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Just For Laughs? Is it possible to use comic strip creation
software to produce pedagogically effective materials?
Philip Wane, Nottingham Trent University.
Abstract
This report details a research project undertaken at Nottingham Trent
University (NTU) in conjunction with the Social Policy and Social Work
(SWAP) Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). The
focus of the project was an evaluation of a computer program called
Comic Life, which facilitates the creation of comic strips by people without
artistic abilities. During the course of the evaluation it emerged that many
users of the software found it to be easy to use, entertaining but
potentially effective in delivering educational benefits. The common
consensus that emerged was that the software showed great potential as
both a general tool of educationalists and as way of overcoming some
accessibility issues.
Project Overview
The overall aim of the project was to evaluate some award winning
software called Comic Life, which is available for both Mac and PC
platforms (obtainable from numerous sources including the developer’s
website at http://plasq.com). It is not free but it is inexpensive and a fully
functional trial version is available to download. Another purpose of the
project was to ascertain whether staff or students could use the software
(with the minimum of training) to produce pedagogically valid comic
strips. That is to say comic strips that contributed something to the
processes of learning and teaching, or had value in communicating
information or the production of instructional guides.
The use of comic strips offers great potential for the production of both
general teaching materials and targeted training materials such as “How
To” guides (see the bibliography at the end of this report). While the use
of graphical guides, including comic strips, is not new the project aimed to
overcome a major barrier to the production of such comics strip – the lack
of artistic ability. The software offers the potential for people without the
usual technical training in graphic design or natural artistic abilities to
produce high quality comic strips. Whilst technology may never be a
perfect substitute for innate artistic ability or traditional graphic design
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courses it offers the possibility of providing these people who do not have
the benefits of either the opportunity to produce comic strips.
It may be worth noting that, just as Microsoft PowerPoint makes it easy to
produce poor presentations when people ignore good practice, this
software might easily be used to produce poor comic strips with little
educational value, or that are poor at communicating key information.
The program is not a panacea but the project indicates that users only
need a minimal amount of guidance before being able to produce effective
materials, and it is a great tool for people wanting to produce their first e-
learning or blended materials. The software offers a number of export
options so that the comic strips can be made into image files (ready for
inclusion in web pages, word processed documents – for example
Microsoft Word, and slideshow software – for example Microsoft
PowerPoint. Comic strips can also be exported as Adobe portable
document format (PDF) files and QuickTime movie files; so it is very
flexible and offers a great way to begin creating e-learning materials.
The project also sought to gather information on how effective using this
software might be in providing individuals and social groups who lack the
required level of written literacy with the ability to effectively
communicate ideas. At the proposal stage it was thought that such groups
might include those with learning difficulties, those who lacked the
benefits of traditional education or those who were literate but who chose
not to engage with conventional written materials. This last group was
thought to include teenagers who might not read materials such as help
information leaflets that were purely in written form but who might pay
attention to, and absorb, the same information if presented in a more
accessible graphical form. This view was reinforced following discussions
with a group of service users based in Nottingham who expressed a great
interest in the project. They articulated quite specific ideas about how
comic strip style information posters or leaflets could be used to help
convey information to groups who might have difficulties, or choose not to
engage with, text only leaflets. The service users themselves (who are
part of a successful advocacy group) have already identified groups
including former rough sleepers, those whose first language is not
English, and individuals of Romany descent. One advantage of comic
strips is that they do not contain a lot of text so once a comic strip is
produced it would be much easier (quicker) translating the small amounts
of text into different languages, which would be ideal for health
information, or local authorities, for instance information regarding
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housing benefits or other services that might have to be provided in a
wide range of languages and frequently updated.
Something that emerged during the course of the project was the
potential of the software to produce materials to aid learning and
teaching. This had been recognised from the outset but it emerged as a
key theme during the workshop activities as attendees articulated the
many different ways in which comic strips could be used as an aid to
training or learning and teaching. For example, comic strips might replace
traditional text based documentation in some instances, providing
excellent triggers for group based discussion and reflection. The comic
strips might be complete (in that they had a full set of speech and
thought bubbles) in order to convey possible professional scenarios, for
instance a social worker visiting a client. It was also noted that
incomplete strips might be produced where only some of the speech and
thought bubbles contained text and students would be expected to fill in
the blanks in the story line. Having done this student could then discuss
with their tutors (and peers) their differing responses in order to analyse
and reflect upon the procedures. When working with social workers such
questions might include: Had they remembered to introduce themselves?
