Panel is a web-based comics engine that turns static artwork into animated, interactive and playable stories.

The starting point is still comics: frames, sequence, dialogue, rhythm and the relationship between images. Panel brings those decisions into a web-based canvas, then adds reader actions, story states and motion where the story needs them. The result can respond and change while still reading as comics.

1. Set up the comics grid

Begin with the structure of the page. Set up the grid, choose the size and position of each panel, then add the outline that holds the composition together.

The grid is not only a layout. It determines which images appear together, what the reader sees first and where a change can happen later.

2. Add your artwork

Import static images you already have, or create new artwork with AI inside Panel. Each image can be placed into a panel and adjusted to fit the composition.

This step supplies the visual material. Sequence, dialogue, timing and interaction are still authoring decisions made around it.

3. Add dialogue and reader actions

Dialogue gives each moment a voice and helps establish the beat. Reader actions decide when something happens: a click can reveal a line, change the composition or move the story forward.

The action should have a clear narrative purpose. It is not there simply to make the page busy.

4. Create story states

A state is a version of the comic at a particular moment. One state might show the opening composition; the next might reveal a new panel, change an image or introduce another line of dialogue.

Add these states to the timeline to organise how the story changes. The reader action connects one state to the next.

5. Bring in animation

Static illustrations can also become animated elements. For now, create those animations in another tool and import the finished videos into Panel.

Motion works best when it guides attention, establishes atmosphere or supports a beat without taking control of the reading pace. Direct image-to-animation inside Panel is planned, but it is not available yet.

6. Publish on the web

When the sequence is ready, publish the comic as a web experience. Share the link directly or embed the comic on your own site.

The published story can combine the original artwork, comics composition, dialogue, animation, reader actions and state changes in one place.

Start a story at https://www.panel.design.