How to make a good manga

sunandshadow · Post by **sunandshadow** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 7:31 pm

So majin, what are your own thoughts on how to make a good manga? Did you have any comments/questions on our replies?

Does anyone else have any advice? I'd like to hear more because If I could confidantly envision how to start making a manga then I might have the courage to try it.

I need to know about panel design and layout, framing, that sort of thing... basically, if I have a story, how do I decide what to draw in each little panel? Are certain kinds of stories or genres better suited for having good manga made out of them? Surely there are more people in this forum who have thoughts on how to make a quality manga than have posted so far?

MajinCanty · Post by **MajinCanty** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 11:05 pm

First of all, thanks for the suggestions so far

. What are the techniques of some of the best mangaka? Myformer sensei's father has some Tetsuwan Atom aka Astro Boy manga and I going to get back to reading them. Also, about panel design, layout, and framing. Thanks, sunandshadow

"From the Belly of the East Knoxville TN Beast"

dogger · Post by **dogger** » Sat May 01, 2004 7:57 am

the first thing i look for in a manga is a good story then i look at the art work, so you might what to write up some very detaled story boards

Variety · Post by **Variety** » Sun May 02, 2004 10:49 am

XD; hm.. well most of them are said, but I think I'll give a few of what I think (please don't yell at me if any of them are repeats ><)

1. Plot. THE most important part is the plot. You don't want a manga that has a weak plot and no one can really see where your going with it. You said it's a fighting manga? Okay - so here's a hint: Don't make it like Ranma 1/2, constantly repeating some episodes that already had their turn. It'll start getting boring and lagging on, so you want to get straight to your point.

2. Good Character structures and design : You don't have to draw like Yu Watase or Ken Akamatsu to make an excellent manga. Sure, most people read it for that purpose, but usually if you have a strong plot, the story line will be more important. But you should REALLY try to draw good, if you can't...sometimes all that time put into 1 picture is really worth it

.

3. Effects : Not the most important, but effects (such as sound and toning techniques) will really enhance all. It gives you the feel of the scene(s), and gets the reader more involved. That's all really, to say about that XD;;

4.Sorting everything out: You want everything neat and organized. You should write an outline (Topic: WWII A. Date it started in Germany and Pearl Harbor B: Who started it, really? For example, don't make A. Hitler killed himself and his family B: Hitler started concentration camps. I mean, he died in letter A. so then letter B. becomes useless and irrelevent. Instead, you would want A. Hitler started concentration camps for: B. He felt that these people made Germany go bad. Something like that,and then put Hitler killed himself and his family much later, toward the end results of WWII. Get it?

5. Extra Details: The last thing to worry about..it's stuff like adding more darker tones or adding editor notes or even giving character sketches to show off your style. This part, is the completely optional part, but if you already put so much effort and details to your already awesome manga, then this part becomes almost useless.

That's all I have to say XD;; hopefully no one said this already, and hopefully you get all of it and find it usefull. If you didn't, then...

oh well

DDramone · Post by **DDramone** » Sun May 02, 2004 12:16 pm

you should throw dee dee ramone in it... with TITS!!!

sunandshadow · Post by **sunandshadow** » Sun May 02, 2004 7:54 pm

The idea of trying to make a anga keeps coming back to nag me. If people younger than me and with less training can do it, surely it can't be as difficult as I'm making it out to be? So I took the novel I'm currently working on, because their personality and backstory are already all designed, and I sat down to do the visual design for them. I looked through my anime image file for source images. Here's what happened... o.O

There are 4 main characters: A, M, L, and R.

