General Amateur Manga Discussion/Hangout Thread

[quoux]

Re: Amateur Manga: Hangout

Hey everyone Im new! But I am an aspiring artist/writer (Im not very good but Id like to make a web-comic).

Well I have a plot and story that ive created and I (like everyone) think it is original and will be a great story!!

Anywho I kinda just want to get involved and what not. My story is that one day, randomly and suddenly, human lives become transferable, either given or taken. That means if someone is killed, the killer gains their life, which then doubles their lifespan, or can be exchanged if they are to die.

Let me know what you all think! I'd love to chat with you about your ideas as well!

 

[zzigg]

Re: Amateur Manga: Hangout

hi guys i hope everyone doing good.
i wanted to ask if anyone know a website who put manga contests and stuff .. some of this kind of competitions can really give the momentum to one's own project
thanks

 

[MangaWriter]

Re: Amateur Manga: Hangout

I am an manga writer looking for a manga artist contact me on zdujic445@gmail.com
i write all manga: action,comedy,sport,mainstream...

 

[ClaFanN1]

Re: Amateur Manga: Hangout

Here's a page of my comic stuff

Spoiler

By the way, why don't we make a blog (for example using blogger) with multiple authors in order to share our works? Could become interesting...

 

[Farfalla]

Guys, dunno how many of you is aware, but the Community Awards has started and has now advanced to the 2nd Voting Round. Take a look^^

 

[MangaWriter]

I am a manga writer looking for an artist please send me a message if you are interested
(i do all kind of manga from action up to sport to fantasy and so on)

 

[mageirakos]

Create a manga with sports and mystery, with 2 protagonists, is that interesting???

create a manga with sports and mystery, with 2 protagonists, is that interesting???

manga with 2 protaginists and 2 different stories

 

[DoctorApollo]

I've recently come across this documentary showing the drawing techniques of the (legendary, frankly) Akiko Higashimura. You can watch it here. Well, the word "documentary" is a bit of a stretch, it's more like watching her draw and talk about drawing with Naoki Urasawa for 45 minutes. If anyone likes it, there's a few more subbed videos in that series online.

Anyway, I was so blown away by Higashimura-sensei, really. I just saw her work, and I thought, "this is not human, this is a manga-drawing demigod", you know? Totally beyond anything anyone else could ever do, truly blessed by the gods of talent.

So naturally I wanted to check out her autobiographical manga, Kakukaku Shikajika. It is one of the best manga I've ever read. If you care about 1) shojo manga, 2) art in general, 3) the process of making manga, 4) teaching... any of those, if you care about them even a little bit, this manga will be an incredible experience for you. The most amazing part for it is that it really humanized Higashimura to me. Suddenly she was no longer a god. You could see her flaws. You could see her shitty art before she became who she is today. You could see all the years she spent slacking off. It inspired me beyond anything else, it made me think "I can do it, too."

soooo yeah, that's what I have to say to anyone interested in making manga: watch that documentary, and read Kakukaku Shikajika. It will change your perspective, I hope.

 

[Gintara]

I've recently come across this documentary showing the drawing techniques of the (legendary, frankly) Akiko Higashimura. You can watch it here. Well, the word "documentary" is a bit of a stretch, it's more like watching her draw and talk about drawing with Naoki Urasawa for 45 minutes. If anyone likes it, there's a few more subbed videos in that series online.

Anyway, I was so blown away by Higashimura-sensei, really. I just saw her work, and I thought, "this is not human, this is a manga-drawing demigod", you know? Totally beyond anything anyone else could ever do, truly blessed by the gods of talent.

So naturally I wanted to check out her autobiographical manga, Kakukaku Shikajika. It is one of the best manga I've ever read. If you care about 1) shojo manga, 2) art in general, 3) the process of making manga, 4) teaching... any of those, if you care about them even a little bit, this manga will be an incredible experience for you. The most amazing part for it is that it really humanized Higashimura to me. Suddenly she was no longer a god. You could see her flaws. You could see her shitty art before she became who she is today. You could see all the years she spent slacking off. It inspired me beyond anything else, it made me think "I can do it, too."

soooo yeah, that's what I have to say to anyone interested in making manga: watch that documentary, and read Kakukaku Shikajika. It will change your perspective, I hope.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing that video. I'll definitely take a look at both the video and manga.

Here are some things I've come across; hopefully they are useful for you guys:

• Shuho Sato has a series of posts called The Secrets of Manga which he discusses how he creates comics. His Road to Manga series is also interesting.
• Sato also provided thoughts on life as a mangaka in Manga Poverty. Worth a read.
• Jamie Lynn Lano has a How to be a mangaka series over at her blog. Also check out her posts about her experiences as an assistant for Takeshi Konomi (Prince of Tennis)
• If you can get a copy, the Shojo Beat Manga Artist Academy provides some tips on creating manga.
• Not manga-exclusive but one aspiring comic artist has a blog which he took some notes of how one shot stories usually are composed structure-wise.
• Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud is also an interesting read if you want to know more about sequential art in general and how comics work.

And regarding manga contests, there's the Silent Manga Audition. They're currently accepting entries for their Spring 2016 contest (it's held twice each year). The winners of SMA04 were recently announced. You can also read the winning entries and honorable mentions there and the judge's comments too.

As always, keep reading comics - see what works and think why the panels were laid out like that, etc. That also applies for writing too - keep reading! Take notes on things you've come across and try to apply them to your own works, get feedback and build upon them.

(On a side note, I haven't been here for ages. Whoa.)

 

[DoctorApollo]

Ah, I remember that girl who was an assistant on Prince of Tennis from a while back.

It's disappointing to see she still hasn't made anything on her own, it seems.

 

[Gintara]

It looks like she released a self-published comic back in July, but other than that nothing else yet like you mentioned.

 

[DoctorApollo]

In a way a story her is actually more discouraging than encouraging. It seems she got the job mostly because of her being a cute gaijin girl (no knowledge of manga work whatsoever), and even after such a gig with a high-profile artist on a series like Prince of Tennis, she was only able to get together a self-published work.

it makes me think that 1) my chances of getting an assistant job are very low, and 2) even if i got one, it's not really a path to becoming a published professional in any way.

well, I still think the best path is to become an assistant and work on your series whilst you're an assistant, but yeah, her story just got me down.

 

[YumaKuga]

Ah, I remember that girl who was an assistant on Prince of Tennis from a while back.

It's disappointing to see she still hasn't made anything on her own, it seems.

She still hasent? Was kinda hoping she would, I mean after a big job like that

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 30, 2015, Original Post Date: Dec 30, 2015 ---

In a way a story her is actually more discouraging than encouraging. It seems she got the job mostly because of her being a cute gaijin girl (no knowledge of manga work whatsoever), and even after such a gig with a high-profile artist on a series like Prince of Tennis, she was only able to get together a self-published work.

it makes me think that 1) my chances of getting an assistant job are very low, and 2) even if i got one, it's not really a path to becoming a published professional in any way.

well, I still think the best path is to become an assistant and work on your series whilst you're an assistant, but yeah, her story just got me down.

Yeah, its hard becoming an assistant, especially from another country such as America. Im gonna go to school in Japan for manga in a few years, but that dosent even guarantee me much of a future as a manga artist. Sometimes you have to be a little more aggressive about your career to get things going

 

[DoctorApollo]

Ultimately she just couldn't make anything good enough, that's all there is to it.

If you make good stuff, you will get published. Don't lose sight of the goal.

 

[YumaKuga]

Ultimately she just couldn't make anything good enough, that's all there is to it.

If you make good stuff, you will get published. Don't lose sight of the goal.

yeah thats the important thing. Im now working on Japanese so I can go there soon

 

[DoctorApollo]

Working on Japanese is important, but it is orders of magnitude less important than working on your art.

I mean obviously you would have a very hard time if you get to Japan with weak Japanese skills, but that is a way way way way way way better scenario than getting to Japan with poor drawing ability and great Japanese.

What I'm saying is... make sure you don't spend too much learning the language and slack on drawing. Try to draw as much as you can. Really.

 

[YumaKuga]

Working on Japanese is important, but it is orders of magnitude less important than working on your art.

I mean obviously you would have a very hard time if you get to Japan with weak Japanese skills, but that is a way way way way way way better scenario than getting to Japan with poor drawing ability and great Japanese.

What I'm saying is... make sure you don't spend too much learning the language and slack on drawing. Try to draw as much as you can. Really.

Thanks for the tips, i will keep that in mind. Im kinda hoping to go to the Tokyo Design Academy for manga, but they only enroll once a year. Still looking for other options.