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Hey guys, looks like the Second Annual Yen Press New Talent Search is ON!
I was a finalist last year for Final Track and the experience taught me how to craft a compelling short story, work under deadlines and plan ahead. You can read about my process for creating Final Track here. I recommend aspiring comic/manga artists to submit their work and just learn from the very act of doing.
As a bonus, I'm copying one of my blog posts from my website below regarding tips for manga contests.
The first five tips involve thinking, research and planning: all of which are helpful in giving yourself good strong material with which to marry your artwork. The last five involve the actual production of the comic and make the work as dynamic as it can be.
1. Take the time to work on the story.
Think about how much time you think it will take you to create a story right now and triple it. I'm serious. The most important element in creating a comic is usually taken for granted. When executed well, a storyteller's work can come across as effortless, easy to replicate. An artist with a story to tell does it justice by working at it, rewriting it over, seeking feedback for it and making it the best it can be.
2. Familiarize yourself with resources available to you.
Good resources can speed up your process and make you an efficient creator. If you're lost just reading the competition rules (specs? DPI? resolution?), do your homework. If you want to create tones digitally, it's possible to do on Photoshop or Manga Studio or Comicworks – look into which one fits you best. Things will go smoother if you know and have what you need when you start your project.
3. Create a schedule.
Creating a comic is an exercise in getting your ducks all in a row. Organize your life, give yourself plenty of time to work and don't procrastinate and leave things off at the last minute! The more things you can do on the front end, the better. Maybe it's getting the dialogue right so you don't have to re-type them in a rush. Or making sure you have your pages inked by a certain date to give you enough time to tone your pages. Give yourself buffers because you're not going to get everything right the first time!
4. Work on characters.
Think about what makes an interesting character apart from how they look and why you root for them in the first place. A book on story suggests that interesting characters: 1) have had something bad happened to them 2) are funny 3) are really good at something. (Bonus points if he/she is all three!) Then, what? What do they go through and how do they come out of it? What makes this character's story worth telling? These are all good questions to ask and the pursuit of answering them is what separates good storytellers from terrible ones.
5. Design interesting characters.
Good character design can help emphasize character traits and clue in the reader to what kind of person they are instantaneously. Costumes and fashion are important but so is the way characters behave themselves through gesture and facial expressions. These are actually pretty fun to figure out and tweak so go crazy!
6. Thumbnail everything out.
Thumbnailing pages in advance helps you get a grip on the story's pacing. It's also where you can figure out how to maximize the impact of moments in the story. You can thumbnail on paper or on photoshop where you can just cut & paste, resize and move panels faster.
7. Create and arrange speech bubbles effectively.
For the love of BOB, find a good comic font! Cut down on wordy speech balloons by rewriting dialogue or break it up into different ones to pace it differently. Panel composition in the thumbnail process should take speech bubbles into account so you don't block important elements of the art. Keep the visual flow of the speech bubbles in mind so readers don't read bubbles in the wrong order.
8. Pay attention to line weight when inking.
Pick up your favorite comic and observe how the lines detailing characters, props and background elements vary in length. Steady lines come with practice and experience but strive to create smooth, confident lines. The way ink is applied can be incredibly expressive, it's an art unto itself.
9. Vary up your tones/Learn color theory.
Tones are the way to flesh out the characters and environment in manga so brushing up on the dos and don'ts of this trade is a must. Use a range of tones so pages have a mix of black, white and shades in between. If you're planning to color your comic, review color theory so your choices can express the story's mood and atmosphere better.
10. Pace yourself.
I often get burnt out towards the end of a project and usually, it shows in my last few pages. Try to compensate for that by just keeping your energy levels up. Take breaks to give your wrists and back a break. Avoid all-nighters 'cause they're bad for you and you need your body running at peak performance. This isn't a race, it's a marathon.
EDIT: AND ALWAYS SAVE YOUR WORK!!! Haha, one of THE MOST IMPORTANT things to remember! Do regular backups of your files in case of emergencies.
Best of luck to you and hope these were helpful! If you liked this post, please fave or share! I also blog about creating comics/manga and the creative life over on my website Laurbits.com.
I was a finalist last year for Final Track and the experience taught me how to craft a compelling short story, work under deadlines and plan ahead. You can read about my process for creating Final Track here. I recommend aspiring comic/manga artists to submit their work and just learn from the very act of doing.
As a bonus, I'm copying one of my blog posts from my website below regarding tips for manga contests.
The first five tips involve thinking, research and planning: all of which are helpful in giving yourself good strong material with which to marry your artwork. The last five involve the actual production of the comic and make the work as dynamic as it can be.
1. Take the time to work on the story.
Think about how much time you think it will take you to create a story right now and triple it. I'm serious. The most important element in creating a comic is usually taken for granted. When executed well, a storyteller's work can come across as effortless, easy to replicate. An artist with a story to tell does it justice by working at it, rewriting it over, seeking feedback for it and making it the best it can be.
