Hi, sorry if this topic has been addressed before, but basically I am using Photoshop to create a comic, and I want to do it all digitally (I have a tablet).

Anyway, I was wanting to get some input on how to make panels? I know it's kind of to each his own, but how do you guys approach it? I'm thinking of making my panels all relatively the same size (right now I'm planning each to be about 5x6 inches). Does that sound Ok?

Thanks!

I think that depends on the type of comic you have in mind.

If you want to have a newspaper type of strip, then you get a 3-or-4 panel across setup. You just make them as wide as you need within whatever your maximum space is.

If you want to do a comic book type of strip, you're restrained by a 'page' about the same dimensions as a sheet of paper. Again, you just fit the panels in there as needed according to your writing and art.

If you want a different setup, like a vertical 'stack' of panels (so the reader always moves down to the next panel to read it) it doesn't really matter what size your panels are.


You don't have to restrict yourself to specific panel sizes unless you are trying to accomplish a specific goal with it. Giving yourself more flexibility when it comes to panels can make your page more dynamic, and that way you can work with whatever you've written, rather than trying to make too big or too small things fit in a randomly predetermined space.

That is a good point. I guess I'll jjust have to mess around with it til I find a size I like.

One more thing, does it matter what size the actual layout is? Is it possible to have a comic page that is too big to post online?

YES!

Stuff so big you have to side scroll is generally frowned upon. Its frustrating to readers, and could result in a smaller audience.

I would recommend keeping the width at a MAXIMUM of 800 pixels. Some people say you could go larger, but some folks still have smaller monitors, and 800 is pretty good size, so there's really no reason to exceed it.

What's appropriate can also depend on what type of comic you're doing. If its a comic book story page (ie - an actuall comic book page), I've found that 650 wide by 975 high has done well for me. Probably smaller would be appropriate for a single panel comic (remember, for readers to fully appreciate it, they need to see the WHOLE THING without scrolling). Strips, you probably could go the full 800 wide (i still think that's a high maximum) since proportionally, it will be short.

-----

To address the first question, and kind of amend this answer, keep in mind that the web is one of many publishing options. When you create your work you should keep in mind that you may one day want to print it, and format it accordingly, then scale it down for web display. Print resolutiuon is anywhere from 300 to 600 dpi (300 is the minimum, and standard some places, but for black and white line art, if its supported by the printer, i'd suggest 600).

You might think now that you'll never want to, but suppose you do this for a long time and think "gee i'd like to make an anthology" but you've done everything at web size, and therefore its unprintable. Better safe than sorry. I think it would be horrible to put in so much work and never have the option of printing it. You can always scale down, but you can't scale up (well you can but it will look like total crap).

Food for thought.

There's a lot I could say, but I'd be typing forever. Hopefully that puts you in the right direction. Even better yet, I think you should ABSOLUTELY get your hands on the book "How to Make Webcomics" by the halfpixel guys. Its an amazingly excellent resource, I cannot recommend it enough-- it will answer this question thoroughly and any others you may have.

Hey thanks a ton! That really helped give me some perspective on this whole thing. I'll be sure to think about that. I mean, right now, I'm doing webcomics as a hobby, but you are right, it is better safe than sorry.

Thanks again! :D