For A: I had the perfect facial source image, the swimming coach from Golden Boy... except she's a girl and this character is a guy. o.O Well, I stared at the source image for a while, imagined her getting magically turned into a guy somehow, and drew what I imagined the result would look like. That turned out surprisingly well. ^_^ I also had a good chibi source image, so between that and my realistic sketch I came up with a decent chibi sketch for him. And I know approximately what body type he's supposed to have, stocky and somewhat muscular, taller than L but shorter than M and R, so drawing his body shouldn't be too much trouble... except in the story he's supposed to have a cockatoo-like crest of black feathers, but in the drawing he insisted on having brown hair hanging down partway over his eyes. o.O Erm... well, call that one mostly successful. So, on to M, the main character.

M - I knew he's blond, fairly masculine-looking and handsome, has a crooked smile with a dimple on the higher side, and is very smiley (with his eyes dissapearing into horseshoes (better name for these?) when he smiles. Probably a cleft chin, eyerows that stay up on the outside ends instead of curving down again like character A's. So I looked for a source image for him. Hmm, Nakago from Fushigi Yuugi? Nope, too stiff, not smiley enough, but come back to him for character R. K-san from Gravitation? Nope, too girly. Gateau from Sorcerer hunters? Erm, maybe too masculine, eyes and eyebrows all wrong. Saionji from Utena (in one of the rare moments he's actually smiling?) Hmm. Maybe... A little too delicate, especially around the chin. Tsume from Wolf's Rain? Ooh that could work, I'd have to go search for a pic of him smiling, wonder if I'd have any success at that...? Valgarv from slayers? Nice eyes, maybe if I changed the face shape a little... And that exhusted my source image file. Conclusion - there is a shortage of adult, masculine anime characters who are very smiley. o.O I attempted two different sketches of M without having a real source image and wasn't happy with either, so I put off working on M until I could google for more source images.

L - Knew he had to be a china-doll type bishounen, feminine-looking and the shortest character, about 2 feet shorter than M, the tallest character. So I just pulled up all my source images of china dolls... and stared at them, completely unable to decide which features from which ones I liked best and wanted to use. Heart-shaped face, but thin or with full cheeks? Narrow slanted eyes and lips that look like they're naturally wearing lipstick, but what colors? Trying to decide was just making me too confused, so I set those source images aside for later.

R - Nakago's face shape and mouth made a good start. Need different eyes though, need a less cold and traumatized, more confidant and irritated look. Maybe Nicholas D. Wolfwood's eyes? I dunno.

So I ended up with one mostly successful character design, one pending google search, total bafflement about what to do about the fact that he characters are supposed to have cockatoo crests, and one anxious headache from not being able to decide exactly what I wanted for L.

sunandshadow · Post by **sunandshadow** » Mon May 03, 2004 3:56 pm

I scanned my realistic and chibi sketches of character A so you could see what I am talking about:

I googled for and found some more source images of Tsume, haven't tried sketching from them yet.[/img]

MajinCanty · Post by **MajinCanty** » Tue May 04, 2004 10:31 pm

I saw your drawings

not bad at all. I'm trying to come up with designs for my characters. I Might throw in some afros, or some baldies in my designs

I got at least three main plots and I'm asking my friends at home which one they like the best. My protagonist will probably be a male around 15. I'm gonna to have to female lead as his rival. A woman of power like Tsunade from Naruto. Still open too suggestions

Stank You Very Much

DDramone · Post by **DDramone** » Wed May 05, 2004 12:12 am

how serious are you about this manga thing? this is gonna sound so lame, but if your gonna write ANY story, manga or watever, you should read the book poetics by aristole or the hero with a thousand faces, by jeoseph cambell. i've been studying amature screen writting wich puts alot of emphasis on story structure.

in most storys theres only one main plot, and a few subplots. one of the defining straights of a good story is, though, to have alot of sub plots that affect one main plot. the main plot always propells the theme. the sub plots dont have to, but they have to push forward and complicate the main plot.

just a little of the starving artist in me piping up. lol.

Kitstune3 · Post by **Kitstune3** » Wed May 05, 2004 6:57 am

DDramone wrote:you should throw dee dee ramone in it... with TITS!!!

GO TITTIES