Whether you're drawing your first webcomic or laying out your tenth zine, panel layout is the invisible architecture of every good comic. This guide covers everything — from page size and gutters to flow and export — and shows you how to skip the frustrating part with a free tool.
Comic panels are the individual frames that contain each moment of your story. The arrangement of those panels on a page — their size, shape, number, and order — controls how the reader experiences time, tension, and pacing.
Getting panel layout right doesn't require design software. It requires understanding a few basic rules, then making decisions that serve your story.
Start with a standard size before you get creative. For print comics and zines, US Letter (8.5" × 11") is the most common. For webtoons and digital-first work, a tall scrollable format works better.
If you're printing at home or at a print shop, US Letter keeps things simple. You can always crop later.
The bleed is the area that gets cut off when printing — typically 0.125". Your margin is the safe zone where no important content should go — typically 0.25" to 0.5".
Skipping this step is why comics look unprofessional when printed. Set it once and forget it.
Most comic pages work well with 3 to 6 panels. Here's a rough guide:
Don't count panels mechanically — think about what the scene needs.
The simplest approach: build your page in rows. Each row can have 1, 2, or 3 panels. Varying the row structure creates rhythm and interest.
A common pattern: wide panel on top (establishing shot), two equal panels in the middle (action/reaction), wide panel on the bottom (consequence or cliffhanger).
Bigger panels = more time. A large panel makes the reader linger. A narrow panel speeds them through. Use this deliberately:
Manga artists use angled panel borders to create energy and movement — the border itself becomes part of the visual language. A diagonal cut between two panels suggests action, speed, or conflict.
Use sparingly. One or two dynamic panels per page is enough. More than that and the page becomes chaotic.
The gutter is the space between panels. It's where the reader's imagination fills in what happened between moments. Wider gutters = more implied time passing. Thin gutters = quick cuts.
Keep your gutters consistent across a page. Inconsistent gutters look amateurish and distract from the story.
Once your layout is set, export it as a PNG or PDF, then import it into your drawing software (Procreate, Clip Studio, Photoshop, Krita) as a layer. Draw your panels on top. Delete the grid layer when done.
This workflow saves hours. You set up the structure once and get straight to drawing.
Pro tip: Save your best layouts as reusable templates. If your webcomic has a consistent update format, you shouldn't be rebuilding the grid every week.
Equal panels create monotony. Varying sizes create rhythm. Even if you keep your grid mostly regular, let one panel breathe wider or taller to give the page a focal point.
Western comics read left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Manga reads right-to-left. Whatever you choose, be consistent. Never create a layout where the reader's eye could logically jump to the wrong panel next.
More panels doesn't mean more story. Cramming 8 panels onto a page makes everything fight for space. Trust white space. Trust your readers. Less is almost always more.
If you're making a print comic or multi-page webtoon, plan your pages in pairs (spreads). The bottom-right panel of a right-hand page is a natural cliffhanger spot — use it.
Make My Grid builds your comic panel layout in under 2 minutes. Drag to resize, add diagonal cuts, export PNG free. No signup, no software.
Build My Grid Free →Webcomics are read on screens, often on phones. Favor vertical layouts. Keep panels tall and narrow for mobile readers. Avoid tiny detail panels that require zooming in.
Manga traditionally reads right-to-left. Panels tend to be more varied and dynamic, with frequent use of diagonal cuts, speed lines in the gutters, and overlapping panel borders. Full-bleed backgrounds behind smaller panels are common.
For print, always work at 300 DPI and leave proper bleed. Think in spreads, not singles. The gutter between left and right pages (the spine area) eats into your content — keep important elements away from the center fold.
Webtoons are vertical scrolling comics. There are no traditional "pages" — instead, think in beats. Each scroll moment should end on something compelling enough to keep the reader scrolling. Horizontal panel cuts work particularly well here.
Make My Grid was built specifically for this — not as a feature of a larger design app, but as a focused tool that does one thing well: lets you build a comic panel grid fast and export it ready to draw over.
It was built by a dad for his daughter, a character designer who kept losing time to panel setup before she could draw. It's free for PNG export. That's it.