Vertical comic format, please help :((

[custoriomariechanta]

I'm a beginner in the comic world and I don't know where to start. I'm using manga studio and I would like to know what is the page size used for vertical style comic that would also best fit for mobile phones. Also, What is the recommended size for panels?

I would also like to know what is the font size you used that is readable both in computers and mobile? :((( Please, I hope for everyone response.. I feeeeeeeeeeeeel so hopelessssss!!

And and and and any tips on vertical comics? HEHEHE

[carloswebcomic]

Easy way to figure this out. Write some text, export it to whatever size you want, then see if you can read it on your screen.
If you can, great. If not, then make the font bigger.
I use a width of 900px, but really, it's something you'll need to figure out yourself depending on your style.
As for mobiles, no idea. There are many different types of resolutions and stuff on mobiles, so don't expect a standard size to fit all. I would assume that people reading on mobiles can zoom easily enough.

[AnnaLandin]

I'm one of those people who just posts regular comic-pages (I'm using Tapastic as a mirror for my main site), but one way you COULD do it is to draw each panel individually, and upload them one by one in the same episode - each episode allows 40 images. The one you upload first will be at the top of the posted page, and so on. That way, you don't have to do one giantically long vertical document in Manga Studio - you can instead do individual panels (or sets of panels) and just place them below each other when you upload.

Also, that means Manga Studio doesn't have to work super-hard to save your giantic file, which is good.

Panel size, of course, varies depending on what you want to draw in them. Tapastic has a 940-pixel limit on width, so do 'em a little smaller than that, with a white border, is my recommendation.

As for font-size - like I said, I do regular comic-pages, and letter them with 12-13 pt font, and it's just barely readable on the screen of my ancient HTC Desire, which is, what, 3 inches wide? More modern phones (and tablets) will have larger screens, and therefore larger display-sizes - but yeah. 12pt font should be your lower limit; going below that makes the text really hard to read on mobile devices.

As for general tips on the vertical format - keep in mind that, unlike a regular comic-page, people aren't going to see your entire "page" at once; they'll be scrolling down to see the next panel, and then the next, and so on. So if you draw something, you can't rely on the reader simultaneously looking at a previous panel the same way you can with a regular comic-page, which is usually viewed as a unit, even if it's read panel by panel.

[Jelw]

When you put the text on your comic, zoom out so that the comic is only about 2-3 inches wide on your screen. Readable? All set. Not readable? Try again.

I would assume that people reading on mobiles can zoom easily enough.

As someone who reads on his phone exclusively, I'll tell you that if I have to zoom in in order to read a text, I'm not going to bother reading it. I'm sure a large amount if not almost all mobile readers are similar minded. It may not seem a big deal having to pinch and zoom, but it really takes away from the seamless experience I want when I read.

[gateofselidor]

Font size depends entirely on what resolution you're working at (the original files, not the images you post to the site). My pages are at 600dpi, and I use 4pt for the vertical edition, which is really quite big. My regular pages are at 9pt, which is still readable on my phone. Both of these would be unreasonably tiny at 72dpi, and probably too small at 300dpi.

Panels size is more of a personal preference/narrative thing. The bigger the panel, the longer it takes to read and the more time the reader will spend on it. So if you're setting a scene with a landscape, or you have an important group shot, make the panel large. If you want the reader to move quickly through the panels to get a sense of speed, e.g.: in an action scene, make them smaller. This applies to both print and vertical formats. Since you're worried about making it readable on mobile, I wouldn't advise making a panel smaller than 1/3 of the width of your pages.

[UzukiCheverie]

With Time Gate, because it's a manga-based but still mobile friendly comic, the canvases are 8.5 x 14 to start and I make the text sizes anywhere between 10 pt and 20 pt, depending on how large they need to be. Then once the page is finished, I throw it into Photoshop and reduce the width to 940 px, with the height adjusting itself accordingly with the constraint options.

[LokeHansen]

I wanted to share my thoughts here because i'm completely different. I don't mind zooming with my phone at all, and would rather have small text to zoom on - than large text that is simplified. Most often with comics text isn't that important because the drawing give so much of the meaning away - so if real text is needed and just just a few words - i would prefer to zoom in. Anyway, just wanted to post in here since i'm so clearly in the other side here and felt that should be represented as well;)