Guides for Japanese-Standard Manga Drawing Paper

Final Output (Single page) : 310mm x 220mm, which is *inclusive* of 20mm, in-page content margin.

Final Output : 440mm x 310mm, which is *inclusive* of 20mm, in-page content margin.

20mm margin area : Usually reserved for miscelanious texts and adverts,
except when Tachikiri is used (see notes)

20mm margin area : Usually reserved for miscelanious texts and adverts,
except when Tachikiri is used (see notes)
440 mm

20 mm

180 mm
Main Contents Area

For Right-To-Left reading order, This side is read first!

270 x 180 mm
Important details such as faces and dialogues,

Doouble Page Spread

should be drawn within this area

Output size : 440 x 270 mm

When drawing across two pages, remember the center of the spread ( the spine of a book )

Japanese Manga Magazines / Books are published

Comic Books (JIS B6 - 182 x 128 mm) : Reduced to 67%

Reading Direction:
Most Manga in Japan, is read in Right to Left page order.
Whichever way you draw, remember side of the page that is near the spine
(side of book where papers are bound by glue or stiching)
Is more difficult to open and read.

is always difficult to open and read when published on a book or magazine,

due to the way books are bound ( search Book binding for more info. )
You may draw in this area, but avoid drawing important details
( small letters or facial parts, anything that has a meaning to them )
Some prefer to draw on a larger paper like this PDF, while some are just as happy to
draw on two separate sheets of paper.
Which way you work is up to you.
Double page spreads are important and effective way of bringing dynamism to your story.
Use wisely, learn how others are using it and develop your own style!
When outputting for the Web, you may need to manually combine
two pages to make it a single, wide image.
Adobe photoshop is a popular tool, but any image editor will work for this.

For Tachikiri ( Bleeding - Illustration that goes fully to the edge of paper ),
Manga should be drawn to the edge of outer trim line. (+3mm from inner trim line)
Effective use of Tachikiri will bring dynamism to the Manga, especially in actions and close-ups.
220 mm

220 mm

223 mm

223 mm

If B4 Size paper is not easy to find, you can use any size such as A4, But keep aspect ratio unchanged.
eg. Draw in 90% size (279 x 198mm, 18mm margin, +3mm trim), to fit A4 paper

20mm margin area : Usually reserved for miscelanious texts and adverts,
except when Tachikiri is used (see notes)

20mm margin area : Usually reserved for miscelanious texts and adverts,
except when Tachikiri is used (see notes)

20mm margin area : Usually reserved for miscelanious texts and adverts

Magazines ( JIS-B5 Variant - 257 x 179 mm) : Reduced to 83%

AVOID DRAWING IMPORTANT DETAILS HERE

Manga will be scaled to fit the intended output:

AVOID DRAWING IMPORTANT DETAILS HERE

20mm margin area : Usually reserved for miscelanious texts and adverts

on ISO/JIS B Series paper size.