To make comic or webtoon panels with one consistent character, lay the episode out as frames on a board first, approve one character sheet, and wire that sheet into the image node of every panel, so each panel is generated from the same reference and described only by its action. Letter the panels afterwards in an editor, not in the image. The limit people do not expect is at upload: WEBTOON's creator checklist says an image "must be less than 800px wide and 1280px long" and that it will "automatically slice and reduce" anything larger, with 2 MB per image, while the images AI models return are much bigger, so the last step is resizing the strip yourself.
Tool picks and lettering advice are on our comic generator page. This page is the board and the webtoon file.
TL;DR
| Step | Node or model on 8frame | Price in credits | Needs as input |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character sheet | Seedream 5 Lite | 6 per image | A prompt, optional style reference |
| Character sheet, other model | Nano Banana 2 | 11 at 1K | Up to 10 references |
| Episode thumbnails | ShotGrid | 42 per 3x3 sheet at 4K | 1 to 10 references; square (1:1) on the canvas |
| Each panel | Seedream 5 Lite | 6 | Up to 14 references: sheet, style still, set |
| Each panel, square | GPT Image 2 | 29 square, 20 other ratios (high) | 1 to 10 references |
| Fix a detail | Flux Edit (FLUX.2 pro) | 7 for a ~1 MP input | The panel and an instruction |
| Remove a background for a cut-out | Background removal | 12 | One image |
| Lettering, balloons, final strip | Your editor | none | The Original PNG files |
Page comic or webtoon: decide first
The two formats ask different things of the board:
- A page comic is read page by page. Panel size carries time, the page turn carries reveals, and the layout is a grid you design.
- A webtoon is one long vertical strip read by scrolling on a phone. Panels stack top to bottom, space between them carries time, and the file is a set of images no wider than 800 pixels.
The character work is the same for both. The frames and the export differ, so pick one before you build.
The board, node by node
1. Frames are the panels
The board has frames with colours, shapes with text inside, text, sticky notes in five colours, and arrows that stay attached to shapes. It has no table, and that is fine: a comic page is not a table.
- Page comic: one large frame per page, with smaller frames inside it for the panels. Resize a panel frame to change its weight on the page. Number each page frame and place a sticky note under every panel with the action and the dialogue.
- Webtoon: one tall column per episode. Stack panel frames down the column, leave real space between them where time passes, and connect them with arrows in reading order. A long gap reads as a pause when the reader scrolls.
Keep the dialogue on the sticky notes. They are the script, and they stay editable when the art changes.
2. One character sheet, approved once
The sheet method (a style still first, then one character sheet in that style, both attached to every image node, and the reference limits of each image model) is set out on our page on character consistency for a children's book. What changes for a comic:
- More angles. Comics turn the camera more than picture books: add profile and back views, and a three-quarter view from below and above.
- Expressions as a row. Four or five expressions on the sheet, because dialogue panels live on faces.
- Features that survive small panels. Pick two or three marks a reader sees even in a tiny panel (a white streak in the hair, a green jacket, a scar over one eyebrow) and write them on a sticky note next to the sheet.
Approve one sheet and do not regenerate it mid-episode.
3. Thumbnails with ShotGrid
ShotGrid (a 3x3 contact sheet of nine frames, 42 credits at 4K) is square (1:1) in the canvas picker. For a webtoon, a sheet with the character sheet attached shows nine beats of the episode at once, as small square frames. Use it to check pacing and composition, then decide which beats become full panels.
4. One image node per panel
Under every panel frame, put an image node with the sheet (and the style still) attached, and the panel's note as the prompt. Describe the action and the camera: "medium shot, she looks back over her shoulder at the closed door, night, rain on the window". Do not describe the character in new words.
A panel with the character, a second character and a recurring location needs at least three references, so pick a model with room for them (the reference limits per model are in the table on the children's book page); keep the three-reference models for single-character panels.
Ask for no text and no speech balloons in every panel prompt, and leave room in the composition where the balloons will go (mark it on the note: "balloon top right"). There is no negative-prompt field on 8frame's image nodes, so say what to leave empty rather than what to avoid.
5. Fix, then check the run
Fix slips on the panel with Flux Edit (7 credits for a ~1 MP input, more for larger) or Kontext Max (13). For a panel where the character sits over a new background, background removal (12) cuts the figure out as an image.
Then view the whole episode on the board, top to bottom, and check the sheet's features in every panel, profiles and back views included.
6. Letter and export outside the board
Download each panel as Original. The download menu also offers Small, Medium and Large, which are WebP previews 256, 640 and 1,280 pixels wide; WEBTOON's handbook lists only JPG, JPEG and PNG, so those previews are the wrong files even before size. Every measured image model on 8frame returns PNG.
