← Learn MangaLoft

Your first page

One finished page: two panels, a drawing, a balloon with text.

You will end withOne finished page: two panels, a drawing, a balloon with text.
Before you startOn iPad you need Apple Pencil: it draws everything, the brush and the shapes alike, and a finger only moves the page. On Mac the brush needs a pen tablet; with only a mouse or trackpad, draw with shapes and paths instead of the brush. Step 4 shows how; every other step works with a mouse as it is.

1. Open page 1

In the page list, double-click page 1. The editor opens.

The editor with five numbered marks: the back arrow, the tool strip, the page, the layer list and the settings panel
  1. Back — returns to the page list.
  2. Tools — the strip of tools. A small corner mark on a tool means it comes in more than one kind: right-click it to choose (on iPad, touch and hold).
  3. The page — where you draw.
  4. Layers — everything on the page, in a list. Panels appear here as frames.
  5. Settings — the options of the tool you hold, or of the thing you selected.

Three things you will want from the first minute:

On iPad the editor is laid out the same way. Undo and redo are the two curved arrows in the toolbar; pinch with two fingers to zoom, and drag with two fingers to move the page.

The editor on iPad with an empty page: layers on the left, the tool strip beside them, the page, and the brush settings on the right

2. Make the panels

Choose the last tool in the strip, the one that looks like a window with four panes. A button appears on the page: Create Frame Layout. Press it.

The editor with the frame tool chosen and the button Create Frame Layout in the middle of the page

The page now has one big panel. To cut it in two, drag across it: start to the left of the panel, about halfway down, and end to the right of it. On Mac, hold Shift while you drag for a straight cut; without Shift you get a slanted one.

The page cut into two panels, one above the other, with the new divider selected
Two panels. Each one is listed on the left as a Frame with its own layer inside.

Cut in the wrong place? ⌘Z, and drag again.

3. Choose the panel you draw in

Choose the selection tool, the dashed rectangle in the strip, and click inside the top panel. The panel stays white and the rest of the page goes grey: the grey shows where your drawing will be cut off.

The top panel white and outlined in blue, the rest of the page grey, and the panel's layer selected in the list on the left

This is the step most people miss. On the left, the layer under that Frame is now selected; you can also click it there. If a layer outside the frames is selected instead, your drawing is not kept inside the panel.

4. Draw

Keep it tiny: a face is enough for a first page.

If the shape is not what you want, look at the right side: Color and Width set the line, and Fill chooses whether the inside is filled. If you dragged and see nothing, the line is too thin: raise Width.

On iPad, touch and hold the shape tool to see its kinds. Shapes are drawn with Apple Pencil too: a finger moves the page and does not draw.

On iPad, the shape tool held down shows a small menu: Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Oval
A simple face in a panel: one large oval with two small ovals for eyes and one for a mouth
Four ovals, drawn with a mouse.

5. Add a speech balloon

Choose the balloon tool, the speech bubble in the strip. Drag from one corner of the balloon you want to the opposite corner.

An oval speech balloon in the top panel, just drawn, with the balloon settings on the right

The balloon is one object. With the selection tool you can move it and resize it later. A tail is added with the tail tool, just under the balloon tool; see Balloons and tails.

6. Put words in it

Choose the text tool, marked あ. Click inside the balloon and type.

If your text comes out vertical or very small, look at the right side while you are still typing: set Direction to Horizontal, and drag Size up until the words fit.

The word Hello! typed inside the balloon, with Direction set to Horizontal and Size at 41 pt on the right

Click anywhere outside the text to finish. Your words are kept; to change them later, see Text.

The words do not centre themselves in the balloon. Choose the selection tool, the dashed rectangle in the strip, click the text, and drag it until it sits well.

The text Hello! selected with the selection tool and moved to the centre of the balloon

7. Optional: add a tone

A tone is the grey of manga: dots laid over an area. Choose the panel as in step 3, pick the tone tool, the square of dots in the strip, and drag across the area you want grey.

A rectangle of dot tone inside the lower panel, with the tone's settings on the right

The sliders on the right make it finer or darker, and you can change them later. More in Tones.

That is a page

Two panels, a drawing, a balloon with words: a finished page. There is no Save: MangaLoft keeps your work as you go. Press the back arrow at the top left to return to the page list, where the page now shows what you drew.