If you’ve ever doodled your coffee mug during a boring meeting, congratulations: you’ve already started your origin story as a comic artist.
The Bored Panda community prompt “Hey Pandas, Draw A Comic About Your Life! (Closed)” took that tiny impulse and turned it into a full-blown
challenge to turn everyday moments into panels, speech bubbles, and punchlines. Even though the specific call for submissions is now closed,
the idea behind it is very much aliveand it might be the creative nudge you’ve been waiting for.
In this guide, we’ll walk through what the Hey Pandas challenge was all about, why drawing comics about your life is surprisingly powerful,
and how you can start your own slice-of-life comic series using nothing more than a pen, some paper, and your gloriously weird daily routine.
What Was “Hey Pandas, Draw A Comic About Your Life!”?
Bored Panda’s “Hey Pandas” posts are open community prompts where readers share art, stories, or opinions around a specific theme.
The “Draw A Comic About Your Life” edition invited people to create short comics based on their everyday experiencesawkward moments,
small wins, random thoughts, and everything in between. Submissions typically go through Bored Panda’s community platform, where users
can upload posts, vote, and comment, turning it into a collaborative, global art jam.
Like many Hey Pandas threads, this one ran for a limited time, then was marked “Closed” once submissions were no longer being accepted.
But “closed” only applies to that specific post. The spirit of the challengeturning life into comics and sharing it with otherskeeps
showing up in new community prompts and creative calls to action.
Think of it as a snapshot of how people use comics to introduce themselves, vent, celebrate, or simply say, “Here’s my life. Is anyone
else like this?” If you missed the original challenge, no worries: you can still make your own version, post it on social media, or
save it in a sketchbook just for you.
Why Draw a Comic About Your Life?
Turning your day into a comic might sound like a cute hobby, but it’s also a powerful creative and emotional tool. Artists who keep
“journal comics” or “diary comics” describe them as a way to stay productive, practice storytelling, and document life in a visual format
they can look back on later.
1. It Keeps You Creating (Even on “Boring” Days)
One of the biggest challenges for any artist is consistency. Journal comics are a built-in excuse to draw regularlyeven if it’s just
one panel about your commute or your cat yelling at 3 a.m. Cartoonists who keep daily comics say the routine keeps them finishing small,
complete pieces instead of getting stuck in endless “someday” projects.
2. It Helps You Notice the Little Things
Illustrated journaling and sketch diaries are often described as a form of mindfulness. When you know you’re going to draw one moment
from your day, you start paying more attention: the way your friend laughs, the way light hits your kitchen counter, the weirdly dramatic
showdown between you and an overfull laundry basket. Visual journaling resources note that this kind of drawing can help you stay present,
reduce anxiety, and strengthen your observation skills.
3. It Can Be Therapeutic (Without Feeling Like Therapy)
Autobiographical comics have long been used as a form of self-reflection. When you turn yourself into a character, you gain just enough
distance to see your life from the outsideand sometimes even to laugh at it. Artists who draw life-based comics describe this process as
a powerful tool for self-analysis and emotional processing, especially when dealing with breakups, stress, or mental health challenges.
Plus, comic journaling doesn’t require perfect anatomy or fancy shading. In fact, some creators argue that “bad drawing skills are welcome”:
the point is expression, not perfection. If your characters look like sentient potatoes, you’re doing it right.
How to Turn Your Day Into a Comic
You don’t need a full studio setup to participate in the spirit of “Hey Pandas, Draw A Comic About Your Life!” You just need:
- Something to draw with (pen, pencil, marker, tablet stylus)
- Something to draw on (paper, sketchbook, sticky notes, digital app)
- One moment from your life that you want to capture
Many comic-making guides emphasize the same basic steps: brainstorm, storyboard, design characters, choose a layout, and then ink or finalize
your page. Let’s adapt that to a simple Pandas-style life comic.
Step 1: Pick One Tiny Story
Don’t start with “my entire life from birth to now.” Start with something like:
- The time you spilled coffee during a video call and tried to play it cool
- Your morning routine, as seen through your dog’s eyes
- A conversation with a friend that made you laugh harder than it should have
Writing exercises for autobiographical comics often suggest focusing on one aspect of your day and expanding it into a short-form comic,
rather than trying to cover everything.
