The experience of developing a comic or graphic novel page layout vocabulary is something that took me years to understand because page layout is a form of visual storytelling with its own grammar.

Panel shape and reading direction: western comics read left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Panels are arranged to guide the eye along this path. Violating reading direction disorients the reader. Directing it consciously creates tension and pacing effects.

Panel size and visual weight: large panels get more time and attention from the reader. Small panels move the pace forward. A full-page panel creates maximum impact and stops the reader completely. Use them for moments that deserve stopping.

Gutter (the space between panels) and time: the gutter is where time passes in comics. Wide gutters suggest longer time gaps. Narrow gutters suggest rapid sequences. No gutter (bleeding panels into each other) can suggest simultaneous events or blurring of the distinction between panels.

The most useful practice: analyzing the page layout decisions in comics you admire rather than just reading them for story. Understanding what choices are being made and why builds the vocabulary faster than any instruction.