Create a Manga Page in Ten Steps

In the video below, I will show you how to create a manga page in ten steps. I based my comic page off my fish Hanabi Baka Sake. 

1. Write the Story
2. Layout the Story
3. Draw Guidelines
4. Sketch the Page
5. Ink the Page
6. Erase Pencil Marks
7. Scan
8. Art Program
9. Add Text
10. Add Screentones (Color)

© 2013 Jenna Bastian

© 2013 Jenna Bastian

Comic Book: Self Publishing vs Traditional Publishing

There are two options to publish your comic book: through a company or by yourself. There are pros and cons to both choices. Traditional publishing provides your comic more exposure, gets you credibility, and a wider distribution. Some cons are they have power over how your art and title will look like, give you low royalty rates, are very hard to break into because you are competing with many others, and you may lose some rights of your comic book. [1] Here is a list of comic book publishing companies:

• DC Comics 
• Marvel 
• TokyoPop 
• DarkHorse 

Self publishing allows you to work on your own pace, you control the price and cover, can easily make changes, great royalty rates, and every decision is yours. But you will have to do all the work: “establish a publishing company, purchase an ISBN, get the cover created, lay out the text, get listed with distributors…” so you will need a lawyer or a publishing assistant. [2]

Another option is publishing your comic book online using e-books with Amazon’s Kindle.  You can also publish your comic books through online comic sites like DigitalManga or ComiXology. Some on demand publishers, like Kablam, have their own website for self-publishers to promote their comics. Since people are buying online more often in these times, it will be a good idea to have your comic book in a digital format and sell those through your own website.

Sources:

[1] Klems, Brian A. (2012, June 11). The Pros and Cons of Self Publishing (& Traditional Publishing). Writersdigest. Retrieved from http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-pros-and-cons-of-self-publishing-traditional-publishing.

[2] Chandler, Stephanie. (2011, October 19). The Pros and Cons of Traditional vs. Self Publishing. Retrieved from http://authoritypublishing.com/book-publishing/the-pros-and-cons-of-traditional-vs-self-publishing/.

Character Traits and Personalities

Characters need traits and personalities which the reader can relate to. To make a character memorable, Glen Strathy says to make each character unique by giving them “tags” which are basically physical traits the reader will recognize them by. “Tags can include physical traits, clothing preferences, hairstyles, habitual mannerisms, facial expressions, speech habits, noises the character makes, or even scents – anything, in fact, that a person interacting with the character would notice about him.” [1] Lee Masterson creates a name that is easy for the reader to remember the character by and give the character a set of problems/dilemmas and how they solve them. His or her choices will show the reader what he or she is like as a person based on the decisions made. [2]

Creating a character profile form will help organize your character’s information. You can also answer these 10 questions to create a believable character [3]: 

1. Where does your character live?
2. Where is your character from?
3. How old is your character?
4. What is your character called?
5. What does your character look like?
6. What kind of childhood did he or she have?
7. What does your character do for a living?
8. How does your character deal with conflict or change?
9. Who else is in your character’s life?
10. What is your character’s goal or motivation in this story or scene?

Make a personality quiz for your characters. You’ll be able to tell which of your characters are more distinct and interesting, and then choose them to be the main characters. This also will show you if two of your characters act too similar. Furthermore, by giving this personality quiz to friends or family, you can base the character off the person who acts more like him or her.

Sources:

[1] Strathy, Glen C. (2011). How to Create Characters That Are Believable and Memorable. Retrieved from http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/create-characters.html.

[2] Masterson, Lee. (2001). Creating Memorable Characters. Retrieved from http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/characters.shtml.

[3] Wiehardt, Ginny. (2013). Top 10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters. Retrieved from http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/crafttechnique/tp/createcharacter.htm.

Forming Characters

A character’s appearance plays a significant role in a comic book. Their face expressions, body language, dress, and customs make them more real to the readers. The genres and comic book style affect what the character will dress and look like. Learning how to draw human, or even animal, poses will help your comic.  Depending on your style, character face expressions could be drawn somewhat in a realistic or cartoon manner. [1][2] Draw various poses of your character that show movement so he or she won’t be as static as the comic page. [3] There are many YouTubers with excellent tutorials. [4][5][6] Here is a list of a few:

• Mark Crilley - an American manga artist
• DrawWithJazza - weekly tutorials and speedpaintings
• LighterNoteProd - drawing tips, tricks, and techniques

Genres and comic styles affect how character will look like. In this infographic, I drew Hanabi Baka Sake in the diverse ways of drawing a character. The characters line-art can be as clean or messy as you want it to be, what is most important is your story and how your character acts in it. 

Sources:

[1] Njay. (2010, June 30). Expressions. Retrieved from http://www.deviantart.com/art/Expressions-169617254

[2] Lorenz, Nancy. (2007, July 4). 25 expressions challenge – Eriu. Retrieved from http://ravietta.deviantart.com/art/25-expressions-challenge-Eriu-382841573

[3] Athena King, Shamine. (2011, February 14). Body Frame Doodles. Retrieved from http://canadian-rainwater.deviantart.com/art/Body-Frame-Doodles-197390182

[4] Crilley, Mark. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/user/markcrilley/videos

[5] Jazza. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/user/DrawWithJazza/videos

[6] Dunn, Alphonso. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/user/LighterNoteProd/videos

Materials for Comic Books

Just like any art piece, novel, or project, comic books require a set of materials. Mark Crilley goes over what materials he uses as a comic artist in his video. Here is a basic list, though of course you don’t need all of these:

