Brittany MasloWebtoon production typically includes four primary stages: story creation, scripting, illustration, and post-production. A studio team can include writers, artists, inkers, colorists, letterers, editors, publishers, cover artists, production artists, marketers, and distributors. The webtoon production timeline varies by episode length, visual complexity, and team capacity; in some production models, one story can require 40 to 50 hours of intensive work.
What Is Webtoon Production?
Webtoon production is the process of turning a story idea into a finished digital comic through scripting, illustration, lettering, and post-production. According to PR Newswire, the global comics publishing market is expected to grow by USD 3.68 billion from 2024 to 2028, at a CAGR of 4.6%. That is why webtoon production is at its peak of popularity.
Comics production is a layered, team-based process that has changed a lot over time. It usually involves several people working together, including writers, artists, and editors. The work moves through clear stages: scripting, layout design, manhwa lineart process, inking, coloring, and lettering. Different people often handle each stage depending on the project.
Writers set up the story and structure, sometimes with input on visuals. Pencilers and inkers build the artwork itself, while colorists and letterers add tone, detail, and text. This shared process keeps the story and visuals aligned from start to finish.
alt: A collage of popular webtoon series
The Webtoon Production Pipeline
The webtoon production stages vary depending on a studio’s workflow and production requirements. As an example, Teach Me First! comic by HoneyToon studio was created through a four-stage production cycle consisting of story creation, scripting, illustration, and post-production.
alt: A cover of the webtoon Teach Me First! by Honeytoon studio
Creating a Story
The process starts with brainstorming ideas for a storyline. At this stage, there is no need to detail the entire story; a short bullet list of key ideas is enough.
Writers also consider the number of episodes and their contents. By the end of each episode, they aim to reveal something new. It can be a detail about the character, the world, or the direction of the story.
Writing and Editing Script
The next step involves writing the dialogues and describing the action that happens in each webtoon panel. The writers work on answering the following questions:
- Who is in this episode?
- Where are they standing?
- When this happens?
- What do they want or what are they doing?
- Why are they there, or why do they want that, or why are they doing that?
- How do things turn out?
Then, they create a document with detailed descriptions of each webtoon panel and the dialogues, much like writing a play. When the draft is ready, it is passed to artists.
Illustration
Artists start working on illustrations, including characters, backgrounds, and other important elements. The production team also pays close attention to visual details, including chat bubbles, as they can be used to depict emotions effectively.
For example, round speech bubbles are used for normal dialogue. Jagged or spiky bubbles show shouting, anger, or shock. Wavy or uneven bubbles often indicate fear, nervousness, or uncertainty.
Post Production
The last step is post-production. This involves reviewing and refining the webtoon until it is ready for publication.
Post-production often involves color grading and contrast, as well as adding motion lines, lighting, and shadows. The team also cuts the canvas into smaller chunks, so it will look good on mobile screens.
Roles in a Webtoon Studio
Behind every webtoon is a dedicated team that works on story development, illustration, lettering, and post-production. The table below outlines the key webtoon team roles required to produce a comic.
| Role | Main Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Writer | Creates the story, develops characters, writes scripts, dialogue, and plot structure. |
| Artist/Penciler | Turns the script into visuals, designs characters, layouts panels, and builds the scene flow. |
| Inker | Cleans up linework, adds shadows, textures, and defines the final look of the artwork. |
| Colorist | Adds colors, lighting, and mood to create a consistent visual style. |
| Letterer | Places dialogue, captions, and sound effects while keeping text easy to follow. |
| Editor | Reviews the story and artwork, coordinates the team, and keeps the project on track. |
| Publisher | Handles production, funding, release, distribution, and overall publishing decisions. |
| Cover Artist | Creates the cover image designed to attract readers and represent the series. |
| Production Artist | Prepares files for release, checks formatting, and fixes technical issues before publishing. |
| Marketing Team | Promotes the webtoon through social media, campaigns, press, and reader engagement. |
| Distributor | Makes the webtoon available through platforms, stores, and digital services. |
Tools and Software Used in Comic Production
Software used within the comic production pipeline mainly depends on individual artist preferences. As an example, Rachelle Meyer from Rachelle’s Comics Corner shares that she is most comfortable with using Adobe Fresco for her art. Other commonly used tools include:
- Clip Studio Paint. A graphics editor primarily used for the digital creation of webtoons and comics. The service is available in 10 languages. It stands out from similar services because it includes tools made specifically for comic creation (panel layout features, perspective guides, tone and texture effects, coloring options, and others).
