Write a Manga Comic
Have you ever wondered how to write a manga? Well here are some basic tips to get you started.
Contents
Steps
- Come up with a plot that interests you. It can be romance, adventure, action, comedy or a mix of everything.
- Try to write it out before you actually draw it so you don't later change your mind and have to draw the whole thing over again.
- Make sure you know the objective of the story. This cannot be stressed enough.
- Be sure to know where your story is going, and what the goal of the characters are. If you don't have an objective, then your story will probably be spiraling into all different directions, and your readers will be completely lost.
- Once you know where your story is going, try to sum up your story in one sentence. For example, if you summed up a story titled 'Death Note', it would probably be something like, 'A cursed notebook causes a young man, who is being chased by a private detective, to kill criminals of the world.' If you can do this, writing the story will be a breeze.
- Make sure you know exactly where the setting is and the basic knowledge about that place. If your setting is make-believe, then make sure you think of some history that happened there and some areas around it. If it's a real place like Japan, wiki it and see your results. Use some of that information in your manga.
- Come up with some characters to populate your fantasy world. Make a protagonist and an antagonist, and state their likes and dislikes, fears, and especially their history. Remember, all characters should be 3-D, not 2-D. What this means is that make the character do things unpredictable. Maybe they have an oddity about them? For example, maybe they're clumsy or have a really bad temper or obsessed with their hair? It's completely up to you. Remember, your characters basically make the whole story. Every story has at least one main character and one person or thing who opposes them, as well as a supporting cast. Give everyone different appearances so that you can distinguish them at a glance. This can be especially useful if you're not that good at drawing. Making characters really challenges your creative side, but can be really fun!
- Try to practice drawing your setting and your characters all interacting together before you begin your manga. If you're not that good at drawing, then try to find someone who is. You could write the story, and the other person could draw it out. Many mangas have been written like this, including Death Note. But, your story has to be really good if you want a really good artist. And, also, make sure you do not to suddenly change the plot line or else your artist might get stressed out from all the drawing and re-drawing he/she has to do. And you probably don't want that, right?
- If you can't get into something, Try to use a manga to make a manga. Many people use mangas as a How to Draw manga. Its always good to get into a manga, or into the thought about a manga, before you work. Just don't copy. That would be plagiarism.
Tips
- Think of good plots in your free time.
- Sketch FIRST then go onto to final draft paper and materials it makes a whole lot of a difference.
- Have fun creating a variety of main characters and supporting characters. Give them different appearances (so that you can distinguish one from the other), different personalities, different levels of self-confidence, different ways of thinking, and if applicable, different magical powers. Give them strengths, and give them flaws. Heroes who are too perfect aren't believable, and likewise villains who have nothing but flaws are equally unbelievable. Give every character an equal amount of strengths and weaknesses to increase believability.
- Manga has many genres, the largest of which are Shoujo (usually romance-oriented, and aimed towards audiences consisting of teenaged girls) and Shonen (usually focused on action and fighting, and aimed towards audiences consisting of teenaged boys). There are many other genres- Fantasy, Occult/Horror, etc. You can keep to just one, or mix genres to create an entirely new idea. Which ones do you think are best for your style of writing and drawing?
- Vary the layout on each page; the same old panel setup over and over gets repetitive.
- Have fun!
- In traditional Japanese manga, the panels and dialogue bubbles are read from right to left. However, American mangas that read from left to right are cropping up more frequently now, so make your comic whichever way you prefer.
- Read up on some "How to Draw Manga" books. They'll help you refine your drawing skill, and some even provide ideas to help you think of plots and characters. Christopher Hart's "Manga Mania" series and Hikaru Hayashi's "Ultimate Manga Lessons" are very helpful.
Warnings
- Be patient if someone doesn't like your ideas. Maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board, or maybe you have something really great, but it's just not their cup of tea. The Harry Potter series and the Twilight series were both rejected by over ten publishers each, but now look at how popular they are!
- Don't copy someone else's work!- You don't want to be sued for copyright issues!
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- Remember Manga Is to Be Read Right to Left
