Creating Comics with Comic Book Creator

(for Windows XP)

NOTE: In order to export your comics as PDF files, you must install the PDF Writer software. To do this, after you install Comic Book Creator, run the setup program again and select Install PDF Writer.

NOTE: Comic Book Creator includes at least one Content Pack (a collection of clipart and other media assets). Like PDF Writer, the Content Pack must be installed separately, by running the setup program and selecting to install the Content Pack.

1. Double-click the Comic Book Creator icon on your desktop to start the program:

2. As Comic Book Creator opens, you will see a splash screen with these

choices: Click New Comic Book.

3. Type a title and author for your comic book:

4. Select the initial content pack that you wish to start with (you can modify this later, and you can even create your own content packs if you wish).

5. Next you will need to choose a page template for the first page of your comic book:

6. When you click you will see the editing screen for the first page of your comic book:

Using the Resource Browser

At the top of the Resource Browser you can click these

Buttons to switch between the different collections of

Elements:

Adding your own photos to the Screenshots folder

In order to use your own photos (from a digital camera, from the Internet, etc.), you must save them into a folder and then tell Comic Book Creator where that folder is.

1. First, place all of your photos you need for your comic book into a folder (a good place to put this folder is in you’re My Pictures folder in My Documents).

2. When you are back in Comic Book Creator, click on the Screenshots button in the Resource Browser.

3. At the bottom of the Resource Browser there is a row if dice icons. This allows you to set up four different folders of images that you can access in the Screenshots mode. Click on the second icon (#2) to select it.

4. To designate which folder this icon accesses, click the small folder icon that is under the row of dice. This opens a widow where you can select your folder of pictures for this comic book.

Now whenever you click the #2 dice icon, you will have access to

the pictures that are in this specific folder.

Working with images on your comic book page

With your mouse, drag the images from the Resource Browser to the panels on your comic book page to insert them there.

You can position your image in the panel by dragging it around

with you mouse.

When you click on an image that is one your comic book page,

you will see a magnifying glass appear below it.

You can change the size of your image by selecting

a magnification in the drop-down menu, or you can

right-click the magnifying glass icon to increase it by 10%

(if you left-click it, it will decrease by 10%).

Working with dialogue Balloons

To place a dialogue balloon on your comic book page, click the Balloon icon at the top of the Resource Browser.

A list of the available balloon styles

will appear here.

Simply drag the balloon from the

resource Browser into one of the

panels on your comic book page.

You can extend a dialogue text balloon to a second connected balloon. To do this, click the balloon on your comic book page to select it. Then click the Add Secondary Balloon icon in the Resource Manager.

Working with Caption Boxes

To place a caption box on your comic book page, click the Caption Boxes icon at the top of the Resource Browser.

You will then see the available caption boxes in this area.

Drag the desired caption box from the Resource Browser into

one of the panels in your comic book page.

Then you can type text in the box, resize the box, or drag it to a

different position in your panel.

Working with Clip Art

To use the clip art that is supplied with Comic Book Creator, click the Clip Art icon at the

top of the Resource Browser.

Working with Text Boxes and Action Text

To insert a text box into your comic book, click the Text Box icon at the top of the Resource Browser.

Creating new pages for your comic book

To add additional pages to your comic book, click on the File menu and select Add Page.

You will then need to choose the panel layout that you want for your new page.

You can move from page to page by clicking these arrows in the upper right

of the screen:

Saving your Comic Book Creator for editing later

If you wish to continue editing your comic book project later, you must save it as a “.cbcx” file. To do this, simply select Save As from the File menu. Then name your project and select the destination (preferably the My Comic Books folder, which is in the My Documents folder).

Publishing your comic book as a PDF file or as an image

If you wish to print your comic book on paper, it will be best to save it as a PDF file.

When your comic book is finished, select Publish from the File menu: