/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

[Anonymous No.3350251]

If you want to be a mangaka what should you do?

I'm still young and willing to do whatever means to get there. Even suck off Araki.

I don't want to start a debate of people saying you can't do it, that's not the threads topic.

[Anonymous No.3350253]

http://www.tokyo-anime.jp/lag/english/subject/comic.html

[Anonymous No.3350254]

>>3350251
Actually draw instead of talking and thinking about it.

[Anonymous No.3350255]

Draw manga. Study your favorite mangaka. Literally anything that isn't posting on /ic/ instead of actually drawing.

[Anonymous No.3350257]

>>3350251
loomis

[Anonymous No.3350261]

>>3350254
>>3350255
I'm drawing right now.

[Anonymous No.3350264]

>>3350261
Then what's the point of this thread if you already know what to do.

[Anonymous No.3350265]

>>3350251
all you should do is draw draw draw, and then once you're done, draw some more.
if you aren't willing to make sacrifices and put all you are into this, then you can forget about ever making it big.

[Anonymous No.3350266]

>>3350264
jesus, if only drawing was the formula to be a mangaka then everyone would be one already.

[Anonymous No.3350267]

You can't tho

[Anonymous No.3350270]

>>3350266
There are a ton of mangaka so yes. Also more often than not the type of people who want to be a mangaka don't even draw much. You can't go wrong with drawing more either.

[Anonymous No.3350272]

>>3350270
okay, I draw as much as I can every single day, what other advice could you give me?

[Anonymous No.3350276]

>>3350272
You don't need more advice. You either draw manga or you don't. This is simple.

[Anonymous No.3350279]

If you mean getting your work published by a japanese company in japan you will be competeing against many native japanese aspiring mangaka as well. They all have the "advantage" and still many, many of them won't be published. You should learn japanese of course, if you haven't already but that does not guarantee anything. Just speaking dosnt automatically have you fit in as an outsider in another country.

Looks like this guy got noticed by way of contest:
http://comicsalliance.com/felipe-smith-interview-peepo-choo-ghost-rider/

If you just want to draw manga, start up a webcomic in this style. If your idea is interesting and your art unique and it gets popular online, you may be able to self publish or publish with an indie label.

[Anonymous No.3350280]

>>3350266
lmao. most people don't make it cause they don't have the proper dedication and passion. what you are saying is complete BS. drawing IS the formula. the only problem is that you have to draw much much more than your lazy ass is willing to.

[Anonymous No.3350282]

>>3350251
how long to get to Vagabond-level /ic/?

[Anonymous No.3350285]

>>3350279
thanks for the info anon.

[Anonymous No.3350293]

>>3350266
Make yourself a schedule, draw with real pen on paper. Being a mangaka is a full time job. Try watching urasawa naoki no manben, its a show about mangaka. Get yourself a glimpse into the life of real mangakas and emulate them. Episodes are on youtube and dailymotion

[Anonymous No.3350297]

>>3350251
>I'm still young
If you are 18 or older you are no longer young.

[Anonymous No.3350337]

>>3350297
>18 years is considered old by nu-4chan
the absolute state of this site...

[Anonymous No.3350342]

>>3350251
>learn to draw
>learn to write
>learn Japanese
>move to Japan
That's it, good luck

[Anonymous No.3350354]

>>3350251
read Bakuman, and get an exaggerated sneak peek into the life of an actual mangaka. Oh and be prepared to get 3h of sleep each day.

You will probably never get published in Japan doing a manga, thus you can't be a "Mangaka". There are only like 2 successful westerners who create comics in Japan, I know that one of them got his "manga" published by some f-tier magazine, but still, he works and lives in Japan.

Your best option is to git gud, and start your own webcomic serialization. If you keep getting better and your audience keeps growing, someone might notice you.

[Anonymous No.3350361]

>>3350337
Most successful artists were close to pro level by the time they rescheduled middle school.

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/LA8fZ

If you aren't already good by 18 you are so far behind that catching up is basically impossible. This applies to almost any skill: drawing, music, writing, sports, programming. Getting an early start and early mastery is the only real ticket to success, everything else is bullshit.

