A fun way to spice up your photos is to add a cartoon style speech bubble. In fact, some pictures are just incomplete without a speech bubble. So here is a list of several Speech Bubble generators that will come handy when you need to add that smart comment over your friends' photo (and post it on the Internet).
Using desktop software
1. Photoshop is a master in any kind of image editing job, and by using custom shapes you can add different types of pattern to an image. Download the free Speech Balloon Shapes for Photoshop 6 and above. Extract the contents of the zip file and place the *.csh files into: Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop X\Presets\Custom Shapes where X is the version number of Photoshop.
To load the shapes, go to the Styles palette, then click the small arrow in the top right corner and choose the Speech Balloon layer style from the menu.
2. Speech bubbles can be added with Adobe Illustrator too by using vector shapes. Download this free pack of 33 vector speech bubbles in multiple formats. Works with Adobe Illustrator 8 and above. (Thanks jlwDesign)
Online Tools
3. SuperLame is a free Flash based speech bubble generator using which you can add your own speech bubbles to photos. Just upload an image and click on Add a Balloon to add the bubble. Type your text, choose a shape, colors, styles and fonts to your taste and drag it over the image. Finally save the image and mail to your friends.
4. Kyolo has only one shape, but it can be freely stretched and the position of the arrows rotated. Sadly, no control over color. Kyolo however allows you create an account and save your images on their own server.
5. Speechable is a free photo service that lets you easily upload and add speech bubbles to your photos and share them with friends. The options on this one are too limited to my liking.
6. Bubblesnaps is an annoying speech bubble service. Imagine having to fill up a ridiculously long registration form just to create a bubble? The plus point is that it adds little animation and sounds to your work and saves it as a Flash file. You can then send the link to file via email or post it in your blog.
Verdict: If you ask me, I would say - use Photoshop. It's the best way to do it. But if I have to do it online, then it has to be SuperLame. It provides a variety of shapes and is the most customizable one among the bunch. There are a lot of other similar services but they are worse. If you need animating bubbles, then go for Bubblesnaps.
A non-flash online speech bubble tool: http://comicr.co.uk
ReplyDeletehttp://comicr.co.uk/ - Only seems to work with Chrome... no Firefox or IE support??
ReplyDeleteI myself prefer open software. Here's a guide on how to do the trick using GIMP.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/GIMP/Add_Speech_Bubbles_to_a_Comic_Strip
Enjoy!
You can also use a free online service like debate365.com, it will also let you post to your facebook wall directly from the site.... cheers
ReplyDeleteThere is a new service which is without doubt the fastest way of adding speech bubbles to photos. it's called http://phrase.it
ReplyDeleteCheck it out!
photoonica.com is a good non flash alternative. Works on any pc/ mobile browzer.
ReplyDelete