by AJ George 
I've talked a lot about where to get free stock photos, about how to manipulate stock photos, and tips for creating your own graphics. Somehow, in the midst of all that, I remained in the dark about what is probably the best free resource I've come across in a while.
When tasked with constructing eLearning on a limited budget and a limited time frame, you may be forced to take a linear approach to your navigation. This is often seen as a less effective way to present learning, but it doesn't have to be. One solution to the linear eLearning doldrums is to present your content in comic format.
This could prove quite labor intensive. But, behold: Design Comics. Not only can you take a look at some comic examples and download a pretty nice selection of characters and scenes, BUT, it's all free. SHUT-UP!
This slide above took less than five minutes to build. All I did was drag and drop the downloaded images from Design Comics and slap a text box on it. Similarly, you could add more than one person and thought or dialog bubbles from the Shapes menu.
You could also ditch the comic idea altogether and just use these images as part of any eLearning course, even one with branching.
Easy, fast, looks nice, FREE. What more could you want?
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About the author: AJ George is IconLogic's lead Technical Communicator and author of both "PowerPoint 2007: The Essentials" and "PowerPoint 2008 for the Macintosh: The Essentials."
Thanks for the post AJ—I am looking forward to playing with the Design Comic resources. One graphic tip I’ve passed on to some of the clients I work with is to use the “Diary of the Wimpy Kid” theme.
By using this theme you don’t have to been an expert illustrator and you can easily create different backgrounds using standard stock art. Anyway it’s a good trick to use once or twice with your audience.
Thanks for the post AJ—I am looking forward to playing with the Design Comic resources. One graphic tip I’ve passed on to some of the clients I work with is to use the “Diary of the Wimpy Kid” theme.
By using this theme you don’t have to been an expert illustrator and you can easily create different backgrounds using standard stock art. Anyway it’s a good trick to use once or twice with your audience.
Thanks for the post AJ—I am looking forward to playing with the Design Comic resources. One graphic tip I’ve passed on to some of the clients I work with is to use the “Diary of the Wimpy Kid” theme.
By using this theme you don’t have to been an expert illustrator and you can easily create different backgrounds using standard stock art. Anyway it’s a good trick to use once or twice with your audience.