Comic sound effects
Sound effects, or onomatopoeia, are words that imitate sounds: BOOM!, POW!, WOOF! Here is a list with their meanings. Download each one as a transparent PNG or open it in the comic maker.
What is onomatopoeia in a comic?
An onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound. In comics they are drawn with big, colorful, distorted letters so the reader “hears” what happens in the panel: a punch, a door, a barking dog.
Unlike dialogue, sound effects rarely go inside a bubble: they are part of the drawing, and their size and shape tell you how loud the sound is.
Style
Hits and falls
Explosions and crashes
Nature and weather
Animals
People and emotions
Objects and machines
How to draw sound effects in your comic
- Size = volume. The louder the sound, the bigger the letters. A BOOM! can take half a panel; a click, just small letters.
- Shape = kind of sound. Spiky letters for explosions and hits, wavy ones for water or shaking, stretched ones for something fast.
- Outline and color. A thick black outline and bold colors (yellow, red, orange) make the sound effect pop off the drawing.
- Part of the action. Place it next to whatever makes the noise, slightly tilted; it can break out of the panel a little for energy.
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Publish my comicFrequently asked questions
It is a word that imitates a sound, like BOOM! or WOOF!, drawn with big letters inside the panel so the reader imagines the noise.
The most common are BOOM! (explosion), POW! (punch), CRASH! (crash), WHAM! (heavy hit), BANG! (shot), SPLASH! (water), HA HA! (laughter) and ZZZ! (sleeping).
Usually not. Bubbles are for what characters say or think; sound effects are drawn loose, as part of the scene.
Yes. Download them as transparent PNGs or open them in the comic maker, where you can change the text, color and size.
