Forum - View topicHow to get a job retouching/lettering manga? Breaking in?
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vanderhoek
 Posts: 3 |
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Hey fourmers. I know this is a rather weird place to ask this, but I was wondering if there's anybody in the industry who haunts these forums who may be able to give advice on how to break into retouching/lettering manga professionally.
To start, here are a couple things I’d like to know: — Is this the type of job you can only get by knowing somebody who can recommend you? — If you want to contact a publisher about retouching/lettering what should you include or write? — Should you include samples? What should the samples exemplify? Do you show before and after examples? — Can this type of job be done from my current location? Would I need to move? There’s tons of information on drawing manga, but not so much on getting a job working with manga. I went to school for graphic design and have a degree so I know what I’m doing. I’m highly skilled at retouching and there’s almost no screentone gradient I can’t patch up or sound effect I can’t replace or that I can't match. I’m not talking general scanlations quality with blurred stamp tool sampling, white blocking over difficult thought text, or other corner cutting. I make retouches look like they were there from the start in print. That is what I strive for when I retouch. I am grateful for any feedback. |
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ZepysGirl
 Posts: 470 Location: NY, NY |
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I don't know much, but to give you an idea:
— Is this the type of job you can only get by knowing somebody who can recommend you? Oh heck no. It starts with you. "Cold call" (email) some likely companies and ask if they hire freelance letterers. Last I heard, I know that at least Yen Press and Kodansha do (I'm actually looking to get freelance work with Kodansha myself...). JManga also probably does as well, what with the amount of volumes they're putting out. And don't just stop with manga publishers--- there are lots of comics/graphic novels publishers who need the same thing. — If you want to contact a publisher about retouching/lettering what should you include or write? Tell them you are interested in the position and briefly list some of your qualifications. They will hopefully respond and ask for more details/samples of your work. Remember to follow up (politely!) if they don't respond within a reasonable amount of time. — Should you include samples? What should the samples exemplify? Do you show before and after examples? Ask them what they would like to see, then provide what they ask for. — Can this type of job be done from my current location? Would I need to move? For the most part, yes, you can stay where you are--- as long as you're freelance. However, if you're looking for an actual position within a company, you may need to relocate to where they are. Though those positions are a lot rarer now than they once were, so the possibility might not even be there for all I know. What I personally did was slave away at the Digital Manga Guild for a while to build up a portfolio. Getting in is easy: just pass their test and you're good to go. They pay you worse than peanuts, so don't expect to get rich, but it's a good stepping stone to better jobs. It gave me a lot of real, quantifiable experience in typesetting that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else at the time. |
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Vertical_Ed
Company Representative
Posts: 278 Location: New York, NY |
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To start, here are a couple things I’d like to know:
— Is this the type of job you can only get by knowing somebody who can recommend you? Yes. Basically this is the easiest way to get a step in. Hopefully a connection would recommend your work. Cold calling isn't going to get you anywhere, cause most publishers have their set of stables already. For the most part we also get CVs all the time, so unless you are responding to a job-listing cold-calls are usually going to just placed on a pile and ignored. And even then a portfolio is critical. One way to overcome this is by interning. But obviously that means transplanting yourself to either SF, NY or LA. — If you want to contact a publisher about retouching/lettering what should you include or write? Prior experience. Graphic design experience. Japanese language reading skills. Info about what type of software you use. Depends on who you are contacting but don't mention scans you've worked on. I'd be hesitant to mention the DMG. — Should you include samples? What should the samples exemplify? Do you show before and after examples? If you have comic lettering experience or made your own comics, I'd add a sample. 8 pages or so, showing your text placement and your retouch ability. I'd also like to see a mixed use of fonts and how signage and SFX are redone. No need for before/afters. Not sure why anyone would care. — Can this type of job be done from my current location? Would I need to move? Depends on the publisher. If you only plan on doing this freelance then you can work from home. If you want a full-time gig with other responsibilities like cover design, retouching and promotional design then you will have to move. |
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lys
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 1017 Location: mitten-state |
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I'll just chime in with my own experience... I currently letter for three(ish—haven't started my first project for the third) publishers, and for the first two, I got in through friends who worked for or knew someone in charge. So connections definitely help!! For the third publisher, I saw a request posted on their Twitter account and responded; while it didn't turn into an immediate job, they have followed up with me about other work.