How might they link practice to theory? Had they borne in mind their
statement of role and purpose? Other disciplines would doubtless have
their own sets of questions that could be incorporated into comic strips.
So while the focus of this research project was on social work and policy
professionals (along with students from Youth Guidance) there are clearly
transferable generic teaching and learning benefits.
Prior to the submission of the project proposal appropriate research was
undertaken to confirm the existence of an established body of research
that identified the potential benefits of using comic strips to communicate
information. Interestingly some of the literature also identified the
potential difficulties of producing comic strips (the technical and artistic
demands) as a barrier to their wider adoption. It was therefore reasoned
that the use of innovative software to produce comic strips with the
minimum of training would overcome this particular barrier. Furthermore
the software can work with either existing images or from newly captured
digital photographs, which it then processes into a choice of comic strip
styles. Therefore the project bid included funding for two digital cameras
so that people participating in the pilot project could produce their own
photographs. This meant that the photographs would be relevant, that
the people taking them would have a sense of ownership and it simplified
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potential issues around copyright and the digital re-use (and digital
alteration) of the original images. A sense of ownership of their public
image might also be a particular appeal to some groups of service users.
The equipment supplied by TechDis has proven most useful, with the
digital cameras offering a quick and easy way to capture suitable images,
for use with the software. The MacBook has proven itself invaluable and
permitted the option of offering project participants the option to work on
either a Mac platform or the PC platform. A large proportion of the
individuals who worked with the software were based in work places
dominated by PCs but some only had Apple computers at home, or they
worked with service user groups who have Apple computers. Comic Life
was originally developed for the Mac platform and there is now a PC
version available but many of the existing support materials use
instructions and screenshots captured from Mac computers, so being able
to demonstrate the software on a Mac was really helpful (as well as taking
advantage of the built-in iSight web cam). This was also useful in the
early stages of the project since most of the existing user guides
(including the official guide from the developers of the software) used
screenshots from the Mac version of the software, which was originally a
Mac only product . TechDis also provided a portable colour printer which
meant that the MacBook, printer and cameras could be packed into one or
two bags. This made it much easier to transport the equipment and
demonstrate the software at the workshops, and means that it will be
possible to take the project kit into the community when working with
service user groups.
Methodology
Staff and students from within Nottingham Trent University were involved
in the project, as well as individuals from a number of different
institutions who were involved either through a workshop held at the
university or through an event at the University of Birmingham (details
below). Participants were then asked to provide informal feedback on
their perceptions of the ease of use of the software and whether they
thought it had any educational potential in their particular area of work.
It was originally hoped that at least one large cohort of undergraduate
students would use the software providing the opportunity for the capture
of quantitative feedback. However timetabling issues meant that this did
not happen during this phase of the research but it is envisaged that
(timetabling permitting) it will happen as part of some follow up research.
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Given the relatively small size of the groups involved in the project it was
felt that quantitative research (the original intention was to use web
based questionnaires) would not have been particularly beneficial.
Feedback has been captured in the form of quotes from participants.
These quotes have been taken from e-mail responses and are largely
verbatim. In a small number of instances minor spelling or typographical
errors have been corrected so as not to distract from the comments
themselves. Such has been the positive (but non-representative)
feedback from the initial project that it is hoped that subsequent research
involving larger groups of students will make use of a wider range of
research tools including quantitative methods (using web based
questionnaires). The author is already in discussion with colleagues about
expanding the use of the software next academic year, such has been the
enthusiasm reported from both staff and students during this project.
