Making manga is less mysterious than it looks from the outside. A manga is a story told in panels, planned on rough thumbnails, drawn in pencil, inked, shaded and lettered, and every one of those stages can be done by a beginner at their own speed. This guide walks through the whole workflow and shows where a browser tool like BlankComic fits in: page setup, panel layout, speech bubbles and export. It is honest about where it doesn't, too.
Quick Summary
- Start with the story and a rough thumbnail version called the name (pronounced “nemu”), not with final art.
- Manga pages are read right to left, so place your first panel at the top right.
- In BlankComic you can set up a manga-sized page, build the panel layout, add bubbles and export PNG, JPG, PDF or SVG for free.
Start with a story small enough to finish
The most common way a first manga dies is ambition. Twelve volumes of plot, forty characters, a world map. Nobody finishes that as a first project. A one-shot of four to eight pages, with one character who wants one thing, teaches you almost everything a long series would, and you can actually complete it.
Write the story in a few plain sentences before you draw anything: who the character is, what they want, what gets in the way, how the page ends. VIZ Media's own beginner guide puts the story and characters first for a reason. Pictures built on a weak idea only look nicer.
Draw the name before anything else
Professional manga artists don't open a blank page and start drawing final panels. They make a rough draft called the name (ネーム, nemu), a thumbnail version of the whole story that focuses on pacing, on how characters move through each scene, and on the dialogue. One artist describes it as the stage where the frame layout, the dialogue and the camera work are mostly decided, and the artist behind the Zelda manga adaptations calls it the most important preparation before drawing the manuscript. In Japanese publishing, editors read the name to judge a story before the final pages exist.
You don't need an editor to benefit from it. Stick figures and boxes are fine. What you are testing is whether the page turn lands where you want it, whether a panel is carrying too much, and whether the last panel earns its place. It is far cheaper to redraw a thumbnail than a finished panel.
Tip: Draw your name on scratch paper or directly in BlankComic's Draw tool, one rough page per thumbnail. If a panel has more than two ideas in it, split it.
Set up the page and the reading direction
Manga pages are read right to left and top to bottom, which mirrors traditional Japanese writing. When you build a page for readers used to manga, the first panel goes in the top-right corner and the eye travels left, then drops to the next row. In the diagram below, follow the numbers.
In BlankComic's editor, choose the Manga page preset (6.7 × 9.4 in) or enter a custom size if you are working toward a specific printer or platform. The editor doesn't force a reading direction, so you place the panels in the order you want: for a manga-style flow, build the layout with the key panel at the top right. If your readers are used to left-to-right comics, you can do that too. Just decide before you start, because mirroring a finished page later means redoing the lettering.
Remember that professional manuscripts are usually drawn larger than the printed book. One answer in Clip Studio's community forum mentions drawing roughly 1.2 to 1.3 times larger than the magazine size. If you plan to draw on paper, that gives you room for fine lines. If you are building the whole page on screen, the page size you pick in the editor is simply the size you export.
Build the panel layout
This is where the editor does most of its work. Open Layout to start from one of the 30 ready-made panel layouts, or begin with a full page and split it: H splits across, V splits down. Drag the edges to resize. For more on how panel size and shape control pacing, read our guide to panel composition, and for ready-made manga arrangements see blank manga panels.
A few manga habits are worth borrowing. Make the moment that matters biggest, since a reaction deserves a half-page, while a quick beat gets a thin slice. Use wide panels for establishing shots and tall ones for speed or tension. The Cité internationale de la bande dessinée also notes that manga relies heavily on movement and speed indications and uses ellipsis less than Franco-Belgian comics, so expect to show more of an action in several small steps instead of skipping between them.
| Stage | What happens | Where BlankComic helps |
|---|---|---|
| Story | Premise, characters, ending | Not needed; paper or notes app |
| Name | Rough thumbnails of every page | Draw tool and quick layouts |
| Layout | Final panel arrangement | Page preset, layouts, panel splitting |
| Pencil and ink | Final line art | Draw tool, or import scanned or digital art |
| Tone | Screentone and shading | No built-in screentones; do it elsewhere |
| Lettering | Bubbles, captions, sound effects | Six bubble types, text boxes, sound words, comic fonts |
| Export | Share or print | PNG, JPG, PDF, SVG, .blank |
Draw, ink and shade the art
The final art follows the name: pencils first, then ink, then tone. VIZ describes pencils as the start of the final art, and tone as the stage that gives a black-and-white page its depth, which is why screentone dot patterns became part of how manga looks. One artist's published routine for inking goes border, speech bubbles, characters, background, effect lines, then text. You don't have to copy it, but a fixed order stops you from inking over something you needed to change.
