And now for something a little bit different… I’ve been meaning to post this for a while but I’ve been very busy lately…
Long story short… I’m extremely curious as to what this ComiPO is all about since Destiny Fails Us is using it for his/her OELVN (visual novel) that it override my usual cautious nature and popped money to buy it ASAP without even knowing what the program is and what it can do…
OK I have a slight idea but not much.
OK so it’s US$50… I guess there is a reason for this… but first, what is ComiPO in the first place?… According to their website…
Try to read the paragraph below in Morgan Freeman’s voice… I DARE YOU!!!
Good news for people who can’t draw! If you use ComiPo!, you can easily make manga in a style of drawing that you could not create yourself. Now you can create manga simply by using a mouse – except when you type the words! (If you create a comic without words, then all you need is a mouse!) It’s simple to make changes, even as your manga project nears completion! Make as many adjustments as needed until you are satisfied. (Then it becomes a waiting game between you and your client.) You can easily create high quality comics simply by laying out data! (However, please provide your own imagination and motivation.) You can save a lot of time! (You no longer need to stay up all night working only to carelessly knock over an inkbottle!)
Long story short, it’s a Comic / Manga / Doujin Maker…
THE GOOD
And yes, it is very good at it’s intended task… the menu is very intuitive… without even reading a single manual, the whole thing is very intuitive… I made this image below in under 5 minutes…
I can tell this and I will not be ashamed of it… THIS FUCKING PROGRAM IS FUCKING FUN TO PLAY WITH!!! It didn’t stop there, along the way, I learned that you can actually put your own 3D models in the scene so I used THIS and placed it in the scene…
It was AWESOME and so EASY!!! You pick a background, pick a character, place them in scene, chose a pose and select a nice angle and add whatever words you wanted and it’s all so… NATURAL!
Not only 3D items and models but also 2D raster graphics like BG’s and sprites… I can clearly see now the possibilities and why a layman or a person isn’t very good at drawing would love this program…
Yes!… Your very own Virtual Girlfriend… ;_;
You can even make your own character by customizing things like dress, hair color and such and save it for later abuse. And best of all, there are additional downloadable items available for free. Mostly minor items and props but not much but it’s free so you really can’t complain.
THE BAD
OK so I am having a blast and I am somewhat confident now to up the ante and try and make my own pose… there is none… Seriously, all you have are a preset number of poses to chose from… no way of editing or modifying them except for the head position where you can rotate it to some degree.
Well this kinda sucks…
THE UGLY
And here comes the part where regret is starting to sink in. I just noticed that the selection of base character and clothes available revolves around the typical “Visual Novel School Theme” and yet clearly on Destiny Fail Us site, the characters are wearing something else…
Am I missing something?
Yes indeed, after looking closely at the site I just realized a really horrible thing… apparently, the other clothes are sold separately and right now there are…
ComiPo! Collection 1 : Props & Scenes
Price : $14.95 (suggested retail price)
ComiPo! Collection 2 : Summer Uniform & Sportswear
Price : $24.90 (suggested retail price)
ComiPo! Collection 3 : Swim Wear
Price : $24.90 (suggested retail price)
ComiPo! Collection 4 : Casual Wear
Price : $19.95 (suggested retail price)
Total price for all is $84.07 + ComiPO = US$134.07
So I was like ZOMG! This ComiPO is a lot more expensive than I thought! It’s even more expensive than Twilight Render which at US$99.00 you get the whole package and everything… WTF!?… Of course… being stupid… I still brought everything!!!
Surprise Kick our of nowhere for no apparent reason!
If you think this is the worse go check the Japanese website… while it’s full of Japanese text which I do not understand I can clearly tell that the Japanese Site is way more active, alive and constantly updated with newer and fresher content… MY GAWD! They even have COSMIC BREAK MODELS in there but what do we get!?… Some stupid looking FROG!!!… Now I’m beginning to feel as if I’m being ripped off because the English site fails in comparison. There are a few brave men and women on Deviantart who create fresh content to stretch the usability of the software but yes, they’re limited to either modifying an existing part like hair and eyes or mere props and items but never entire models or pose.
SO WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
Of course, there is still some use for this software. This can be used for prototyping Visual Novels or OELVN projects. Also, the characters can fill and populate the background to make it more alive and dynamic. Other than that, I personally don’t have much use for this software because of it’s limitations. Or maybe I should start making Comics out of it.
Now don’t bash ComiPO very quickly. It was a software with a specific purpose and it was built around it and it is very good at it while keeping it’s intended target audience into consideration. Any other purpose made out of it are merely incidental. It can be used for VN (OELVN’S), it can be used for posters and notifications and make it more interesting. It can be used as filler for BG’s or even to make really funny meme’s out of it.
Personally, I’d recommend MMD if you need more flexibility but if you are feeling adventurous then go ahead… buy ComiPO, it’s fun to play with it 🙂
“POOF” (Disappears)
Studio Mugenjohncel 