Manhwa guide
How to Make a Manhwa: Genres, Style and System Windows
By the Panelo team · Updated
Quick answer
Choose a genre readers already love (hunter, regression, romance fantasy, murim), design a lead who stays on-model in every episode, write each episode as a vertical scroll that ends on a hook, draw in full colour with cinematic wide shots, add game-style system windows if your world has them, then slice at 800 px wide and post weekly.
What manhwa is today
Manhwa (만화) is the Korean word for comics. Printed manhwa read left to right like Western books, but most manhwa today are made for phones: full colour, one vertical scroll, published weekly as webtoons. So the craft is the same as a webtoon; the webtoon guide covers canvas size, pacing and slicing. This guide covers what makes it feel like manhwa.
1. Pick a genre and learn its rules
| Genre | The hook | What readers expect |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter / dungeon | Gates open, monsters appear, people get ranked powers | A weak hero levels up; ranks, guilds, raids |
| Regression | The hero dies and wakes up years earlier | Using future knowledge to fix the past |
| Tower / system | Climb floors, clear quests from a game-like system | Status windows, skills, rewards |
| Murim | Martial-arts world of sects and clans | Training arcs, techniques, honour and revenge |
| Romance fantasy | Reborn as a villainess or a side character in a novel | Palaces, dukes, gowns, escaping a bad ending |
| Modern drama / romance | Office, campus or family stories | Slow-burn relationships, realistic style |
2. Design a lead who looks the same for 100 episodes
Manhwa leads are recognisable from one panel: a hairstyle, an eye colour, an outfit, a weapon. Draw a reference sheet with front and side views, the outfit before and after the power-up, and key expressions. Korean names are written family name first (Kim Ji-woo); the name generator suggests some.
3. Get the look: colour, light and scale
- Cinematic wide shots: a tiny figure in front of a huge gate, tower or city sells the scale of the world.
- Light and glow: powers glow, eyes glow, swords leave light trails. Strong rim light separates characters from dark backgrounds.
- Black gutters: switching the space between panels to black for dungeons and danger, then back to white, changes the mood instantly.
- Impact: a white flash panel or a speed-line burst on the hit, then a quiet panel after it.
4. System windows and messages
Game-like windows that only the hero sees ([Quest accepted], [Level up], a status screen with stats) are a signature of action-fantasy manhwa. Keep them short, use the same design every time, and make them part of the story: a reward the hero needs, a penalty that raises the stakes. In Panelo, write them as caption lines and they are lettered as editable boxes.
5. Write episodes that end on a hook
- Open with the consequence of the last cliffhanger, not with a recap.
- One main event per episode, and a reveal or a threat in the last few panels.
- Many series adapt web novels; if you adapt your own, cut narration and show it in panels.
6. Publish
Export at 800 px wide in slices up to 1,280 px tall and post on WEBTOON CANVAS, Tapas or your own site. Keep a buffer of finished episodes and post on the same day each week.
Making a manhwa with AI
The Panelo manhwa maker has royal fantasy, hunter action and modern drama looks. Type the episode idea and it writes the script, draws your hero from a reference sheet in every panel, letters system messages as caption boxes, and downloads 800 × 1,280 slices. One credit draws up to 24 panels; the first 4 are free.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between manhwa and manga?
Manhwa is Korean and manga is Japanese. Modern manhwa is usually full colour and read as a vertical scroll on phones; manga is usually black and white with screentone and read right to left in pages.
Which way do you read manhwa?
Digital manhwa is read top to bottom. Printed manhwa books read left to right, like Western books, because Korean is written left to right.
What are system windows in manhwa?
Game-style boxes that only the hero can see, showing quests, levels, stats and rewards. They are common in hunter, tower and regression stories.
How long is a manhwa episode?
Most weekly episodes are similar to webtoons, often 40 to 60 panels or more, read in a few minutes.
Can I make a manhwa if I can't draw?
Yes. You can write the story and work with an artist, or use an AI manhwa maker to draw it from your script and keep your characters consistent.
Ready to make your own?
Panelo turns an idea into finished, lettered pages, with your characters the same in every panel.
Try the manhwa maker