[Anonymous No.3350363]

>>3350337
Most successful artists were close to pro level by the time they reached middle school.

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/LA8fZ

If you aren't already good by 18 you are so far behind that catching up is basically impossible. This applies to almost any skill: drawing, music, writing, sports, programming. Getting an early start and early mastery is the only real ticket to success, everything else is bullshit

[Anonymous No.3350372]

>>3350363
>Most successful artists
>only lists one

[Anonymous No.3350373]

>>3350361
This. People enjoy pretending age doesn't matter but it simply isn't true. I'm not saying it's impossible to learn something after 18, but you'll be mediocre at best and definitely will never achieve anything of note, unless you are VERY intelligent.

[Anonymous No.3350394]

>>3350279
>You should learn japanese of course
LMAO at this crab trying to bait you into wasting 5 years of your time into studying an useless language.
Don't listen to him.

>>3350251
Where do you live? There's good manga publishers in many country such a France for exemple.
If you really want to publish in japan you will never make it as a monthly/weekly serie but you can still make your manga published there, you simply have to work with a translator as many have done before you.
Another advice, go full manga or go home which means paneling/writing flow/style have to be manga style and not some mixed bastard with comics.
Study the masters like inoue and learn shortcut, don't listen to crabs

[Anonymous No.3350402]

>>3350372
>Picasso at age 12

[Anonymous No.3350412]

>>3350363
>If you aren't already good by 18 you are so far behind that catching up is basically impossible. This applies to almost any skill: drawing, music, writing,
>basically impossible
>endless exemples in all those fields prove this post wrong
found the crab trying to put OP down

[Anonymous No.3350414]

>>3350402
Your point being? You list one out of the million artists that exist. This has no merit to your argument. van Gogh, there, named an artist which proves your statement to be wrong, gg, you've lost. Nothing you say or do will prove you right from here on out.

[Anonymous No.3350423]

>>3350414
>hurr durr what's an outlier?

Yeah, I'm sure you're definitely one the 1 in a billion exceptions to the rule.

[Anonymous No.3350428]

>>3350251
Collaborate. Work on two-man comics.

[Anonymous No.3350430]

Early start has two significant advantages.
First, when you're younger, you learn quicker. Partly because your brain did not pick up a buttload of biases. Partly because your brain cells are still fresh. Partly because you likely did not forgot how to actually learn.
Second, you do not need to worry about food and shelter. Sure, there are some adults who have a safety cushion and might as well do whatever the fuck they want. But most do not. Children, unless they're in an orphanage or a third world country, are almost certainly supported. School hometasks are literally nothing compared to adult life load.

You still are able to become a great artist if you start at an older age. It is just exponentially harder.

[Anonymous No.3350440]

>>3350423
Please list all the masters who agree with you.

[Anonymous No.3350442]

>>3350363
Horikoshi at 18

[Anonymous No.3350448]

>>3350266
With the crap ton of shit manga I've seen at bookstores, I imagine it doesn't take that much to become one

[Anonymous No.3350537]

>>3350363
alright well i'm 22 and turning 23 in may, I've only ever drew casually and not so much to begin with i'm pretty much beg tier however I've finally decided that I want to make art my career since I have nothing much going on in my life and have no real aspirations in life besides art, i'm done being a neet.

i've already set myself a schedule and will attempt to draw every day from 8-10 hours a day, yes and i also have a day job.

i'll try to prove you wrong, included my time-table for those that think i'm bullshitting.

wish me luck anons, i hope everyone can make it aswell.

[Anonymous No.3350538]

>>3350251
Balak, Bastien Vivès and Michaël Sanlaville, a French trio were supposed to publish a oneshot at Ultra jump but couldn't due to them making like 3 series at the same time. You can do it anon. I'm sure you can if you really have something good to offer. Don't give up.

[Anonymous No.3350649]

>>3350537
take breaks too anon.

[Arachni No.3350654]

>>3350266
>just draw
What about learning how to write?