With my first job, I didn't have any work to show, only my art background and experience with Photoshop/InDesign, two years of Japanese in college, and working under deadlines in general. The publisher gave me a test of a chapter or so, to show what I could do. It may be that even if you do have experience, the publisher will want you to do a sample for them to see what you can do following their guidelines. I do all my work from home with the help of email and ftp, so no need to move (which is great, because the cost of living is a lot lower where I am than it would be in one of the big cities). Good luck!! |
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vanderhoek
Posts: 3 |
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@ZepysGirl Oh, I know fully well with what DMG pays. I’ve been with them since they started. That’s one of the reasons I’m looking for more/better work. I financially can’t stay with them too much longer depending on what life things happen in the next few years. It takes a good chunk of my time to do their work to the standard I prefer and while I know I could cut some corners, I just can’t bring myself to do so. I don't want to admit it's about the money, but it is. I don't expect to earn oodles of money and fashion myself a money bank, but I'd like to be able to earn a bit more than what I get paid now.
@Vertical_Ed Are there additional ways to gather connections? At conventions or the like? Twitter? If I were to plan a trip to NYCC or some other major convention would I be able to meet the people who would be interested? Where should I look? Why be hesitant to mention the DMG? Is it considered sub-par among publishers? What do they think of the DMG? Right now that’s really the only professional lettering experience I have. I have not, and will never, work on scanlations; not that those count as professional anyway. I realize many DMG groups cut corners and have horrible text placement (sorry other DMG groups), but I refuse to put in anything less than as close to perfect as I can achieve within the deadlines. I do draw my own comics, but I admit objectively the art isn’t as good as some of the OEL artists out there. My lettering and retouching is what shines in my skills box as well as a bit of my graphic design. How closely do they look at the artistic side when you provide self drawn lettered comic pages? @Lys Thank you. Your experience certainly helps give some perspective. It's good to know that aside from DMG that other publishers allow you to work via the internet. I wasn't sure how other publishers worked in that regard. I don't believe it's something they normally write about online. I will have to keep an eye out on twitter. Do you have any suggestions on who to follow? I'm already following a few publishers, but they're only the big wigs. Who else would be good? Thank you everybody for your feedback. I would have replied sooner, but I did not receive an email notification that this thread received replies. I’ll look into that. |
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Vertical_Ed
Company Representative
Posts: 278 Location: New York, NY |
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Both points are a start but from my point of view, a publisher's perspective, potential employees have to understand that they are part of a large job pool. Filled with lots of talents with varying skill sets and abilities. I communicate with up to hundreds of people a day on twitter. At cons I see thousands of people daily. There's no way I will remember every one and I am not going to remember every portfolio. On the flip side if I get recommendation from a trusted source, then I will take it into consideration.
All your points are valid here. Bad quality. Poor quality control. Lowering the pay rare for the field as a whole... I don't letter. But I pay people to do so. I do translate, though. And I understand how much work goes into both. As a translator I want publishers to understand how much work goes into that skill and I want to pay my translators a fair wage. I want my letterers to get a fair wage also. And in both cases I would appreciate if such talents would not compromise too much if they trust their work. It's one thing to volunteer to improve your abilities through tutelage, but to work at less than a fair wage just to pad a resume... Nah. Not for me. I treat Tokyopop editors/translators the same way. Got to look at them with an extra critical eye.
I wouldn't look at the art at all. We are not going to license your work, unless a Japanese publisher recommended it to us. However, I would look at your lettering (placement, trimming, font use/size) and your SFX work. I'd also look at your logo design. If you have any cover work, that would help me evaluate how you'd design covers also. |
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vanderhoek
Posts: 3 |
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@Vertical_Ed You're responses have given me some much needed perspective on all of this. I now have a better idea of what publishers would be looking at/for as well as what I can do to work towards doing this as more of a career. I honestly desire to achieve more.
