Hello

[mop]

Hello to everyone. I'm Serenade; Jeff in real life. I'm very new to the manga producing community, and am really horrible at drawing manga. That's why I'm here though, to get better.

I've grown up with manga and anime (at least the titles that make it to America); everything from Dragonball, to Elfen Lied, to Clannad. I've never had a lot of motivation or direction in my life, and so far life hasn't been easy for me. I've been a delinquent in school, my parents have mostly abandoned me, and I've even been admitted to a hospital for the mentally ill. But I've just recently decided that it's my dream to move to Japan and become a Mangaka, and I will turn my life around and work hard to make it happen. Having grown up in the U.S. and not knowing a word of Japanese, the odds are definitely against me... But this is the first thing I've found that I actually want to do. Not because of the money or the life style (the reasons that I thought would ultimately pull me into a career), but because I have a passion for this kind of thing. I want to tell stories and pull insane things out of my imagination for everyone else to enjoy, and I want to do it through manga. I am going to take Japanese language courses in college, as well as illustration courses, and hopefully I'll be able to attend college in Japan in the future. If I ever do accomplish my dream of becoming a Mangaka, the continuation of that dream is to produce a great manga that will become an anime and make it right back here to America.

But for now I'm just starting out, and I have a lot to learn. Truth be told I'm actually really intimidated and humble due to my serious lack of knowledge, so, one step at a time I suppose. But again, that's what I'm here to fix. On a final note, I hope I meet a lot of nice people who share my passion here to become friends with.

[indescribable]

Hey, welcome to the forum.

One of the best places to start is the Tutorials section. Browse around, find something you'd like to try, and start drawing. After that (or if you already have a drawing you'd like to share) you can upload your image to the gallery, and post it in the Critique Corner for some critique. You can also join us on the Groupboard and get feedback as you draw (you may want to use a tablet for this, but if you don't have one, a mouse or touchpad can work too).

Hope this helps. :)

[Cloudy]

Hey big welcome!
I think aiming to go to japanese language courses and go to a japanese school are all great ways to get you into the field, check out the tutorials as Indescribable said and feel free to pop into the groupboard (make sure you have updated java) and check out the artists there

[T1B3R1U5]

Whoa, look at that monster of an intro! Lolz, anyways welcome and I'm glad you're taking a new direction there Jeff. And again, welcome and hope to see your work as you progress.

[mop]

Ha yeah I suppose I did write a bit of a paragraph up there.

But thanks everyone for the welcome and directional advice, I'm following a lot of advice that I've already found and that's already been given to me no these forums. I've been drawing for about two days straight now, minus necessities such as sleep, meals, and work. I've already made so much immediate progress thanks to the simple tutorials here, but I have a long, long way to go. When I try things like drawing characters at certain angels or in certain poses, or having characters looking in a specific direction, the results are god awful, lol.

Anyway, I think I'm going to buy a scanner and probably a copy of Photoshop before I go looking for a tablet. Does anyone here recommend Photoshop for polishing up manga, or is there a better program for that? And from what I know about tablets off the top of my head, aren't they really sloppy and slippery when trying to draw on them? Are they really okay for precision drawing such as manga? Is there a certain brand of tablet I should be looking for?

[trilokcool3]

hi...z jeff
welcome to MT
A advice if you want to pace up your practice visit GROUP BOARD thats a awesome place. (98%chance to meet pros)

[indescribable]

Anyway, I think I'm going to buy a scanner and probably a copy of Photoshop before I go looking for a tablet.

I would definitely recommend buying a cheap tablet before going all out and getting an expensive program like Photoshop, however if you think you'll use it regardless of whether or not you have a tablet then go for it.

Does anyone here recommend Photoshop for polishing up manga, or is there a better program for that?

I personally love Photoshop, and know of quite a few professional artists who use it for their comics. However, I also know that a number of artists use programs such as Manga Studio for comics instead. I've never tried that one myself though.

And from what I know about tablets off the top of my head, aren't they really sloppy and slippery when trying to draw on them? Are they really okay for precision drawing such as manga?

Tablets are great for precision drawing, they just take practice. Take a look at almost any kind of digital art painting/drawing these days and it's probably been done with a tablet. Even some printed stuff you might have guessed was done by hand was actually done digitally with a tablet.

Is there a certain brand of tablet I should be looking for?

I can hardly recommend the Wacom Bamboo series highly enough as a starter tablet, however, I'm a bit biased as I've never actually tried another brand.

[Rio]

Hey Jeff, welcome to Manga Tutorials! I highly suggest you drop by the Drawing, Animation and Tutorials if you have any questions regarding drawing, manga, tools, and so on. Since you asked your question here, I'll answer here as well but I highly recommend you post your questions in the above link in future (cuz you know, this place technically is only to say hello :3 ).

Anywhoooo -

Photoshop, you can't go wrong with it and it is a very good investment if you are getting one. Professionals across the board use this software, it's a workhorse once you know how to use it, and you can find tutorials for it everywhere. What I really love about PS is that you can install and register your copy on a laptop or desktop and then if you upgrade to another computer, you can de-register your copy and re-install it on your new computer. What does this mean? It means you don't have to keep buying a copy of PS every time you get a new computer! (Unlike stupid MS Office Suite - boo hiss!)

For a tablet, I also recommend the Wacom. It's a trusted brand and their Intous line is the norm used by professional artists. If you really know that you want to pursue this, then get one of the bigger sized Intous. It's well worth the money. I used to own a refurbished Intous and it lasted about 4 years for me. If you get one brand new, it may last even longer for you.

Just be aware that drawing digitally is completely different to drawing on pen and paper. There's a bit of a learning curve when transitioning from one to another. I would recommend you learn how to draw on pen and paper first and use your tablet to color your work digitally first before you attempt drawing directly onto the computer.

[mop]

Thanks everyone for the welcome. There are a lot of nice people here and so far I'm enjoying myself . And yeah, I've already had a few run-ins with the rules around here :O I'm learning!

I went out to get a tablet and a scanner the other day, but then I was rear ended big time and my car was deemed financially inefficient to repair, so now I have to go get a new car and everything. Thank god for insurance, but still... all I wanted was a tablet... T_T And meanwhile I'm waking up an hour earlier than I normally would so I can jog to work. T_T So for now it's still just pencil and paper sketches for me. Oh well, I still have a ways to go before I'm ready for digital drawing anyway.

Lastly, thanks for all the helpful information. I was looking at the Intous line, but the cintiq line also caught my eye because it has an actual screen. I don't know, that just seemed more natural to me, as opposed to guessing where to place the pen on the tablet, but I guess that's just something you get used to after awhile, lol.