Starting a Manga Comic Series?

Question

RECOMMENDED THAT EXPERIENCED PEOPLE WITH MANGA ANSWER THIS QUESTION

Okay, so this is how it is. I'm starting a new comic, but I have no idea where to get started. This isn't my first time creating a comic (i'm not a pro) but i've went somewhat far with some creations of mine. (The farthest i've ever gotten was about 1 and a half notebooks full) Okay, so I want to start a japanese type manga but there are many problems

-I don't know where to start from
- I can't draw for my life

Now, I have a BASIC story line in mind.. but I want to add more, I want my series to be a long series, that I can actually go through and finish. I can't give out the details about the story line because I don't want my idea stolen (yeah i' know i'm to paranoid) But so far i've got

-Storyline in mind
-1 of the characters apparance (but I didn't draw it.. but I really like how this character looks and want to use it, also it's not a character from an actual show, so it should be fine to use right?)

Asides from that I have nothing?
Seriously, nothing I need help/advice on a handfull of things like..

-Where should I look for character names, should they mean anything special?
-Should my series involve any supernatural human powers to spice it up a notch?
-Detailed background on the characters that blend in perfect with my story line

There's so much to do, with so little to work with. But i've read somewhere that if you're going to be serious about starting a new comic/series you shouldn't jump right away to character names ect.. so I didn't

Also I need to know, DO I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DRAW MY CHARACTERS? OR CAN I GET PEOPLE TO DRAW IT FOR ME? LIKE THE CHARACTERS/ BACKGROUNDS. I need to know if they have professionals who do that for people and is it expensive for them to do it?

I also need a script? Is it too early to be thinking about these things?


Please, anyone who can answer these questions for me, provide me with sites and clearify this get's 10 points, and most importantly my graditude. Thank you so much in advance

Answer 1

Where should I look for character names, should they mean anything special?

-Character names, I find, are usually done by cycling different names through your head until you find one that seems "right". They either fit the character's personality, or can shape a personality to be beneficial to their role. As to special, it's up to you, but commonplace names tend to get more empathy from readers than forced names with specific meanings. When I name characters, it tends to either come from their personalities, which means that the right names just pop into my head and make themselves known, or I look around me, literally, for inspiration (I've actually created names from looking at magazines that were lying around me and had names on the covers). Typically, when I do that, it leads to developing a personality for the character, rather than the other way around.

Should my series involve any supernatural human powers to spice it up a notch?

-A lot of manga tends to do this, but honestly, I've found that people respond just as well to ordinary characters as to super-human characters, if not better. Still, it's your choice. If you think it will advance the story, then by all means, go for it.

Detailed background on the characters that blend in perfect with my story line

-Not necessary. It's a good idea to have a general idea of where your characters are coming from, but a loose, general idea of a history seems to work better than one that is plotted to the last detail, at least to begin with. This will give you the ability to later go in and discover new things about your characters as your story progresses, and this, in turn, keeps your writing fresh and interesting. If you know exactly what they've done before, from birth until today, you lose the excitement of discovery. This isn't to say you should go in blind, either. A little development is essential, but the basics (family, friends, significant life-altering events) are best to begin.

DO I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DRAW MY CHARACTERS? OR CAN I GET PEOPLE TO DRAW IT FOR ME? LIKE THE CHARACTERS/ BACKGROUNDS. I need to know if they have professionals who do that for people and is it expensive for them to do it?

-I'm sure there are professionals you can find, but it would cost more than it's really worth, to begin with. I'm a writer myself, so I partnered with an old friend, an artist, to create our own series. My art is passable, but he has the ability to really bring our characters to life. If you think your art would hurt the story, find an artist you can partner with who will do it as a favor or to split profits (far more likely), which will be much cheaper than trying to find and then hire a professional (if at all possible, find a current student or recent graduate of an art school, because they'll be trying to expand their portfolios and thus be more willing to help you).

I also need a script? Is it too early to be thinking about these things?

-It's never too early. We've been developing a script for three years now, and have yet to publish our first issue. These things take time, especially if you have a busy schedule aside from the comic. We plotted the first issue together, and since then I've done three major rewrites of that first script. I've also scripted out the following eleven issues, and still have to go through and change those as we go along. So, definitely do at least a rough script. Don't forget, though, that you should let yourself change it as needed. I know from years of experience that if you try to hold yourself to an original idea, the comic will suffer as a result. Adapt it as new situations come up, whether it be switching artists, having new ideas, or even deciding you don't like what you have any more. If you have to force it, readers will notice, and the comic will suffer. The primary idea of comics is to have fun.

