Forum - View topicMaking My Own Manga!
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Laruto
Posts: 287 |
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I have my characters, my story, and designs of the characters
how ever I suck at background art and buildings. But heres what I need to find out! 1.What equipment do you need? 2.Where can I get this equipment? 3.How can I get it pulished by tokyo pop? |
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Patachu
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 1325 Location: San Diego |
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1. Pencil, paper, ruler, and JAPAN INK. It is imperative that you use JAPAN INK to ink your artwork. That is the only way it will be 100% Authentic Manga. And you do want your work to be 100% Authentic Manga, right? After all, Tokyopop didn't get to where it is today publishing 80% Half-Assed Manga. If you want your work to be 100% Authentic, you need to use Japan Ink for that genuine manga style!
2. Japan, or Akadot Retail. 3. You can enter their Rising Stars of Manga contest and hope to win. However, this is probably not the best idea since they always seem to skip over The Staggering Work Of Genius That Was My RSOM Entry and give the prize to That Other Guy's Story That Totally Sucked. A better option would be to submit a "pitch" to TP detailing your plans for this manga, but that's like, a secret comics-business thing that only special pro manga-ka know how to do, and if you want in on it, you have to cut off your pinky or something. If there is an anime con near your house at some point this summer, there *may* be a Tokyopop portfolio review, but even if there's not, you can still shove your brilliant artwork into the faces of Tokyopop's representatives and they will be utterly stunned at how awesome your manga is and will want to publish it right away. |
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Jedaka
Posts: 10 |
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http://www.artbabe.com/comicsandart/diy/
Oh, and for inking use India Ink and a quill pen, or if you're gimpy you can use a copic multiliner. If you don't already know this, you probably aren't good enough to draw anything worthwhile yet. So practice drawing in pencil and inking first. Look up screen tone tutorials, they can either be done by hand with an exacto knife and screentones that should be available at hobby lobby, or using graphics programs such as adobe photoshop. A possible outlet is http://entervoid.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3342. I don't know how serious they are about publishing, but it appears that they want to release indi style mangas. Last edited by Jedaka on Sun May 08, 2005 8:33 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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midori kou
Posts: 469 |
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1.What equipment do you need?
Paper, pencils, erasers, pens, inks, stylus, nibs, etc. I, personaly draw a rough sketch and do the linework in Illustrator to have crisp linework. If you want it a natural fluid look, I'll go for the major drawing equipment. Don't bother buying Japanese projects over other products. In reality, they're all the same. You would have to buy waterproof ink (This can cost around 3-4 bucks in a regular art store, compared to buying the Nekopiko waterproof ink in Japanese shops.), stylus/nibs (These are pretty much known to people as the old-style calligraphic pens.) and hot-pressed (The flat, smooth paper, not the coarse kind.) watercolor paper. That's all what you really need. 2.Where can I get this equipment? Any art store in your location would have them. You can special order if they don't have them in stock. 3.How can I get it published by Tokyopop? You can follow the directions on their website (www.tokyopop.com). However, it is quite rare to be published under their company. Take a look of American works that have been published by them to have an idea what they are looking for. Also, don't just limit yourself to Tokyopop to submit your work. Looking into other companies who are in the business as well. |
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Haru to Ashura
 Posts: 617 Location: Termina |
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If you suck at backgrounds and buildings, then you're not ready yet. Although then agian, no one's ever ready for this sort of thing.
1) The tools don't make an artist, ignore everyone else's complicated and expensive suggestions and just use what works best for you. Each person is different and needs different supples. 2) Akadot, michaels/arron brothers/art supply stores, comic shops, etc. 3) Pray to God. Last edited by Haru to Ashura on Sun May 08, 2005 10:10 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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A good alternative to Tokyopop is seven sea's publishing. They focus on American manga, but then again you have to be skilled at drawing every detail. A good idea just doesn't cut it. You need passion, dedication and some talent at storytelling, because we don't want to see an american made harem (we don't need any more manga cliche).. I don't think they would take any broke because he or she just feel like making manga, it's just not that simple.
