A comic-book template is a series of individual boxes which constitute a single comic-book page. Each page can entail anywhere from one to 10 boxes, arranged in a number of different patterns in order to tell the story. Templating is an important first step in designing a comic, because it allows you to set the parameters beforehand and design the story around them. A number of software programs can provide ready-made comic book templates, but you can prepare a set of your own if you have sufficient artistic skills.
Instructions
1. Set a standard creation size for your comic book. When you print it, you can shrink it down to whatever size works best (by scanning it into a graphic program like Adobe Photoshop); but when drawing the originals, you may want the template to be bigger to facilitate greater detail. The size of every page of your comic book should be uniform, so that it all looks "of a kind" when it goes to print.
2. Determine how many pages you have to use in each comic. Most traditional comics use 32-page or 64-page templates, and while you can break that mold, your publishing company will likely have strict parameters about the exact page count. (Even small-press printing companies adhere to this.) At least one page will need to be devoted to a cover, and if you have advertisers, you'll need to include page space for their ads as well. Once those calculations are made, you'll know how many pages you have to work with for each issue.
3. Design a series of "stock" templates for use on each page of your comic book. These are simple boxes, separated by frames of a uniform length, that constitute the average page of your comic. Design a four-frame page, a six-frame page and a nine-frame page. These will serve as the basic building blocks of your comic. The width of frames varies, but should be uniform throughout your book (every frame on every page the same width). Generally speaking, that width should be no more than 1/6 inch or so.
4. Identify points in the script where you want to deviate from the basic frame. It may be a full-page splash taken up by a single piece of action, or an irregular series of panels depicting a unique pattern of action. In some cases, the action may literally burst out of the frame. For each page composed like this, design a separate template based on the action you wish to convey. Keep the width of the boxes the same as they are for the rest of the book, even if you're arranging them in a unique or special way.
5. Assemble your comic book using the templates you have drawn, using copies of standardized templates as appropriate.
