One of the fastest ways to get started creating comic strips is to start with a blank comic strip template.

What is a blank comic strip template?

A blank comic strip template is a file created in a image editing software such as Photoshop or illustrator that is set up to standard comp strip sizes. These standards are typically set by newspapers since that is where most comic strips have historically lived.

Where can I get a blank comic strip template?

Right here! We have a standard 4 panel template for you to use right here in this post. The dimensions of the whole strip is 3×10 inches. The jpg is 300 dpi which comes to 900×3000 pixels. These can be printed if you prefer to draw them by hand.

Here is a JPEG of a 4 panel blank comic strip.

Here is a PDF of a 4 panel blank comic strip.

The lightbulb is the punchline. So what’s the best number of panels to use to get there? Of course you know it can depend. Assuming we’re talking about the typical newspaper strip format, let’s explore what panel count does to a strip. A comic strip is limited in size so breaking the space down into different segments creates different experiences for the reader. We’ll talk about single panel strips another time so let’s focus on the common 2, 3 and 4 panel comics.

This isn’t the “rule” for all strips but it’s worth thinking about when laying out a comic. Generally speaking, larger panels denote a longer period of time and smaller ones will portray a more rapid procession of time. The examples below have no content at all so you can see what panel size and count alone can do for the reader experience.

Strip A seems to take longer while C feels like several short segments of time. This is the result of panel count AND panel size. Four panels the size of A would feel different than the four in C. But there isn’t room for four larger panels so the decisions of panel size are crucial to the pacing of your strip.

This does differ from comic books because books have more leeway with layout. Comic strips however, have different space and time challenges. Mixing up panel sizes within a strip can give you great freedom to encourage the pace of your reader’s experience. Now throw some content in there, your characters and dialog, and you’ve got an even more complex system of time progression.

Do you experiment with panel sizes to guide the reader to the lightbulb?