What have you learned about panelling?

[oakiel]

Hey there! I saw a post in which someone said they've had to go back and fix the noob-y mistakes they'd made in designing their panels. Since I'm just starting out, I'm wondering what kind of mistakes you might make (and I need to avoid!) with panelling. So, what have you learned through experience/feedback about this specific area of making comics?

[revisionstudios]

I recommend taking a look at this thread and some of the links it posted!

Hey Welcome back to our second installment of NGT, where we share weird advice that's too small and specific to bring up in most other situations This week we're talking about Panel Structure! How do you decide what panels go where? Are some panels better than others for different tasks? Can you form a narrative with just a handful of boxes??? I dunno but we're gonna find out! My tip for this week is that if you use a weird panel layout (Like this for example) You can reuse the structure ag…

I think a big one that a lot of people forget about initially is the 180 rule. Breaking it displaces your characters in their setting and it makes it harder for the audience to keep track of where they are.

A personal habit that took me awhile to break was seeing it like an animation--it's not, and you don't have to draw every frame. Just what's important!

Generally I think it's a balance between interesting layouts that lead your eye and keeping it basic/clear enough to not be confusing. There are a lot of "soft rules" that you just kind of accumulate over time, like how you should avoid several talking heads as panels, or don't cram too many panels on a page, or how different size panels denote time and focus. Things like that!

[fakey]

One problem I try to avoid is having boring panels. An early draft of my comic had the same square panels (roughly same size) and there was nothing to break up the samey feeling. It just looked dull so in this final version I'm trying to vary up the panel types to make things more interesting.

I've also tried to keep in mind the idea of a panel that leads into a page turn, where you have a sort of hook in the last panel on an odd number page that encourages the reader to turn to the never page to see what happens next.

[LyliClovis]

I'm still new to comics, but I decided to go with the simple approach.
19 Days (a Chinese webcomic) only has simple square/rectangular panels, so I thought that would match my story well.
I chose this style because it would take away one less thing to worry about.
What I've also learned about paneling is to not make my speech balloons too big. In my first chapter, they were rather large, haha ;;;
I think out of everything I've learned so far, I still need to work on how to make a better flow with my speech balloons (so one can lead to the next more smoothly) and to not make them so big!

[Wumbl]

I'd say panelling depends on the mood of the scene, but here's some tips:

big panels are dramatic and good for establishing space, and skinny panels are more intimate for little moments of movement

less is more - trim out frames you don't as you can so that you can get more into a page (otherwise you might end up with too many pages which spoils pacing)

if you want to reveal something major, save it for a big panel because that will grab the reader's attention right away

most jokes can be told in an even number of panels, like 4 or 6

make sure you leave good space for word bubbles or you might risk covering up characters - you can cover bits of background but try to keep major things like furniture and people uncovered or your art will not be displayed (I like to use a wide shot if I need to put lots of dialogue in)

Those are just a few, but they may help.

[Shanny8]

Make sure each page has a flow and tells the story effectively from panel to panel; ALSO, make sure that same story flow is told effectively from page to page.

[feuersichel]

I'm a beginner but I can tell you, what I learned so far.
I don't often do "extreme" panels, exept if the situation is right. In slow situation I often start with an establishing pannel, so the reader knows, where the situation is happening. Also I try to avoid swapping the characters or the "camera" too much

Example 2

But then, in fight scenes I love to make all those strange, flipped unsteady ones ^^ I think it gives the scene more action. Also it's very fun to do
(caution, old and strange art incoming!)

story of Osram - Page 30

But I think in the end you'll get to it as you draw. don't let yourself stuck just by this and keep on drawing and researching and try out new things Making comics is the best way to improve ^^

[phen]

Tangents, ugh, so many tangents.

The Schweizer Guide to Spotting Tangents

I have a heck of a time trying to avoid muddling tangents in my comics, something that the eyes gleam over because of working on a page for so many hours.

This guide made me aware of quite a few repeated mistakes I was making (and still make, trying to stay my hand).

[digitalvalium1]

Effective use of paneling leads the eye through the action so there is zero confusion of what is happening when and is not dependent on cultural norms.

Leading a reader backwards across the page can be an effective tool to instill a restless, out of place feeling.

Good paneling adds to the atmosphere of a scene. Bad paneling can leave even the best script and action limp and uninteresting.

[Shanny8]

This is me when lettering...trying to avoid tangents.

[Mari]

Tangents. Beware of tangents. They ruin your life.

[oakiel]

i had no idea these were even a thing! Thank you for sharing, very informative!

[xanedis]

I'd love to heard a more expanded explanation on the 180 rule. I assume you are referring to degrees?

And I've noticed that using cinematography is VERY useful when creating a sense of place and motion in webcomics(granted, I write motion comics, but still). Having even a bit of cinematic eye and imagination for how to transition from one panel to the next helps a lot(in my opinion).

[KSlinger]

Check this out, it's quite a good explanation. Just imagine you were walking in a circle around a pair of people talking.

[KSlinger]

I'm still learning a lot about panelling but one thing I have learned is not to treat a comic like an animation. I'm into the habit of storyboarding my pages like it's a film and while that's nice visually it means I'm taking absolutely ages to get through early action sequences. In fairness, there is a lot of background info being shared at the same time about the 'rules' of the enemies and how one defeats them so it's not entirely unnecessary, but I'd much rather be developing character at this point in time.

[xanedis]

Oh, that's funny. When I wrote my script, I had this sense of unease about swapping my characters' positions. So I slowly moved my camera around them as the panels changed. Don't know why it's instinctive to me, I may have unconsciously utilized it in my writing.