Planning a Comic
Year 9 HEAP • Graphic Novel • Planning
A short comic is a design problem as much as a writing problem. The premise, the page count and the visual motif need to be decided before the drawing begins. Thumbnails are where most of the thinking happens.
Start with a premise and a question
| Premise | Dramatic question | Visual motif |
|---|
| A girl finds a note addressed to her future self. | Will she open it, and what will it change? | Rain, folded paper, windows. |
| A boy volunteers at a shelter for one night. | Can he help without making things worse? | Hands, doors, fluorescent light. |
| A class plants a garden on a rubbish tip. | Will the garden survive the first term? | Seeds, cracked soil, green shoots. |
| A grandmother loses her memory. | What remains of a person when memory goes? | Photographs, repeating rooms, hands. |
Character and conflict
| Field | Your plan |
|---|
| Protagonist | |
| What they want | |
| What blocks them | |
| What they fear | |
| What they learn or lose | |
| Antagonist or opposing force | |
| Relationship that changes | |
Page plan
| Page | Beat | Layout | Key image | Page-turn effect |
|---|
| 1 | | | | |
| 2 | | | | |
| 3 | | | | |
| 4 | | | | |
| 5 | | | | |
| 6 | | | | |
| 7 | | | | |
| 8 | | | | |
Thumbnails
Thumbnails are small, rough sketches of each page. They are not finished art. Their job is to test the layout, the reading path and the page turns before you commit to a larger drawing.
- Draw a rectangle for the page.
- Block in the panels with rough shapes.
- Mark the main figure or object in each panel.
- Draw arrows to show the reading path.
- Mark where the words will go.
- Test the page turn: what does the reader see next?
- Try a second layout and compare.
Script format
| Element | Example |
|---|
| Page and panel | PAGE 3, PANEL 2 |
| Image | Close-up of Maya's hand on the door handle. The handle is cold; condensation on the metal. |
| Caption | CAPTION: I had waited three years for this door. |
| Dialogue | MAYA: It's not locked. |
| Sound | SFX: click. |
Write only what can be seen or heard. Avoid explaining the character's feelings to the artist; show what the artist can draw.
Low-tech alternatives
| If you cannot draw | Alternative |
|---|
| Limited drawing skill | Use stick figures, silhouettes or collage; focus on layout and story. |
| No art materials | Create a photo comic with staged objects or a storyboard on paper. |
| No time for a full comic | Complete the script, thumbnails and one finished page. |
| No digital tools | Use paper, pencil and a phone camera to document the page. |
| No permission to publish | Share the comic with the class only and keep it offline. |
Ethical review
| Question | Answer | Safeguard |
|---|
| Is any character based on a real person? | | |
| Could a reader identify someone from the details? | | |
| Does the comic use a stereotype for a character or group? | | |
| Is anyone's story used without consent? | | |
| Does the comic treat a sensitive issue with care? | | |
| Who checks the comic before it is shared? | | |
Common errors
- No ending. The comic starts well but has nowhere to go.
- Too much story. An eight-page idea stretched to twenty pages.
- Ignoring the page. Planning panels without considering how they sit together.
- Writing a screenplay. Describing camera moves that a comic cannot show in the same way.
- No ethical review. Discovering a privacy problem after the comic is finished.
Next, move from plan to page with drafting and feedback.