How do you determine how to layout your comic?

[Sanz]

hi all!! I was wondering what you all do when you're laying out a comic page i do tons of thumbnails always on paper for some reason...with the script right along side it ! what are your methods?

[Kayke]

I do pretty much the same thing! I doodle panel layouts on paper while looking at my script, which I keep on Google Docs.

[joannekwan]

I start first by laying out the text, since I really want the flow to work in each page. I separate them into their respective bubbles then I generally sketch around that.

[dglisson]

I usually read the script I made and then do the thumbnails separately in a sketchbook. I do the thumbnail for the page I'm going to be working on that day first, and sometimes I'll redo it a couple of times just to see the difference.
The first thing I do is read my script and think about what I was thinking when I wrote the script. Did I have a particular image in mind that was dominant, like was I thinking of a splash page or a half-splash? If not, I look to see what the most dominant image of the panel is. I then frame the rest of the panels around that one, or maybe it's a juxtaposition of two images, or I needed to have a silent beat before going on to the next panel with the same angle, etc. I do it a couple of different ways until I have what looks like it's getting my point across best.

[kkitty]

I just kind of do it.
I found out the hard way that trying to use a script is nearly impossible for me. The motivation for me is writing the comic, and when I'm faced with nothing but drawing left I just...can't.

[VermillionWorks]

I doodle until I have a happy accident with the layout. XP

[demthorshie]

The way how I determine the layout of my comic is by referring to what's in the script first. Then I start by laying out the panel work before I begin drawing out the actual scenes.

[Sanz]

these are all really neat its so cool to see how others do it!

[RewindLabs]

I have it all in my head. Its like a film, so I just pause it, look at that scene from multiple perspectives and choose one that I find to be 'efficient' when the text is added.

I more or less planned it all out from beginning to end and even the details, so, its easier to visualise it.

[AlkseeyaKC]

I do the same. I sketch them out on letter paper. I use to "scan" them and do a sketch over. but the new web cam on this laptop is crap. So I just look at them now and work from there.

[Vikiro_Hop]

With my gag comic I just go with it, I sometimes have an idea to set up a joke and other times I will draw the first panel and figure out everything afterwards. I don't have a set number of panels so I can play around with it. I haven't done longform story stuff in a while but when I did I didn't use thumbnails. I'd usually have a s set "scene" in my head for each page and for each panel I would decide what part needs to be focused on and what not. Dialogue usually has a rough outline but the last thing I write out. It helps keep things natural, and I like matching words with each panel than vice versa.

[AnnaLandin]

I too, do thumbnails on paper - and write the actual script at the same time.

I do a written summary/outline of the chapter I'm working on - a "this happens and then this happens and then this happens" kind of thing - to know what is going to go on in the chapter, but there's little to no dialogue included, and no descriptions of how the pages are going to look.

Then, I take those notes, and I sit down with a blank piece of paper, and start thumbnailing. Beneath each thumbnail, I write out the first draft of the dialogue, as well as short notes to myself about what all of these stick-figures are actually supposed to be, so that I won't forget before I have time to do full-size sketches.

My thumbnails/script look a bit like this when I'm done:

(this example is from a oneshot I made a couple of years ago)

[Shanny8]

I have copies of layout pages that I use. I dont post dialogue, coz I'm usually prone to changing up the gist of the dialogue at the last minute to better capture the moment.

[SethJH]

After I have the written scene ready to go, I just start throwing different ideas down in Photoshop or on paper. Usually, if I can visualize the scene in my head, I can try to pick out key moments. As I work, I don't often keep older layouts (unless I'm being indecisive and need a second opinion), I just shift and pull things around until it feels right. I try to draw with a loose style that establishes environment and character acting. For some of the more cinematic boards, I go for a shaded storyboard approach.

[thomasfallaeriksen]

Sometimes the whole thing starts out as a quick written outline, and sometimes I start making thumbnails immediately.
But the graphics usually always start out like this (a scan of my A4 sized sketch pad).

I always think in a physical format, so I always draw spreads when I make thumbnails.
They always look horrible. And usually nobody else but me understand anything.
I usually work with stories or chapters that ranges from 30 to 50 pages. And on the first go the story always end up shorter than intended. The picture above is from something I'm drawing now. It was supposed to be 50 pages, but on the first go it ended at just 34. Usually I sketch through the whole thing 3 or 4 times before it looks like something that can actually be used. And when I actually start drawing it, I often change around everything again.
The thumbnails only deals with the flow of the main story, panel layouts and the main composition of each panel. Usually I take some (more or less) subconscious inspiration from Egyptian hieroglyphs regarding the size of the different panels. The so called value perspective usually make things work. The most important and key moments in the story tend to get the most space. Regardless of the time involved in the action. But I don't always follow this. It is also very fun to make stories with just one big drawing on each page. The panels usually end up relatively big. I rarely put more than 5-6 panels on one page. I like to give the drawings some space. It also makes me put more effort into them.
Backgrounds, much of the characters appearances and other details usually comes along when I start drawing the thing. It usually makes my drawings look more spontaneous and lively.
Making it with a physical book in mind also make me think a bit different than I would have done if I made it just for the web. It makes me more aware of where I place the key moments. We often find odd numbered pages real eye catching. This is why we usuallly find pictures of girls with way too little clothes in unlikely situations on page 9. This can of course be used to our advantage, but it is also very easy to reveal too much at once and make the overall story seem less exciting. So if I as an example was to make a comic version of the chestburster scene in the first Alien movie, I would try to build up the tension to in one spread. And when you turn the page to see what happens next, that terrifying little creature explode against you. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone else than myself, but it makes me feel really good when I make the story.

Sometimes I also completely stop caring about any of this and just start drawing. Making up eerything as I go along. That can be a real mess.

[mg78]

script / story can be on paper, but sooner or later it go in my pc, where i work it as much as i can.
then i do the storyboard. simply: i read the script, i move what i read in a drawing. ofm course, the layout it's set about what's going on in the story... some scenes are in a way, other got a different framing.

[Sanz]

thats super awesome ! similar to how i do it but alot more organized XD

[KreativeConfusion]

so much sketching

so much scribbling

just so much

[gnekomikero]

i don't have any drafts or manuscripts. I just draw it suddenly. the story, characters, drafts NAME scripts are all inside my head. i dunno why.

[SpavVy]

I basically do the same thing but only when I'm coming up with ideas for thumbnails. I prefer using my sketchbook for the finalized thumbnails so I'll know how everything looks when I turn the page. I'm not as good at keeping up with that stuff apparently. Before I revamped my series I one time made a double page spread and the only way to see the other part was to turn the page D: