Tutorial - Manga Drawing

How to make Manga? How to be a mangaka? How to draw manga? The most asked questions and the most awaited post of all time, it took me time to make this because I am working my drawing skills as well. So without wasting any time lets get to it ^_^

01. Copy : "Hey rak you want us to start our career by copying?". That's right people you have to start by copying other mangaka that's the 1st step. Every one does it even great mangaka like Kishimoto sensei, Oda sensei, obata sensei, kubo sensei every one started by copying their favorite mangaka. I started by copying Kishimoto sensei. You do the same start by copying your favorite mangaka.

02. Head : Start by practicing head and I mean the whole head - different jaw shapes, hairs, eyes, nose, mouth, ears and don't just draw the front view try drawing it from different angles like 3/4 view, side view, top view, bottom view, back view. Get familiar with these angles.

03. Expression : Your head means nothing if you cant express fleeing through it. Learn every possible expression. Buy a small desk mirror or have a webcam act it yourself that's the best thing.

 (not my work)

04. Human Anatomy : Yeah I know its tough but you are not in medical school you don't have to learn them by name like sternum, scapula, pectoral, deltoids etc just learn to draw them. This is very important you need very good skills of human anatomy because if you understand a normal person's anatomy you can enhance it to make a super hero, beasts or take it down a notch to make a fat guy or a skinny boy you can do as you wish once you have mastered human anatomy. Practice male and female, young and old there are differences in every body types study them carefully.

05. Dynamic Actions & poses : Once you have anatomy skills this wont give a lot of trouble just kidding it will :P not very hard though creating cool poses in perspective takes time. Be sure to be able to create any pose its important.

 Pose

 Dynamic Action

06. Perspective : There are three kinds of perspective 1-point, 2-point, 3-point this part is easy its just needs a little time to sink in as you will have to draw your characters and other stuff in perspective.

 1 point perspective

 2 point perspective

 3 point perspective

Try to sketch as light as possible as u will need to erase it after inking.
Now as the sketching part is clear lets move to inking part

I am no good at this part yet, but still I'll tell u things that I do to get better.

I don't know what to you use to ink your work some use traditionl ink dip pens with g-nib, maru nib, kaburu nib and school nib ad some use micron pens. (more on tools, equipments and papers in a later post)

01. Straight line : Its as easy as it sounds, might take a little time getting used to as your fear of messing things might come in between, it happens to me all the time.

02. Curves :  Practice both long curves like on face, hair and small curves like in eyes and nose.

03. Flicking : I don't know how to explain this but when you ink hairs rather than following its path precisely try flicking on it to create that broad to thin pattern.

Search for Sycra, Koizu, Sophie Chan and Mark Crilley on youtube for the tutorials they will help you understand it better. I refer to their videos too.

Happy new year. ^^

Day 6 - Language & Culture

Well most of you reading this post will be a がいこくじん (ga-i-go-ku-jin : foreigner) in Japan so definitely there will be language and cultural differences. For some the cultural differences will be more and for some it will be less. For me as an Indian (South Asian) there aren't many cultural difference there are but not a lot but for some one from a western country the cultural difference will be more which is awesome because its fun to learn something new and we will be excused if we make any mistakes.

You would want to be a mangaka in Japan so you definitely need very high language skills to communicate with your editor, assistant and obviously to write manga.

I am not the best person to learn Japanese Language and culture from :P but I can tell you the best places to learn them.

To work or study in Japan you at least need to clear JLPT N2, without it forget about getting a decent pay job or enrolling into a college. JLPT conducts exams from N5 to N1 5 levels N5 being the lowest and easiest. It is to test your reading, writing and listening skills so that the people know that you can work and study with them efficiently.

Official Website of JLPT - http://www.jlpt.jp/e/

I have cleared JLPT N4, but I plan to study from N5 again in Japan (more on that in my upcoming blog "My plans for Japan")

Best places to learn Japanese languages are :


01. Japanesepod101 - They have many videos about basic Japanese, greetings, holidays and many more interesting stuff. Now they have a started a really creative way of teaching by animation, I personally likes it it's cool watch it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6lXlpf-n6k

02. Givemeaflakeman - This guy is funny you wont get bored watching his videos, he also does video on language, greetings, holidays with tomoko-san but he makes other type of videos too like interviews, current events in japan, videos with gopro, debates and a ton of more stuff, I have learned a lot about japan from him and am still learning.

For culture I would suggest watching j-drama, j-movies, anime or read manga and I suppose almost everyone reading this post is doing that already. But check this out

01. Culture Japan - A site run by Danny Choo I wont ruin it for you, there is a lot of stuff on his sites, its very helpful.

Then there are site like Japan guide,  Gaijinpot. You can find many more sites for it, good luck

がんばろう

Practice Post : 03

Practice Post : 03 
After : 6 days

Whats better for a mangaka than replicating their favorite character. As this year is close to its end I give my tribute to Hajime Isayama sensei - creator of one of my favorite manga series "Shingeki no Kyojin"

  

Hajime Isayama sensei - Thank you for such a great series and a happy new year ^_^

Practice Post : 02

Practice Post : 02
After : 5 days

Now I am at least 10% as good in drawing as I used to be a year ago(If you dont understand what I am talking about read Day 1 – The Beginning). But I still cant draw both eyes in symmetry, I can either draw right or left. What to do?

I'll keep practicing and getting better and will keep posting my progress.

Update : After spending 5-10 min more on the drawing and this is the closest I can get to symmetry.

Day 5 - Why Manga?

The 1st question that people ask me after asking "What is manga?" is "Why manga?" and it is perfectly normal to say "fuffffu~...." (it means nothing)

My reason to make manga is pretty simple :

"I make manga to make mangaka"

The first time I read manga like One Piece, Naruto, Death Note, Bleach etc...  I wanted to be a part of that world, the time I spent thinking if I was a part of that world what powers would I have, how will I look, my weapon choice, the girl I would like so many feelings rushed into my mind at the same time just by reading a manga and to me that was the turning point.

 

 Its not just about what I would do if I was in that story, as the story grows and I get more familiar with the characters I start rooting for them, if they get hurt I cry (not literally but I get sad), when they are having fun I get happy for them. For me the Manga that made me want to be a mangaka is "One Piece" by Eiichiro Oda Sensei, I have literally cried on some scenes in this manga, laughed with them - don't stop reading you babies I wont give any spoilers.

I know most of you reading this blog who are seriously trying to be a mangaka have had the above mentioned feelings too for the manga you like the most.

A story that can make you smile and cry, happy and sad, creating a story like that for others is the best thing you can do.

This is why I want to be a mangaka because I write good stories and hopefully I'll draw better too someday but most importantly I want to inspire other people.

The answer to "Why Manga?" will definitely differ from person to person but the main goal of a manga is to make others (readers) happy and that should be the goal of a mangaka too.

Practice Post : 01

Practice Post : 01
After : 3 days
 
As I said in earlier blogs I had given up on manga a year ago so my drawing skills are all rusty now. It has been 3 days I started practicing again. This is the result :

(On the scale of 1 to 10 this is 0.1 for me I know I can draw much better)

I am not really proud of these drawing but this is how it will be when you start. You start by copying (I will be posting a tutorial on Manga drawing soon). Keep practicing everyday, I am going to do the same and post new updates on my drawing skills as they get better.

Day 4 - Support & Pressure

This is the part where I failed last time and abandoned my dream to become a mangaka "Support" , I though that my parents would support my dream but they didn't.

My father is a big shot here, he owns a big import export and real estate business. He said no to my dreams because he wants me to be the heir, which I don't want to be, I want to be a mangaka!

6,578,670Yen $63,230 - Yes that is the tuition fee for 4 years of studying manga course in Kyoto Seika University, which I know is lot but my father can totally afford it but he said no because he doesn't want me to leave my country(India) and wants me to take over the business, so he said no to pay for it.

Then I asked my mother to sign for a loan and she said "If it was your younger brother we would take a lone but for you(me) we cant" her exact words. *I mean what the f__k was that suppose to mean.

That day all my dreams about becoming mangaka ended.

From that day on I decided one thing to never like my parents again, I know I might regret my decision when they are dying or I am or I am very old or something, but I would rather live with the guilt than living with them or asking them for any help.

( I know the language is very hurtful and if my parents ever read it they will be hurt too. I just want to add that my parents weren't always bad, before me telling them that I want to start a life in Japan I liked them and I might still like them if they accept me for who and what I want to be but if they don't I just want to say that there are uncountable moments, events and things that I am grateful to you for and that can never be changed but this is the path I have chosen and I will walk on it even if I have to do it alone. )

Its been an year now and I AM BACK! 

I wont give up this time I will steal a dialogue from one piece and modify it a bit for my situation :

"I’ve set myself to become a mangaka…and if I die trying…then at least I tried!"

