General Manga Project Discussion

[ram]

hello sir where did you get the 3d anatomy and can u explain what illust studio is?

cuz im planning to make a manga this week and im still not good at shadowing and anatomy

thank you in advance sir

I got your message and it's about this question... sorry but I can't answer you there since your profile is private...
Illuststudio is a art software almost the same as photoshop or Sai.. Actually more on combination of the two
the 3d models comes with the software...
here's how you open it
http://melloki.deviantart.com/art/Il...rt-3-194172843

[Regantor]

Guh. I'm constantly working on something, but ever since 'Saturn Lander' totally crashed and burned last year, I've been finding it majorly hard to actually finish anything... Perhaps it's because I feel like even if I perfectly replicate the things in my head, they just won't appeal to anybody else regardless.

My point is, just how important is being able to tell what the plot is by the first glance? Would any of you guys, in all honesty, ever actually read something if you didn't already generally know what the plot was about beforehand? Would something of the same genre that you like, but with differant-looking main characters, still be a turn off? Does 'general asthetic' even come into play when people are looking around?

It feels wrong to try and pander to these things, but people's 'minimal expectations' are just so hard to judge. I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting people to actually enjoy your work. x_x

[Bacon_Barbarian]

I think that's a worry most artists have, Reg. What if other people don't like it? What if they don't get it? Maybe they'll think I'm nuts. Maybe it's because I didn't accurately bring my idea to life. Etc., etc., etc.

You know what? Forget them. Yeah, maybe it'll take a while for you to find an audience, but you've almost got a captive one here. (:P) It's always good to get the experience of making a piece even if no one likes it. And if you like it, does it really if anyone else does? Yeah, sure that's what you may want but ... Well. Does it matter? I know that personally I've been interested in your past works.

As to the "general background" thing, that's tough, and honestly, I don't know. When I was little I just sort of fell into Pokemon and Digimon and the like. Same thing for when I was a little older. Now a days I just sort of look things up on Wikipedia before I try something out, or I'm reading it upon recommendation. But most good pieces will have a good introduction. One Piece sets up it's story well. Naruto does an OK job (as to whether or not the story of Naruto is good is another question.) You have to be able to lure people into your work. In media res works sometimes, but you want to make sure your audience isn't blind at the start of everything.

[ClockHand]

I think what we care is making the adventure call in the first chapter or volumen.

I think this deal is problematic just when you don't know how to approach the story, some times we are very straightforward and we miss the opportunity to tell the story in a more efficient way. My advice: read.

PD: I could go more in details later, cuz now I'm playing stuffs.

[Regantor]

Thanks for the support Bacon, I appreciate it. Basically agree with what you are saying, too. Maybe I just need to work a hell of alot more on my writing... I think that people do set out specifically looking for a type of story, through, since that's basically entertainment in a nutshell. It's almost got me in the mindset that it might be better to lie to people about the genre at first, then specifically use that moment to explain how this story is not like the others... For instance, nobody would read a story about a guy who is a rubbish superhero, but they might if it's shown how he tries to stop some crooks at first, then unexpectedly gets his ass handed to him (Because powers don't come easily in this example world, perhaps.)... Hooks like that are really critical.

Anyway. I probally do rely on the 'storyboard' thing too much, so I won't suggest that I'm not a bad writer like Clock is hinting at. Wish Hammish was still around more often, this is really the kind of problem she could deal with. -_-

[ClockHand]

Ok, now I'm more free.

What I'm trying to say is that you don't need to tell what the plot is at the first chapter or volumen. No one is forcing you at that and trust me, readers are going to still read your story even if you don't show what the plot is about; because what mater is not: you showing the plot; but rather gave them the feeling of the coming adventure, and that is the Call to Adventure.

