Which panels are better? (Advice please!)

[Buritsu]

Hello! I'm looking for advice again. For borders in my comic I have just been using a solid black line.... because it's quick. But apart from looking lazy, it also cuts off speech bubbles when there is white space to the side of the page, so I was thinking about changing to "box panels". Doing the boxes takes more time for me though, so I will only change if people actually think it looks better...^^;

Please tell me which you think looks better! I will post two unrelated pages, a version with "black line" panels and a version with "box" panels. I'd love some opinions!

Black Lines:

Box:

Black Lines:

Box:

Thank you~

[BobbyjoeX]

for the first page, boxes, for the second page, since i figure its night outside, the black lines

like switch them up XD

[Rhonder]

I commented as much on your recent episode, but I somewhat prefer the box style panels rather than the line ones. Although if you do end up going that route, I'd encourage you to consider playing with the white space between panels a little bit more than in these quick mock ups! If the panels are that close together they might as well be black lines, more or less xD

Also I know not every comic does this, but some use conventions where the gutter space in between horizontal panels is smaller than between vertical ones (so like maybe in between the panels on the top row is 1/4" or something and in between row 1 and 2 is 3/8" or 1/2") Definitely not necessary but it's a tool to help control the reading speed of the panels

If they're all kind of evenly space, they all get read at the same pace, but if you have an action sequence tightly spaced together and then the aftermath shot with a little thicker gap, it can sometimes have more impact! That's similar to the principals vertical scroll comics use with their white space too (but they amp that concept up to the max xD I haven't personally worked with vertical scroll yet).

[amortelito]

Hi I use lines too. Hmm...I think the difference is minimal in the examples to be honest because the panel distribution is the same. I find it hard to explain...what I mean to say is that in both type of pages there is still no air between the panels.
The advantage of the boxes is that the air created between panels can also express something like the pass of time. while the lines are just there to divide.
I found this page: the space is important to show her emotion.

I'm changing my format soon Boxes definitely have an advantage. adding more space between them seems to be particularly important for scroll down webcomic, so I think it is worth the change.
But if you really like your page format without the spaces, then I think you can keep the line separation.

[TheFalseVyper]

like switch them up XD

Absolutely switch it up! It keeps your pages from looking repetitive and gives them each their own personality

[Buritsu]

Yeah you're right, I do like the boxes but I miss using the solid black... using solid black for night scenes is a good idea, thank you!

[Buritsu]

Thanks for your reply Rhonder 8D

Mm, mm, I agree. I tend to prefer the boxes too... but yes, if they are all closely packed together like that, it all reads at the same pace and there isn't much variety. When I start applying the panels for real, I will try to do what you say, and change the amount of white gap between the panels depending on the time passing between the scenes. Adding a bigger space between vertical panels is a good suggestion too, I think I'll try that!

Thanks for your help!

[Buritsu]

Thanks for taking the time to give me some suggestions!

I will follow this advice and change up how much white gap there is between panels, to create more air between scenes that need it. In my mock up I didn't change the placement of the pictures, but as I add it to the comic proper, I will try to be more creative :3

Thanks for your reply!

[punkarsenic]

i think black lines works for the first one, but bc the second one has darker panels the boxes are clearer

you have hella narrow gutters btw - theyre serviceable, but can sometimes get visually confusing or crowded. have you considered spacing them out a bit?

[Buritsu]

Thanks! Yeah for the mockup I didn't change where the lines of the drawings were so the boxes look really cramped... but in the proper version I'll space them out a bit more. You're right, I'll add more space and change them up depending on what is going on in the scenes ^^

[punkarsenic]

ah okay cool, no worries ^^

[Rhonder]

No worries! Millionscape is already awesome, but I love seeing the ways it's improving too! ^^