Functional, but clumsy, so I usually end up adding balloons in Manga Studio.

The only disadvantage to using it in this completely non-standard way: If you're not using ComicLife to do the panels themselves, clipping SFX or dialogue balloons to the edge of panels is awkward-it requires adding an invisible, borderless panel overlaying the one in the image and putting the text inside it. Works just as well in greyscale as color, too. The sound effect lettering tools are also great-you can stretch, bend, tweak, and outline fully-editable text to your heart's content.įor my use, if I set up page sizes correctly, import full-page images, and set them to 'actual size', I can then add lettering on top and export a 1:1 pixel-accurate PDF of each page with correctly anti-aliased text added. It supports advanced OpenType text features (auto ligatures, etc), is extremely fast and smooth-feeling, and tweaking the size of a balloon-shaped dialogue box is fast and easy. Unfortunately, the English-language lettering tools in that software are a disaster (no kerning or ligatures at all, awkward, etc), so I need something else for lettering, and Comic Life is exactly the tool I need for that. In my case, I have an artist that works in Manga Studio (Clip Studio Pro). While this app is clearly designed for casual consumer use, it's actually a fully functional professional tool as well. Its priced modestly & is sure worth the price. Perhaps their new drawing app will address that part of the equation more robustly. If you have to draw the panels in relative context - you are doing it elsewhere already.

For that it would be a little awkward production tool, though I have used it similarly. The script page addition in version 3 was a nice touch.Ĭreating actual comic strips or graphic novels with it is quite possible, but not ideal.Ĭonsistent line weights from frame-to-frame could become a problem, if you used this to generate an “approaching professional” level comic. The multiple panel templates & type of “flyer” pages is really very nice as a starting point to generate “how-to’s” & gag flyers. I’d recommend Comic Life, if that means anything to anybody.

You CAN storyboard effectively with it, even if you aren’t a killer artist.ĪND they are about to release some type of draw application soon, too. Pretty cool for single panels & smart cracks attached to photos.

Buy comic life 3