I'm not hitting at your writing skills, but I start by the belief that no one knows how to write and we are all amateurs, that's why I always tell everyone (and myself) to read. This is because many problems where you get stocked at not knowing how to confront the story, you can see them better solved in other books, movies or comics. Even more you can learn how volumens are structured to gave a meaning and a complete story inside a volumen, which I believe is the first step to make the story engaging for the readers, because as you force yourself to make one volumen a story in its own, you are forcing to gave the first sense of adventure sooner, and at the same time, give a conclusion that is still in a context of introduction for your characters.

As an example, Fables does a extraordinary job to present characters and story without giving any plot to the reader in the first volumen. This is because the whole volumen is a story in its own. Another example is Monster, where the first volumen do show a major plot event, but the first volumen is about that, the big shocking event that after you read the volumen makes you wonder what is going to happen next.

The first chapter is hard, is pretty hard, but that's why I believe we must work in one shots before extended stories, because if you can create a complete story in a one shot of 30 something pages, then you can easily make a 4 or 5 chapters that make sense and are engaging.

PD: also it depends a lot in your target audience, with a younger audience you can be more straightforward, because of their attention span. But if you go for a older audience (18 to 25) you can get more time and by more elegant in the writing and narrative.

[theAnimeRebel]

okay moved this from the wrong place...(very new here)

So. *claps hands together* After sincerely purusing the tutorial section, I have deemed my question worthy enough to post here. And my question would be....

HOW THE HECK DO THEY DO IT!?!?!?!?!?

I have, let's see...a rough beginning and end to my comic...*ahem manga, series thing. I have characters (I just spent the entire day typing up the protagonist's character, actually) and a sort of-ish general idea for a plot---I even know how long I want it to be!

So here's my problem...I know how to write a manga script. I know how to come up with a plot outline thingie for a novel. But when it comes to plotting for a (longer) manga series with a definitive end...I'm stuck.

I read somewhere that you do about a paragraph per chapter, with some exceptions. As it's going for me right now though, I have an explosion of random, disjointed ideas spread out quite randomly on random index cards!
I've been looking for a formula or map or something that says "Do this here, that there, etc." One of those nice charts you pay $20 for at the bookstore and that come with a disposable writer's how-to books on the side. However, I can't find anything, in book, article, or internet tutorial shape or form.
(*sigh*...perhaps it's time I break out of my formulaic shell so to speak and just go totally guerilla...oh the pain! The work! The horror!)

So in short, how do those amazing manga-ka from Japan do it? How do you personally do it? (Outline longer series manga plots, that is)

Help, insight, wisdom, perhaps served with a steaming cup of gyoku would be greatly apreciated. Thanks for sitting through my long-ish rant.
~Rebel

[Sylux]

U have to pace it however feels right to u

[ClockHand]

Ugh I don't know if I understood your problem, but I guess you have a problem with story structure you I will let a link for basic narrative structure and for the Hero's Journey. I should warn you that the Hero's Journey shouldn't be used as a rule, but rather is to evaluate how you are doing things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative_structure

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Her...Thousand_Faces

Also, for mangakas in japan, most of them write pretty shitty stories, so is not like you should aim to be like them (there are some of them who are really good at writing stories, but most of the stories are pretty shitty).

Well hope this helps, because I really can't feel that I understood your problem.

I like a lot of animes mostly, I do read manga but, lets face it, anime is better

Oh yeah, I read this from your introduction thread. I see in your future a probably bad relationship with the forum.

[theAnimeRebel]

Heh, To tell you the truth I have no idea what my problem is either. I'm usually fine when it comes to plots, but when I sat down to do this series, I'm having all sorts of headaches. E.g.: "When do I reveal this backstory here? Where do I introduce this character? Etc...etc..." It's quite...tedious.

Anyway...what are the techniques that you use personally? (Yes, I have noticed that peculiar incident with manga-ka and their surprisingly bad plots...)

BTW, thanks for all the help so far.
-------------------

I like a lot of animes mostly, I do read manga but, lets face it, anime is better ...

^^yeah, I know...anime's really just a glorified version of manga though, with color and sound...and I do love some color in my life.

P.S. I'm a screenwriter as well, so yes I've heard about the Hero and Myth books...need to get around to reading them though...