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Apr 2017

Is it bad to reuse panels where characters are in the exact same pose? i have like 6 panels of the same characters sitting at a desk (not consecutively tho). (my comic is a 4koma so maybe itll be less awkward to reuse panels?)

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    Apr '17
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    Apr '17
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Nah, you're fine. I do it a lot with repetitive poses or if the expression on their face is the only thing that's changed.

It's totally fine for 4koma/strips where the focus isn't necessarily on complicated action/drama. Probably less recommended for more serious comics, where varying the panel layout helps illustrate shifts in emotions - but even there you can still knowingly use repetition to show drudgery, emotional detachment, or humor. So really it all depends on what you're writing.

Since you're going for a 4koma style, you don't have to worry too much about reusing panels. In fact, reusing panels can make for humorous moments if done right.
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to an extent? i mean, bendis does this, of all people. constantly, in fact.

like, if you just keep reusing a panel too much too close together, it can make your comic a little boring and static; you do want your characters to be quite animated in a comic. but now and then its fair enough. or copy/pasting a panel and changing one thing, like a secondary character, can actually be really funny.
heres an example of what im thinking of:
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apologies for the stick figures but im sure u can see the difference

Robert Kirkman, creator of the Walking Dead comic, actually did a little bit about this in his comic "Invincible". It doesn't really give advice about this, but I thought you may find it funny.

I can't upload it, but it's here40.

If the intent is to show the character standing stock-still or pausing for dramatic/comedic effect, it can work! But if you're doing it because you don't want to draw different poses, then it's likely to come across as boring or static. So it's a matter of intentional storytelling vs being crunched for time or just laziness.

I really like @punkarsenic's example! You could show the same pose across 4 panels and just swap out the expressions... but it's 10x more interesting if you throw some more expressive acting in there.
It doesn't have to be a dramatically different pose for each panel, but even a small shift in arm movement or head tilt will make the characters seem more alive. On rare occassions I'll copy-paste two panels, but make small tweaks to the poses in each so they don't look like the characters are completely frozen in place.

it better be. we all know comics are time consuming and take people second to read. i dont see why now

I believe it needs to be done really carefully if it's not to enhance some punchline (I think this is an excellent example: http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-19011)

The issue with similar pictures is that they naturally make people want to play 'spot the difference', or at least, they make me do that, which can break the immersion and be really distracting. This is especially true if you copy something like a pose and then change only one part of the pose, like the arm or the face. Generally I think you're better off just redrawing the panel. The one exception is if you have a wide detail shot. If you want to avoid redrawing backgrounds, make the background shot really high-resolution. Now you can re-use it for both close-up and atmosphere shots. I've seen that done often and it really works well.

I've used copy/paste in a way similar to what @punkarsenic suggests, for effect usually.
....though I've also reused background lineart a few times...

I will re-use panels from time to time; sometimes it serves as a type of methodical device that I use. Sometimes I will make subtle changes to show a progression of time or reaction to a situation.