Your Comics Format - My Big Fat Change

Tyler Martin · Post by **Tyler Martin** » Fri Jan 05, 2001 4:09 am

I decided to change the format of my strip and wondered how others feel about formats (the way your panels are layed out).I had been doing the basic inline 4 panel but recently I decided it looked more interesting and could be displayed much bigger by doing a 4 panel with 2 rows containing 2 panels each like Real Life Comics or Spaz Labs or a couple unmentionables (sometimes I have acceptions like spliting a panel or combining them for a bigger opanel without changing the outside dimensions).So, here is a sample of my new comic, I also have changed my technique a bit, not so much style but procedure. Comments welcomed: <A HREF="http://pbgalaxy.keenspace.com/images/20010108.html" TARGET=_blank>http://pbgalaxy.keenspace.com/images/20010108.html</A>
If you go to my regular page you will see I changed my most recent strip to this format, took some tweaking, but go to any strip in the archive to compare the old layout and art with the new one: <A HREF="http://pbgalaxy.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>http://pbgalaxy.keenspace.com</A> 
So back on the topic, what are your feelings on layout? Why did I do the typical layout, is it just a standard, do people hope to get syndicated and want the comic to fit, is it just the overall accepted thing? There are some exceptions, Boxjam has that nice freeflowing thing going with no two comics even the same size (works for him), Chopping Block is just a single framed comic (of course there is the question of the dimensions). But a good number of comics follow that same inline 3 or 4 frame format and probably don't have any intention of publishing anywhere but the web.I guess with a comic strip the set panels help guide you to the punchline. Whereas a comic book page you can flow the frames with the story however necessary, like Zortic, though he keeps his outside dimensions the same, so it could be printed to a book easily with pages the dimensions of the comic. Boxjam would take lots of layout preparation and blue paper.Anyway, what are your feelings, how do you layout your comic and why do you do it like that? Also I am wondering if you masturbate.Tyler <A HREF="http://pbgalaxy.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>http://pbgalaxy.keenspace.com</A>

Damonk13 · Post by **Damonk13** » Fri Jan 05, 2001 4:26 am

I think that your new layout is fine. But I also liked your old layout. And I'll likely like the ultra-secret unmentioned layout that you've negleted to show us at this juncture.Why do I choose my layout? Hmm... As you've noticed, though I usually use the four panel format, I let myself go a lot, depending on what i feel like doing on a particular day...Keeping a more-or-less-standard format gives me a good base frame with which to plot out my ideas; but i don't think that there's anything wrong with playing around either...And as for your final question?Well, duh! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif"> ------------------
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DAMMIT. I can't remember what it was now...
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--damonk13
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SuperJoe · Post by **SuperJoe** » Fri Jan 05, 2001 7:33 am

Wow! I want to go to that restaurant.
As for layout, I mostly go for a three panel strip, but change it up when ever I feel like. ------------------
A guy walks into a bar.
Ouch.
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Rydog23 · Post by **Rydog23** » Fri Jan 05, 2001 7:52 am

I like the layout, but I don't think it really matters. The thing that really matters is the product. Your comic is cool. I like the art and the coloring. Keep it up, man!------------------
"Hmm... they have the internet on computers now."-Homer Simpson
"I just want to make it clear, I thought the cop was a hooker."-Homer Simpson

