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Author Topic: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga  (Read 5744 times)

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Offline legomaestro

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Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« on: February 01, 2020, 06:35:48 PM »
I want to be a mangaka!

I think that's the best way to describe how I got into manga and anime. It was a shameless beautiful love story of seeing something and immediately wanting to create something in the same image.

So far so good.

But then I got old and 'got wiser' and my fire, my ambition got toned down.

I had many good excuses for it too: I'm not ready, yet. I need to fix this anatomical problem. I dont think this is good enough. Honestly this is just a rip-off. Nah, I don't want to start until I'm really good.

And that is the moment I lost.

I even stopped calling my sequential art manga. All in the interests of being as mature, adult and correct as possible as my art. The only shameless innocent enjoyment of manga and anime that remains in my heart these days is drawing big anime eyes, and even that has come under doubt.

I think writing and drawing manga can be a much better experience. Right now the way I feel?


1. Copy, copy, copy forever!

I wish I did more fanart in the beginning of my manga/anime career. I wish I'd tried to draw more Bleach screenshots or copied more manga pages. I wish I did that a lot and faithfully in fact.

The reason is right now I've fallen into that false narrative of becoming some sort of Da Vinci Level artist who can spawn ideas from nothing and needs to study art from zero. A preposition that in of itself is false because Da Vinci more than anyone studied things around him to learn his craft.  

Drawing an apple in your house and carefully breaking down a pen into a cylinder and a cone may be the 'right' way to learn to draw and see the world, but as far as I'm concerned as someone who loves manga and anime, I say start by drawing exactly the hero you find cool, exactly the scene you find cool.  Regular, boring repetitive excercise is the name of the game, but that will never happen if you don't start by following what you're interested in.

Copy the greats. Copy the anime and manga that have inspired you. Keep it to yourself, but copy, copy copy. I don't even need to say the next step because you'll get there on your own.


2. Just Do It

No need to go deeper than that, but I've found that drawing is really as simple as looking up a wikihow article on 'how to draw an anime girl'.

You follow that step by step on the crappiest paper in the world and I swear you're that one drawing better than all the great thinkers and philosophers in the world who are too worried about how their work will look to even put a pencil on paper (not to say that writers/artist block doesn't exist. Not at all. I suffer it ALL the time!)


3. There is a healthier way to experience critique

The mangaraiders I landed in carried me to the highest heavens with every post I made. I am eternally thankful for that. In fact? Sometimes I think I've been a better critic to myself than anything anyone could ever say.

Knowing that you suck happens naturally. It happens after you have time to draw enough with others to know you're lagging behind a little or not. It happens when your first attempt at drawing your own art after copying your inspiration turns out really bad. It will happen. That's why I think people should appreciate the difference between information and a constructive critique.

Oh God, of course my hands are bad. Of course the waist is skewed. I can tell a man has a limp within fractions of a second. Of course I know my drawing is off. It's not your obligation and you can be as 'direct' as you want, but if your intention is communicating the hope that I approve then send a lifeline, some link, some message, some super specific small constructive thing that I could do to improve my art.

And accept that I will decide on whether to act on that or not


4. Bad and Good does exist

I notice it every time I binge read comics while waiting for my weeklys' to update. I'm sorry/not-sorry but there are standards to art and writing. They exist. Yes: Bad art exists. Good art exists. Bad comics exist, good comics exist. Forget about the funky gray zone: Everyone judges a story. To be honest as an artist and writer I should never, ever, ever ever judge the Full Metal Alchemist movie because I could never make CGI like that or even edit or cut a movie like that... But I hate its guts.

This will also happen on the professional manga anime level

And even on the amateur level. It's automatic. It can't be controlled. It's actually a good thing in the long run because 1. You can argue constructively against someones' opinions and 2. You can find what is closer to your heart when it comes to the medium.

This is also helpful to realize as a writer/artist because you should know that only one thing will satisfy you artistically in the end:

The pile of papers you have in your closet at the end.

Yeah, getting serialized, getting a commission and winning are very very very cool things,

but the only thing you can only ever win in is this: Did you draw? Did you write?

Because I swear you can change your art style all you want. You can cry, bleed, sweat, scream, laugh, twist, change yourself in every way possible to meet every demand of the helpful critic or the audience. You can try to meet those needs. In fact, some people are more fulfilled chasing after that dream.

But when all is said and done I think personally no one will ever satisfy everyone with how they draw or write, and that's the beauty of it all , everyone's different, everyones' got an intepretation, everyones' got a certain why they hold a pen, a way they spin words.


Bad art and good art exists. BUT FOCUS ON YOUR ART.





P.S Critique would be muchly appreciated

Offline cometsan

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Re: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2020, 07:35:50 PM »
do you need hater?

Offline sketch survival

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Re: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2020, 08:36:55 PM »
Can I see your projects dude
hiding who's going to coach me now?

Offline Coryn

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Re: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2020, 10:23:50 AM »
@Lego: It's always good to see you thinking deeply about all of this Lego. It's a sign that you've got a lot left in the tank. But I definitely agree though. Actually writing and getting something done is the greatest part of the gig. Even if it never gets read, it's the accomplishment that I can point to and say "I didn't just sit on my ass! I got up and did something! What did you do?!" I hope you can tap back in to that source of whimsy you feel you've lost. Having rediscovered it a time or two myself, I guarantee it's not something that's gone away. It's just something you forget how to access sometimes. But I think you can always find it again if the conditions are right.

@Comet: Haters aren't useful in the slightest Comet. You have to be a balanced critiquer. You can point out something you don't like, but hate is a useless emotion when it comes to trying to help someone.

@Evan: Lego has a couple art topics up on the gallery boards. You can't miss them. Just look for the super long ones with his new on 'em.

Will review stories upon request. My latest arc: http://goo.gl/KYgsfF

Offline legomaestro

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Re: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2020, 03:26:47 PM »
Haha like Coryn said. I do post quite a bit here and there. Unfortunately I haven't finished a lot of projects. The longest I've gone manga-wise is on Swords Like Gods and Penance

Offline Suuper-san

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Re: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2020, 04:46:14 AM »
I'll be brief.
I have been operating on my own beliefs and concepts for several years now. I carve my own path. It might not be the best one but it's mine.
The absolutely most important thing is to keep moving forward, actually doing something, especially daily. I think everything else is natural. You learn to critique yourself and you see where you need to improve. Efficiency varies per person. It's good to analyse things but not overthink. Each artist needs to find what works for them personally and then do it full power. Some things will be the same for all artists, or just a few, or it's unique to you. But if it works that's all that matters. And it's good to have a goal that you're aiming at, a style or what you want to make. It's impossible to create art from zero. You draw a girl with a T-shirt and skirt - you're already using real life existing concepts. It's combining concepts that makes everything.

I have days all the time where I'm lost and I pretty much never know what my end goal is, I just keep spamming levelling up and I'll figure it out later.

Regret is a useful tool as it helps to know what not to do in the future (I.e. we learn from our mistakes). And I think it's natural that we are critical of our decisions because not all of our decisions will be right 100% of the time. We often forget our good choices that we have made over the years. Like your regimes and stuff.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2020, 07:13:54 AM by suuper-san »
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Offline Ryan

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Re: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2020, 01:06:59 AM »
There is a need to embrace copying and imitating in public discussions of art, especially when it comes to drawing anime/manga. Just like you said.

There is a traceable history to the anime/manga style. As the times change, the styles artists use changes. This is not like the fads to western-world illustration, where it seems like every year something completely different is popular.

In anime/manga the progression is more gradual, natural, and low-key. Eyes are one of the most important sensibilities, and you can see how the different ways to draw them gradually transition in terms of popularity. I think the artists working in the anime/manga industry must be highly aware of the art being made around them, in order for this to happen. 

Artists improve together, as a collective group. The accuracy and appeal of anime/manga art, among the most skilled artists, has improved over time. A lot of "wonkiness" has disappeared.

There is such a variety of art to anime and manga. It's impossible to see everything being made. It's impossible to see who is inspiring who. But in this small artistic realm, it is common for professionals and hobbyists alike to draw after people they look up to. There is so much art and history that it's hard to see exactly how this is done. But it is very common.

Here is an example. The manga on the left is drawn by one artist, and the manga on the right is drawn by another. The manga author of the right image cites the manga on the left as inspiration/reference.

But, chances are you never heard of the manga on the left. I didn't know about the manga on the left either.

This is what someone at the end-game of their style development might look like. There might be elements of their style that can be traced back to other artists, but there is still a unique end-result due to how their particular influences intermingle. Pretty amazing.

Allow yourself to be influenced.

Quote
Influence is the power to have an important effect on someone or something. If someone influences someone else, they are changing a person or thing in an indirect but important way.

Copying is good. But you must allow yourself to be impacted. Affected. Influenced. You have to accept that influence into you. Allow yourself to draw like them. Give yourself that freedom.

In doing so, you lose a part of yourself. This is perhaps scary. Your influences become part of you, such that you can't remember them being outside of you. What is from me, and what is from somebody else? Who is it exactly that is influencing me now?

Was there a "me" who was original in the first place?

« Last Edit: February 05, 2020, 01:10:40 AM by Ryan »

Offline sketch survival

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Re: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2020, 02:58:45 PM »
yeah thats what i'm planning to do copy out my favorite manga illustration, find more inspirations, write a lot and read a lot. It sometimes feels like it doesn't make sense what i'm creating. I'm inspired by Akira, Death note, inuyasha, berserk and idk stuff. I'm scripts I written 2 chapters and i've been confused about it sometimes it feels like it getting to a direction.

So Ryan could you answer my PM dude??

or anyone interested in joining my discord server just need help with writing. Trying to get into webtoons then manga my goal is getting a editor and hoping that editor could get me a job as a manga artist assistant. I'm thinking of going to manga art schools once I reach a certain level
« Last Edit: February 05, 2020, 03:02:49 PM by evand498 »
hiding who's going to coach me now?

Offline Walt

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Re: Rambling on Writing and Drawing Manga
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2021, 02:21:00 AM »
Very inspiring read Lego. My art also tend to end up better when I use references from aime and manga.