writer’s block.

A basic account is free; professional accounts are $50 a month.

6. Tellagami

Make a short comic video on your iPhone with Tellagami (rhymes with origami).

Use the app’s characters and your own photo and voice for pieces like this 18-second video explaining how to make a sidecar.

7. Microsoft Word

Heck, I’m not above using photos and captions I develop in MS Word as comic panels.

Here’s one for a story showing how captions change the meaning of images.

Just do it.

There are dozens of other tools for generating comics, avatars, word balloons, and comic fonts and lettering. Your best friend and research assistant Google can help you find the best resources for you.