[Anonymous No.3350655]

>>3350654
no need
>highschool
>everyone has superpowers
>beta mc
there you go

[Anonymous No.3350659]

any serious answers yet?

[Anonymous No.3350664]

>>3350654
actually...

[Arachni No.3350666]

>>3350363
>Be Bill Watterson
>Draw like pic in college
>Make Calvin and Hobbes
>Greatly improve art style over time
>Go on to be one of the most talented cartoonists ever

You can also look at Van Gogh. Comparing The Potato Eaters to his other paintings, you can see that he improved greatly over time (especially with his color choices and shading).

[Arachni No.3350668]

>Be Bill Watterson
>Draw like pic in college
>Make Calvin and Hobbes
>Greatly improve art style over time
>Go on to be one of the most talented cartoonists ever

You can also look at Van Gogh. Comparing The Potato Eaters to his other paintings, you can see that he improved greatly over time (especially with his color choices and shading)

[Anonymous No.3350688]

>Japanese Address or living in Japan
>ability to communicate in Japanese
>writing those fucktard hard Chinese characters of the Japanese alphabet

I mean if ONE's ONE Punch man and Akira Hiramoto's first manga is any indication. Drawing isn't important to bein published in Japan.

[Anonymous No.3350742]

>>3350688
An original story and bad art is more important that a cliche story and good art.
With one, you have a real story. With the other, you have a product.
Real good stories are treasured forever but good products will get you money coming from fans who will forget you years later.

Now you have to choose. Good story? Good art? Or will you sacrifice your free time and sanity to get both?

[Anonymous No.3350783]

>>3350742
How would you feel if a comic you enjoyed was redone art wise? Like the creator was bad at art, but got better and redrew early chapters and stuff. Nothing about the story would change drastically. Maybe better dialogue here and there, but everything remained the the same.

[Anonymous No.3350798]

>>3350537
you need more than 3 hours of sleep a night

[Anonymous No.3350803]

>>3350251
why not just create you own work in a manga-style and self-publish it online?
there are plenty of platforms for doing so now and even earning a fulltime living if you gitgud/popular enough.
even if you do manage to get a low level job as a mangaka's assistant, you'll spend years grinding on menial journeyman tasks to complete someone else's vision and comparatively little on your own ideas. the publishing hierarchy has been effectively usurped at this point so there isn't really a reason to put yourself through it imo.
lots of people are already doing this
>http://carciphona.com/
>https://tapas.io/monkeyslut1994
>https://imgur.com/gallery/Ii9Ob
otherwise, the standard advice applies.
>git gud
>git really gud
>study sequential storytelling, figure out what you like and what you don't
>spend a lot of time making shitty comics and learning from your failures so that they become incrementally less shitty
>market yourself & build an audience
>do freelance comic work on the side for supplemental income
>build enough of a support base to start a patreon/sell prints etc

[Anonymous No.3350809]

>>3350803
I agree with this post. Asking how to work on traditional manga is like asking how to start a successful newspaper.

[Anonymous No.3350843]

>>3350798
I do fine with 3 and sleep more on weekends.

[Anonymous No.3350846]

>>3350251
Most people think that you only need to "draw".
But the most important thing you need to practice more than drawing is Story telling and story boarding. Draw should be at the bottom of your list if you want to be a mangaka.

[Anonymous No.3350898]

>>3350783
literally One Punch Man. personally I'm more of a fan of the immediacy of art. Its exciting to see someone like Araki start with a total not fist of the north star style to developing his own distinct style that is even now evolving. Especially when he reinterprets his older characters in his newer style.

[Anonymous No.3350906]

>>3350251
the anime and manga industry is a "black" industry in japan, meaning unreasonable hours for low pay, constant overtime, etc. unless you're distributed in one of the bigger magazines, you're going to be suffering. the most popular way is the doujin route, since doujin manga has been jumping in quality thanks to access to software like medibang, csp, etc. a lot of the bigger artists (shokugeki no shoma, although he doesn't write it) started in doujin hentai manga. try and find a doujin circle that publishes regularly or hell just go for a webcomic.