• Sketchbook: to draw/write ideas
• Strathmore smooth surface Bristol: cardstock paper for comic book pages
• Pencils and Sharpeners
• Prismacolor Kneaded Eraser
• Black Prismacolor Pencil
• Artist Ink Pens of various thickness: Pigma Micron, Copic, Faber Castiel
• Watercolors: Grumbacher, Winsor & Newton
• Color Pastels
• Color Pencils: Prismacolor (Verithin and Ordinary)
• Color Markers: Copic, Touch
• India Ink
• White Designers Gouache, White Acrylic, White-Out
• Different size brushes

With the traditional materials, you may need a scanner and an art program to edit, color, or add text to the comic page. A good site for text is Blambot which has free dialogue, sound fx, design, and symbol fonts for comic book artists to use. The two most prominent art programs used for comic books are Adobe Photoshop and Manga Studio. Paul Holden lists the pros and cons for both programs in his article. [2] This is a list of other digital art programs:

• Krita 
• MyPaint 
• ArtRage 
• GIMP 
• SAI
• SmoothDraw 

Though expensive, Wacom Tablets are helpful with art programs and are a faster than drawing with a mouse. Encyclopedias or other reference books are also useful, especially if your internet is not working. Get books of landscapes, cultures, clothing, anatomy, weapons, architecture, vehicles, or anything that will be of great help for your comic book.

Sources:

[1] Crilley, Mark. (2013, August 9). Mark Crilley’s Art Supplies: Everything I Use and Why. [Youtube]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEBzCr_kNns.

[2] Holden, Paul. (2009, December 10). Manga Studio vs. Photoshop Part 1. Retrieved from http://www.pauljholden.com/blog/2009/12/10/manga-studio-vs-photoshop-part-1/.

Writing the Story

Writing the story before creating the comic book provides a solid plan for you to follow, and make it easier on you when you are laying out what parts of the story go on which page. When writing the story, you need to organize what is going to happen. There are many ways to organize your writing. J.K. Rowling used a chart to outline the chapters, their titles, a summary of each one and how it relates to the plot, and the subplots within. [1] Using 3 by 5 cards is another way of creating and organizing ideas for your story.  You write an event on each card and lay them out on the ground. Then you set them up in chronological order, fill in the gaps with content that will make your reader want to turn the page, plan where the chapter breaks are going to be, include cliffhangers, and write down your outline (or number the cards). [2] You can find other tactics like these on WritersDigest.

You can also improve your writing by reading books (and not just comic books) and analyzing what makes it so successful. Writing reviews or reading what other people write about a book is also helpful. This way you will learn what a reader expects from a good book and then apply those principles in your own work. Deb Aoki provides some reviewing tips on her article on how to review manga. [3] Also, write about your life experiences in a story format and email it to a friend or relative (maybe even draw it in comic page style). It’s good practice and I find that I use some of my life experiences when I work on my comic book.

Know how much writing is needed for the reader to understand what is going on in the story and include that in the comic book page. For me, successful comic books have an interesting hook, memorable plot and characters, and a strong ending.

Sources:

[1] Doland, Erin. (2010, October 12). Organize your writing, J.K. Rowling Style. Unclutterer. Retrieved from http://unclutterer.com/2010/10/12/organize-your-writing-j-k-rowling-style/

[2] Whitcomb, Laura. (2011, April 28). How to Organize and Develop Ideas for Your Novel. WritersDigest. Retrieved from http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/write-first-chapter-get-started/how-to-organize-and-develop-ideas-for-your-novel

[3] Aoki, Deb. (2010, January 22). Top 10 Manga Reviewing Tips – Simple Strategies and Helpful Tips for Writing Online Reviews. Retrieved from http://manga.about.com/od/readingcollectingmanga/tp/MangaReviewTips.htm

Self-Publishing your Comic Book

Self-publishing takes a lot of time and effort if you really want to make a name for yourself.  Steven Forbes says that when you’re self-publishing you may not reach to the level of DC and Marvel comics. You need to research on how other comics are doing, such as how many chapters other artists are releasing each week, what genres they are in, which audience they are directed to etc. Come up with a name that is memorable for your company, and save money for a lawyer. Hiring a lawyer will save you time and catch on things you miss regarding copyright or trademarks. “A trademark ™ is something that protects the intellectual property of your concept, name, and logo. A copyright © protects the intellectual properties of your story, script, and visual representation.” [1] Another form of copyright is the poorman’s copyright. It does not necessarily work because of the many loopholes, so it is better to save the money and get a copyright.

Advertise yourself and put your ideas on shirts, pins, stickers, etc. on websites like ThreadBird. Lull Mengesha shows how to self publish a book in his video in three simple steps: get a copyright, an ISBN number or barcode, and a print on demand publisher. [2] An example of a print on demand publisher is Kablam. A comic artist will have to use one of the various template provided by the website and make sure their work is within the boundaries. They can then send the files to Kablam and order as many copies as they want after they check that the first copy came out well. Kablam also has another site called IndyPlanet where comic artists can share and sell their comics. Some artists sell their comics digitally as well on sites such as CreateSpace, Lulu, or ones specifically made for comics like DigitalManga. 

Sources:

[1] Forbes, Steven. (2009, February 24). Week 24 – Self-Publishing. Retrieved from http://forums.projectfanboy.com/archive/index.php/t-2578.html

[2] Mengasha, Lull. (2010, February 20). Self Publishing a Book Explained in One Minute. [Youtube]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL6KiC7i0Mk&feature=BFa&list=WLA61C50F1B715E315