Laying out a Manga page

So,if any of you are interested on making your own manga, (which every anime fan I know does at one point or another...) but you've never known the ropes of making a good page layout. Well, this is the post for you.

In this post, we will talk about the difference of Shounen and Shoujo manga pages, and why they are laid out that way.

All you you are going to need for this lesson, is a ruler, a pencil and some paper. No need to get into fancy screentones right now...They're too expensive anyway. ^^

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SO!! First is the SHOUNEN! (sorry if they're a bit fuzzy. Photobucket does that...)

Notice the lines and inked sections are clearly defined, and the panels are separated evenly on the page. There are no sideways or lopesided panels, and hardly any screen tone is used.

When the panels are big and impressive, they make a big, impressive impact. (ha ha! Impact..get it?)

The layout is clear and simple. So as not to confuse the reader. When making panels like this, it's very important not to let your ruler slide, and don't let panels merge or run into eachother.
(These pages are from the manga, Naruto. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and I found them on Photobucket.)

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Now onto Shoujo. Compare these pages to the shounen above. Do you see any differences? I do. Take a look... Screentones are used more than ink to fill in large spaces. And the characters overlap panel borders sometimes.

In pages like the one above, no clear panels are defined. That's Shoujo's way of making an impact. It seems like the whole page is bleeding together, and it gives off a dreamy quality.

When making a Shoujo page, it's okay to have some fun with the panel layout. Just make sure you can tell what's going on. Try not to make things too dark.

(These pages are from Shugo Chara by PEACH-PIT. And Little Little by Rokuko. I found them on Photobucket)

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In closing...Manga can go anywhere. Many artists have their own take on it. As with any art form, you can make it your own. But these are just some basic guidelines to go by if you need help. The main idea is to not confuse your readers, make it interesting and have fun. :)

Draw forever-

Artsy Foxy