[Anonymous No.3351024]

OP here. What should I be working on right now anons?

[Anonymous No.3351029]

>>3350906
What about the gaming and light novel industry?

[Anonymous No.3351031]

>>3350537
Thats not how it works, you're just going to burn out
Take 8 hours sleep, the more you exhaust yourself the day the more you need to rest

[Anonymous No.3351034]

>>3351024
Your comic.

[Anonymous No.3351049]

>>3350251
Draw a one-shot, post it somewhere where you can get feedback from readers, take feedback into consideration and continue drawing one-shots until you settle on an idea that you would like to turn into a long-term project.
Some good places to post and get a readership are Webtoon and Tapas, which I personally quite like - the community is pretty comfy too. Just get working and get posting. If your work really does become some sort of hit, who knows, you might get all sorts of opportunities.

Good luck!

[Anonymous No.3351067]

>>3350251
>If you want to be a mangaka what should you do?
You should draw manga.
Are you fucking retarded?

[Anonymous No.3351070]

>>3351029
not sure about the light novel industry but the gaming industry can be just as bad. I have had a couple of non japanese friends just get laid off out of the blue from their gaming jobs (they were just translators). One of my close friends (japanese national) was actually a dungeon designer but he worked such insane hours and was burnt out so bad he was drinking 750 ml whiskey a night just to cope and he was eventually laid off as well.

[Anonymous No.3351071]

Your best bet is getting one-shot pieces exposed to publishers via comps like the Jump universal contest, MCPO, and Silent Audition. The latter hosts 2 contests a year and offers the winners of at least 2 top awards a program to start-up their careers, contact authors and editors in the industry, and according to them a chance to get on the Monthly Comic Zenon.

Meanwhile you could try posting a short series through digital publishers like Medibang! and Line Webtoons. They allow you to keep the IP of your work and quickly start building an audience and get noticed, while earning a cut from ads/visit count. If your work get's popular enough Webtoon offers a livable wage but their initial contract will require you to forfeit certain right/s, so try to negotiate keeping rights to print and film (Webtoons's mostly filled with Korean style webcomics, so it should be easier to negotiate printing rights while they keep rights for online distribution). Research other similar commercial sites and whichever one you're all in for, let them know that your options are open. Remember to read your contracts carefully.

I'm not sure about self-publishing. It does allow you to hold on your IP but getting noticed may take longer and a lot of social media marketing.

[Anonymous No.3351072]

>>3351024
I doubt you're op, but I'll indulge you. you should be working on fundamentals.
you're pretty much garbage.

[Anonymous No.3351074]

>>3350537
Don't overwork yourself.

>>3350251
If you want to make a manga/comic a nice artwork isn't the only thing that matters. You should also learn the basic structure of storytelling and how you write a story in the medium you want to make.

[Anonymous No.3351079]

>>3350654
Seriously this.

Do you know how many shoujo mangas I've read that have bad to ok art, but great stories? Honestly, when the story is really good, the art starts to become great too.

Of course it still needs to look good enough that it dosen't hinder people from reading your story.

Beastars is a great current example of this. /ic/ would slam this artist, but the story is fantastic, and I can't imagine it with any other art.

[Anonymous No.3351081]

>>3351024
fundies w/ an extra focus on sequential storytelling and writing.

keep making comics too, push yourself and don't fall into a comfort zone. think of it like lifting, you gotta work yourself to the point of failure to get bigger

[Anonymous No.3351091]

Ok so if you search a bit you will find out there are no famous non-japanese mangakas. Why? well i believe that is because their culture makes them hate on foreigners messing with their stuff. So i developed you a plan out of my ass to become a mangaka.
Learn how to write and draw, learn japanese, start off with webcomics under a nickname.
iIf you create good stuff, japan will reach you out, the thing is how are you gonna make them publish your story without them knowing you are not japanese? You figure that out. When you become famous and an essential content provider to your publisher do a huge reveal so they see you are not japanese and they shit themeselves out of anger.

