So you’re all set to produce your first Dio-Story. Congrats! But having the script, having the software, and knowing how to make the Speech Bubbles is only a small part of the story. The next small step is knowing where to go for all of those funky fonts, customized word balloons, or stock images that you might need to move forward.
This post will hopefully get a bunch of those links all in one spot to make your life a bit easier. It took me a long time to dig all of this information up, so hopefully you guys will find it useful.
- Fonts and Speech Bubbles
- Blambot; A great site and online resource to download word balloon templates, comic style fonts and other things. Some free downloads, some that cost money, but they are all fantastic. I cannot recommend this site enough. Fonts can be found here, and for customized balloons and SFX images check here.
- ComicBookFonts; Produced by ComicCraft, the leading letterer in the comic industry, this site has mostly “for cost” fonts, but it’s still a great resource.
- 1001 Free Fonts; One of many free font site resources out there, but there are dozens more.
- DaFont; Another free font resource
- Urban Fonts; Yet another free font resource
- Images/Diorama Accessories
- Google Image Search; Far and away my most trusted resource for finding stock photos, backgrounds, geographical maps, etc… As a caveat I would say that these are not “royalty free” images and they should not be used for commercial use, but I figure producing a little dio-story that impact a few thousand Joe fans at most won’t cause any issues.
- JoeDios Files Section; The JoeDios files area gives you a TON of resources for making your own dio scenery, props, or stock images that can be used for all sorts of purposes. I cannot recommend them enough, some great stuff to see here, all free to download.
- JoeCustoms Wiki; There are various sections within the Wiki here that you might find helpful, mostly the File Repository, the Dio Guide, and the Picture & Image Tutorial. Some neat stuff there.
- NiubNiubsUniverse; Mostly a Star Wars reference site with downloadable backdrops and diorama creating tips. Still, they can double as Joe or COBRA backdrops, too, this is a GREAT place to go for pulling some of that stuff.
- Jim’s Printable Mini’s; Mostly a dollhouse resource, this site has a ton of downloadable posters and accessories that can easily compliment any dio set you have out there.
- Diorama Parts and Pieces
- Build-A-Rama; Specializing in different scales of diorama accessories, the ones you want to focus on are the 1:18 scale.
- Marauder, Inc; Everyone knows how great their weapons are, but now that they carry a ton of M&C Toys Power Team Elite stuff, they’re the “go to” guy for your lockers, bunkbeds, tables, chairs, and tons of other great gear out there. Fantastic prices, too!
- Tri-Gate Creations; Mostly custom heads, torsos, etc… but also plenty of great weapons and stuff like that, too, that could be used for diorama sets or scenes.
- DioDrama; A resource site that you can use to pay for and download mini diorama accessories like thrones, backdrops, etc…
- Plastruct; A little known company that produces and manufactures accessories mostly for train sets and train modelers. You can buy all sorts of items for building dioramas and dio-story sets. A terrific resource.
- General Research/Resources
- WikiPedia; Obviously most folks know about this one. If I need to know what the climate around the Amazon River basin is like, I hit WikiPedia. If I need to know the general geographical location for MacGill AFB, I hit WikiPedia. It’s just a great resource. I wouldn’t bet big money on it’s accuracey, but for what I’m using it for, it works perfectly.
That’s really an all purpose list of my online sources for what I use to produce my dio-stories. Obviously, other things come up from time to time that require something more specific, but in general, the above links will get you what you need. Let me know any questions or any other ideas down in the “comments” section!