2. Familiarize yourself with resources available to you.
Good resources can speed up your process and make you an efficient creator. If you're lost just reading the competition rules (specs? DPI? resolution?), do your homework. If you want to create tones digitally, it's possible to do on Photoshop or Manga Studio or Comicworks – look into which one fits you best. Things will go smoother if you know and have what you need when you start your project.
3. Create a schedule.
Creating a comic is an exercise in getting your ducks all in a row. Organize your life, give yourself plenty of time to work and don't procrastinate and leave things off at the last minute! The more things you can do on the front end, the better. Maybe it's getting the dialogue right so you don't have to re-type them in a rush. Or making sure you have your pages inked by a certain date to give you enough time to tone your pages. Give yourself buffers because you're not going to get everything right the first time!
4. Work on characters.
Think about what makes an interesting character apart from how they look and why you root for them in the first place. A book on story suggests that interesting characters: 1) have had something bad happened to them 2) are funny 3) are really good at something. (Bonus points if he/she is all three!) Then, what? What do they go through and how do they come out of it? What makes this character's story worth telling? These are all good questions to ask and the pursuit of answering them is what separates good storytellers from terrible ones.
5. Design interesting characters.
Good character design can help emphasize character traits and clue in the reader to what kind of person they are instantaneously. Costumes and fashion are important but so is the way characters behave themselves through gesture and facial expressions. These are actually pretty fun to figure out and tweak so go crazy!
6. Thumbnail everything out.
Thumbnailing pages in advance helps you get a grip on the story's pacing. It's also where you can figure out how to maximize the impact of moments in the story. You can thumbnail on paper or on photoshop where you can just cut & paste, resize and move panels faster.
7. Create and arrange speech bubbles effectively.
For the love of BOB, find a good comic font! Cut down on wordy speech balloons by rewriting dialogue or break it up into different ones to pace it differently. Panel composition in the thumbnail process should take speech bubbles into account so you don't block important elements of the art. Keep the visual flow of the speech bubbles in mind so readers don't read bubbles in the wrong order.
8. Pay attention to line weight when inking.
Pick up your favorite comic and observe how the lines detailing characters, props and background elements vary in length. Steady lines come with practice and experience but strive to create smooth, confident lines. The way ink is applied can be incredibly expressive, it's an art unto itself.
9. Vary up your tones/Learn color theory.
Tones are the way to flesh out the characters and environment in manga so brushing up on the dos and don'ts of this trade is a must. Use a range of tones so pages have a mix of black, white and shades in between. If you're planning to color your comic, review color theory so your choices can express the story's mood and atmosphere better.
10. Pace yourself.
I often get burnt out towards the end of a project and usually, it shows in my last few pages. Try to compensate for that by just keeping your energy levels up. Take breaks to give your wrists and back a break. Avoid all-nighters 'cause they're bad for you and you need your body running at peak performance. This isn't a race, it's a marathon.
EDIT: AND ALWAYS SAVE YOUR WORK!!! Haha, one of THE MOST IMPORTANT things to remember! Do regular backups of your files in case of emergencies.
Best of luck to you and hope these were helpful! If you liked this post, please fave or share! I also blog about creating comics/manga and the creative life over on my website Laurbits.com.
Made it to Dreamworks!
I can't believe I've been on DA so long that you can probably read my journals from when I first started posting my super sketchy fanart to this moment.
I just wanted to share this blog post on my website! I'm in the animation industry nooowwww!!! http://www.laurbits.com/updates/made-it-to-dreamworks/
If any of you have been following me for some time now, you know this is blowing my mind. But it's totally doable, guys. You can make stuff happen! (insert other better articulated awesome words of encouragement)
Thanks for being interested in my work, everyone!
Internet down but the comic still updates!
Just a note: if I ever skip an update here on DA, Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr, the latest page still goes up on my website. I usually have a good chunk of pages in the buffer ready to go so just check the website directly!
GAHHH, can't figure out why I can't seem to access the internet from my new desktop. It was working just fine yesterday! And I can access the wireless on my iPad. LAKSHF:LASfhhh~
Chromatic Press needs your help~
Hey guys, quick post here to plug my fellow lady friends at Sparkler Monthly.
http://sparklermonthly.com/bonus_content/gauntlet-paperback-kickstarter/
Their Kickstarter needs a little help and if you're into shojo/josei stories at all and/or like to help indie publishers, definitely consider pitching in to their campaign or help spread the word. We need small, independent publishers like them willing to take risks with new comic artists, writers and creators.
If you'd like to check out their offerings, you can view their titles over here!
http://sparklermonthly.com/about/
ACEN 2014
I completely forgot to mention! Anybody here going/tabling at ACEN next week?
I'm going (NOT tabling though!) with a few friends for the weekend and was just wondering if any of you will be there. :) Maybe we can fangirl over stuff!
© 2011 - 2024 laurbits
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thank you so much, these are great reminders!