Comic Creator Quality Guide
This guide describes a short original comic and an artist statement for a reader who will follow the page without explanation. It is formative: use it to plan, self-check, and give peer feedback. It contains no scores, bands, levels, or confidential marking material.
How to use this guide. Read the whole guide before you draft. Choose one criterion to work on in each revision pass. A useful self-check names a specific sentence or choice, not a general feeling.
1. Sequence clarity
What strong work does. Panels and gutters guide the reader in a clear order. Each panel has a job.
Ask your draft. Can a reader follow the story without me explaining it?
Revision move. Cut one panel that repeats information and enlarge the one that carries the turn.
2. Panel grammar
What strong work does. Shot size, angle, and transition choices support the story’s pace and emphasis.
Ask your draft. Why is this a close-up rather than a wide shot?
Revision move. Change one panel to a different shot and compare the effect.
3. Character design
What strong work does. Silhouette, shape, costume, props, and expression communicate role and mood consistently.
Ask your draft. Can I recognise the character in silhouette?
Revision move. Simplify one costume detail and strengthen one shape.
4. Words and images
What strong work does. Dialogue and captions add to the image rather than repeat it; lettering is readable in the intended order.
Ask your draft. Does the caption tell me what the image already shows?
Revision move. Cut one caption and let the image carry the information.
5. Page design
What strong work does. The page uses space, contrast, and page turns deliberately. The reading path is easy to follow.
Ask your draft. Where does the eye go after the last panel?
Revision move. Move the largest panel to the moment of greatest pressure.
6. Artist statement
What strong work does. The statement explains specific choices and their effects, including one revision or rejected option.
Ask your draft. Have I explained why, not just what I drew?
Revision move. Add one sentence about a choice I changed and why.
Peer feedback protocol
- Read or view the whole draft once without writing anything.
- Name one strength using the language of the guide: “The … works because …”.
- Ask one genuine question about a choice you could not follow.
- Offer one specific next move that the maker can complete in the next lesson.
Do not give a score, a band, or a level. The purpose is to help the maker see their own draft more clearly.
Draft checklist
- A reader can follow the sequence without my help.
- Every panel has a clear job.
- Dialogue adds something the image does not show.
- Lettering is readable at print size.
- My artist statement explains choices and effects.
Teacher note
Use this guide formatively. Select two criteria for a feedback lesson rather than all of them. Model the difference between a general comment (“make it better”) and a specific one (“the second paragraph names a technique but does not say what it makes the reader notice”).
This page is not an assessment instrument. It contains no scores, bands, or confidential marking material.