Wuts it like to be a mangaka?

[rawr9009]

i was just wondering what im trying to get myself into. I wanna know stuff like...umm....how much manga do you have to make in what amount of time? and how hard is it to get that much manga done? Yea....stuff like that and what ever else you can think of. i heard its hard to be a manga-ka, but how hard is it really?
Thankyou sweatdrop

[The Gecky]

It's pretty cool that you're looking into this before you actually start. Wish I had the foresight to do that sweatdrop I didn't really do my research into making a manga, I just jumped into it headfirst. Now I realize that I really have to work on drawing my backgrounds, plotting out my pages... Stuff like that which I didn't consider before starting.

This is what an un-thought out manga looks like

My Lousy Attempt at Manga

[yodilit]

Sanhane

i was just wondering what im trying to get myself into. I wanna know stuff like...umm....how much manga do you have to make in what amount of time? and how hard is it to get that much manga done? Yea....stuff like that and what ever else you can think of. i heard its hard to be a manga-ka, but how hard is it really?
Thankyou sweatdrop

Lets go through this..

"how much manga do you have to make in what amount of time?"
Depends who you work for.
Most Manga ka, do about 2-3 pages per day.(Full pages. Inked, toned, etc.)
Of course, some Mangaka have Assistants to help with inking and toning.

"how hard is it to get that much manga done?"
You'll probobly have one meal a day. 2 if you're lucky. It takes alot of time, and Mangaka are very commited. It also depends on whether you have an assistant or not.

"i heard its hard to be a manga-ka, but how hard is it really?"
Its extremely hard. You have to be commited to your project, and only your project. No matter whats going on, your Project is top priority.

[Kitsune XIV]

Ahh! Digital tones! domokun i wish i could try but i don't have Adobe CS or any other form of Adobe... sweatdrop [;>_> i want Adobe and Adobe only..ahahah only the best for me!!! hahah no. sweatdrop ]

Making a manga..I want to know what it's like too..

I've done..well..2 or 3...the first one wasn't really a manga..but i drew lots of anime..it was like a manga-novel. XD..

my second one was about ninjas..for my huge school project...and it sucked.

^ _ ^ my third one, after learning my lesson, has turned out quite well. i worked almost at full-time [with evil hw too. T _ T; ]

XD Ahh I'll post again..this is too long.

[Kitsune XIV]

I guess to be a manga-ka is a lot of work..and it doesn't pay very much unless you're popular; but it pays off 'cause writing manga is fun, right? xd

If you read manga, and read all the manga-ka's random spaces. Hahahah.

My view on how to make a manga:
-develop the story
-create a storyboard of the manga [this always helps..a lot. it can just be a REALLY crappy storyboard.]
-draw all the drawings in pencil
-ink them [i don't know if mangaka's hand draw or comp. draw their speech things...preplan your speech. XD]
-put on screentones and shading
-input speech text

^ __ ^ then yeah, turn it into a PDF file and get it turned into a book and such~!

Adobe Photoshopness = digital tones..no more screen tones..* _ *; i want...adobe..

[rawr9009]

Yodilit

Sanhane

i was just wondering what im trying to get myself into. I wanna know stuff like...umm....how much manga do you have to make in what amount of time? and how hard is it to get that much manga done? Yea....stuff like that and what ever else you can think of. i heard its hard to be a manga-ka, but how hard is it really?
Thankyou sweatdrop

Lets go through this..

"how much manga do you have to make in what amount of time?"
Depends who you work for.
Most Manga ka, do about 2-3 pages per day.(Full pages. Inked, toned, etc.)
Of course, some Mangaka have Assistants to help with inking and toning.

"how hard is it to get that much manga done?"
You'll probobly have one meal a day. 2 if you're lucky. It takes alot of time, and Mangaka are very commited. It also depends on whether you have an assistant or not.

"i heard its hard to be a manga-ka, but how hard is it really?"
Its extremely hard. You have to be commited to your project, and only your project. No matter whats going on, your Project is top priority.

OMG gonk gonk gonk

[Kintoki Balanga]

stare Wow, are you THAT surprised about it?

Heh, this calls for a famous quotation from one of my favorite obscure video games, Tech Romancer.

"Enter now and abandon all hope!" 3nodding

Seriously though, just buckle down and keep on going. Trust me, you just might regret somewhere down your life that you never were a mangaka... xp

[yodilit]

Sanhane

Yodilit

Sanhane

i was just wondering what im trying to get myself into. I wanna know stuff like...umm....how much manga do you have to make in what amount of time? and how hard is it to get that much manga done? Yea....stuff like that and what ever else you can think of. i heard its hard to be a manga-ka, but how hard is it really?
Thankyou sweatdrop

Lets go through this..

"how much manga do you have to make in what amount of time?"
Depends who you work for.
Most Manga ka, do about 2-3 pages per day.(Full pages. Inked, toned, etc.)
Of course, some Mangaka have Assistants to help with inking and toning.

