Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Gaining experience
• Part 2 of 3: Making your own manga
• Part 3 of 3: Getting your work published

"Mangaka" is the term used for someone who makes manga (a Japanese comic). A manga artist draws the characters and scenes for the comics, and many also create the storyline. If you want to make manga, you must first gain experience as an artist. Most manga artists start by creating their own comics and then present them to manga publishers and magazines.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Gaining experience

1. Make sure you take the right subjects in high school. While you are still in high school, start building your artistic skills by taking drawing classes. Drawing and painting would both be helpful for building your manga drawing skills, and even a general art profession could potentially help improve your skills.
   • In addition, you must follow literature and writing courses. As a manga artist you also create a storyline, so make sure you spend time developing a story.
2. Seek out people with similar interests. Working with other people on similar goals can help you encourage your own. In addition, you can learn new skills from other people in the group. Try to find a group at your school or near you that is interested in manga. You can also join a group of local artists to increase your skills.
   • If you can't find one to join, consider starting one. Surely there are others who have similar interests.
   • Look for classes or groups in your local library or in a community directory.
3. Think about an art education. While you don't absolutely need a degree to be a manga artist, formal education can help you get the professional skills you need. A bachelor's degree in fine arts is a great choice as it will help you build your artistic skills. However, you can also go much more specific. A number of high schools offer courses of study in comic book art, and if you are willing to travel to Japan you can earn a bachelor's or master's degree specifically in manga art.
   • Also think of two courses of study or a minor in literature or writing. Developing your writing skills will come in handy later when writing stories.
4. Practice your drawing skills. Formal schooling improves your skills, but so does practicing alone. Just like learning an instrument, continuous drawing will make you better over time. You can start by drawing characters you like, but you can continue to create your own characters and comics.
   • In fact, comic book artists recommend making time to practice every day. Make sure to set aside at least an hour a day to work on your skills.
5. Use free resources. You don't need formal education to learn from professionals. You will find that many resources are available for free. You can find free online courses at sites like YouTube, Coursera, and the Princeton website, all of which you can use to develop your drawing skills. You can also find resources available in your local library. Make use of the available resources to develop your skills.
   • Don't just read books about drawing. Also look for books on comic book writing, as well as books that are just about writing.
   • If your library doesn't have what you want, you can usually request books from other libraries.
   • If you want to become a manga artist, you are of course familiar with the genre. However, make sure you read up on the genre a lot to see what is being published. Don't just read your favorite mangas over and over again. Expand your interest to manga that you are not normally drawn to to see what else manga has to offer. In addition, you will have to become acquainted with different styles in order to develop your own style.

Part 2 of 3: Making your own manga

1. Brainstorm ideas for a plot. Even though they are manga comics, you still need a plot to guide the story. Think of the stories you love to read and how you can contribute to existing manga. Manga has a wide variety of stories, from horror to love stories, so let your creativity run wild. The key is to think about your story all the time. Limiting brainstorming to when you sit down to write the story doesn't give your creativity the time it takes to build a good story.
   • Try to start with an idea on paper. Build that idea by connecting dots to other ideas you have.
   • Another way to unleash your creativity is simply to write freely. Start with a word or picture and just start writing until you hit something you like. Once you do that, you start developing that idea.
   • Choose an idea that you like. Working on your own manga is hard work. If you don't choose an idea that you love, it will be difficult to motivate yourself to work on it.
2. Set up a storyline. Once you have an idea for a story, you need to work it out, because manga comics generally require more planning than a normal novel. You need to outline how your story will unfold, from start to finish.
   • Start by figuring out the main plot points. What is the driving force of your story? What are the main events? Also make sure to include the environment. Think about the background you want for your setting and how that will affect your story. For example, an urban environment is very different in terms of story from a rural environment.
   • Watch the sequence of the scenes so you have an idea of ​​what the main scenes will look like.
3. Create your characters. When making up your characters you have to think about their place in the story (personality) as well as their physical appearance. To keep them consistent in your story, you need to develop character sheets that outline both types of traits.
   • For the appearance, you can simply draw the character in a model or cover sheet. Basically, you draw the character from any angle, determining clothes, hair, and proportions, so you can recreate the character in the same way in your manga. You can also make a 3D model using something like clay.
   • For their personality and personal traits, write down traits for the character such as personality traits, personal beliefs, religion, favorite foods and color, and so on. Don't forget things like personality flaws. No one is perfect, and no character should be perfect. Also think about things like motivation.
   • Make these character specs for all of your characters, but make sure your main characters are most filled in.
4. Develop a style. Developing your own style really comes from drawing a lot for a long time, and using your creativity to find out what you like. However, it is important to choose something that is doable. You don't want to embark on a style that is difficult for you to sustain over time. Find a style you like and easy to draw.
   • That doesn't mean it should look simple, just that it is simple enough to complete within the hours available to you to draw an entire story or series of stories.
   • Explore different styles. Once you see what others are doing, you can see what you like and don't like. That will help you figure out what you like about your own style. Don't try to copy just any style. You want yours to be unique in a sense.
5. Create your manga. Work on your manga scene by scene. Start by sketching the scenes and indicating where the dialogue and characters will go - remember, you're just sketching out to see where things are going.Proceed to outline the scenes completely, but use pencil so you can make changes. Fill everything in later with ink and color. Many mangas are not colored due to cost constraints, so you can just work in black and white if you prefer. In fact, many publishers prefer black and white. How you will create your manga is up to you, although many manga artists nowadays work digitally.
   • If you prefer to work digitally, consider using a manga drawing app. These tools are designed for creating comics, so they make it easier for you to work with.
   • Don't forget to keep your text legible. If people can't read your text, they won't read your comic.

Part 3 of 3: Getting your work published

1. Prepare your work for a publisher. When looking at publishers, think about what kind of work they usually print, and then choose one that suits your style and theme. Make sure you follow all of their guidelines to the letter, including the maturity level. For example, most want the strips to be suitable for ages 12 and up (PG or PG13).
   • Most publishers want a copy of your manga, not the original. You can make a copy on a high-quality copier or with a laser printer.
   • Pay attention to the required dimensions as stated by the company you are sending the strip to.
   • Most companies expect you to have the basics of drawing, such as correct proportions. If you're not there yet, you'd better wait a little longer.
2. Present your work to a publisher. An easy way to find a publisher or magazine you want to contact is to check the back cover of your favorite mangas. You can call the publisher and make an appointment to introduce yourself and show your work. It is, in fact, the normal course of action, and many mangakas have started this way. You can also look up the publishers online.
   • You must have your work ready to display. It may not be published, but many publishers will advise you on how to improve it. Others may hire you to work for them.
   • In many cases, if you cannot come in person, you can also send your work to publishers by post.
3. Participate in competitions. Some people become mangakas by submitting their work through competitions organized by the publishers. Most competitions are in Japanese, but some will accept entries in other languages. Sometimes mangakas get assignments through these competitions.
   • Morning Manga and Comic Zenon both sponsor manga competitions in other languages, so check out their websites if you want to learn more.
4. Consider self-publishing. Self-publishing is becoming increasingly popular across all writing and comic genres, especially in a digital world where you can do so much on your own personal computer. You can do the same with manga, and sometimes you can even be approached for assignments through your online work.
   • If you are going to publish yourself, you can start doing this through ebooks, or publish a manga series on a blog. You can publish ebooks yourself through sites like Ebooks Direct or Amazon. You can publish blogs for free through any number of sites, even sites like Blogger or Tumblr.
   • Taking this route will require you to market yourself on platforms such as social media, by posting about your work and encouraging others to read and follow your comics.