[Anonymous No.3351103]

>>3350803
I 100% agree with this anon.

I also find that it's important to just get your work out there even if it's drawn shitty. You should always have multiple ideas to work with. It's ok to make a bunch of shitty looking webcomics as you get better. It is also ok to reboot/redraw one of your shitty webcomics. I see webcomics that look like >>3351024 gaining traction right now.

Hell, String looks worse than >>3351024, and look how many people are enjoying it:
http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/string/list?title_no=49019

>>3350688
The creator of Attack on Titan had trouble getting published because of his art.
https://youtu.be/lDDRtjSq3Fc

I think that story telling is important though. In the self-publishing world we always say that your book cover and blurb gets people to open your book, but the story is what keeps them. It didn't matter how good a person was at writing or editing if they could not tell a story.

Similarly, I think good art gets you in the door and gets people to pay attention to work, but how you are able to tell a story through the medium keeps people reading.

[Anonymous No.3351112]

>>3350251
You answered yourself, OP.
You have to suck Araki's tiny pecker.

[Anonymous No.3351117]

What would you recommend to read about storytelling?

[Anonymous No.3351128]

>>3351024
Storyboarding and story telling.

[Anonymous No.3351343]

>>3350537
I'm like 80 percent certain that this is a bait post but I'll respond anyway. First of all, GET ENOUGH FUCKING SLEEP RETARD. Otherwise, you won't be able to learn anything properly. Second, going from drawing "casually" to suddenly 10 hours a day is not gonna last long term. You gradually want to build up your endurance. Moreover, what you draw during that time period is more important than how much you draw. There was a study done that showed a 4 hour study period was actually ideal if you were doing deliberate practice which leads to exhaustion rather quickly. I suggest you start with an hour a day and build up to 6 hours, adding 1 hour a month. That's a lot more feasible than whatever the fuck you're doing.

24 hours in a day.

8 hours of sleep.

16 hours left.

6 hours of drawing.

10 hours left.

8 hours goes to work.

2 hours left. This is basically just running your household errands, taking a shower, eating food, you know basic human things.

[Anonymous No.3351449]

>>3350251
>>3351024
>>3351034
>>3351072
>>3351081
Okay anons. I'll come back in 1 month after practicing a bunch and post my results.

I'll post the original of the manga page I did there to show It's me.

Bye.

[Anonymous No.3351731]

>>3351091
>heres my plan to make it in japan
>make good art
>then figure it out yourself

[Anonymous No.3351905]

What are some good examples of manga with bad-mediocre art but with great storytelling?

[Anonymous No.3351947]

>>3351905
ONE's original stuff is literally that. OPM (original webcomic) for example had god awful art but had the writing to make it popular enough for a mainstream comic.

Attack on Titan is also a fine example, although it's less "great storytelling" and more like great concept but meh writing.

[Anonymous No.3352044]

>>3351091
>no famous non-japanese mangaka
>who is Boichi
Also Boichi has admitted he cannot write or speak Japanese well.

[Anonymous No.3352343]

If ever I made a manga. What website could I upload it to ?
I was planning on pixiv but I'm writing shounen.

[Anonymous No.3352374]

>>3352044
Not him, but most people don't differentiate between Asians ethnicities. When you read "non-Japanese" mangaka, just think "non-Asian" mangaka.

[Anonymous No.3352375]

is it okay to use right to left panel layout even though it isn't written in moonspeak?

[Anonymous No.3352379]

>>3352375
There might be some problems for people who haven't read enough moonspeak stuff. Namely, perception is at times "inverted" (studies show a figure going to the right is seen as advancing peacefully in the West, since that's the normal direction of reading and writing, while a figure going to the right is seen as either experiencing difficulties, or going against the grain etc. It's the opposite for people who write and read from right to left). I'm not sure how this works with translated manga since the panels and the written sentences conflict with each other.

[Anonymous No.3352428]

>>3352375
No, make pages that follow the rules of reading of your lenguage.
Translated manga is just that, a poor translation of the original. There is no need to create that level of contradictions in a work that's made in your lenguage. And you don't add anything by doing it either.

