Panel questions for people who work in page format

Lensing 2025-07-09 07:22:45 UTC #1

I really love symetry in designs and frames and I´m a bit with measuring things
out. I love the golden ratio. Even symetry in contrast to dynamic figures and
things like that.

I tried to force myself to a more dynamic panel layout to make the pages more
interesting but it really bothered me to look at it. Distances between panels not
being exact. Confusing layouts etc.

I now went back to the classic 9 panel grid and it made me feel relaxed, one
thing less to worry about.

What do you use? Do you go wild like in the example that I uploaded
(page by Jakob Benjamin Martindale) or
do you use a simple grid system? And why?
Does it matter for you as a reader? Do you prefer a wild style?
Are you bored by looking at a (boring) 9 panel grid?

rasteranime 2025-07-09 07:47:49 UTC #2

i kinda struggled with whole panel puzzle right from the beginning

this from my earlier post on blogspot

then i liked this default format which was in krita comics template

then tried webtoon scroll format... didn't like it... then reverted back to single page 6 panel format

I use single page 6 panel format for its simplicity i guess... I've also read 9 panel grid comic like the watchmen... loved it... and regarding dynamic panel layout as reader I am ok with it...

wolflu66 2025-07-09 07:48:29 UTC #3

I prefer the layout of Japanese manga. I find the 9 panel grid rather boring. But the Jakob Benjamin you uploaded seems too wild. My preference is right in the middle of the two examples you gave.

I really admire Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga. Compared to many Japanese manga, his paneling is quite simple. (Almost) no panel breaks, no double-page spreads. But he creates manga with an animator's mindset, and the images are full of dynamic movement. I find it admirable.

kyupol 2025-07-09 07:49:15 UTC #4

When I used to work in page format, never really thought about panel layouts. Just did what I thought "makes sense"

Lensing 2025-07-09 08:04:05 UTC #5

I used the 6 panel grid for my DINA5 printed comic.
9 panels would have been too much to print in that size.
I find 6 panels too big for a full comic page

Lensing 2025-07-09 08:08:48 UTC #6

You still have the option to do something like that with your 9 panel grid.
But even that drives me nuts sometimes

It differs for me as a reader and as an artist btw. When somebody
else has a more flexible panel design then it´s ok for me most
of the time

Lensing 2025-07-09 08:11:37 UTC #7

That sounds like a good way to do it because you have the option to
play with the panels as a storytelling tool. Speed up or slow down and
stuff like that. That´s something that´s completely missing in the 9 panel
grid

Rob012 2025-07-09 11:46:53 UTC #8

After reading my own comic in my phone many times, and considering most of the webcomic audience uses the phone to read, I've come to the conclussion that the best way to go without falling to the clasic-manhwa-infinite-lengh-style is to reduce the number of panels per page.

More panels means smaller panels, so it's harder to see what's going on if you are using a phone to read it. In this page, for example, the two top panels are very compressed, with less "air" than the rest. Since is only a dialogue between three characters that aren't doing anything isn't that troblesome, but on an action scene would be a fatal mistake. When the page is this small (I reduced the resolution on purpose) is harder to tell what's going on, right?

Webcomic format asks for easier to read pages, so I try to go around 5-6 panels per page. If I'm feeling playful then I use diagonal lines for a few panels and that's it xD

Mohini9000 2025-07-10 13:10:44 UTC #9

I do a freestyle partially inspired by the webtoon layout. (i.e. panels go from top to bottom rather than from left to right.) There is a Franco-Belgian influence to them in that they are orderly, but they are also kinda chaotic like in manga.