Examples of Specific Groups Who Used the Software
During the course of the project three distinct groups worked with, or
were given some training on, the Comic Life comic strip program. These
were: undergraduate students in the School of Social Sciences,
Nottingham Trent University; attendees at a workshop promoted by the
SWAP Subject Centre, which took place in Nottingham; and social work
(and social policy) academics and practitioners attending an e-learning
event in Birmingham (full details of these groups appear below).
Group 1: Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate students from the Department of Guidance, Youth Studies
and Youth Justice, which is situated within the School of Social Sciences
at Nottingham Trent University. As part of the process of completing an
assignment the students were required to produce a document that would
convey information appropriate to a youth orientated audience. This
would normally involve producing some kind of poster of leaflet but it was
hoped that the software would allow the students to produce some kind of
interactive poster or an electronic comic strip (these are also printable)
that could be linked to a wiki produced by the students. Consequently a
group of students attended a session where the concept of the software
was explained, examples of the type of output it can create were made
available and the basic features of the software were demonstrated. The
students were then given digital cameras and a short space of time in
which to go and take some images that could be turned into a suitable
document. A number of possible scenarios were outlined to the students
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so that, when combined with the examples of existing outputs that they
were shown and the demonstrations of the software itself, they were
suitable primed as to the requirements of the task. That is to say –
produce a comic strip using the Comic Life software (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Student Produced Comic Strip
The students were offered a choice of Windows based computers (PCs) or
the use of an Apple MacBook. The students elected to work in a group
using the MacBook since one student owned a MacBook and was aware of
the software but had not really used it. The students were also provided
with printed copies of the Comic Life user manual and asked to import the
photographs they has just taken (using the project supplied digital
cameras) in order to create a comic strip. The author of this report
remained with the students to offer advice (should it be needed) and to
observe the process and progress of the task. The MacBook recognised
the digital camera and imported the photographs to a folder. The Comic
Life software offered an intuitive way to locate the photographs once they
had been uploaded to the MacBook. The software proved to be very easy
to use, certainly as far as this group of students were concerned. This was
a group of computer/web literate students but they did not have what
might be regarded as specialist computer skills or aptitudes (although one
was aware of the software). There was some discussion regarding the
mechanics of how to create the frames of the comic strip, import the
individual photographs into the working area and apply the filters, speech
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bubble effects and so on (see Figure 2). However what stuck the observer
was how quickly these discussions were resolved and the observer only
intervened in a couple of instances. The issues prompting interaction were
duly noted and have been included in the subsequent multi-media user
guides created as part of this project (see the Resources section).
Figure 2 Comic Life Comic Strip Elements
A key pedagogic element that was observed was the discussion within the
group about what text to place into the speech bubbles. In this format
such text works best as brief snippets or strings as text and there was
clear evidence of the group formulating the longer version of what thy
wanted to communicate, before working out the best way to shorten the
text whilst retaining the key message (the kernel of the information) that
they wanted to convey. The observer is not a specialist in media studies
but it seemed clear (certainly from the perspective of someone with
general expertise in pedagogy) that the students were articulating a
sophisticated understanding of the importance of the juxtaposition of text
and images, the flow of a story, and the nature of the intended audience.
Overall impression: the students enjoyed working with the software,
successfully created a comic strip that contributed to the overall
requirements of an assessed assignment, and found the whole experience
invigorating and engaging. All of those involved immediately saw one or
more possibilities for using the software as part of their undergraduate
course and, encouragingly, in their future professional roles working with
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young people (these were Youth Studies students). The full strip produced
during the session can be viewed in Appendix 1.
The following quotes give a useful indication of how useful the students
found the software and the session they received on how to use it.
Student 1 quote
In terms of the session we completed, I found it really useful. It
allowed us to use software and a type of media that we had never
used before. We used the software to design our own comic strips
for a youth work project and will definitely use it again as it can
communicate and initiate discussion through pictures instead of the
normal routes used. The software was also really easy to use, a
couple of hours max and I had the hang of it, well I got the hang of
how to do a fairly decent basic comic strip. Possible uses of this
software could definitely include designing posters for youth work,
as it is fairly easy to use sessions involving young people designing
comic strips could also help.
