Thinking canvas

What is it for

The thinking canvas is a freeform whiteboard. When you think of an idea, a line of dialogue, or an image, put it there right away. You do not need to decide whether it belongs in the synopsis or the story elements.

When you open a comic, you land on this screen by default. After the assistant finishes the planning, two things appear here: three story idea sticky notes, and a frame with an image already drawn. We will explain them later.

The toolbar at the bottom

There is a row of tools at the bottom of the canvas. Shortcuts are in parentheses:

• Drag(V): drag on blank space to move the canvas; drag on a card to move the card; click to select.
• Sticky note(N): click blank space to place one, then start typing.
• Text(T): text with no background, good for labels.
• Frame(F): click blank space to place a frame, write one description, and let it generate an image.
• Pen(P): hold to draw. Each stroke is one object.
• Line(L): connect two cards.

On the right side of the toolbar is undo (⌘Z, only available while this session is open). When something is selected, you will also see a “Delete” button. On the right side of the canvas is a vertical row for zoom in, zoom out, “Fit”, and “Notes” (a shortcut list). You can also zoom with the mouse wheel or a two-finger pinch. If things are spread out and you cannot find them, click “Fit”. The canvas will zoom so everything fits in view.

After you place a sticky note, a text object, or a frame, the tool automatically goes back to “Drag”. The pen does not, so you can keep drawing.

Sticky notes, text, and pen

• Edit text: click once to select it first. After it is selected, you can edit the text on it directly. If it is not selected, holding down will drag it.
• Change color: after a sticky note is selected, four color dots appear in the lower-right corner. Click one to change the paper color.
• Delete: select it, then press Delete or Backspace, or click “Delete” on the toolbar. Any lines connected to it are deleted too.

Pen strokes are lines. The assistant cannot read them. If you want the assistant to follow an idea, type the same idea into a sticky note, or tell the assistant directly in chat.

Lines

Hover over any card, and red connectors will appear on its four sides. Hold one connector, drag it to another card, and release to connect them.

After you connect them, Wapopo will ask “What’s the relationship between these two?” right away. For example, “cause and effect”, “same day”, or “this leads to that”. Write one sentence and click “OK”. If you do not want to write it, click “Skip for now”. A faint “Write relationships” will stay in the middle of the line, and you can click it later to add the relationship.

Frames: write one sentence, draw one image

A frame is a fixed 3:4 portrait shape. It has two pages, “Image” and “Description”. The description field is called “Panel description”: write clearly who is there, where they are, what the light is like, and what they are doing.

After you finish writing, click the red button in the lower-right corner to generate the image. It will change to “Drawing”. When the drawing is done, the image appears by itself, so you do not need to watch it the whole time. Each image costs 100 credits. If you are not happy with it, you can click “Redraw”, which is also charged per image. “Zoom in” in the upper-right corner lets you view the image larger and write larger text.

If you click generate without a description, it will switch to the description page and remind you to write first. If the image fails, the frame will show “Failed to draw” and the reason. Click “Redraw” to try again.

If you delete a frame, the images it drew stay in the gallery.

Story ideas and tone-setting image from the assistant

When the assistant lays out the planning, it starts a new column on the right side of the canvas and places three yellow story idea sticky notes. The planning is written from your original words. These three are three other story directions, kept as backup paths. You can switch to one at any time.

Each story idea sticky note has a “Use this” button at the bottom. Other sticky notes the assistant places, such as reminders about what is still missing in the story, do not have this button. After you click it:

1. It says “Use this story idea” in the conversation for you, and opens the assistant in the lower-right corner;
2. The assistant first shows a checklist that clearly explains what the full rewrite will delete, such as how many episodes, how many cards, and which images you currently have;
3. Only after you check “Apply checked” will it rebuild the synopsis, pacing, and story elements in this direction.

During a full rewrite, the original story idea sticky notes stay there. New ones will not be added.

Tone-setting image is a frame the assistant places after it finishes the planning. It writes the description and draws the image right away, setting the mood for the whole comic. This image also costs credits per image.

Why “Another set” instead of “change a little”? When you change direction, the synopsis, characters, and pacing all change with it. If you patch one piece here and another piece there on top of the old version, things can easily stop matching. A full rewrite is cleaner. That is why it always asks you before it starts.

Autosave

When you stop for one second, the whole canvas is saved automatically. The lower-left corner shows “Saving…” or “Saved”.

If the assistant or another window just changed this canvas, you will see “Canvas was changed elsewhere. Updated to the latest version”: in this case, that other version is used. Your last unsaved action will be lost, so just do it again.