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Guide

Using Chitra Studio

You bring finished artwork. Chitra is where you letter it, check how it reads on a phone, and send the episode for review.

Chitra dialogue balloons: the line I knew you'd come back for it as an English source and as Hindi and Korean editions, each in the same black plate with a glowing white-blue rim, beside a classic white speech balloon
Who can use it
Approved Chitra creators. Apply for access.
What you bring
Finished panels as JPG, PNG or WebP. Chitra does not draw art.
Where it runs
A laptop or desktop browser, with a phone-width preview.
Before an episode goes live
A Novira reviewer approves it.

Making an episode

  1. Start a series

    Once your Chitra access is approved, open My Stories and choose + Chitra. Add the title, cover, primary language and genres.

  2. Upload your panels

    Open the series and choose New Episode. Save the draft, then drag your JPG, PNG or WebP files into Add panels. Use the drag handles to set the reading order.

  3. Add dialogue and sound effects

    Choose Add text (T) in the left rail and place a balloon. Type the line under What they say, then shape it in Shell Studio and aim it with the Tail slider.

    For a sound word, select its panel, open SFX Studio, type the word and choose Place on panel. You decide the word and where it goes.

  4. Check it at phone width

    Switch the canvas to Mobile, then open Reader preview. Check text size, balloon edges, where each tail points, and the space between panels. Go back and Save draft after any change.

    The editor's Desktop and Mobile canvas switch

  5. Submit for review

    Choose Publish. This sends the episode for review; it does not go live straight away. Your episode list shows Pending review until it is approved, and a scheduled release waits for its time.

    The editor's Save draft and Publish buttons

How lettering works

Your panels are never flattened. The artwork you upload is the bottom layer, and every balloon, caption and sound word sits on a layer above it. You can change a line, a tail or a sound word later without touching the drawing.

Language editions

Because the words are separate from the art, a translated edition swaps the lettering and leaves the panel alone.

Chitra translation is not generally available yet. On accounts where it is enabled, open a published episode, select Translate, choose a language and select Start translation. The translated edition starts as a private draft. It uses expansion credits.

Also translate sound effects (SFX) is optional and applies only to sound words you placed with SFX Studio. Sound effects painted into your artwork stay part of the image.

Current limits

If something goes wrong

A balloon tail or sound word is in the wrong place
Select the balloon and adjust Tail position or Flip tail. Move an editable sound word on its panel. Check both in Mobile and Reader preview, then save the draft.
My English episode still shows sound effects in the original language
Those sound effects are painted into the artwork, and Chitra leaves your art as it is. Change them in your art file, or place an editable English sound word with SFX Studio.
I pressed Publish but the episode is not live
Publish sends the episode for review. It goes live once approved, or at its scheduled time.
I cannot start a Chitra translation
Translation may not be enabled for your account yet. Where it is, the Translate button needs a published episode (it is disabled on drafts), a target language, and enough expansion credits.