"how hard is it to get that much manga done?"
You'll probobly have one meal a day. 2 if you're lucky. It takes alot of time, and Mangaka are very commited. It also depends on whether you have an assistant or not.

"i heard its hard to be a manga-ka, but how hard is it really?"
Its extremely hard. You have to be commited to your project, and only your project. No matter whats going on, your Project is top priority.

OMG gonk gonk gonk

Yeah.
Its ALOT of work.
Thats why I respect them so much.

(Note: Also, your one meal, will probobly be instant ramen or maybe some rice. something quick.)

[Yu]

Sanhane

i was just wondering what im trying to get myself into. I wanna know stuff like...umm....how much manga do you have to make in what amount of time? and how hard is it to get that much manga done? Yea....stuff like that and what ever else you can think of. i heard its hard to be a manga-ka, but how hard is it really?
Thankyou sweatdrop

My information is only from reading what others had reported about their comic book making career. Personally, I love my dellusional world...I believe I can gain FAME, MONEY, GIRLS by drawing and taking pictures! YaY ME!

MONEY = NOT ENOUGH

WORK LOAD = TOO MUCH

HOW TO GET IN = DRAW 'SEQUENTIAL ART' BETTER To over simplify, "sequential art" is the fancy term for 'comic book'...you're conveying a story by using a series of art in a sequence. Meaning, you should learn the theorys of panel transition.

HARD TO GET IN = not really if you're comfortable with sequential art. I've seen some really bad books and wondered how the hell they it get printed....and why wasn't the editor fire for wasting the companies money to print such garbage (art and story). Sanhane, you don't have to be the best....just better than most professional comic artist.

There is an old joke about two hikers in the woods. They are setting up camp when they noticed a bear that was about to charge them from a good distance away. One friend starts running in his bare feet while the other put on his shoes. The first friend "Hey! RUN! Don't waste time putting on your shoes, the bear can out run you!" The second guy, he replies "I'm not trying to outrun the bear, I'm trying to out run you!" whee

The point is, there are MANY established publishers and start ups that would love to get their hands on a GOOD sequential artist and exploit them till the cows comes home...... All YOU need to do is to be BETTER than most people that submit their portfolio! You do NOT have to be the BEST....just BETTER!


HARD WORK = Maybe not "hard work", maybe tiresome work...doing the same thing over and over again. Before Dragon Ball, Toriyama (spelling?) did a very famous and popular show call Dr Slump. the reason why (according to the story I heard) Dr Slump was cancel was people in the studio got bored drawing the same charaters over and over and over again. So....they produce DB...and all the charaters LOOKS almost like most of the charaters from Dr. Slump.


Sanhane, PM me, I'll give you a list of all those startup and web publishers that are looking for comic artist. Also, note on their submission guideline ...it seems artist are worth more than writers. Everything seems to be geared towards begging for artist to submit.

[Awkwarda]

Hm. Whats it like to be a mangaka? Well, I for one, know that it teaches you good grammar and spelling.

[Eekan]

While we're on the topic of comic arists/manga ka, I have a question of my own, which I didn't feel was important enough to make a new thread on.

Are words/letters normally written, or done on the computer and typed? This question has plagued me for quite some time, and I was never really sure.

[rawr9009]

wow, thanx for all the info, Yu biggrin
oh...the words are typed, just so ya know Eekan wink

[Eekan]

Sanhane

wow, thanx for all the info, Yu biggrin
oh...the words are typed, just so ya know Eekan wink

Wait, so then like, do they do the word bubbles on the computer as well?

*feels stupid* gonk

[Yu]

Eekan

Sanhane

wow, thanx for all the info, Yu biggrin
oh...the words are typed, just so ya know Eekan wink

Wait, so then like, do they do the word bubbles on the computer as well?

*feels stupid* gonk

dialog bubbles can be done by hand...free hand... or a template.. and can be done in computers. www.akadotretail.com/shop/shop_showbook.php?id=se-comicw This is a windows ware.

I found another japanese comic making software that's windows and mac.

You could get the same effects by using PHotoshop CS or photoshop Elements. www.adobe.com goto the download or trial section.

[ColorGuy]

Letters are done mainly in Adobe Illustrator. The bubbles are also created in Illustrator.

You will be working many long nights. The money in the small press industry is almost nothing, but you can make a lliving working for one of the bigger companies.

Best suggeestion I can give you is do what ever it takes to get an internship in one of the publishing houses.

Topcow, Antartic Press, Penny Farthing Press, Marvel, DC Comics, Wildstorm, Devils Due Publishing...umm....Dreamwave in Canada.
That will give you the best impression of what to expect. Also, go to the comic book conventions and talk to the professionals in artist alley. They are a huge resource that many people over look.

Hope that helps. biggrin



-Me


www.outcaststudios.com