One of the simplest ways to create a comic is the comic strip, which is usually 3-4 panels long. The Japanese have their version of the comic strip, called ‘yon-koma‘ manga or ‘4-panel’ manga. This kind of short strip is very easy to create, using a formulaic narrative structure called ‘kishotenketsu‘. This 4-step narrative division derives from an old Chinese poetry structure of four-line compositions.
Here is an example by manga artist Susumu Katsumata.
This one below was published in manga artist Yukichi Yamamatsu’s Hindi manga ‘Cycle Rickshaw wale ki Dukaan’.
An explanation on ‘kishotenketsu’ by the people who run Silent Manga Audition.
Below are some old examples of 4-panel comics in a Japanese manga magazine
Here is a step-by-step process for drawing longer story comics.
TIP: Draw on a larger size than the print size. For example, if your print size is A5, then draw on at least A4 size or larger, and reduce the image size after scanning.
Here is an example of a start-to-finish process of completing a page.



