This size is challenging for cartoonists to work with because they simply don't have a lot of room to draw and tell a story. Then the strip is sent to the syndicate, which formats it and reduces it down to run in the newspapers. The most common strip size that cartoonists use to draw is a horizontal strip that's about 4 x 13 inches. ✓ A daily comic strip layout is limited in space. Each format has certain size restrictions and limitations: Your layout varies depending on whether you're doing a daily comic strip layout (see Figure 14-1) or a Sunday comic strip layout (see Figure 14-2). You may go through several different layout roughs before achieving the desired flow. After you write the script (what the characters say in the word balloons check out Chapter 13 for more info), you must plan the layout and the individual comic panels. The basic layout of the art and the placement of the characters and scenes are dependent on the story line. Experimenting with different perspectives, angles, and background details can help improve your story line and increase your cartoon's visual impact. You don't want a flat and boring cartoon, so make sure your cartoon world is as graphically interesting as the real world. Layout is such an important facet of drawing cartoons.

Comic life 3 how to shape panels