BlankComic is a layout and lettering tool, not a professional illustration program. It has a simple Draw tool and you can import your own artwork into each panel, but it has no advanced brushes or built-in screentones. Most people draw the panels on paper and bring them in, following the steps in our guide to scanning hand-drawn comic pages. If you prefer paper from the start, you can plan the page online and then ink it directly in one of M M Milton's blank comic books. Others draw in an app such as Clip Studio Paint, export PNG, and finish the page here.
Add bubbles, captions and sound effects
Lettering goes on last so it never collides with the art. In BlankComic you can add speech bubbles in four styles (round, jagged, cloud and whisper), move the tail so it points at the speaker, and use text boxes for narration. Sound effects work as styled text in comic-style fonts such as Bangers, Bebas Neue and Oswald. Our speech bubble guide explains when each style fits.
Place bubbles with the reading order in mind. In a right-to-left page, the first speaker's bubble should sit further right and higher than the reply, so the eye meets the lines in the order they're spoken.
Export and keep an editable copy
When the page is done, export it as PNG or JPG for screens, PDF for printing, or SVG when you want vector output. The export guide compares them in detail. Save the project as a .blank file as well: an exported PDF or PNG can't be reopened for editing, but a .blank file brings back every panel and bubble exactly as you left it. Your work also autosaves in your browser, and nothing is uploaded to a server.
Try it: a one-page manga in 20 minutes
Exercise
- Open the editor and choose the Manga page preset.
- Pick a layout with five panels and place your opening panel at the top right.
- Sketch stick figures in each panel with the Draw tool: someone finds something, hesitates, opens it, reacts.
- Add two speech bubbles and one sound effect, then export a PNG and save the .blank file.
Mistakes that slow beginners down
Skipping the name is the big one, followed closely by overdrawing the first panel and never reaching the last. Another is lettering too early, then moving a figure and having to redo every bubble. And the last: starting a page without deciding on reading direction, then discovering that the key panel sits in the wrong corner. If you plan to grow the story past a few pages, our guides to multi-page storytelling and how many panels a page needs are the next stop.
Want a shorter format to practice timing? Try a four-panel strip with the 4-koma manga template.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I really make manga online for free?
Yes. In BlankComic you can set up a manga-sized page, build the panel layout, add speech bubbles and sound effects, and export PNG, JPG, PDF or SVG without an account, without installing anything and without a watermark. The drawing itself can be done on paper or in another app and imported.
What is a “name” in manga?
The name (ネーム, nemu) is the rough storyboard of a manga: thumbnails that fix panel layout, pacing and dialogue before the final drawing starts. In Japanese publishing, editors review it before the finished pages are drawn.
Which direction do I read and draw manga?
Manga is read from right to left and top to bottom. The first panel sits at the top right of the page, and the following panels run to the left before dropping to the next row.
What page size should I use for manga in BlankComic?
The editor includes a Manga page preset (6.7 × 9.4 in). You can also enter a custom size if a printer or platform asks for specific dimensions.
Does BlankComic have screentones?
No. It has no built-in screentone library. Draw and shade your art in another program or on paper, then import it into the panels and finish the layout and lettering in BlankComic.
Do I need to know how to draw to start a manga?
You need a story and a layout first, and both can be tested with stick figures. Many people build the page structure in BlankComic and improve the art as they go.
Sources and further reading
Facts in this guide were checked against the following resources. All are free to read.
- VIZ Media, “Manga Creation 101”: overview of the name, pencils, ink and tone stages.
- Otakumode, “Akira Himekawa Teaches How to Draw Manga, Vol. 4: Names”: a working mangaka on the role of the name.
- MediBang, “Manga Tutorial for Beginners 01: Process of Manga Making”: the name, inking order and tone.
- Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image, “Manga : généralités” (French): reading direction, speed lines and use of ellipsis.
- Clip Studio community, “About the manuscript size”: a forum answer on drawing larger than the printed size. Community source; check the specs of your publisher.