- Procreate. A graphics editor app that is only available on the iOS operating system. The application includes standard features such as layers, masks, and blending modes. Its main advantage is a simple interface that makes it easier to learn compared with many other professional drawing tools.
- Krita. A free graphics editor with 9 different brush engines. The Customizable Brushes and Brush Engine let users adjust brush behavior in detail. Users can create unique patterns, geometric brush shapes, and simulated blending effects. The software supports scripting through Python plugins, as well as other languages like Lua.
- Adobe Photoshop. Many studios also use Photoshop for image editing, color correction, asset preparation, and final production adjustments.
alt: Digital art software Clip Studio Paint
Timeline and Economics of Webtoon Production
Comics creation studio owners Lalith Gudipati, Sanidhya Narain, and Soumyadeep Mukherjee said in a Forbes interview that creating a story can take 40 to 50 hours of intensive work.
Writing usually takes less time than artwork. Drawing and lineart often require the most production hours, especially when an episode includes detailed characters, backgrounds, and vertical-scroll composition. Coloring comes next, while lettering is usually similar in effort to writing or slightly lighter.
Creating a comic can cost anywhere from $0 to over $20,000, depending on the resources and the goal of the team. Approximate costs are presented below:
| Production item | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| Writing | $0 when done in-house, or around $50–200 per script page for a hired writer |
| Penciling and inking | $50–300 per page, since this covers the main artwork |
| Coloring | $20–100 per page |
| Lettering | $10–35 per page |
| Digital tools | Around $10–50 per month for tools such as Clip Studio Paint |
Case Study: Honeytoon Studio Production Workflow
Now, let’s consider an example of a webtoon artist workflow. The production cycle of Honeytoon Studio is split into four stages: story creation, scripting, illustration, and post-production. The studio produces original comics that are also available for licensing. Based in Ukraine, Honeytoon Studio serves global audiences and publishes original webtoon content.
Here is how the standard workflow of Honeytoon Studio looks:
- Brainstorming and idea development to create a unique storyline;
- Writing dialogue and panel-by-panel actions;
- Creating the artwork, including characters and backgrounds;
- Reviewing and refining the work before publication.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are comics produced?
After the script is written, the webtoon moves into production by multiple artists working in stages. Penciling comes first, then inking, and finally coloring. After that, the post-production stage starts. This involves color grading and contrast, as well as adding motion lines, lighting, and shadows.
Are comics hard to make?
Comic book artists have one of the toughest roles in the creative field. Beyond telling the story, they also handle a wide range of tasks. They act as costume and character designers, and often take on inking and coloring work as well.
How much does it cost to produce a webtoon?
The comics production cost depends on your team and experience. At $25 per panel, a typical 40-panel webtoon episode would cost about $1,000. You can save up by hiring a less experienced artist, though the quality of the work might decrease.
How much money can you make as a webtoon creator?
Webtoon artist income varies a lot depending on the platform you publish your content on, audience size, and experience. On average, official platform creators earn around $48,000 per year. Top creators can earn anywhere from $100,000 to well over $1,000,000 annually.
Who is the richest webtoon artist?
Platform earnings for individual creators are usually not made public, but Naver Webtoon has stated that its highest-earning creator made around $9 million in a single year. That total came from a mix of platform payouts and intellectual property (IP) licensing, rather than story uploads alone.
Conclusion
Summing up, creating a webtoon is a complex process that consists of multiple steps (stages often vary but might include story creation, scripting, illustration, and post-production). Creating an original story can require from 40 to 50 hours of intensive work, depending on your team’s capacity and resources. As for budget, you might need from $0 to over $20,000 to create a webtoon story.
