### Quick Tutorial

Creating a comic page in Comic Life is very simple - the user interface is laid out in just the way you need:

1. Choose a template.
2. Choose your images and drop each one on to a panel.
3. Add balloons and captions to the panels.
4. Add sound effects and a title.
5. You're done!

#### Choosing a template

A template is a particular layout of panels on a page. The templates are smart in that the layout is automatically adjusted to suit the dimensions of your page.

Whenever a blank page is created the template area is automatically expanded to reveal the available templates. You can use the popup menu to view the different template collections.

When you've found a template you like drag it on to the page (or simply double click it). The template is adjust to fill the available space on the page (within the margins).

The template area is automatically collapsed.

#### Adding images

If you're using iPhoto you'll see your iPhoto Library displayed below the template area - if you're not using iPhoto you'll see your home folder displayed below.

Choose the iPhoto album or folder that contains the photos you wish to use in this comic.

Note: the mini-Finder in Comic Life is smart in that it will automatically create and show thumbnails for any image files it finds in the current folder making it easy to identify the images you need. Large folders may take a few moments to fully display all the available images depending on the speed of your Mac.
Click and drag an image from the iPhoto album or folder and release the mouse button when you are over the panel to which you wish to add the image. There is a momentary pause as Comic Life adds the image and fits it to the panel such that it completely fills the panel. You can adjust the position of the image by clicking and dragging on the visible part of the image. You can resize it by dragging the green resize handles that surround the image.
Note: when an image is dropped on a panel the image becomes attached to the background of a panel. When the panel is moved the image moves with it. To adjust the image (to reposition it within the panel for example) double click on the panel and the image will become editable.

Continue adding images until all the panels are filled.

#### Adding balloons

Once your images are laid out in panels it's time to add some balloons. Drag a balloon from any of the balloon wells at the bottom of the window and drop it onto an panel.
1. 2. 3.
A balloon is created on the panel and ready to be edited. Enter whatever you want and then either click outside the text area or hit the "enter" key on your keyboard to save the new text.

Notice that the balloon has resized itself to fit the new text - if there is more text than before. You can easily resize the balloon further to better fit the new text by dragging the green resize handles around the balloon. As your mouse moves over the balloon you'll notice two markers appearing and disappearing. The orange marker on the tip of the tail highlights the spot to drag to adjust the position of the tail - so you can line it up with the person who is speaking. The other marker that's near the center of the balloon is a special handle that lets you move the balloon and the tail at the same time. To adjust the position of the balloon click inside of the balloon.

Notice that the tail (the part of the balloon that indicates who is speaking) does not move. You can move the tail by clicking on the tip of the tail and dragging it to a new position.

While you are dragging the balloon or tail you've probably noticed that they are drawn beyond the edges of the panel on which the balloon was created. This is not typical for comic which normally have balloons and other lettering cut off at the edge of the panel. This is called "clipping" and is the common look for balloons in comics - they only break the edge of a panel to add dramatic effect. The reason Comic Life has the opposite behavior is because many photos you might want to use do not have the room for balloons. Future photos can be taken with consideration for balloons and you can change this default behavior.

You can enable the clipping behavior for a particular element by choosing the "Arrange->Clip" menu item.

To enable clipping as the default behavior check the "Clip new non-image elements to panels." check box in the Preferences.

Continue placing balloons and editing until you're happy with the composition. See balloons for more information on working with balloons.

#### Adding captions

Adding captions is very similar to adding balloons - simply drag and drop them on the panels and edit the text. See Captions for more information.

#### Sound Effects and Titles

The final step is adding any sound effects and titles to your composition. Sound effects and titles are both created with the Lettering element. To add a lettering element simply drag and drop from the Lettering well onto a panel. Instead of adding the element immediately a sheet is presented where you can enter the text and specify the font for the lettering.
The reason for this is that lettering elements are converted to lines and curves before being added to the comic. This allows them to be drawn in novel ways such as with gradient fills or warped for more interestng effects than is possible with standard text in balloons and captions.
Enter the text for your lettering element (and choose a new font if desired) then click "Place Lettering".
The element is placed on the comic (centered on your drop location) and drawn with the default style.
You can move the element to wherever it is needed by clicking and dragging in the normal way. However the drag handles at the corners have a different effect than resizing images, balloons and captions. Instead of resizing the element uniformally dragging a handle moves just the one handle and the lettering element is distorted to fill the new area. The two center handles a special and warp the letters in a curve. This lets you get dramatic effects with very little effort. Adjust the handles to get a design you like. If you want to rescale, without warping, then click again to get a framed way to scale rather than warping.

Continue adding lettering elements until you are happy with your composition. See Lettering for more information on working with Lettering.

Your page is finished. You can now keep adding pages or if you're done print it out or post it to the web. Have fun.