Frequently Asked Questions: Creating Comics

Can I reorder panels on a page?

Yes. Panels can be reordered, added, and removed in the Script view. Because the panel order determines the page layout, changing it means the page art has to be re-rendered — that costs credits like any page generation. See editing dialogue and panels.

Pages can also be reordered, by dragging a page's grip handle in the Script view. Reordering pages is free — it doesn't change any artwork.

How many pages can an issue have?

Between 4 and 36. You set the count when you create the issue and can change it afterwards from the issue's story details. There's no need to start small and work up — a 30-page issue is a supported, normal thing to make.

Page count affects cost, not reliability: each generated page costs credits, so a longer issue costs proportionally more. See writing your story for how to change the count after creation.

Can I change the art style of a comic after I've made it?

Yes. Ask Sidekick to change the art style of the comic. It re-generates your characters' and assets' reference art in the new style first, then tells you how many pages are now out of date and what re-rendering them will cost — you approve before anything is charged.

Changing the style does not silently re-render existing pages. Pages you don't regenerate keep the art they already have, which means a half-converted issue will look mixed until you finish. See choosing an art style.

Can I create a comic from a book or novel PDF?

Yes — that's Convert Book. Upload a PDF and ComicInk adapts it into a comic series, splitting a long book across multiple issues. It reads the actual book text, so original dialogue and story beats survive into the script.

The PDF must contain real text. Scanned or photographed pages with no text layer won't work, and images inside the PDF are not extracted or reused as artwork.

The full flow, the cost model, and the size limits are in converting a book to a series.

Why does my generated comic not match the script I wrote?

The most common cause is page-specific instructions in the series description. The series description is meant to be a short, general overview of what the series is about. If it contains directions for particular pages, those directions bleed into every issue and fight with your actual script.

Fix it by editing the series description down to a generic overview, then regenerating the affected pages.

What happens if I put too many characters in one panel?

Nothing breaks, but accuracy degrades. Image models handle a small cast in a frame reliably; once a single page has five or more distinct characters, you'll see more mistakes — swapped faces, wrong genders, characters drifting from their reference art.

If a page needs a crowd, it usually reads better to split it across more panels with fewer characters each, or to describe background figures generically ("a crowd of onlookers") rather than naming them.

Why isn't a character I just added showing up when I regenerate a page?

A character existing in your Cast doesn't automatically put them in a panel. Each panel has its own cast list — add the character to that panel with the + Cast control, then regenerate the page. If the character isn't on the panel's cast list, the AI has no instruction to draw them.

How do I reference a specific asset in one panel?

Type @ in the panel's description field and pick the asset. This also narrows what the AI sees: if a panel @-mentions any assets, only those assets are sent as reference images for that panel. Mention nothing and all of the issue's assets are available, as before.

@-mentions work in cover and back-cover instructions too. See reusable assets.

Can Sidekick generate the artwork, or only the script?

Sidekick generates artwork. It can render a single page, render the front or back cover, fix a problem on an existing page, and render every remaining page in the issue.

Single renders submit straight away. Only a bulk Generate All Pages run asks you to approve the spend first.

Sidekick also sees the page you're currently looking at — a "Seeing" chip in the composer shows when the current render is attached to your message — so you can point at what's wrong in plain language ("her left hand has six fingers") and have it edit that render in place.

How do I fix a mistake in a generated page?

Use Fix Errors. It lets you circle the problem areas directly on the page and type what should change, then re-renders the page with your annotations as guidance. The first two fixes on any page are free.

Full walkthrough in fixing image errors. If the whole composition is wrong rather than a detail, regenerate the page instead.

Why did my page fail to generate with a content warning?

The page tripped content moderation. Your credits are refunded automatically when this happens.

Moderation runs on the whole page at once, so it can't tell you which panel caused it. In practice the usual triggers are named real people, graphic violence, or anything reading as sexual. Rewrite the panel descriptions in plainer, less charged language and try again. See the content policy.

Can I make a romance comic?

