Make Beliefs Comix

Registration: Not only is no registration required there is NO place to register. This feature is not a part of MakeBeliefsComix.

Background: Background is limited to 5 pastel colors. No other background is provided.

Body Language: All characters come in 4 different body postures that relate in context to the 4 facial emotions. The emotions are not only shown on the face but seen throughout the entire body. For example, if the character is sad, it is slumping. The four emotions are happy, sad, angry and surprised. None of the body parts can be manipulated. Some of the characters only have half a body whereas other characters have their entire body. There are 15 characters to choose from.

Clothing: Clothing is part of the character template. Nothing can be added or subtracted. Detail to clothing style, patterns, and accessories is simple. Clothing colors are black and white.

Lettering: Lettering comes in one size and one font. The size of the font can be manipulated when the speech balloon is scaled (from near to far).

Speech Balloons: Speech balloons come in pre-determined sizes. Three sizes are given but there are six in total with the tail part of the speech balloon changing from right to left to match the placing of the character. There is one regular speech balloon and thought balloon.

Gutters: The gutters presented in this comic creator's strips is limited to a thin black strip to separate the panels.

Panels: Panels are pre-determined in shape and come in a strip of  2, 3, or 4.

Focus: This part of the comic creation is limited. The only means of creating depth is through scaling the characters and their speech and placing them left or right in each panel.

Stereotypes: Stereotypical characters are the main staple of this comic creator. Hip young people, animals dressed as people, the odd ball character, the nappy haired black boy, are a few examples.

Accessibility: The newly created comic strip can be accessed by emailing the finished product to oneself. However, an image is not provided but a link to the image on the website is provided. The user can print off a copy of the comic strip but that is the extent of flexibility. There is no place to get the embedded coding (since it is a children's comic creator) and no connecting links to social networks. There is no ability to drag the image to the desktop. Accessibility to the comic is limited.

Intended User: This comic can be used by anyone, but the entire makeup of this comic is aimed to meet the user needs of children. There is no connecting social networking and no ads. A teacher would be comfortable using this comic creator in the classroom. Librarians could use this comic creator as an activity when interacting with children on the internet at the library.

Summary: As Susan Sedro writes in her own evaluation of this comic creator, "no comments from views allowed, so no need to monitor them." She also writes that since the comic is short, the students can quickly and easily put together a comic. Since there is no gallery of comics from other users, teachers do not have to worry about questionable content. This site is easy to navigate and flexible in meeting the needs of its intended user group, although it is not entirely accessible.