Assemble the strip, letter it and resize it in your editor. No image model on 8frame outputs vector art, so balloons and lettering belong there.
The WEBTOON file, by the numbers
From WEBTOON's "Before You Publish Checklist" for creators (checked 2026-11-09):
| Rule | What the checklist says |
|---|---|
| Episode image size | "An image must be less than 800px wide and 1280px long"; the system "will automatically slice and reduce" larger images |
| File size | 2 MB per image after slicing or resizing; up to 20 MB and 100 images per upload |
| Formats | JPG, JPEG and PNG only |
| Square series thumbnail | 1080 x 1080, under 500 KB; file name in English letters and numbers only |
| Vertical series thumbnail | 1080 x 1920, under 700 KB |
| Thumbnail text | "Don't include any text in the thumbnail!" (a pro tip: text can distract from the art and be hard to read) |
| Episode thumbnail | 160 x 151, under 500 KB, an image from the episode |
| Series summary | 500 characters or less |
| Genres | A main genre and a sub-genre, from 23 |
| Before launch | Have at least three episodes ready; readers get a prompt to subscribe after reading three |
WEBTOON's Creators Resource Handbook repeats the upload rules.
Compare with what the models returned on 8frame (medians over 120 days, across settings): Nano Banana 2 4.2 MP (2,752 x 1,536 was its most common size) at 5.5 MB, Seedream 5 Lite 2,304 x 4,096 at 7.1 MB, Nano Banana Pro 4.2 MP at 6.0 MB. All of them are over 800 pixels wide and over 2 MB, so WEBTOON would reduce every one. WEBTOON's rule means that if you upload images within 800 x 1280 and within the size limit, nothing is sliced or reduced. So scale the finished strip to 800 pixels wide yourself, cut it into pieces no taller than 1,280 pixels at points where no balloon or face is cut, and save each piece under 2 MB.
A 9:16 panel from Seedream 5 Lite scaled to 800 wide is about 1,422 tall, more than one 1,280 slice. Plan where it splits, or crop the panel.
The vertical series thumbnail is 9:16 (1080 x 1920) and the square one is 1:1. ShotGrid's square sheet suits the square one; make the vertical one with an image node at 9:16 from the character sheet and an episode panel, with no lettering.
Where it breaks
- Text inside the image. Generated lettering has to be proofread in every panel on every attempt. Leave it out and letter in the editor.
- Re-describing the character. New words make a new character. Keep the prompt to action and camera.
- Three-reference models with two characters. Qwen Image 3 and Grok Image take 3 references; two sheets plus a location fill them.
- Auto slicing. Upload a full-size panel and WEBTOON cuts it where its rule says, not where your story does. Slice it yourself.
- Wrong download. The WebP previews are not accepted formats and are too small for a crisp strip. Use Original.
- Art style drift across episodes. Keep the style still on the board and attach it to every panel of every episode, not only the first.
- Real people. Do not base a character on a real person who has not agreed in writing, and do not use a real person's photo as the sheet without consent.
For moving a comic character into video later, see consistent characters in AI video.
FAQ
How do I keep the same character in every AI comic panel? Approve one character sheet, attach it to the image node of every panel, describe only the action and the camera, and check all panels side by side before you letter.
What size should webtoon panels be? WEBTOON's Before You Publish Checklist says each uploaded image must be under 800 pixels wide and 1,280 long, at most 2 MB, in JPG, JPEG or PNG, with up to 20 MB and 100 images per upload. Larger images are sliced and reduced automatically.
Can I upload AI images straight to WEBTOON? Not at full size. The models on 8frame return images over 800 pixels wide and over 2 MB, so scale the strip to 800 wide, slice it and save each piece under 2 MB first.
Should the AI write the speech balloons? No. Generate panels without text and letter them in an editor, where you control the words, the font and the reading order.
How many panels fit on a ShotGrid sheet? Nine: ShotGrid makes a 3x3 contact sheet in one image, square (1:1) on the canvas, which is a quick way to check an episode's pacing before generating finals.
Frames for the layout, one sheet for the character, lettering in the editor.
Sources
- WEBTOON Before You Publish Checklist (episode image under 800 x 1280 px, automatic slicing, 2 MB per image, 20 MB and 100 images per upload, JPG/JPEG/PNG, thumbnail sizes and no-text tip, summary 500 characters, 23 genres, three episodes before launch): webtoons-static.pstatic.net, Before You Publish Checklist (PDF), checked 2026-11-09
- WEBTOON Creators Resource Handbook (upload rules): webtoons-static.pstatic.net, Creators Resource Handbook (PDF), checked 2026-11-09
- 8frame prices, defaults and limits, image sizes, formats and download options: the 8frame app, checked 2026-11-09
Try it without signing up: the 8frame canvas opens on a real board. The canvas is free and unlimited; generation is paid from $19/month.