Manga artiests and writers unite

[Chapel]

I believe this is number 300 way to go all, we are a communtiy of believes and willing to listen to one another and help each other. In relation to the senario do what you want to do don't let either side get you down, caz they will try trust the lord to guide you and pray that he will. Good luck on everyones projuects I know you all have the skills to achieve greatness now lets use those skills to take over the world

chapel

[Chapel]

Well all ate the ol flaming cat I have entered one of the religious subjects in my comic, if you have a chance read this on some of the previous one and maybe the ones to come and tell me what you think

chapel

[Mave]

Hey, this was something I posted long time ago and I felt like doing it here again to encourage everyone. XD

*************************
Dear aspiring Christian manga artists (you know who you are XD),

The point of this post is to sincerely encourage you in your efforts.

1)I know that it's not easy to produce a good storyline without compromising God's Law (applicable to writers as well).

2)I know that it's not easy to self teach yourself manga techniques especially if you don't have enough resources (money, artbooks...). "Arrgghh, how do I get that lightning effect?"

3)I know that it takes time to scavenge screentones/fonts from the internet and it takes EVEN more time to make your own screentones/fonts. -_-;;;

4) I know that it's not easy drawing manga characters...."hmm..how come I can't get the pose that I want? Why is my main character's head too big? Gah!!"

5)I know it takes time to get that scanned drawing cleaned up while trying to fix that resolution.

6)I know that doing all this is frustrating when your computer is slow and it takes 5 minutes just to scan one page and you're running out of disk space and memory.

7)I know that it takes A LOT of time just getting all those blistering screentones, fonts and panels to look good together.

8)I know that it takes time to put together a nice website, to upload your manga files and to make sure ppl can read it easily.

9)I know it must be frustrating when readers start bugging you for the next chapter 2 seconds after reading Chapter 1. (hey at least, they're interested... LOL)

10)I know that it's annoying that after all these efforts, you're most likely NOT going to make any money out from this. "Dangit!!"

Just so you know, I know how it feels and we can celebrate our struggles together because GOD KNOWS. We're fools for God. Doing all this for His purpose simply because He did everything for us first. May you be filled with the joy of creating manga for the Creator and for blessing your readers. Never feel that whatever you're doing is a waste of time or is underappreciated.... Coz the Lord remembers what you're doing for Him. ^__^

[Pepper Kittie]

Thanks for posting that, Mave. I was just feeling a bit discouraged at some of the things that are hard for me, but reading that made me feel better. Thank you ^^

Let's all pray for each other, tay?

[valdrianth]

Wow this is a wonderful idea. I do wish I would've found this sooner. I'm trying my harderst to get my manga projects out there.
My name is Addy or Val btw.
My Main projects are:
Nephilim This story is going to be based on Hebrew Mythology about the Nephilim. It's completely fictional, but I am going to try and make it as accurate as I can. It's going to be about a group of my main characters who are the decantes of Nephilim (which are by legend the children of angel and humans) who must save Earth from the decendants of Lilith. It's a story for an older audiance 14+ i would suggest right now. But if anyone is interested I can send them the link through a private message if the message me first to the script to what I have to far.
My future projects are gonna be on story about Joan of Arc and one about Christian Demon Slayers. Nephilim is my first project to get finished first. . sense in a sense I've been working on it sense I was 10 -_-' . . my biggest inspirations for it was K. A. Applegate. . .ya know the whole Animorphs era. . and of course Yuu Watase with her lovely romantic twists in her stories and beautiful artwork.

[Chapel]

Wow mave that was poetic, and all very true. I know your own stuggles from talking to you so believe me You are doing a wonderful job. Welcome Valdrianth good to see you, my own comic if coming along very nicely and I have greatly enjoyed my spot in Deviant art. Keep drawing everyone it is always worth it.

pepsi

[antefurem]

Um... my name is Ante. And I have a problem.