Student 2 Quote
I really enjoyed using comic life, it is a great way to communicate
to young people in a fun and exciting way encouraging discussion, i am definitely going to use it in the future and it was a great addition
to my wiki web page assignment.
Student 3 Quote
I used to look at comics and be like amazed on how they were put
together. So simple yet also so good at getting the message across and inspiring people. All the famous super heroes started off in
comic form capturing the imagination of millions of people. Comics
are more then good entertainment and with the help of this
software everyone has a chance at doing it. Comic life puts you in the creative seat giving full control over creativity and content. All
you need is a digital camera and the software to make high quality
comics about anything. I found is simple to use once I knew the
basics and was amazed at its simplicity. I can see vast potential for
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comics to convey messages in a simple yet coherent manner. I have
used this software to create varying comics conveying a message
about celebrities. It can be used for many more different projects.
Following the session the students later used the software to create comic
strips in relation to one of their assignments. A sample extract of one of
the assignments can be seen below. In this instance the student used the
software to produce a comic strip that examines the relationship that
young people have with celebrities, images of celebrity, how they
sometimes seem to escape the consequences of actions that others would
not, an the undeniable fascination that some people, especially some
young people have with celebrity culture. Comic Life has proven the ideal
way to assemble collections of celebrity images, processed in the software
to take on the characteristics of cartoons, complete with some useful
observations in the text of the comic strip, text and thought bubbles and
frame text. This can be seen online1 and a sample is shown here (Figure
3).
Figure 3 Celebrity Comic Strip
Overall, based on the quoted feedback and discussions on the day, the
students found it to be an enjoyable, energising and effective approach to
1 http://ntudavelambert.wetpaint.com/page/How+to+treat+a+celebrity+comic
(Last accessed April 30th 2008)
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meeting their assignment requirements; and something they may take
forward into other assignments and their future professional roles.
What did the module leader make of the experience?
Following the Comic Life session with the students the module leader
provided some encouraging feedback on the experience.
Quote from the Module Leader
Just a quick e-mail to say thank you for all your efforts in regard to
working with the Youth Studies Students to introduce them to the Comic Life Software. The students found the software and the
session extremely useful and engaging. The students used the
software to good effect in their assignments. As you are probably
aware the students were required to create their own Wiki to
explore Jeffs and Smiths theory of 'challenging the accepted.' They used the Comic Life software to good effect and this brought an
extra dimension to their work.
One of the objectives of the assignment was for the students to utilise I.T. in a way that would engage young people in the future
when working as Youth Workers. The governments Transforming
Youth Work agenda highlights the importance of Youth Workers
being up-to-date with the latest technology so as to work effectively with young people in the technological age. I feel that the students
fulfilled this objective very well by utilising the Wiki and Comic
Life software.
Since the session with the Youth Studies students the module leader has
expressed an interest in running similar workshops in the next academic
year and more fully integrating the use of Comic Life into the assignment.
They are also considering how it might be possible to introduce the use of
the comic strips on a Careers Guidance course, as they are ideal for those
who will be working with young people in their professional life.
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Group 2: Attendees SWAP-TechDis Comic Life Workshop
A workshop on the use of Comic Life was held in March 2008. This was
organised in conjunction with the Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP)
subject centre and promoted via their website and email newsletters. It
attracted attendees from Nottingham itself (the location of the workshop)
and as far a field as Teeside in the North and Cornwall in the South. It
was aimed at educators and practitioners in the social work and social
policy disciplines; the aim of the workshop was to introduce the software,
provide a basic understanding of how to use it, and to think about how it
might be used as an education or training tool in these discipline areas.
Figure 4 Sample of SWAP-TechDis Workshop Output
The workshop was lead by the author of this report and sought to cover
the mechanics of Comic Life, why want might want to use comic strips,
and the production of a sample comic strip as a means of addressing
these points. One of the interesting aspects of the workshop was how
quickly the participants were able to see possibilities for using the
software in their professional practice. Whilst the workshop leader was
able to offer specific technical advice, pedagogic guidance and some
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suggestions for the implementation of comic strips in practice; the
attendees were quick to seize on new possibilities or could see how to
adapt existing suggestions to their own very specific requirements.