ZOMBIE USER 197 · Post by **ZOMBIE USER 197** » Fri Jan 05, 2001 8:34 am

I went with a "standard" 3.4-to-1 ratio because that's what the syndicates pretty much dictate. It also lends itself well to my format, which is left to right with no scrolling required. I suppose if I made people scroll they'd be more likely to check out the other features of my site, but that's a little too much like putting the nails & washers all the way at the back of the hardware store so that shmoes building a fence will be tricked into buying a new air compressor.I do break the borders of my strip when the story requires it. The footnotes, for instance, are many fans favorite part of the series, and they crop up irregularly as big blocks of unframed text below the strip proper. Coming up (January 15th) I'll be running the strip vertically for a day, with the footnotes down the side, because the strip features a Very Tall Building. It just made sense. I've got rules I adhere to, but I break them from time to time when the story or joke-delivery requires it.I think that all artists should 1) establish some "rules" within which they will work. Without self-imposed limits of some sort an artist's work is unreachable. 2) The artist should be willing to break those rules to make a point. One of the most commonly accepted-and-ready-to-be-broken rules of comic-stripping is the fourth wall thing. The audience is not really a part of the strip or the story, but most every web-comic I've read has at some point or another done a self-reference ("this strip needs some sexy babes") or an audience aside ("You call that a punchline? Who writes this crap?"). Mine included. And the funny thing is, at the time I did it I thought I was being original. (sigh)------------------
<A HREF="http://www.tayler.com/howard" TARGET=_blank>Howard Tayler </A>
<A HREF="http://www.schlockmercenary.com" TARGET=_blank>Schlock Mercenary</A>

Seven3 · Post by **Seven3** » Sat Jan 06, 2001 3:32 am

I use a 640x480 rectangle and divide it into frames as required. this way I can do a <A HREF="http://portside.keenspace.com/" TARGET=_blank>four-panel strip</A>, a big <A HREF="http://portside.keenspace.com/d/20001225.html" TARGET=_blank>single panel</A>,or something <A HREF="http://portside.keenspace.com/d/20001127.html" TARGET=_blank>something else</A> altogether. It's nice and flexable, but it takes longer to draw the strip when I have to decide how I'm going to lay it out as well as what I'm going to draw.As for the rules, I don't think I've broken too many, but then again I don't know what they are. I stick to what is plausable tho', and even my <A HREF="http://portside.keenspace.com/d/20001030.html" TARGET=_blank>fourth wall strip</A> is done in a way that seems real.------------------
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Reinder · Post by **Reinder** » Sat Jan 06, 2001 9:53 am

I have no interest in syndication, and try to create a layout that works well on the Web. Early on, I followed conventional wisdom, and used a horizontal rectangle that fit nicely on an 800x600 screen while leaving some place for links on the right. To do this, I had to cut in half pages that I had made for a European-style album.Recently I decided to try a vertical format, reasoning that this would leave more room for necessary navigation on all screen sizes except the very smallest; that people are used to a bit of vertical scrolling; and that this would look less clumsy on 1024x768. I'll evaluate when my current story ends, which won't be until late in Februari.Interestingly, I have started to work on smaller originals, and the less detailed look resulting from this makes the pages compress much better; of the batch I finished today, one of them went down to 23Kb, at a size of 400X560 pixels and 16 colors (uh, really 15 shades of grey and a transparency) - the average was about 35Kb. This I like, because the smaller a webpage is, the more likely people are to stick around to look at it.Use my signature to see the old and the new format for yourself!------------------
Reinder Dijkhuis
<A HREF="http://www.rocr.net/" TARGET=_blank>Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan</A>, Humorous fantasy strip, updated Mon-Sat, and really rather good. <A HREF="http://www.rocr.net/d/20000701.html" TARGET=_blank>Read it from the first strip!</A>

Gravity · Post by **Gravity** » Sat Jan 06, 2001 12:02 pm

I think your format is great either way. That strip looks darned slick!- Yes the reason most strips are about the same format is because of syndicate standards. You can go the extra mile and draw it regular in black and white in a row format, then chop it up and stack it in the computer-- Here's what i'm planning on doing and it's along the lines of what Harold was saying about rules.. Ok, pictre the 4 panel format, but picture it as a grid, of which divided evenly in that grid you could logically set up different numbered paneled gags within that grid of 4. Like a 2 panel gag would be half the strip divided evenly in the middle or one small one at the beginning followed by a long one divised of three blocks- catch me?-- I have a layout done on my wall to show me the different combinations0 so far wgen I am writing gags, I usually write in 4's- It's a habit. But expect to see more of a mix in the future. The cool thing about this method is you can pace different gags without breaking your grif, and readers don't notice.- <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">------------------
D.J. Coffman
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Tyler Martin · Post by **Tyler Martin** » Tue Jan 16, 2001 7:01 am