I... am an artist. Who cannot get anything done! XD

Projects:

"The City" (working title) - I had this as an idea for a NaNoWriMo novel - but I think it would work better as a manga-type thing. It's sort of like, what if Jesus came to a post-modern society, where the media rules, the Devil trolls, and... wait, I'm giving everything away! Anyway, it would be told more from the "disciple"'s point of view... yep.

Strengths:

- Faces
- Proportioning
- Critters
- Very active imagination

Weaknesses:

- Clothing folds
- Girl figures/faces ;__;

Stuff I don't know how to do:

- Layout
- Backgrounds


... I hope that does it. ^__^

[Chapel]

HEy antefurem good to have you aboard that does sound like a really cool idea have you read a book called ELI http://www.theflamingcat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=97 You might want to check it out it could give you some idea on how to round out your project... THe best way for me to finish doing my comic strips is to scripts them out, scketch them all out while watching tv then shade them an all that jazz when i have time or if deadlines demand it

Chapel

[Mave]

Um... my name is Ante. And I have a problem.

I... am an artist. Who cannot get anything done! XD

Projects:

"The City" (working title) - I had this as an idea for a NaNoWriMo novel - but I think it would work better as a manga-type thing. It's sort of like, what if Jesus came to a post-modern society, where the media rules, the Devil trolls, and... wait, I'm giving everything away! Anyway, it would be told more from the "disciple"'s point of view... yep.

Hello ante! Sounds like you already have something going. XD I erm...don't really have anything substantial to say for now <--- brain dead. But, you have a pretty radical idea there. Would like to see how you come about with it. ^_^

[Chapel]

As would I, Mave haven't seen you on DA for a while.

chapel

[jazz]

hi all! um, yeah. here we go.
Name: jazz
Background: i've been drawing since before i could remember. up until about a year ago i drew only realism and stuff like that, but this last year i started getting into manga/anime styled art, now i couldn't stop if i wanted to.
Materials: pencil, ink, charcoal sometimes, crayons, paint (rarely). . . .uh, anything that writes usually. . . oh, and of course paper.
Strengths:. . . . . faces, clothing design and fabric, character design, shading and porportion.
Weaknesses: action, anything in color, anything involving a computer, backgrounds, writing, perspective sometimes, drawing male faces, hands and feet when theyre doing unusual things. . . . .
Projects: ha! just sketches. hundreds and hundreds of sketches.

. . . . .um, i can't think of anything else to say.

[Chapel]

Hey Jazz welcome aboard Good to have you here. I wish I was better at clothing design its not exactly my strong suit.

chapel

[Mave]

oops, somehow this slipped me!

Hi Jazz, welcome aboard! I try to draw realism every now and then but I'm not that good Pls feel free to show us your drawings, we'll be more than happy to give you healthy/constructive criticisms and encouragements. XD XD

[Chapel]

So this goes out to anyone today I used curse words in my web comic. I used them because I don't believe in watering down real life. Mostly because I go to a Christian College and most of my peers are on their way to a horrible surprise because they have never in their life stepped out of the Christian bubble.

Anyway me and Mave have talked alot on this subject and others dealing in areas of homosexual and sexual things in Christian manga ka.

Or other religions... I folow Christianity and I am not a pluralist but I think we need to look at other religions so we can better know how to witness to people. Alot of times we are told never to even look into other religions because this is the only one for anyone. That's a load if we ignore the rest of the world we will lose the rest of the world. Anyway that's kinda a soup box thing. Comments anyone I want opinions on Christians who don't water down or ignore the world. I'm not ragging on people who try and avoid the world either however you are lead... this is just my opinion based on what I have studied at this moment I am open to change my mind if new evidence presents itself.

Chapel

[uc pseudonym]

As a writer (or manga-ka by some definitions), I may actually have pocket change to toss out on this topic.

So this goes out to anyone today I used curse words in my web comic. I used them because I don't believe in watering down real life. Mostly because I go to a Christian College and most of my peers are on their way to a horrible surprise because they have never in their life stepped out of the Christian bubble.

In most of my stories I include cursing, though always censored. Dealing with professional work (if that ever happens), I'm not sure how I'll handle the issue.