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Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Unfortunately, backgrounds are often the deciding factor between good comics and bad comics; I would suggest taking the time to buy a cheap sketchbook, go outside, walk around, and sit down to do some observational drawing. It's extremely helpful. When I took comic courses in college, many of my assignments required me to do just that. 1.What equipment do you need? Unfortunately, I can't echo Haru to Ashura's advice about not getting expensive supplies; the quality of the tools DO reflect in the quality of the end product. I would suggest smooth 11"x14" Bristol. A pad like this would work nicely--but only for the final rendered work. Be sure to work out your layouts and pencils (you can use any kind of pencil you like; it really doesn't matter) on cheap 11x17 computer paper and then use a light table (like this one) to render the final ink. A T-square is essential; I cringe to think of how much more difficult my own work would be if I didn't use one. As far as inks go, any India Ink is fine (here's a list of a few brands and prices) but the better the ink, the longer it lasts and the deeper the black. Just don't go for the cheapest kind there is, except for practice. Also invest in some white ink or white-out for screw-ups. Or, you can fix your mistakes in Photoshop or some other program once you've scanned in the artwork (at least 300 dpi). Now, everyone has recommended using nibs, and that's fine. The favorite with comic artists I know seems to be the crow quill, and if you can master that, I salute you sir. I could never really get the hang of it. I prefer using a 002 watercolor brush myself (or 001, depending on my mood). It's harder to master than a nib, but you'll find that getting varying line thickness and weight will be much easier once you've nailed it. And it's fun.  Many respectable comic artists prefer the brush over the nib. Let's see.... what else... Oh! Get an oval template. They're really great for creating word bubbles. On that note, most people nowadays seem to prefer using the computer for text in word bubbles, but if you can learn to ink your own dialogue, it'll look much, much better. (I think, anyway.) And, or course, you can either buy ridiculously expensive screen tones or you can just use Photoshop for that. OR you can be super hardcore and do everything in cross-hatching and skip the screen tones altogether. I think that covers just about everything.
2.Where can I get this equipment? Anywhere. Many of the links I provided are stores, so you can order there. Or you can go to any art supply store and find everything you need. 3.How can I get it pulished by tokyo pop? Enter the Rising Stars of Manga contest. If you don't succeed there, go to comic comventions and promote, promote, promote. As mentioned earlier, Tokyopop has portfolio reviews at most of the big comic cons, so buy a nice portfolio, collect your best work, and present it as confidently (but not arrogantly) as you can. Often when young comic artists pitch their art and ideas to companies, they are selling their image more than their work. So just present yourself in the best light possible. Also, once you get contact information, be sure to stay in touch. E-mail as often as you can and not get annoying and say "Hey, I'm still available, if there are any projects soon you need artwork for." 9 times out of 10, you'll eventually find work. The comics biz is frustrating in the fact that often times you'll be able to draw to your heart's content, but the stories aren't yours. (Case and point, I have three current freelance jobs involving comics/illustration. One is providing art for an educational comic which will be published by a company called Aha! Process, one is illustrating the poster for next year's Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits, and the other is providing illustrations for the mechadamia academic journal/website. All three jobs are fun and fullfilling, but I have bosses to answer to and shape my work to fit their desires.) I'm sure you will eventually find a company that will like your ideas as well as your art, and you'll be able to publish original stories. Also, don't limit yourself to Tokyopop. There are many, many independent comics popping up all the time that have a manga feel to their art (like Onipress, who publishes Chynna Clugston Major of Scooter Girl fame. Try going to the indie comic section of comic stores and flipping through the titles that have a similar feeling to your work (either in art or story) and find out who the publisher is. You can go on from there. I hope this helps! Good luck. Just out of curiosity, would you be willing to post/provide a link to any of your work? You could get some good feedback on what your strengths are and what you still need work on.
