Create Your Own Comic Strip

Paper — 11 by 17 for larger panels, or standard letter size

Pencil and eraser

Ruler for straight panel borders

Fine-tip markers or pens for inking

Colored pencils or markers for coloring

Start with character design. Draw your main character from the front and side view. Give them a name, a personality trait, and something that makes them visually distinctive — a hat, a scar, spiky hair, a cape.

Plan a short story in 6 to 8 panels. Every comic needs a setup, a problem, and a resolution. Keep it simple — a hero finds a strange object, something goes wrong, they figure it out.

Divide your paper into panels using a ruler. Two or three panels per row, two or three rows per page. Leave a border around each panel.

Sketch each scene lightly in pencil. Start with stick figures to plan the composition, then build the characters over the stick frames. Leave space in each panel for speech bubbles.

Add speech bubbles with dialogue, thought clouds with internal monologue, and jagged-edged bursts for sound effects like POW, CRASH, or WHOOSH.

Ink over the pencil lines with a fine-tip marker. Vary your line weight — thicker outlines, thinner details.

Erase all pencil marks, then color each panel. Consistent color for each character helps the reader follow the story.

Add a title at the top and sign your name as the creator.

Start with a joke comic. Three panels — setup, build, punchline — is the easiest format to complete.

Read comics for research. Study how professional comics use panel size, close-ups, and wide shots to control pacing.

Facial expressions carry the emotion. Practice drawing the same face happy, angry, surprised, and scared before starting the strip.

If drawing is a barrier, try a collage comic with cut-out photos and drawn speech bubbles.

Keep finished comics in a binder. Over months, your child builds a body of work — a real portfolio of their creative storytelling.