How to make a manga: a step-by-step guide from idea to page

Professional manga is made in this order, whether one person does everything or a writer works with an artist. Each stage produces something that the next stage needs.

Write the premise as one sentence: who wants what, and what is in the way. "A courier who cannot lie has to deliver a forged letter" is a premise. "A story about honesty" is a theme, and you cannot draw a theme. If the sentence needs a second clause to make sense, the idea needs more work.

Then choose the format. A one-shot is one complete story, often 30 to 60 pages in a magazine contest. A series starts with a first chapter that ends on a reason to read on. A weekly magazine chapter has about 18 to 22 pages, as how many pages are in a manga chapter explains. For a first project, a short one-shot of 8 to 16 pages is a realistic goal. Paste a draft into the manga length estimator to see how many pages it would fill.

A manga script divides the story into pages and each page into panels. For every panel, write the shot, what happens and who speaks. Keep each balloon to one thought. A line of more than about 25 words usually belongs in two balloons or in the art.

• Write in scenes first. Know where each scene starts and ends before you split it into pages.
• Plan the page turns. The last panel of a right-hand page should make the reader turn. Put a reveal on the first panel after a turn.
• Cut narration. A manga shows feelings with faces and staging. A caption box is for time, place or a voice that matters.

Our guide on how to write a manga script has a free template and a filled example page. The script builder exports the same format as text or print.

A reader recognizes a character in a small panel from a few fixed details: the hair shape, the eyes, one accessory, the outline of the body. Design those details first and keep them the same on every page. Test each design in black and white at thumbnail size. If two characters look alike as silhouettes, change one hair shape or one outfit.

For each main character, a useful design sheet holds:

• A front view and a side view, at the same height
• Three or four expressions: calm, angry, surprised and one that belongs to that person
• The default outfit and any outfit that a later scene needs
• The details that must never change, written as words

The free character continuity sheet holds a reference picture with those fixed traits, and it prints. Choose the art style at this stage too, because it changes the eyes, the line weight and the proportions. The manga art styles guide compares six styles on one scene. To design an original character with drawn references, see our anime character creator page.

Japanese artists call the rough storyboard a "name" (nēmu). It shows each panel, the position of each person and every balloon. Stick figures are enough. This is the stage where you fix the pacing, so redraw a name page as often as you need. Redrawing finished art costs far more.

Most manga pages have four to seven panels. Japanese manga reads right to left, so the first panel is at the top right. The reader also expects the balloons in that order. See how to read manga panels for the full reading order. Print blank layouts with the free manga panel layout maker and sketch your name on them.

Set up the page size before you draw. Japanese professionals often draw on B4 paper, 257 × 364 mm, with an inner frame of about 180 × 270 mm where the important art stays. A digital page for print needs 600 dpi for black-and-white line art. Our guide to manga page size lists the book and pixel sizes, and the page size calculator checks trim, bleed and resolution.

1. Panel borders. Draw them first, from the name.
2. Pencils. Rough the figures, then tighten faces and hands. Leave space for the balloons.
3. Inks. Vary the line weight: thicker for near figures and outlines, thinner for far objects and detail.
4. Blacks and screentone. Fill the solid blacks, then add tone for shadow, texture and mood.
5. Backgrounds and effects. Add speed lines and focus lines last, so they do not cover the figures.

Cannot draw yet? Our guide on how to make a manga without drawing compares four routes, from working with an artist to tracing posed 3D models.

Lettering decides whether the page reads in the right order. Place the balloons along the reading path, with the first speaker nearest the top of the panel. Point each tail at the mouth of the speaker. Use the shape to show the voice: round for speech, spiky for a shout, a cloud for a thought, a box for narration.

• Size: test the text at the size that the reader sees it, especially on a phone.
• Font: one dialogue font for the whole book, with bold for stress. Sound effects are drawn as part of the art.
• Space: leave a margin inside each balloon, and never cover a face or a hand that tells the story.

Three free tools help here. The speech bubble generator makes balloons with tails. The manga font generator sets dialogue and sound-effect text. The dialogue fit preview shows how a line wraps inside a balloon.

Pick the place where your readers already are. Each option has different file rules.

If your story reads better on a phone, a vertical webtoon can suit it more than pages. See how to make a webtoon. Before you announce a schedule, finish the next chapter too. A buffer keeps one slow week from breaking your release dates.

• Starting with the finished art. Without a script and a name, you redraw pages when the story changes.
• Too much text. Long balloons cover the art and slow the page. Show it in a panel instead.
• Characters that drift. A face or a hairstyle that changes between pages confuses readers. Keep a design sheet beside you.
• Every panel the same size. A page with no large panel has no moment where the eye stops.
• A first project that is too long. Finish a short one-shot before you plan a long series.

An AI generator can replace stage 5 and much of stages 4 and 6 for a writer who does not draw, or give an artist a quick draft to work from. The common problem is consistency: many tools draw each panel from nothing, so a face or an outfit changes between panels.

We build Konyomi for that case. You paste your story, or talk an idea through with Kon, and pick one of ten art styles. Kon reads the story, describes each character and marks which traits come from your text. It draws each main character once and then draws the chapter, up to 6 pages and 16 panels, with those drawings as the reference for every panel. You can edit any balloon and redraw one panel.

Know the limits before you choose it. Pages read left to right. Kon chooses the panel layout, so you cannot drag panels. The PDF is not built for professional print. Signing in is free, and drawing costs gems. Plans start at $9.99 a month, after a 7-day free trial. See pricing for every step.