Manga From Scratch 1: Prep

This is Manga From Scratch. A tutorial column I guess I’ll add to regularly on how to make your own doujinshi (which is a name we use for a self-published printed comic. It’s pronounced ‘Doh-jin-shee’). This is the very first one, so we’re starting at the very beginning!

The first stage in making any manga is preparation!

So, you’ve had a flash of inspiration and you want to draw a comic! Good for you! But wait! Stop! Put the pencil down a second! Don’t start drawing the pages just yet, because if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll usually give up as soon as you run out of steam and hit a snag because you haven’t thought it through enough, usually after about 6 pages. Knowing your characters well, where your plot is going and how long it will be, what the setting is and making sure you have all the materials beforehand is a really good idea. Believe me, I am talking from experience of making the exact mistake of not planning enough in the past.

So, what do you need to know?

I’ll be going into greater detail on all of the following topics in later columns…

Plot: If you’re writing a short story that’s all one arc, like a competition entry, you should ideally have the entire plot planned out. For a series, you have a little more leeway, but you should at very least know roughly how the overarching main plot will work out, and know what happens in the first storyarc fairly well, and have a very clear idea about the fist chapter or two.

If it’s a short, you should have at least a vague idea of the page count. If you plan from the start, rather than making up as you go along, it’s much easier to pace and you can foreshadow plot twists because you know about them in advance.

Characters: Design everybody who appears in the first chapter, or if it’s a short, design everybody. Make sure you note down details like their name, a basic bio and physical details such as height, handedness, build and any important quirks like accents or body language as well as how they feel about other characters.

Setting: Design major plot items beforehand, and think about how plot-important buildings and places will look. If it’s fantasy/ sci-fi, try to come up with a decent level of detail on the look and feel of the world, who lives there and the level of technology. If it’s a historical setting or a specific real location, ie. London, do your research beforehand!

Materials:Make sure you have enough paper and all the tools you’ll need before you start. Oh, and always test them before using them on the actual comic. It’s a bad idea to make your first page the very first time you use a material. It’s less important for a webcomic, where people may expect the art to change over time, but for a short the style and media should remain consistent right through, and for a printed series, you should at least keep all the pages of a chapter consistent. If you know your materials before you start, there’s less risk of starting a comic with new media and finding you hate them and want to change to another method five pages in!

Technical Specs:It is VITAL when working for print to know what dimensions you’re working to. If you’re not 100% sure at least give yourself a big bleed, so you have plenty of leeway when resizing the page. Most doujinshi here are drawn on A4 and printed at A5, due to the UK not having a traditional small ‘comics’ size like America or Japan (Traditionally, comics here have generally been magazine, newspaper or a4 in size) printers may charge more or get shirty if you want to print at B5 or something! For competitions, be aware of the specs. Tokyopop in particular, have very detailed specifications for the Rising Stars of Manga competition!

If you’re working on a book with friends, try to make sure you’re all working to the same specs or everything could get messy! Be sure you have the files at a nice high DPI like 300 or 600 if you want to print.

Oh, and if you’re working on a webcomic, you want a lowish DPI, like 75 and you pages under 800 pixels wide.

I know that sounds like a lot, but if you prepare all that before you start, the comic will be a breeze! You won’t run into unforeseen problems if you think ahead before you start. Plus the result will be better. You’ll end up with a tighter plot, better pacing, more consistent art and good print quality, so really there’s no good reason not to plan!

Good luck! Seeya next time!

-DM