Thank you everyone for the comments and discussion. Deciding the layout of your comic is an important issue.I am going to stick with the new format. The only thing is I am going to go black & white so I have time to do more strips. If I were to color I would want to do a nice job and add shading and stuff which is very time consuming, and a lot of time someone is just reading from text balloon to text balloon and taking in the pictures quickly anyway so that they can get to the punchline and keep the action moving. There is also a certain effect about black & white that is cool, it leaves more up to the imagination. I'll save color for pinups/posters/wallpaper or a cover if I ever assembled the comics in a book.The thing with the 4 panels arranged[1][2]
[3][4]instead of[1][2][3][4]is I can not only make it bigger but also make a version that lays out like the second format for printing in a book or something by moving 3&4 up inline with 1&2. The only thing is I have less variations now, like I can combine frame 1&2 or 3&4 but not 2&3 if I wanted the middle frame to be bigger. Some comics in my archive are like this, some even go [1][234] in two frames. One turned 2&3 into 3 frames. So, that format has more options is the main advantage I could see. But I think I will be able to deliver the comic just the same sticking with the 2 row version.If you draw your comic in a big complex interconnected abstract circle then you are my hero. Righto thenTyler Martin
<A HREF="http://pbgalaxy.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Portside Sundae Rogues of Framed Gravity Walkin' Mercenaries</A>

Gord McLeod · Post by **Gord McLeod** » Sun Jan 21, 2001 6:30 am

Wow, looks like I can post here after all... cool. Whoda thunk it. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"> Anyways, I digress.I currently use a 4-panel grid layout, 2 rows of two panels each. What I'd really like to do though is to draw each panel much larger (about the size of the whole comic as it is currently,) and have each panel on a separate page. Is there a way to do this at the moment that won't break the updating of the site?
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Russ · Post by **Russ** » Sun Jan 21, 2001 8:25 am

Assuming you mean that on a given day, the reader clicks through several pages rather than seeing the whole strip on a single page, yes, you can make a multipage strip. You just have to be willing to create those html pages yourself. (Don't forget to put the ad keentag on each page!) The first html page goes into your comics directory and gets put into the public /d/ directory for you as per usual updating; that first one is linked to the other pages which you put in your webpages directory (or a subfolder therein). (You do know you can put html files as well as gif or jpg files in your comics directory, right?)
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russ
<A HREF="http://www.kofightclub.com" TARGET=_blank>Ko Fight Club</A>
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Russ · Post by **Russ** » Sun Jan 21, 2001 8:25 am

Assuming you mean that on a given day, the reader clicks through several pages rather than seeing the whole strip on a single page, yes, you can make a multipage strip. You just have to be willing to create those html pages yourself. (Don't forget to put the ad keentag on each page!) The first html page goes into your comics directory and gets put into the public /d/ directory for you as per usual updating; that first one is linked to the other pages which you put in your webpages directory (or a subfolder therein). (You do know you can put html files as well as gif or jpg files in your comics directory, right?)
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russ
<A HREF="http://www.kofightclub.com" TARGET=_blank>Ko Fight Club</A>
<A HREF="http://comicollage.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Comicollage</A>

Gord McLeod · Post by **Gord McLeod** » Sun Jan 21, 2001 9:09 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by russ:
Assuming you mean that on a given day, the reader clicks through several pages rather than seeing the whole strip on a single page, yes, you can make a multipage strip. You just have to be willing to create those html pages yourself. (Don't forget to put the ad keentag on each page!) The first html page goes into your comics directory and gets put into the public /d/ directory for you as per usual updating; that first one is linked to the other pages which you put in your webpages directory (or a subfolder therein). (You do know you can put html files as well as gif or jpg files in your comics directory, right?)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I think I remember seeing that you can put .html files in there, and I have put .txt files in so it wouldn't have been a great leap of logic to figure it out in any event. This idea does have a great deal of appeal. Doing only two strips per week, I miss out on a lot of the page hits I'd be getting otherwise. 4 panels a day would let me get 4 banner hits for every strip rather than 1, totalling 8 per week per visitor, which isn't bad, and at the same time, I'd be able to make each panel a lot larger, thus increasing the readability and potential detail of each panel.I'm definitely going to have to give this some very serious thought.Thanks!
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Gordon S. McLeod
Octobeer's Fools
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