Feedback from the people attending the Nottingham workshop, and the
experience of running it, proved most useful in helping the workshop
leader better meet the needs of people being introduced to Comic Life at
the subsequent event in Birmingham. Partly because it provided further
examples of how it might be used by similar professionals and in part
because it better prepared the workshop leader for likely questions.
Overall it was a useful workshop that helped those in attendance and
provided additional inputs to the continued development of the project.
One can gain some indication of the positive way in which it was received
from the following quotes:
Attendee Quote 1
"… useful exploration of another way of teaching. It was good to
network and share ideas with other social work teaching staff about
how to raise ideas of identity and to approach this in a non text base way.
I had misunderstood the idea of comic life before I got to the
workshop because I thought it would also help me with graphic images I want to use in teaching. Finding time to find appropriate
generic photo images puts me off a bit, but the workshop has given
me another tool to think about in planning next years work. Phillip
was helpful enthusiastic and interested in responding to individual
ideas about using the software. Backup has been exceptional"
Attendee Quote 2
I found the session informal and informative. There was plenty of
time to work with Comic Life and to consider the possibilities for my
own teaching. In the small group we were able to listen to each
other’s ideas and therefore to develop a wider understanding of the potential applications of Comic Life. I left the session enthused with
practical thoughts of how to use Comic Life as a teaching tool, as an
enjoyable aid to communication and as a visibly striking way of
conveying information.
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Attendee Quote 3
I really enjoyed the day we spent on Comic Life, though I'm still
thinking about how I can use it in post-qualifying social work
training. The best use for it I think at the moment would be in
service user involvement/participation, which I'm now taking the lead on in the programme. We had a session from a service user
group locally called Advocacy in Action, and they used a lot of
pictorial media because of literacy/communication constraints in
their group, and I'm looking at getting them involved with the programme's Diversity Advisory Group - so I think I could use
Comic Life to illustrate the work we and our candidates do on the
programme. I could possibly use it in the induction sessions for
candidates as well - I liked your example of 'how to use the library' as an idea. Not developed it yet though.
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Group 3: TechTrain Event at University of Birmingham
Figure 5 Sample of TechTrain Comic Life Output
TechTrain was an intensive e-learning event held at the Centre of
Excellence in Interdisciplinary Mental Health, which is located at the
University of Birmingham. Over a period of two days individuals, and
teams, worked with e-learning experts (referred to as coaches for the
event) in order to develop their expertise in some aspect of technology
that would offer benefits in their working roles as educators, social
workers or practitioners of some kind. The author of this report was one
of the coaches at the event and worked with a number of groups but
spent most of the time working on two specific tools, one being video
technology, the other being the use of the Comic Life software.
This lead to a very productive relationship with a team from the London
South Bank University (LSBU) who embraced the use of Comic Life as a
great way to overcome some of the issues they encounter when
communicating key information to students, service users and other
groups. Since the TechTrain event they have been exploring the
possibilities of using Comic Life in their respective professional capacities
and have already used it on a project for service users. One of the things
that came across from the TechTrain experience was a strong sense of
the immediacy of progress and gratification. The software allows for the
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rapid construction of comic strips and the application of the effects filters
to photographs of the group (where people see themselves become comic
strip characters) is very rewarding. At the end of the event all the teams
who had taken part gave a short presentation and the LSBU team were
able to talk about their perception of using Comic Life to produce comic
strips whilst displaying a sample comic strip on a number of large
monitors (Figure 6). This was very well received and generated further
interest in the project.
Figure 6 TechTrain Comic Life Presentation
TechTrain Attendee Quote 1
We were so excited by the Comic Life that we have nearly all had a
go - either buying or finding a version on our Macs… I have used it
for one of our service user projects which we may use as a poster
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session and I will send it SWAP as a case study. So you can see you
really enthused us!
TechTrain Attendee Quote 2
I really enjoyed the session on comic life and I can see so much
potential for its use. In social work, there are lots of very emotive
issues where comic life offers tools for finding different routes to
addressing these. For example:
in removing ourselves from the subjective to try and be more
objective.