Similarly to you, I believe in treating life realistically and seriously. However, I do not wish to alienate a significant portion of a theoretical readership by the inclusion of cursing. It is definitely a fine line to walk.

Or other religions... I folow Christianity and I am not a pluralist but I think we need to look at other religions so we can better know how to witness to people. Alot of times we are told never to even look into other religions because this is the only one for anyone. That's a load if we ignore the rest of the world we will lose the rest of the world. Anyway that's kinda a soup box thing. Comments anyone I want opinions on Christians who don't water down or ignore the world. I'm not ragging on people who try and avoid the world either however you are lead... this is just my opinion based on what I have studied at this moment I am open to change my mind if new evidence presents itself.

That is certainly a scripturally supported position; we should be in the world but not of the world, as gentle as doves but as wise as serpants.

[Mave]

Here's my approach in the matter of cussing. I do my best to censor the words (ex. ***** or @#$^@?!), leaving it up to the imagination of the reader (it's their choice if they want to fill up the blanks). I've gotten some comments from Christian readers who are sensitive to cuss words so that's the best I can do for them while not compromising the realistic feel of the story.

I suppose I will prepare myself for getting blasted over the controversial topics in the future, both from secular and Christian readers. But as long as it gets them thinking about these topics, my goal has been achieved.

[Chapel]

I agree Mave, I think It's ok to push the envalope, For me I deal with both audiances. and so it's hard to get my message across in a way that secular people will listen adn it won't offend the Christian. Like I've gotten alot of guff about how my girls are drawn, more so than profanity. Then on the flip side I have had alot of people say they started reading because it had buxem women, so will they get a message I don't know and my characters all look so female that large breasts are almost a nessecity if I want to distinguish which is which lol.

pepsi

[Uriah]

Name
Uriah

Background

I used to draw pictures of megaman and sonic when I was little, but I stopped for quite a few years. About two years ago I started drawing manga.

My motivation to do so was rather strange, however, I wanted to see what a picture of me would look like drawn manga style, since I couldn't find anyone else to do it, I decided I would do it myself O_o.. But now I want to be a professional manga artist for Chirst, someday..


Material
Let's see.. I use mechanical pencils, soft and hard lead. I use Sakura micron pens for frames and backround art, and I'm learning how to use
Manga pens. I have numerous rulers/templates. I have a huge list of professional manga supplies that I would like to buy with my christmas money. I have photoshop, paint shop pro, and a scanner. I can apply tones Via photoshop.

Current Projects
None.. I need one, but something easy. Like a four panel, weekly updated webcomic. I was thinking something along the line of Christian humor,done with chibi-like characters (They are just so much easyer.. and more.. humorous.), but I suck at writing, especially humor. If any writer has an idea like this, please PM or email me at zerofire83@msn.com

Strengths
I have a fair amount of photoshop knowledge, at least three years of experience (not instruction). I have fair understanding of one point perspective and really basic understanding of two and three point.


Weakness
Just about everything else..

Influence
Not sure..


Attachments
I attached a couple of my chibi-like characters, just to show the general style I would like to draw a comic in right now.

The kung fu one is one I did in real preportions. I also made my signature, I used photoshop for everything on it but the person in it.

[jazz]

um, okay. sorry this has taken so long, i don't have my own scanner. so i have to wait for my brother to scan my pictures for me.... um. ha! i could only get one for now.... but that's okay. yes, like i sad.. i have lots of character designs... but no names for any of them. this is one i came up with this summer, the idea at first was that she'd have really long hands and feet, but it didn't end up looking much different than normal..... (did that make sense?).... anyway, if i can ever get others scanned of this character, i will. um... ... yes, that's all for now. suggestions are most welcome!

[Mave]

Welcome aboard, Uriah! I like your style, I've always like the "thick contrast and solid lines" look. My fav is the kungfu one. There used to be quite a number of writers in CAA looking for an artist. <.< >.> Hello?

Jazz, well if you intended for this character to have long arms and legs, I'll say you've succeeded with the arms coz that was what I first noticed in her, body proportion-wise. You just need to lengthen her legs a bit more. May I ask why your characters has such long limbs? ^_^

[jazz]

Jazz, well if you intended for this character to have long arms and legs, I'll say you've succeeded with the arms coz that was what I first noticed in her, body proportion-wise. You just need to lengthen her legs a bit more. May I ask why your characters has such long limbs? ^_^

yay! um, why do they have long limbs you ask?....... well, i don't really know why, i guess i just deciced that i wanted to make a new kind of people, .... and it looked kinda cool. yes, here's another picture of a character that would be from the same race.... the first scan didn't work all that good, but it's enough to give you the general idea. enjoy......

[Chapel]

um, okay. sorry this has taken so long, i don't have my own scanner. so i have to wait for my brother to scan my pictures for me.... um. ha! i could only get one for now.... but that's okay. yes, like i sad.. i have lots of character designs... but no names for any of them. this is one i came up with this summer, the idea at first was that she'd have really long hands and feet, but it didn't end up looking much different than normal..... (did that make sense?).... anyway, if i can ever get others scanned of this character, i will. um... ... yes, that's all for now. suggestions are most welcome!

Hey Jazz I think if you made the legs longer that pic would work very well, in contrast to the arms I think the legs need to be extended a bit. akk hadn't read what Mave said... well same as her... Go Mave great minds and all that. lol.

Hey Uriah Glad to have you aboard. I can't write either But I have been forced to caz My writer went and got himself engaged and is now pre-occupied. Looks like you have some skills though keep working at it.

[Chapel]

That writer was my brother by the way and he's marring methodist PK. Its interesting because my family is non-denominational(sp) Christians so there are some rifts sometimes ins things that we differ in.

chapel

[Chapel]

tried to delete couldn't sorry

[Chapel]

Big news I have recently started a new Web comic that you can find here
http://13hrs.deviantart.com/ It's called 13hrs and It will be full color pages. It will probably be updated pretty slow because it takes alot of work for me. But please check it out I'll put the first cover image here

Chapel

[Uriah]

Cool drawing, Chapel, I don't have time to look into it now, but I'll try to keep up.

I finished this one today.

I think I'v already posted my drawing of the girl a wile ago, but I finished the backround today.

Now, I'm working on a short comic, just for the heck of it. If I keep up with it, I'll probably be done with it in a week or so, I already have the thing storyboarded, it will be about 50 panels, all together. It's nothing serious or anything with a deep storyline, just anime versions of me and two other church friends going after Osoma, metal gear solid style. I just came up with the idea in church, I pratice kung fu, one friend wrestles, and the other boxes, so that's what we'll be doing in the comic.

[uc pseudonym]

I checked it out, Chapel, but would you mind explaining in more detail what it is about?

[Mave]

Ah I smell the scent of new project ideas...

I shall wait and see what Chapel's up to. Very nice cover by the way. ^^ Uriah, hope to see your stuff soon too. I must say that's a lot of screentoning in what you attached.....or maybe, I'm just a lazy artist Keep it up guys! If I have the time....I might post some updates here

[mechana2015]

Well, Mave. Here's another one to sniff around for.

Blood PI
By: Me
Start Date: January 1st, hopefully.
Update schedule: Single pages, updated at least weekly (I hope).
Length: 26 Chapters, anime style (episodic story progression)
Synopsys: Private investigators, vampires, werewolves and monster hunters with a dash of cyberpunk.
Rating: suggested 13 and up for violence (subject to change)

Other: My first manga project... it will fly and it will be finished.

[Uriah]

Ah I smell the scent of new project ideas...

Uriah, hope to see your stuff soon too. I must say that's a lot of screentoning in what you attached.....or maybe, I'm just a lazy artist

Yea, It took a bit of work. My main point in posting this picture was giving an example of what I can do with screentones in photoshop. It's not as nice detail wise, but it's way cheaper and lots easyer.