-I hope this has been somewhat helpful to you. I can't really recommend any specific sites that deal with this, because I've learned from years of trial and error. I'm sure they exist though. What you should do is read as many different comics as you can get your hands on, to see what other people are doing, what sells, even what looks like fun.

Answer 2

Yeh I've been trying to make my own manga for a long time now but I always end up not finishing it for some reason but anyway with the characters names I always go woth japanese names (of course) which I just find on the internet this site might help you--- http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa042901a.htm .

With the supernatuaral human powers stuff that really depends what type of manga you are making.

And the Detailed background on the characters that blend in perfect with the storyline stuff sounds good because that can make a manga really interesting if you put stuff like that in it.

Also you don't have to be able to draw your own characters and stuff because there are lots of mana out there that have and author and an artist--- for example Yumi Hotta created and wrote the manga Hikaru No Go but it got illustrated by Takeshi Obata--- so if you can think of a really good storyline and characters you can probably get someone to draw it for you.

I'm not sure if there are professionals who do that but there probably are, you should see if you have a friend who can do the drawings for you.

Before you do the script you should probably create the characters,their names,names of the places,etc..

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

first of all, it doesn't matter if the character is from an actual show or not, if the character is used in any type of media (ie-another manga, a comic book, a regular book) with a different creator (even if it's a creator no one has heard of) then that means the character is already copyrighted, so you can't use them without permission from the creator themself; but you can create your own character that is somewhat similar to this character you like but with an original name, and i recommend tweaking their personality a bit so you don't get in trouble for plagiarism.

I write short stories every so often, I generally get my character names from TV or book I read; I just pair different first and last names I find together until i find a combination I like. For example, one of the characters i created is named Simon Guthrie (no, you cannot use this name). I read X-men, and I got the name Guthrie from Sam Guthrie (aka Cannonball) who is one of my favorite characters. And I've always liked the name Simon from Annette Kurtis Klause's "Silver Kiss," so I just paired them together. You can do that too, or you can go online to baby-name websites and just sift through the names (yeah, it's a little awkward since I'm 16, but it helps when you have 2 windows up ^_^).

As for the detailed backgrounds, just start with basic character outlines, like their names, ages, physical appearances, and personality. Then, once you establish who your main characters are, go back and add more details to their bios. It helps to keep them in a small notebook you can carry around in your pocket, so whenever you get an idea for you character you can write it down. For example (and i know you're probably getting tired of this), I paint, so i constantly have oil paint-stains on my hands, so i decided my main character was always going to have paint-stained hands.

Before you decide on using super-natural powers, ask yourself these questions first: "Would any of my characters benefit from supernatural powers?" ,"What role would they play in my story?"
If it doesn't make sense for your characters to have these powers, don't give them to them! Too many details like that make things confuzzling (confusing). Many great books don't have characters with supernatural powers, but most mangas do. Do you really want to be another author whose characters have powers that help save the world from evil? I'm not saying that isn't great b/c i read comic books all the time like that, but it's not exactly the most original idea.

You do not have to be able to draw your characters. You can get people to draw them for you if you so desire. I'm not sure if they have professionals who do that, but if they do, it might end up costing a pretty penny, so be prepared. But if you have any friends or know anyone that draws manga-style really well, ask them if they would be interested in helping you. They should also be able to do inking in several different styles. Supplies are usually expensive, as you can't use any ordinary paper for ink, so you should be willing to pay for supplies if asked to do so.

A script is a priority in writing a manga. I don't think it's too soon to be thinking about that, as you want to have an idea of what you want said in each panel when it is being sketched out.

Hope this is helpful, sorry if it's not.

Answer 4

ok, first slow down! In your series, try to avoid cliches. If you really want your characters to have powers make them very unique. You can find lots of names by just typing 'baby names' in the Yahoo! searchbar. If you want them to mean something special, try naming them an adjective that describes them in Japanese(These can also be found by searching Yahoo!). If you can't draw that well, get one of your friends to try to draw it for you. If you want there to be a bigger storyline, use your imagination. Good Luck, and I hope I see you manga on shelves someday!