 

Obviously I have friends, friends who truly support me, friends who show that they support me but make fun of my dream behind my back and friends who don't support me. One of my friend ISHI once said to me that the day I go to japan and become a mangaka she will be the most happiest person in the world and that is one of the things that has kept me going. I would like thank and mention my friends names who have always supported me in bad and good times (Jagmeet Gill, Mayank Sahu, Rohit Virani, Ivnish Gujral(ishi)).

Only two things help me moving forward my commitment to myself and my friends.

You will face a situation like this too I am not sure who the villain will be in your case in mine it was my own parents (like a good twist in a plot lol :P), but don't feel down.

"When I have a problem I run, I run and I run as fast and as far as I can then the only problem on my mind is how to get back home."

If you are feeling down, comment on this post, mail me, I will help you in anyway possible, I lost a whole year don't repeat my mistake learn from it, that's the whole point of this blog.

Tutorial - Manga Writing

Most of you wont read this article as you want to get to drawing part fast but writing a story is very important, keeping readers interested is the main goal of a manga. Drawing manga is hard work you don't wanna do it twice for the same script so make sure you script is perfect then move to the drawing process.

Making a manga requires two things :

01. Manga Writing : A good story is heart of manga, your story should have the power to keep people interested in it. Art has the privilege to be good or not so good but if story isn't good it wont sell. For example : What do all great manga have in common? A good story! they may all differ in art but their stories keeps reader interested.

02. Manga Drawing : In a manga the only way to explain your story to reader is by art so art process is as import as writing a story.

Well then lets start

Things you need to write a good story :

01. Concept : Your concept can come from anywhere like a dream, a person you met, a real life event but mostly concepts come from others concept. Let me give you can example u must know Naruto even if you don't know keep reading. Masashi Kishimoto sensei once said in an interview that the concept of Naruto came from concept of Goku from Dragon Ball Z. (1st pic - goku, 2nd pic - naruto)

I know you can make out the similarities like blonde spike hair, blue-orange dress color, and they have a similar attitude too (shounen attitude). So what i am trying to say its complete fine to get inspired by other stories or concept and then create your own be sure not to steal it completely though.

02. Genre : Now decide on your genre its very important. Lets have an example imagine you have a concept of a love story now a good writer can make a love concept in a horror genre (like protagonist and heroin face an awful lot of horror stuff but they help each other and in the end they survive and fall in love) or a horror concept in love genre. You can introduce comedy genre in a suspense story anything is possible, widen your comfort zone, you might only be good with writing thrillers or love stories but introduce other genre in your story too, it creates a dynamism, readers like it but don't over do it, it will cause negative effect.

03. Main character : Even if you cant draw, doodle something on a page because when you start writing story your biggest problem will be a blank page and you wont know where to start.



Maintain a notebook or a sketchpad or a binder for each project and keep everything in it like ideas, sketches or doodle, panels, names, schemes etc.

04. SET : Now you need a set or world to place your story in for example World of ninjas in Naruto, world of pirates in one piece or soul society in bleach, you can use our existing world or past or future, define this world in as much detail as possible, don’t fear if you don’t know how to sketch, write down everything, with the help of your details the artist will be a able to create something close to your imagination.

05. B.M.E : You must be wondering what does B.M.E stands for, well its simple – Beginning Middle End.

You must have heard about the 3 act rule, same thing applies here too. Think of a story as a music you cant have everything on high note then it will be just noise, u need to have a phasing in a story, ups and downs.

What is 3 Act rule?

Its like this :

Act 1: The protagonist need to accomplish some thing so he/she sets on a journey to complete their goal. At the end of act 1 he/she is very sad about things in their life but somehow gets motived about their goal and moves forward.

Act 2 : The act 2 can also be called the point of no return, there is so much at stake that there no way the protagonist can turn back. At the end of act 2 he/she is all defeated and demotivated the ending of act 2 and starting of act 3 are the peak of the story as the end of act 2 should be the lowest point the protagonist can hit with his failure and ~

Act 3 : ~ The starting of act 3 should be the highest point he can achieve in his life the point when he has accomplished his goals. The end of act 3 is just to end the story in a way that everything after it looks good, of course in your mind that’s how writers keep the story alive by making people think about their story even after its ended.

A really simple chart to understand.

This is how I write my stories, I hope this helps you. I myself break the rules of story making many times, you can do it too. Remember a story will get published if it is good - no other factor is involved. 

Keep a watch.

(I'll be posting an update to this tutorial in future and I will also make a tutorial on art, all my tutorials will be constantly updated as my skills evolve.)