[Anonymous No.3352564]

>>3352375
Doesn't matter, if I would write a manga I'd use right to left because that's what everyone is used to.

[Anonymous No.3352593]

>>3352375
Right-left paneling would help to conform to Japanese readers, publishers or their contests and it’s not like this sequence had put off international audiences. But there are authors who choose to do left to right as it’s coventional to them or to readers at home. Check out what others are doing.
>https://medibang.com/creators?locale=en

[Anonymous No.3352647]

Assuming everyone on this board that wants to become a mangaka is from the west and not japanese, why not just focus on becoming a "comic-book" creator by western standards and using an individual artstyle that is inspired by manga?

Surely it must be easier than trying to appeal to a foreign country's audience unless you have ties there or speak the language

As the other anon said, not many westerners have made it big through "manga"

[Anonymous No.3352675]

>>3352647
I wonder how much the success has to do with the kind of person that is attracted to the idea of "manga" as opposed to simply wanting to tell a story. Assuming most people start drawing at a relatively young age they're just going to be copying whats in their native language, not fixating on some stupid fucking notion of "comic" or "manga".

[Anonymous No.3353350]

>>3351091
holy shit anon, I literally thought the same thing, the same way you said it. Scary.

[Anonymous No.3353627]

>>3351024
storyboarding. make thumbnails, play with the sketches. art will matter less as long as the panels and the pages are logical.

>>3351449
don't come back in a month, come back in three.

[Anonymous No.3354887]

This french guy recently got his manga influenced comic to be adapted to anime.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-03-21/radiant-fantasy-tv-anime-reveals-cast-more-staff-video-episode-count/.129328

[Anonymous No.3355980]

>>3351905
Ten

[Anonymous No.3356019]

>>3352374
I'm pretty sure japanese people hate koreans/chinese much more than a random white guy. They see other asians as mongrels and white people as exotic curios.

[Anonymous No.3356212]

>>3350251
>I don't want to start a debate of people saying you can't do it
I understand, but... you can't do it.

There is no market for this type of profession outside of Japan or its neighboring countries. It's literally impossible for you to land a job over there as a Western manga artist. I would argue that many people simply define the term 'mangaka' as someone living in Japan.

[Anonymous No.3357955]

>>3350442
This is pretty great actually.

[Anonymous No.3357959]

>>3351079
What shoujo would you recommend. I have yet to dip my toes in Shoujo.

[Anonymous No.3357968]

>>3356212
crab >>3354887

[Anonymous No.3358069]

>>3357955
I agree, but nowhere on Miura's level.

[Anonymous No.3358434]

>>3351024
Work on your hatching and line work. It looks very sloppy and amateur. Take your time and study how to spot blacks, and proper hatching.

[Anonymous No.3358467]

>>3357959
I would recommend NANA.That has always been a favorite of mine.

[Anonymous No.3358964]

>>3350251
Do whatever this french guy did and get the attention of Japanese publishers. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2015-08-06/radiant-becomes-1st-french-manga-published-in-japan/.91351
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-03-21/radiant-fantasy-tv-anime-reveals-cast-more-staff-video-episode-count/.129328

[Anonymous No.3359002]

>>3358964
why do you keep shilling him
get out of here mohammed

[Anonymous No.3360616]

>>3358964
Valente worked for ten years on "regular" french comics before Radiant.

[Anonymous No.3360626]

>>3350251
If your manga is good in art and story there are tons of options to make it happen. I guarantee you could self publish on patreon and you would be able to live off it and that's just the starting point. If the manga is really good it would gain traction and a fanbase that does all the work for you, probably a few publishing deals too.

You don't need to publish in a japanese magazine to make it.

[Anonymous No.3362891]

>>3350251
draw everyday and know how to write a story, cause let me tell you, a great story makes up for the art, just look at OPM and HxH, the art is shit but ONE got so popular, he was able to get a great artist to redraw his webcomic for him and HxH is well loved because the story makes up for it