Yes. Moderation is deliberately romance-friendly — attraction, kissing, and romantic tension are all fine. Explicit sexual content is not, and any sexualization of a minor is blocked outright. See the content policy.

Can I use a photo of a real person as a character reference?

You can upload ordinary photos, including photos of children — an image is never rejected just because a child is in it. What's blocked is sexual imagery and anything sexualizing a minor.

Two things to know: you're responsible for having the right to use a photo of someone else, and uploaded reference photos are deleted after generation, so regenerating that character opens the edit modal for you to re-upload. Details in the content policy.

Can I create a character that looks like a specific celebrity?

No. The image models refuse to render identifiable real public figures. Describe the look you want in the character's own words instead — build, hair, age, clothing, bearing — and you'll get a character with that feel without the likeness.

Why did the cover put the wrong character on it?

Two causes, both common:

• Similar names. The cover matches character names out of your cover description against your Cast. Characters with near-identical names can get matched to the wrong one — rename one of them to something distinct.
• Too many characters. A cover with five or more characters is where the model starts making mistakes. Select fewer characters for the cover.

Also check that your cover description doesn't mention characters you didn't select for the cover — that mismatch produces duplicated or invented figures. See generating covers.

I changed the issue number, but the cover still shows the old one. Why?

The issue number is drawn into the cover image at generation time, not overlaid afterwards. Changing the number on the issue doesn't alter an image that already exists — regenerate the cover to pick up the new number.

Can I upload my own image instead of generating one?

Yes. In the issue's tools rail, use Upload Image. It works for the cover and for any interior page — handy when you've touched up a page in your own editor and want to drop it back in. ComicInk places the image as-is; it doesn't arrange several uploaded panel images into a page layout for you, so upload a finished full-page image.

How do I change the title shown on the cover?

Hover the cover and click Edit, then update the title. The title is drawn into the cover image, so the cover needs regenerating for the new title to appear.

Can I get back an earlier version of a page?

Yes, for pages. Open the page and use Versions in the tools rail to view and revert to a previous render.

Note that character, asset, and world images do not keep version history — if you're attached to a character's current look, save the image before regenerating it. See regenerating images.

Can I build a whole comic without generating any images?

Yes, and it's the cheapest way to work. Writing and editing scripts is free — synopsis, pages, panels, dialogue, narration, cast assignments, all of it. You only spend credits when you generate artwork, and you can generate one page at a time to keep control of the spend.

How do I turn a standalone issue into a series?

Open the issue and use Convert to Series. Later issues then share the series' characters, assets, and art style.

What's the difference between a Quick Comic and a series?

A Quick Comic is one short standalone comic — a single book, made fast from a one-line idea. A series is a collection of issues that share a cast, a world, an art style, and a continuing storyline: think Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

You can start standalone and convert to a series later. See the structure glossary.

How do two-page spreads work?

You can mark two facing pages as a spread. ComicInk renders one wide image and slices it into the two pages, so the artwork runs across the gutter. Regenerating a spread resets both halves together.

On export, a spread comes out as two separate page images at the same size and orientation as every other page — which is what self-publishing platforms expect, since most won't accept a page that changes orientation mid-book.

What resolution are the pages, and can I print them?

Generated pages are around 656 × 1024 pixels, sized for reading on screen. For print, export at Print quality — each page is upscaled to roughly 3× that, around 300 DPI. See exporting and printing.

Printing an American comic format page on A4 leaves some white space at the sides, because the aspect ratios differ. That's expected, not a defect.

Can I order printed copies through ComicInk?

Print-on-demand ordering exists but is being rolled out gradually, so it isn't visible on every account yet. If you have it, orders live at /dashboard/orders. If you don't, export at Print quality and use any printing or self-publishing service — see exporting and printing.

Why did my edits stop saving?

This should not happen. If edits aren't persisting, reload the editor and check whether the change survived before redoing it — then contact support through the chat widget with the issue link. Don't keep re-editing on top of a session that isn't saving; you'll lose the work twice.

Updated on: 02/08/2026