Panel Balancing

[pandasayori]

Whoot! New topic that I thought of! xD

I wanted to make this topic to see how others go about making panels and making sure that they balance out when they draw their mangas and comics. <3 (Mainly because there seemed to be a need for more interesting topics and I wanted to help out!  )

Guess I'll go first then 

When it comes to panels, I sometimes look at the layouts of other mangas for general ideas. Most of mine come from shojo mangas such as Tokyo Mew Mew, Jade of Bango, and Hot Gimmick as well as various shonen manga like Kingdom Hearts, Nora, and sometimes even Bleach.

I get clueless when it comes to panels, so I put together my own kinds based off different panel pieces in other mangas, though I do make my own off the top of my head at times.

So, how do you go about doing panels? Do they randomly appear in your head? Or do you look for ideas like me? O.O This panda wishes to know!! Oooohhh, and how do you go about deciding which panels fit with the flow of your story?  Oh and do you like thick panel lines or thin ones? (Strangely I like thick lines xD **weirdo I know**)

Hope I was able to help make a nice new topic to talk about ^^;; heh 

[Monsterful]

After studying storyboarding and Cinema Art you start understanding that comics follow the same idea as camera shots, You have more freedom on deciding what to show, but the same principles apply.

Here's more info from Wikipedia about shots:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_%28filmmaking%29

IMPORTANT! After you decide what's going to be on the panel, you must balance them through the page, unity and balance design kicks in. Graphic Design principles can be applied here.

Flow is also very important, the overall page design must feel connected and inviting, allowing for smooth eye-flow, helping the reader absorb the page better.

There's actually a lot more that goes into panel layout design (I'd call it an art in itself), including the lettering, effects, bound-breaks and more.

Nice book on Paneling: http://www.amazon.com/Framed-Ink-Drawing-Composition-Storytellers/dp/1933492953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329774335&sr=8-1

[pandasayori]

Thanks for the links Monsterful!

I agree, flow really is important (even though I lack flow at times ^^;. Whenever I read it helps keep me glued to the manga or comic page that I am reading and also helps me understand what is going to happen after I turn the next page.

Now that I think about it, you have a point there. Panels alone are a form of art when it comes to manga. :) I have yet to do tones, effects, and lettering because my scanner won't let me scan my pages. DX *le sigh* So I'm just stuck with my inked and wordless pages..

[legomaestro]

I'm very bad at this and always have been. I guess i need practice. I'll download the book too.

[Monsterful]

Glad you liked it! And Lego that book can't be downloaded, I linked to its Amazon listing.

[legomaestro]

Haha well... that has rarely stopped me.

[pandasayori]

That actually doesn't seem like a bad price for a book on paneling and composition :)

[legomaestro]

I'm nowhere near buying anything online. My only chance was my dad's bank card but pay pal has pretty much messed it all up. The idiocy of that place sometimes. It's impossible to file any sort of complaint whatsoever!

So... it's torrents and downloads for me

[pandasayori]

I've actually downloaded books before (: yayy for free! Though I did buy one book..can't remember which one though..

[j.gika]

I've recently come across the same problem, I am currently working on an interactive online graphic novels. I learned that there is a structure to paneling. It is important to know the pace of the seen and different compositions and cell sizes will influence the reader to follow the story in a different way. Also when you want to place a character slightly outside of a cell there needs to be a reason why, such as you are introducing a lead character etc.

** I like thick borders too hehe :) **

[Pigeon]

Ive never really followed a linear process...That's probably bad...I just know from common knowledge usually shots that are extremely important are BIG AS HELL. Take Dragon ball Z for example, as soon as Goku turns Super Saiyan you want a big ass full body shot of how awesome he looks. Not just like a small panel in the corner of him just showing his torso and up, thats usually for heavy dialogued situations.

Or Usually starting a new scene you want to display where your character is at, so you do maybe a city scape. Again for example, if Goku is at Capsule Corp. in a new scene after fighting someone, they're gonna show a big cityscape shot of Capsule Corp. before going into the scene.

And for fights...I still haven't gripped the layout for action sequences. I usually follow Kishimoto's way of layout for fights in Naruto, which are like dynamic with the pose.

By the way, from the link I click for that paneling book...It's like $900...is that only me who see's that? O_o

[pandasayori]

@j.gika: Yes!!~ I'm not the only one who likes thick borders~!! :'D Introducing a main character is kind of hard for me... mainly because I get confused on what panel structure I wish to use..

@pigeon: That is true about important shots.. I also read somewhere that corner shots are useful since readers eyes seem to automatically go to them. (Which really does happen with me xD) and SHAZAAAM!! o.o I never noticed that when I clicked on the link. It's waaaaay cheaper to get the book used...

[sharean]

I actually have a print out of different panel positions and I use that as reference whenever I get stuck on a panel idea but I do know a very informative link that explains paneling in really great detail that I can post up for those who are interested

[Monsterful]

999$ dollars!? 149.99$ used? WTH? I bought my copy of that book for 15$, right on Amazon...
I have no idea how it got so expensive! XD

@panda: for introducing main characters it's really recommended to show a full-body shot, or at least a semi-full body shot; showing the complete character sets the right mood to fully appreciate it.
The only situation you'd go against this rule, is when you want the character to remain mysterious by just showing small parts of him/her, such as the back or shadowed face... stuff like that.

[pandasayori]

@sharean: oooohhh that would be very helpful

@monsterful: I see shots like that a lot ^^;; I just wasn't sure if were nessicary for every main character. So...if there were 3 main characters would it be okay to use one full-body and two semi-full body shots?