Backgrounds, effects, lettering more offered for free without fees or royalties

Datacraft's new website Manga Sozai Jiten β ("Manga Materials Reference Beta") features downloadable image material for use in creating manga.

Affiliated with the Sozai Jiten line of Japanese digital photograph collections, Manga Sozai Jiten currently offers 100 entirely free images in the PNG file format. Datacraft charges no fees or royalties for these images. 20 images are available in each of the following categories of digital images: backgrounds, effects, lettering, speech balloons, and characters. All but the background files include black-and-white as well as color images.

Web Technology Com Corporation released a similar software package last year; however the images in the ComiPo! manga-making program are only available by purchasing the CD-ROM. Unlike Manga Sozai Jiten , ComiPo! also adds 3D tools and advertises itself as software that lets even "people who can't draw" create manga.

Manga Sozai Jiten 's Twitter account offers news and updates on the Manga Sozai Jiten β image collection.