Being able to make images more accessible and express
emotions through the bubbles that do not come so easily in
text.
Using the colours and images and format to use with service
users who do not love the written word as much as academics
like us. Also, it gives them an alternative medium for getting
their message across in a less heavy way.
Summarising key messages in learning and teaching in a
more succinct and powerful way.
Having fun
Making nice attractive flyers which capture people’s interest.
TechTrain Attendee Quote 3
The Comic Life software is a useful medium for story telling by
students or service users
People can be anomymised using the graphic tools
It communicates very directly through the visuals
And regarding some follow up work:
We have produced a Comic Life story showing pictures and
comments from a Gamelan music session we did with students and
service users… We are also going to reproduce it as an A1 laminated
poster. I think it will be a very novel and accessible way of doing
posters at conferences.
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Conclusion
Comic Life overcomes the main barrier to the use of comic strips in
education and training, which is that many people simply do not have
sufficient artistic skills. Whilst it is possible to create a comic book look
with other image editing software the use of pre-set filters and templates
enables users of Comic Life to quickly make comic strip style materials.
The ability to import digital images overcomes many copyright obstacles
that holdback the use of images by higher education lecturers and other
professional groups. The software itself is relatively easy to use,
inexpensive and effective. It allows for the rapid production of a usable
comic strip. Whether used as an aid to communication (posters,
postcards, leaflets or electronic materials such as video clips) or as a tool
to facilitate learning and teaching, for instance as a standalone comic
strip, perhaps integrated into a worksheet or other document, either
stand alone of part of a taught session, it offers numerous possibilities.
Participants in the project have reported that it offers a novel way of
engaging students and service users, especially those who might have
literacy issues. There has been a high adoption rate amongst participants;
that is to say that some participants in the project have already gone on
to use it in practice, which echoes the positive feedback received and the
enthusiastic discussions the workshops generated. The author of the
report is still in contact with the workshop participants and it likely that
further work will be undertaken building upon this project.
Comic Life is widely used in American schools but at the moment it is not
widely used in Higher Education in the UK. Perhaps because comics are
mistakenly seen as simplistic; they can be but do not have to be. If the
software is used whilst bearing in mind good pedagogic practice, for
instance the notion of constructive alignment (Biggs 1999), and
recognising the value to be had from varied and informal assessment
(Ramsden 1992) in encouraging deeper learning, then it offers
possibilities for the production of innovative and engaging resources.
Furthermore there may be a special appeal to those who work with
individuals who have difficulty coping with text rich documentation; but
the potential benefits of this software are not restricted to those groups.
Comic Life may well offer benefits as a communication and educational
tool to the wider learning and teaching community in Higher Education.
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References
BIGGS, J.1999. Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 1st ed.
Buckingham: SRHE.
Ramsden, P. 1992 Learning to teach in higher education, Routledge,
London.
Useful books about comics for educators
Eisner, W. 1985 Comics and The Sequential Art. North Light Books,
Cincinnati.
McCloud, S. 1994 Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art,
HarperCollins, New York.
McCloud, S. 1996. Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga
and Graphic Novels, HarperCollins, New York.
Note: If you only have the time or budget for one of the above then
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud is written as a
comic book itself and is available for less than ten pounds (April 2008).
Useful Downloads
Comic Life software from Plasq software (available as a free trial)
http://plasq.com/downloads
Comic Life User Manual (52 pages of A4 in size)
http://plasq.com/help/Comic_LIfe_manual.pdf
Useful Websites
Comic Life Gallery
http://plasq.com/comiclife/gallery/
Comic Life materials (linked to this report) including Comic Life guides,
examples of comic strips, multimedia materials and further useful links
http://www.philwane/comiclife/comic1.htm
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Appendix 1: Undergraduate Comic Strip
Page 1 of a 2 Page Comic Strip
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Appendix 1: Undergraduate Comic Strip
Page 2 of a 2 Page Comic Strip
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Appendix 2 Sample of SWAP TechDis Comic Life Workshop
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Appendix 3 TechTrain Event Comic Strip Sample Comic Strip