The low quality is one of the things that still gets me with every Tokyopop book I go back and read; as well as some of ADV's later books and Yen's graphic novel lettering mess called Twilight. However, that's a rant for another time and place. Thank you for telling me your thoughts on DMG. When I joined I was under the misconception that DMG would potentially lead to a better job. Over time I've realized that moving from DMG to something better would/will be very difficult to do. That's is why I'm looking to expand and gain more information. I'm going to avoid commenting too much on DMG's pay system. When you run the numbers and estimate individual sales it’s rather disheartening. If you're doing it for fun I could understand putting up with it, but I want to make something closer to a living doing the retouching, lettering, and graphics I enjoy so much. I fully understand how busy you are with how many people you converse with on a regular basis. I can't fathom the amount of time you put in. That's why I truly appreciate your responses on my post here and providing some much needed perspective on this. Thank you. |
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littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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Sincer Vertical Ed is here being awesome with answering questions, I've got one that hasn't really been specifically addressed yet.
I've always been curious about lettering, especially since I did scanlations back in high school. (Yeah, I'll admit to that since I'm not in a job interview at the moment. I took pride in some of those chapters). I've now just graduated with my Bachelors in Illustration (most publishers consider this on part with a graphic design degree now a days because we get the same basic classes and use the same programs), which now means I'm looking for freelance odd jobs anywhere to make a living, and I know from all the scanlations I've done letting and touch ups are not something I have a problem with doing with all hours on end. Now if I were to send out a pdf portfolio featuring my work, I can include some of my own comic work with my own lettering, which I think is fine, but what I think stands out most for example are my scanlations which show how I can handle all those annoying narrow boxes, screen tones and sound effects, and well... manga. Would an art director looking to hire a letterer for manga frown outright at my including a page or two of a scanlation, even if the manga was never translated here? That's pretty much what's holding me back from making a lettering section on my portfolio site at the moment. I know one person I used to scanlate with is now working for Yen Press, but I'm iffy about bugging her about a job since we haven't spoken directly in a good year or so. |
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Vertical_Ed
Company Representative
Posts: 278 Location: New York, NY |
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I cannot speak for any other business but we immediately reject peeps if we find out they have any involvement. And we have let go of translators for the same reasons. And I'll tell you... There must be scanners who are talented out there. But I just cannot trust their ethics. And that's critical in a business where we as localizers have little control over the works we publish (most of those rights belong to the authors and approvals dictate how we proceed publicly). |
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littlegreenwolf
Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I understand the reason completely. Thanks for answering my question!
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lys
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 1017 Location: mitten-state |
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Yeah, it's really best to be cautious with that kind of information, especially when you're first establishing a relationship with a potential employer. If you convey your familiarity with manga, good overall design sense, and competence in the right programs*, the publisher is probably prepared with a lettering test (sample pages/script) for you to show what you can do with manga lettering specifically. (this way also gives them an idea of how fast you work, how well you can follow their specific style instructions, etc.)
*on computer programs: I think more publishers are moving toward InDesign for lettering; it's been the standard for Yen since I started. Some pro-letterers still use Photoshop, but knowing InDesign would be to your advantage, I think. |
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Vertical_Ed
Company Representative
Posts: 278 Location: New York, NY |
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Yup. We use InDesign over here, too. |
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JCHILL
Posts: 1 |
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So is it at all possible for someone with a lot of knowledge about which companies are looking for Letterers/Retouchers to compile a quick list?
This is something I love to do as well but I don't know a lot about what companies are offering or looking for people for these positions. It would be greatly appreciated. |
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lys
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 1017 Location: mitten-state |
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Occasionally a company will post a job listing for a certain position, but for the most part I think only the editors in charge at the company know exactly what they're looking for and when (if an editor needs to find a letterer for one new series, they probably aren't going to bother posting a public job listing and going through the resulting pile of applicants).
So I think you're best off doing your own research—learn about the manga publishers out there (Kodansha, Yen, Viz, Vertical, Seven Seas, JManga are the main ones, I think. DMP, but since they're taking a year off print releases, not sure there's much work to be had). See how their lettering styles differ, what kind of series they publish and what would be a good fit for your interests and skills, and just get out there and contact them. |
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Vertical_Ed
Company Representative
Posts: 278 Location: New York, NY |
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As noted above... This is a gig that is based on connections, so I would doubt there would be any listings for such things in manga. Comic publishers like DC/Marvel hire full-time staff for such things (as does Vertical). So you might want to follow their websites or social networks for those listings. |
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