{"id":803660,"date":"2026-07-15T14:44:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/803660\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T14:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:44:23","slug":"how-to-create-stunning-panels-for-a-graphic-novel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/803660\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create stunning panels for a graphic novel"},"content":{"rendered":"

We recently interviewed Tim Probert<\/a> about his career in illustration and animation<\/a> and about the inspirations behind the world of his Lightfall series. Here he talks us though his process for creating a sequence in the graphic novels.<\/p>\n

If you need the tools to work with, see our guides to the best digital art software<\/a> and the best drawing tablets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Panel\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Tim Probert)<\/p>\n

I start with loose thumbnails. These usually start as tiny pen drawings, then they\u2019re drawn on an iPad<\/a> in Procreate<\/a> to lay out the full page. I print the thumbnails out on 8.5 x 11-inch paper.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

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\"Lightfall\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Tim Probert)<\/p>\n

Then, using a small light table, I begin drawing the actual page on a fresh sheet on top. For this I start with a red Col-Erase coloured pencil.<\/p>\n

This is the stage where I\u2019m really figuring out the drawing \u2013 the form, weight, depth, expressions, all that stuff.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

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\"Panel\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Tim Probert)<\/p>\n

I then \u2018ink\u2019 directly on top of that using a 0.5-mm mechanical pencil with 4B lead. This is where I make all of the final decisions with the drawing.<\/p>\n

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\"Lightfall\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Tim Probert)<\/p>\n

Once the drawing is done, I scan it in and clean up any dust, dirt or smudges (I usually leave the coffee stains in). The red lines are reduced slightly, but not removed.<\/p>\n

Sign up to Creative Bloq’s daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.<\/p>\n

I draw the panel borders and balloons in Photoshop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Lightfall\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Tim Probert)<\/p>\n

The next step is flatting, where the backgrounds, characters, and objects are painted a flat colour, just to separate them. I try to keep it to as few layers as possible.<\/p>\n

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\"Final\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Tim Probert)<\/p>\n

Then I paint the page in Photoshop. I only use a handful of brushes when painting, mostly gouache, chalk, and watercolour.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

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You can learn more about the Lightfall series on Tim’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Inspired to work on your own digital art? See below for deals on drawing tablets that we’ve reviewed.<\/p>\n


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XP-Pen<\/p>\n

Updated Deco 01 V3<\/p>\n

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This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX<\/a> to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Download the Creative Bloq app for Android<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We recently interviewed Tim Probert about his career in illustration and animation and about the inspirations behind the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":["post-803660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}