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Slayer
 Posts: 273 |
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Hmmm
for the first one you will need basically pens(I like sakura pigma micron pens, but you can go with anything really...some people might suggest pens with nibs and seperate ink), paper, pencils, etc. Really you can make manga using any kind of ink, paper, etc.. you really dont NEED one kind. Find something you are comfortable using (I dont like manga pens I find it annoying having to dip into a seperate ink for some reason) because you are going to want your style to be unique. Every artist should have his/her own style, even if your "borrowing from someone else's style. You can buy the supplies online or at most local art stores or chain stores. There is this little are store near a college that I love going to since they have everything I need. Basically find an art store that carries an assortment of pens, inks, papers, markers, etc. You will be able to find at least one in your town/city. The only way tokyopop will take it is through the rising stars of manga contest. You could submit it to many places but I am not too sure anyone would publish it. As an alternative you might want to distribute around your school/work or place the whole thing up on an internet website. Thats my 2 cents 
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.Sy
Posts: 1266 |
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*smacks forehead*
Could we have a sample of your art to help you improve? No? Well anyway, to your questions: 1: You don't need too much fancy equipment. If you can't draw, ya can't draw. Simple as that. But I get the feeling this doesn't help, so I'll go on. You need to get a lot of exposure to past winners, so pick up a few volumes of TP's Rising Stars of Manga. Remember, all of the winners in there have probably spent a good few months working on a sngle chapter to get it ready for TokyoPop. It doesn't matter that much what you ink your comic with, as long as it's not a regular pen. It doesn't have to be those COPIC multiliners, but as people have said, micron pens work well. The paper should be at least 80 weight. You don't need Japan ink, and that barely makes any sense anyway. I assure you, they won't take it to a forensics lab and analyse it. I'd work on the backgrounds and making the art as good as possible. 2. You can get these at craft shops and online. 3. The problem with TopyoPop's Rising Stars of manga contest, is that the manga that wins might not be good. I've seen winning entries that just... aren't so hot. Keep in mind, you won't be doing a ten volume series. TokyoPop has most of the manga-ka start do three volme manga, like Sokora Refugees for example, so don't plan on doing a Naruto length comic. Cloe mentioned cross hatching, and that's fine I guess. Don't get too carried away with the expensive materials, good luck, and I apologize for this long post. |
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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That's why you have assisstants. 
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.Sy
Posts: 1266 |
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I wonder how many assistants a company will give though, and I wouldn't make the assistant do too much y'know. Aromatic Grass made a good point about having assistants, but you'll still have to make a good first impression on the company. Anyhow, just keep workin'.
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darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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Assisstant are for those that are already professional mangaka. Also assistant gets paid and are really there to help get the chapters out quicker for the magazines. How is he going to go get an assisstant, when the job doesn't pay yet. Most people starting out don't have assistant and they do the entire comic by themselves. Also it takes more than just art to get your stuff publish. You need to be a really good story telling and director (making sure what angel to used and when to execute) for your manga. |
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Murasame Kei
 Posts: 1 |
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Backgrounds neh? Hmm... looks like you all forgot the 3 basic "P"s
1. Practice 2. Practice 3. Practice more
an expensive pen isnt enough to create good manga. I would like to see a sample of your art. |
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darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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I'm not even sure if Luruto is serious at becoming a mangaka. His other dream was to start his own dubbing studio, so he can release one piece uncuts. Somehow I just think he's trying to break into the anime/manga scene.
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Nani?
 Posts: 632 |
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1) Find some trusted confederates. You need someone to tell you if the brilliant storyline you have is not so brilliant.
2) Be able to take critism and not take it personally. 3) I also recomend working with others. Nicely put, the majority of artists I know can't write out of a wet paper bag, on the other hand I'm a the worst illustrator on the planet. That may mean finding someone else to help with those backgrounds. 4)Percistance and practice. 5) Pick up a book, and I don't mean an art book. By this I mean something unusual. Look at CLAMP, they routinely not only use Japanese myth but also reference Korean and Indian folklore. Look at Red River, a wonderful series set in the Hittite Empire (household topic of conversation I'm sure), or Eagle, about United States Politics. What I'm saying is knowing stuff is useful and will give you an edge. Finally,
That may be true, but let's assume that if he's not serious, sombody who is will read this. All the Best and good luck, Nani? |
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