This is a simple, flexible story structure / arc, designed to be drawn in a six-panel grid, without words (no word balloons or text boxes).
PANEL ONE: Show a CHARACTER expressing an EMOTION.
PANEL TWO: Show the CAUSE of the character’s emotion.
PANEL THREE: Introduce a SECOND CHARACTER, show them being effected by the situation established in panels 1 & 2.
PANELS FOUR & FIVE: In TWO BEATS, show SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENING that changes the situation established above.
PANEL SIX: The ORIGINAL CHARACTER now expressing a CHANGED or DIFFERENT EMOTION.
Sample six-panel story exercise comic:
