The amount of comic book content we consume these days is immeasurable. And for weebs, that replaces manga. But, have you ever asked yourself how exactly is a Manga created? What kind of resources do these manga authors use to make these beautiful panels? Well, adhere to all the techniques, tools, devices, and software that are being used to make your favorite manga.
Starting off: The Analog Method
The first step in getting a manga created is the different techniques and approaches employed by different artists or mangaka. With different preferences or choices of tools to get their desired effect.
Most manga artists start off learning how to draw or create comics with paper, pen, and pencil, that is, the analog method largely due to the following reasons:
- Easiest and fastest way to START.
- Making marks, sketching, inking, and composing pages. It’s important to get this feeling.
- Cheapest. Digital tools can be pricey. Better to have a grasp or understanding of what you’re getting into before investing
Analog Toolset: Pencils
To start the basics. Pencils of various types:
- 2H, 4H. “H” for Hard. Higher numbers mean the pencil lead is harder and will make lighter lines.
- 2B, 4B. “B” for Blackness. The pencil is softer and will make darker lines with HB being in the middle of the scale.
- Colored Pencils. Light blue, or non-photo blue. Having the advantage of being nearly invisible to the camera when the page is photographed as part of preparing them to be printed.
Analog Toolset: Pens and Brushes
Another set of commonly used basic tools for authors to get a manga created.
- G-Pens and Crow Quills are some of the commonly used dip pens, with different types of metal nibs that make different types of lines. Artists use different types of pens depending on what’s being drawn (speed lines, facial expressions, etc).
- Fine paint brushes. Good for expressive lines with varying widths or calligraphic strokes, like Goseki Koojima’s work in Lone Wolf and Cub. Also good for filling in black or adding white accents.
- Fountain pens. So they don’t have to dip into a bottle of ink all the time time. Or maybe used brush pens.
Analog Toolset: Ink, Paper and Others
- Ink: Dark dense black with pigment is a general choice for authors to get manga created. White water-based prints like goache help to add sparkles, and accents or just to correct any mistakes.
- Paper: With light blue gridlines to show where the actual printed page will be, and where to need to draw outside. These lines allow for pages/art that bleeds to the edge of the page.
- Heavier watercolor paper of Bristol board: For color art.
- Screentone, or clear adhesive sheets: To create greys or special effects, or to have a quick way to draw a complicated background. They can be laid on the art, and with the excess cut off, or sometimes scraped off for another effect.
Others include Rulers, erasers, and things to dust away eraser dust watercolor or acrylic paints to create pages, etc.
Alternative: Digital Toolset
While analog is cheaper and easier to start off with, it can be a LOT of equipment and supplies to buy. Manga resources are getting expensive but convenient.
Digital on the other hand can be pricey to start with (buying a Computer/Tablet and Software) and the learning curve of getting used to them. But can also be cheaper and easier in some ways like never having to buy ink, paper, or screentone repeatedly. Everything can be used infinitely in the software.
Digital: Devices and Platforms
- Mac or Windows: Accomodatse the popular drawing software.
- Wacom: A popular line of digital drawing tablets. Including those, you can draw directly on the screen.
- Cintiq series: Similar to Wacom drawing tablets.
- Microsoft: Also with surface series of laptops and screens.
- Ipad pro etc.
These devices can be pricey, but you can find lower-cost alternatives from other manufacturers.
Digital Toolset: Software
- Clip Studio Paint
- Adobe Photoshop
- Manga Studio
- PaintTool Sai
- Corel Painter
- OpenCanvas etc
Artists have a lot of choices. They vary as far as what they offer in terms of ease of drawing and tools that are useful to comics creators. Such as the ability to create background effects, lettering, and sound effects.
Digital x Analog x Mangaka
Some artists use a mix of hand-drawn and digital art to get manga created. Drawing the characters and main parts of the page by hand with pen and ink, then scanning it in, and adding digital effects to it, like screen tones, in digital format. These are some good advice before getting your own manga resources.
Some artists use digital art very heavily in their work. Examples are Hiroya Oku (Gantx) and Asano Inio (Dead Dead Demon’s DedededeDestruction). They use digital to create some eye-popping visual effects and tech in their stories.
Natsume Ono (House of Five Leaves) tends to draw and then erases the edges of her lines to create an almost wood-block effect to her lines.
Conclusion
Not all digital yet, but there’s been a large shift toward it. Manga artists use it now more than ever before manga creation while analog faces a major decline. Hope you got to know how manga is created and what kinds of manga resources authors use it make it.
Do you have a preference? Comment down below with your thoughts!
Sources: Tv Tropes, Wikipedia
Also Read: My Hero Academia Season 6: Bakugo proves that he is worthy of One for All
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