Step 2: Script It in Simple Sentences
Before you draw, write a mini-script. Nothing fancyjust a list of what happens in order, like:
- I wake up and check my phone.
- I remember I promised to start drawing comics instead of doomscrolling.
- I put the phone down and pick up my sketchbook.
- My cat immediately sits on the sketchbook.
This gives your comic a clear beginning, middle, and end. Comic educators often use this simple structure to help students tell personal stories
visually without getting overwhelmed.
Step 3: Break It Into Panels
Now, draw boxes (panels) for each beat of your story. Four panels is a classic format:
- Setup
- Build-up
- Twist or reaction
- Punchline or conclusion
You can keep the panel shapes simple. Guides on diary comics and daily comics suggest that a consistent, easy-to-draw panel layout helps you
actually finish pages instead of fussing over design.
Step 4: Design “Comic You”
Your comic self doesn’t need to look like a polished portrait. Many artists recommend a simplified, instantly recognizable designmaybe a round
head, a signature hairstyle, and one or two key accessories (like glasses or a hoodie). Cute, readable character designs are especially helpful
when you draw yourself again and again over time.
Give your character a few default facial expressions: neutral, thrilled, annoyed, exhausted. You’ll use these over and over to show how you’re
feeling in each panel.
Step 5: Add Words, But Not Too Many
Most autobiographical comics rely on a mix of:
- Speech bubbles for dialogue
- Thought bubbles for internal monologue
- Caption boxes for narration like “earlier that day…” or “three coffees later…”
Try reading each panel out loud. If you need to take a breath three times, you probably wrote too much. Slice-of-life creators frequently
recommend trimming text so the art can carry more of the emotion.
Step 6: Ink, Color, or Keep It Simple
Finally, go over your rough lines with cleaner ones. You can:
- Keep it black and white with bold line art
- Use flat colors for each panel
- Add simple shading or patterns to show depth or mood
Many “how to start making comics” guides emphasize that you don’t need elaborate rendering. A clear style you can repeat quickly is often better
than a complex style you’ll burn out on after two pages.
Tips to Make Your Life Comic Feel Real (and Really Funny)
Focus on Relatable Moments, Not Epic Plot Twists
The humor and heart of life comics often comes from small, familiar experiences: losing your keys, mishearing a song lyric, trying (and failing)
to eat healthier. Readers connect with comics that make them think, “Oh no, that’s me.”
Let Body Language Do a Lot of the Talking
Comic creators who work in slice-of-life often stress the importance of believable acting: posture, hand gestures, and facial expressions that
feel true to life. Even a simple shrug or slouched walk can instantly tell the reader how a character feels without a single word.
Vary Your “Camera Angles”
To keep things visually interesting, change the framing from panel to panel:
- Close-up on your face when you’re shocked
- Wide shot when you’re tiny next to a mountain of laundry
- Over-the-shoulder shot when you’re reading a text or email
In diary comics workshops, artists often recommend thinking of your comic like a small movie: shift angles to show emotion, but keep the “stage”
consistent enough that readers don’t get lost.
Remember: It’s Okay If Your Life Comic Isn’t “Pretty”
The charm of many Bored Panda–style community comics is their raw, sometimes clumsy aesthetic. People respond to honesty and personality, not
flawless anatomy. A stick-figure comic about your anxiety spiral can hit harder than a highly rendered fantasy scene if it feels real.
Sharing Your Comic With the World (Or Just Keeping It Secret)
When the original “Hey Pandas, Draw A Comic About Your Life!” challenge was open, participants could share their work on Bored Panda’s community
platform, where moderators highlight top posts and readers react, comment, and vote.
Today, there are still plenty of ways to keep that tradition going:
- Watch for new “Hey Pandas” posts on Bored Panda and jump in when a theme fits your comic style.
- Share your life comics on social media platforms where short comics do well, such as Instagram, X, or webcomic platforms.
- Keep a private sketchbook or digital folder if you’d rather treat your comics as a personal illustrated journal.
Bored Panda regularly invites readers to submit stories, images, and creative work through its community submission system, so even if one
challenge closes, another quirky prompt is usually on the way.
