Rough Draft 1

Jessica Tandy English IIIJanuary 3, 2011
Becoming a Manga-ka
I. What I Know

Growing up watching, reading, and being immersed in Japanese manga-styled art has taught me quite a bit. You can change a story just by drawing it out rather than writing it. Adding visuals makes everything better and keeps the reader entertained. Different styles create different effects as well as the diversity of characters and the plot. However, I’ve thought about it back and forth, over and over again; what is my own style? What style is my own and comes from my heart? I have a story that’s original; I have my characters, but no true style to call my own.
Around three years ago I started writing my own manga called DECODED. It was originally just a fun project, but it became something more to me. It was a passion and I loved the characters that I had created as if I was their mother. Of course I used them for everything and got other people to draw the main character Kado Hikari constantly. I actually have an album of him that I created. The character that I had created drew me into the story that I was writing.

I had control of everything and I could change the story as many times as I wanted. However, I did not: it has stayed the same for over three years and hasn’t changed since. I have fallen for my own characters and how they are not perfect, how they can always change. That is what also draws me to manga; how the characters are not perfect and how they do have flaws. No matter what the genre; you can imagine that they are real. It could be a fantasy story, with people with cat ears, but you can still relate to them.

Kado was my “first” original character, but before him there was one other. She had lurked in the back of my mind for a while, but hadn’t been drawn until recently. Her original name was RvieraAbyss, but then she got split into two people; Riviera and Abyss. Abyss is currently my “persona” or a personal representation of me. She is basically me, but as the Mad Hatter would say, “She’s lost her muchness.” She isn’t complete and is always changing; however there is one thing that stayed the same; her hair curl. I’ve had it for a long time in real life, and I’ve always made it a point to draw it on her. She is the representation of me so that everyone can remember me.

Prior to writing this paper, I began a little search about three years ago on manga making and being a manga-ka; a manga styled artist. I knew there was very little money made in this career but I still wanted to continue my dream. As I searched, mostly in books and on the internet, I also learned that once you get a series going, and it slowly gets popular, you earn respect and the fans send you letters and their own artwork. Overall it is a fun job as well as a tough one; it takes so much concentration and attention to detail to get your work done. Even though you can set your own hours, you still have deadlines for chapters. No matter how much effort you put into your work, there is always room for improvement.

I also know the following: even if you try and fail with a story, you can always try another plot. However, you should never try to do something that has been done before or steal characters names or styles. Art may be free expression, but there is no excuse for theft. I have learned that Japanese manga-ka’s actually admire American ones for their ability to adapt and create their own style and strive for a passion in the career. But my prior knowledge is not “complete” to say, but rather I still need to learn more in order to fully understand everything there is to becoming a manga-ka. Series such as “Fullmetal Alchemist” started off as a rough draft that no one thought could catch on. However, it spread like wildfire throughout the nations and became one of the top selling series in manga history. I want to be able to understand what I can do to make my series as and style as popular as that; and fully comprehend what it takes to achieve my goal.

II. What I Want to Find Out
My main expectation of this project and my research is to figure out what exactly I’m possibly going to be doing for a part of my life. I plan on learning as much as possible about this topic, and am able to summarize what I have learned. I have many questions that I know will be hard to answer, but I have a lot of resources at my disposal and can work with what I have to an extent. My first question is, “What can I do to make this career work for me?” I know that it is a rough road on becoming a manga-ka and I could possibly never make it. While my second question is, “Is this career right for me?” With those questions in mind I have know that I am ready to begin my search. What I may find might disappoint me, but I expect to find answers to these questions.