Day 3 - Mangaka's Schedule

Close this page rite away if you think being a mangaka is easy. Its fun, creative, exciting, challenging, inspiring but noway its easy. A mangaka has to wor~.........  instead of boring you guys with long text why don't I just show it to you that would be easier to understand.

Behold a weekly schedule of a mangaka who has to turn over final manuscripts every week as he/she is published in a weekly manga magazine.

(click to enlarge)

Day 2 - Competition & Updates

Competition

I was just browsing and stumbled upon a competition it's called Silent Manga it is held by manga-audition.com , the rule is to create a manga without any dialogues or back story, you should be able to portray the feelings and explain your story through art alone and if you think about it a manga is about portraying feelings through art that's why they have those big eyes and extremely detailed expressions.

http://www.manga-audition.com/2013entry.html - visit the link to get more information about the competition. This years theme is  "The Finest Smile". Deadline is march 2014 and both digital draw and hand drawn work are accepted. There is not limit to how many pages or how many stories you can create. 

PS. - Sorry i forgot this to mention earlier but the prize money is 500,000 yen for 1st place.

    Its pretty exciting and challenging, I am competing in it as this will be a great first step to my dream of getting serialized in japan. I am gonna work hard, you should too if you are participating
がんばいます　:)

 Updates :

01. I will be updating this blog once a week as making manga is hard work and learning to make it is even harder.
02. Other than updating blogs I was thinking of doing manga reviews and uploading my own work as practice.

Day 1 - The Beginning

Hi, this blog is about me starting my Journey as a Mangaka. You wont get all the answers right away except if I have already become a mangaka and you are reading this after 5-10 years but seriously I am looking for answers myself and the sole purpose of this blog is to help people like me so that you wont have to waste days and days on simple questions like I did. I am not the best person to teach to manga right now as I am starting it myself but I will keep updating this blog as I move forward with my journey, it might end up being boring so if you want an interesting story read "BAKUMAN" a great story which is written by Tsugumi Ohba sensei and drawn by Takeshi Obata sensei they are also the creator of another popular title "DEATHNOTE". 

         

My 5th semester exams just ended today, now I can spend more time making manga. I did start making manga a year ago but lost interest because I wanted to go to Kyoto Seika University in Kyoto, Japan but my parents didn't allow and didn't even help me get a loan, so I was all sad and lost interest. Now after an year I have my passion back but my art skills are all rusty I am even having problem in making a normal face. This has made me realize that consistency is very important.

Earl Nightingale said "Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway. So here I am back to making manga.

I have started working on basics again, this will help other beginners too, now this is just for the art part -

01. Work on you anatomy skills male - female, young to old in every possible pose if possible buy a mannequin, anatomy skills are the most important.
02. Work on perspectives - 1point, 2 point, 3point. In Japan once you get serialized you will get an assistant for background who will take care of perspective for you but its best to know about them because you will be the one telling him/her which perspective to use he/she will only draw it :P
03. Learn to draw props like sword, gun, helmet, vehicles etc... they are very important too.
04. Also learn about cloths and creases, they will help achieve a certain level of realism.

Now the above point are just basic stuff, I will update it as I move forward with my own training.

Manga is all about expressing. So as advanced techniques 

01: Learn about eyes, start from realistic eyes, understand the eye completely before stylizing it in manga form. Watch this video by Sycra - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBadnTAzQFc
02. Learn the expressions, you wont have to draw every single wrinkle that formed by expressions but an understand of it will definitely help you.

This is all for today, I will keep posting and updating as I move forward, I don't know how far I will go, its not easy to be a mangaka in japan.

Bio, not important that's why i put it in last :  I am 20 now I am a final year student I am doing BA in 3D animation and VFX with minor in designing. I have a fallback career if manga doesn't work out for me which is lame because i want to be mangaka anyways my fall back is UI/UX designing. MY strong point in manga is writing stories I am making my art better too but I would rather prefer paring up with a manga artist. I am from India so finding manga and manga supplies are very difficult, even if i try to get things from jetpens the shipping goes around $340 for $570 supplies which i wont mind paying if i was making a living out of manga. Lets see how I will go from India to japan and get serialized as a mangaka, I hope it turns out well ^^

Useful links :

Kyoto Seika University - Best college in japan to go to for learning manga, they have a 4 years degree program in manga and they have actual manga artists teach you who know the ins and outs of the industry : http://www.kyoto-seika.ac.jp/eng/

Their manga course : http://www.kyoto-seika.ac.jp/eng/edu/manga/mangaproduction/index.php

Watch this video on the school and foreign students, she's a good friend of mine and she is getting published in a shoujo magazine now : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oezbqfn4ceY