Comic Experience Script Template - 2021-11-24 - Revised - by Name Namerson

Sep 2, 2026

Comic script template for structured page-by-page creation, including character notes, art/lettering guidance, and clear panel instructions. Defines formatting conventions for page and panel numbering in all caps, dialogue indentation, and the need to restart dialogue numbering on each page for consistent lettering. Provides rules for caption box types (boxed narration vs character thoughts), handling splash pages and multi-page spreads, and marking off-panel dialogue, bold-italics emphasis, interrupts with em-dashes, and sound effects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatDOC

Pages3

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Page Structure

Character Notes

Art Notes

Panel One - Three Panels

Page Two - Splash Page

Lettering and Caption Conventions

Dialogue Numbering and Indentation

All-Caps Naming in Panel Descriptions

Caption Box Styles and Em-Dash Interrupts

TITLE IN ALL CAPS by Name Namerson Description of what it is here (i.e. 22-Page Comic Script) Date of Last Revision (e.g., “Revised 10/5/2013) CHARACTER NOTES JANE: We occasionally give one sentence description of someone’s personality or a type of character here just to give the artist an idea of the overall cast. These are not to be confused with full descriptions. Those should still be given when reading the script upon a character’s entrance. ART NOTES Occasionally I’ll have art (or lettering or coloring) notes that I’ll put here. For example, “please do this all in watercolor, using only your left foot.” PAGE ONE – THREE PANELS PANEL ONE Start each page with the page number, followed by the number of panels. I underline it to help it stand out. Then I put the panel and number in all-caps. Underneath it (here) is the panel description. 1. TOM: For dialogue, I indent the character’s name at half an inch, and indent the dialogue itself at two inches. I’ve created a short-cut macro in MS Word for this. 2. TOM: Also, be sure to number your dialogue, to make things easier on your letterer (re-start the numbering on each new page). Each number indicates a new word balloon, thought balloon, caption, et cetera. Put the number first, to help the letterer and so that everything lines up neatly. 3. JANE: Uhm, Tom? Who are you talking to? PANEL TWO When you mention a character for the first time in the panel descriptions, put his/her/their NAME in all-caps. Some people cap the name every time it appears in the panel description. I also sometimes put action words in all-caps. For example, TOM, a small chicken, RUNS across the road, desperate to get to the other side. When deciding what to put in all-caps, I try to do whatever will provide clear and concise communication with my art team and letterer. PANEL THREE I keep my panel descriptions concise, and do minimal art direction. I try to leave room for collaboration by the artist and specify only what’s vital to the story or character development. Opinions do differ on this, though. 4. CAP – FLOATING: The night before…[If I want a modern-style, unboxed “location/time” caption, I would label it as shown at left.] 5. CAPTION: But this is how I handle caption boxes, if it’s just general, boxed narration. 6. CAP - TOM: However, if the caption box is a specific person’s thoughts, I’ll do it like this. LETTERING NOTE: Once in a while I’ll have a lettering note about one specific line of dialogue. If so, I put it here. PAGE TWO – SPLASH PAGE PANEL ONE If I have a splash page, I handle it like this. If I have a two-page spread I’ll just hyphenate, PAGES TWO-THREE. Also, some people start a new page (in Word) when they start a new page in the script. 1. TOM (OP): If a character says something off-panel (on the phone, or as a carry-over from the previous panel) I handle it like this. 2. TOM: If I want a word to appear in bold-italics in the lettering, then I’ll do the same in the script like so. 3. TOM: Also, this is just personal opinion, but please don’t overdo the bold words, because it is so darned annoying when books do that. One final note: if a line of dialogue starts in one balloon but ends in another … 4. TOM: … use ellipses to indicate that. Okay, I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can think of right at— 5. JANE: Hey! If someone interrupts, use an em-dash (“—“) as shown in the previous line. That’s all for now. By the way, I’m leaving you, Tom. And I’m about to slam the door—to demonstrate how to do a sound effect. Have fun! 6. SFX (Door): SLAMMM! Template provided by HYPERLINK "http://www.ComicsExperience.com" Created by HYPERLINK "http://comicsexperience.com/paul-allor.html" Paul Allor, based on courses taught by HYPERLINK "http://comicsexperience.com/andy-schmidt.html" Andy Schmidt

FAQs

How should page and panel information be formatted in this script template?

Start each page with the page number, then the number of panels, and underline it. Put the panel and number in all-caps under that, followed by the panel description.

What indentation and numbering rules apply to dialogue?

Indent the character’s name by half an inch and indent the dialogue by two inches. Number dialogue balloons (and related elements) to make lettering easier, restarting numbering on each new page.

How does the template specify caption boxes and character thoughts?

Use boxed narration styling for general caption boxes. For a specific character’s thoughts, use the provided “CAP - [person]” caption format to distinguish thought captions from narration.

Sep 2, 2026

Upload by Olivia Brown