How to Make Your Own Comic Book

Learn how to turn your ideas into a professional-looking comic book using simple materials and your imagination. HowTo: Family Edition: family how-tos that actually help.

1. Plan your panels. Fold your printer paper in half to create a booklet. Use your ruler to draw squares or rectangles on each page—these are your panels. You can have one big panel on a page or several small ones to show action.
2. Sketch the story. Use a pencil to lightly sketch your characters and what happens in each panel. Don't worry about mistakes; you can erase them later! Make sure your story moves from left to right, just like a book.
3. Add dialogue bubbles. Draw circles or cloud shapes near your characters' mouths to hold their words. Write the dialogue inside the bubbles, keeping the text short so it's easy to read.
4. Ink and color. Trace over your pencil lines with a black pen to make them pop. Once the ink is dry, erase any leftover pencil marks and add color to your characters and backgrounds.
5. Bind your book. Place your pages inside the folded construction paper cover. Ask a grown-up to help you staple the fold so your pages stay together.