Experiences From the World of Life Comics
To really understand the spirit behind “Hey Pandas, Draw A Comic About Your Life!”, it helps to look at the kinds of experiences people describe
when they keep comics about their daily livesboth in casual blog posts and more formal reflections.
The Morning-Comic Habit
Some artists treat life comics like brushing their teeth: first thing in the morning, before notifications, news, or emails. They sit down with
a notebook, think about what’s on their mind, and draw a quick page or a couple of panels. Creators who do this regularly say that drawing comics
early in the day helps them organize their thoughts and set priorities before everything gets noisy.
Imagine a typical morning comic:
- Panel 1: You hunched over your phone in bed, eyes half-open.
- Panel 2: A little “brain version” of you appears, arms crossed, saying, “We said we’d draw first.”
- Panel 3: You reluctantly toss the phone aside and reach for your sketchbook.
- Panel 4: Future you, later that day, smiling and thinking, “Okay, that was actually nice.”
That’s the kind of micro-story that fits perfectly with a Hey Pandas-style prompt: short, personal, and quietly funny.
Using Comics to Capture Emotion
Many diary-comic creators talk about using drawings to capture emotional states that are hard to describe in words. Instead of writing,
“I felt anxious today,” they draw:
- Themselves as a tiny character under a storm cloud of to-do lists
- Their brain as a messy room with sticky notes everywhere
- A conversation where they say “I’m fine” while their thought bubble screams, “ABSOLUTELY NOT”
Essays on comic journaling for mental health emphasize that turning stressful situations into humorous or exaggerated visuals can help people
process those feelings in a gentler way. The page becomes a safe place to put emotions down and look at them from a slight distance.
Recording the “Small Stuff” That Becomes Big Memories
Illustrated journal advocates often highlight how easily we forget tiny, wonderful details: a joke from a friend, the pattern of light on a wall,
or a random act of kindness from a stranger. When you record those in a comic, you build a visual time capsule you can flip through later.
Imagine a future version of you digging out a sketchbook and finding a comic you drew years earlier:
- Your first apartment with badly assembled furniture and plants you were definitely overwatering
- A comic about baking something that came out hilariously wrong but tasted great anyway
- The day you adopted a pet, drawn with over-the-top sparkles and hearts
That’s the kind of “small stuff” that becomes a surprisingly emotional record when you see it again in comic form.
Community, Comments, and “Oh Wow, Same!”
The community element is a huge part of why prompts like “Hey Pandas, Draw A Comic About Your Life!” are so appealing.
When people post comics about their anxiety, messy rooms, hyperfixations, or awkward social encounters, other readers jump in with comments like
“This is literally me,” “I feel so seen,” or “I thought I was the only one who did this.”
Bored Panda’s broader “Hey Pandas” threadsfrom sharing stories to answering quirky questionsshow how much people value that sense of
recognition and connection. Comics just give it a visual twist. Instead of typing out a long confession, you can show it in four panels, add a
punchline, and suddenly you’ve turned something vulnerable into something shareable and oddly empowering.
Starting Your Own “Hey Pandas” Project
You don’t have to wait for an official challenge to do your own version of “Draw A Comic About Your Life.” You could:
- Commit to one comic a week about something small that happened
- Create a themed series (like “Comics I’d Show My Therapist” or “My Life Through My Pet’s Eyes”)
- Invite friends to join and exchange comics in a group chat or private online space
The key is the same idea that fueled the original Bored Panda post: your everyday life is more interestingand more comic-worthythan you might think.
Whether you share your comics publicly or keep them just for you, you’re building an illustrated archive of who you are right now, one panel at a time.
Wrapping Up: Your Life, But Make It Comic
“Hey Pandas, Draw A Comic About Your Life! (Closed)” might be finished as a specific online challenge, but the invitation it represents is still wide open.
Comics about your life don’t require elite drawing skills, expensive supplies, or dramatic plot twists. They just ask you to pay attention, be honest,
and have a sense of humor about your daily chaos.
So the next time something mildly disastrous, unexpectedly sweet, or hilariously awkward happens, don’t just text a friend about itgrab a pen and
turn it into a comic. The world (and your future self) will be glad you did.
