In the Star of Malaysia, an aspiring artist writes about his dream of becoming a manga-ka, proving once more that not all “global manga” is American. Actually, this artist, Cikucina, seems to have considered moving to Japan as necessary to the job. And then there’s this:
My work had to be as good as the best manga being produced at the time, with intricate character designs and detailed background.
Finding it too difficult and time-consuming to draw in a similar manner, I gave up.
It was not until much later that I discovered the benchmark I set for my work was not achieved by a single artist but by the artist’s staff.
If I had the opportunity, I’d tell this young man not to give up—there’s plenty of manga being made outside of Japan, and nobody expects you to draw top-quality manga coming out of the chute. You improve by doing. I cringe when I look at some of my early newspaper articles, but with a good editor and lots of experience, my writing improved a lot.
One other piece of advice for any aspiring manga-ka (and this comes from someone with an MFA in studio art): Copying manga is a good way to learn style, but there is no substitute for drawing from life, be it a human figure or a vase of flowers. That’s one problem I have with the how-to-draw manga industry: drawing should come first, manga afterward. Life drawing adds a sureness and solidness that will never come from copying two-dimensional work. That’s why a lot of fan art looks so flimsy. So I would recommend Cikucina take some of the money he’s spending on art books and put it toward a drawing class at the local community college; it could be the best investment he ever makes.
hi! that’s a very enlightening advice that i believe, we all aspiring manga artists in malaysia would very much appreciate it.
however, i believe that cikucina failed to convey a very important thing regarding malaysia’s local manga/anime industry which would have most probably prompted him to think about trying to go overseas to promote his artworks.
in malaysia, our local manga/anime industry isn’t quite supported by the public. most of the local manga magazines here feature typical ‘kampung’ malay jokes, which do not appeal to the public. when i say the word ‘kampung’, i’m referring to the out-dated villages that we have in malaysia, that tends to practice corny jokes. and then there is the fact that the colour they used for the drawings are rather dull and unappealling to the eyes of thr public. furthermore, with the ongrowing japanese animation/manga community here in malaysia, the public are looking towards those type of drawings and storylines as it is not only colourful, different varieties of humour, and the storyplot is not constricted to just one same plot. that is why the only magazine here that seems to be surviving is ‘Gempak’, which feature a few local cartoonist with japanese styled drawings and humour.
although Gempak may be the only magazine that seems to have the appeal but it is lacking in certain sense. for example; cartoonists can send their mangas to Gempak for publicationg, however Gempak will not pay these cartoonist a single cent even if those mangas ARE published in their magazines. this shows that Gempak does not help stimulate the manga/anime industry here. not only that, as observed through time, a whole bunch of talented cartoonists are being drawn abroad with guranteed persuasions of regonition and cash in places such as america or japan.
therfore, you can probably guess why us cartoonists in malaysia are having a tough time. not only, must our style and sense of humour be directed towards the japanese kind of foundation, we also do not gain regonition or any means aspects of profit in malaysia. our local anime/manga community is being hindered by the public’s perception and other misc. factors.
when it comes to drawing classes, our local community colleges do not provide it. you want to be professional in the manga world? then you’ll have to head on to the only 3 specialised art colleges in malaysia, saito college, lim kok wing college, and the one academy a.k.a. toa college. lim kok wing has been the oldest art college here in malaysia, however from heresay the lecturers there do not teach you much stuffs and most of the time, you’re left on your own to self-study art. in toa, the lecturers are good but they will only focus on students that just needs a slight polishing in their art. they never pay attention to the other weaker students unless you directly ask for help. then there is the added amount of homework that is given to you everyday that takes up almost all you sleeping hours… possibly leaving you with only 2 hours of sleep per day before you head back to college again. of course, if you’re really determine to be a cartoonist, these obstacles will not hinder you at all. then there is the marking scheme which is placed rather high, so much so that you have to re-do mosts of you work again. these people here demand perfection. nothing more nothing less. though one of the sidebacks of going to these colleges, are that they demand that you have at least some form of basics in art already.
i’m saying this based on my experience and what i see that’s happening in malaysia here. i do not mean to be prejudice or condemn certain aspects that occurs here. but i do believe that the truth ought to be told as it is. which i hope can give you a clearer picture of the circumstances that are occuring in malaysia.
thank you. and sorry for the erm… long posting! XP
Core,
Thanks for your comments—I learned a lot! I know, first hand, that it’s hard to be an artist, but if you can stand one more piece of advice, here it is: Draw from life every day. It’s nice to have a class and a teacher, but you can draw a bowl of fruit, or the scene outside your window, or the clutter in your room. It’s the exercise and skill you gain, rather than the quality of your image, that count. You could also get together with a few other aspiring artists and pool your money to hire a model (clothed is fine) once a week or so.
As for the local comics market, I can certainly see why people would choose to move elsewhere for their careers. It sounds like the market could be ripe for an entrepreneur to start up a better quality comics magazine, but that of course is risky. Webcomics is another possibility. I’m sure if you keep drawing, you will find a way to get your work in front of the public. Good luck!
Hi Core,
Thanks for that info on the Malaysian fan and pro comic scene! I had no idea it was like that, and was really interesting to read. Is there possibly a way to self publish? Or were you speaking in a strictly professional sense?
I would also like to give some warm support for drawing from life. I’m working my way through an art program right now and constant insistence on drawing from life cannot be understated, but spend more than 30 minutes on some of those studies. Be sure to really study what is going on and spend a few hours on the object. Remember, fast studies and contour drawings have certain benefits, but long drawings are just as important. I was drawing from manga for a few years, but it wasn’t until recently that I started to notice huge improvements in the accuracy of my drawing, and I think this had a great deal to do with it.
Keep at it everyone!
thank you so much to both the administrator of this blog and CC5K for your advices. they’re very meaningful to us malaysians.
CC5K, i’m speaking of it more of a professional sense as many of us would like to see our works be published world-wide and be read by all. XP
on a much more serious note concerning self publishing… the only method which some of the cartoonists here are doing are selling their comics/drawings via through local comic events such as the Gempak event. To date, there are only 4 local anime/manga events in Malaysia that a cartoonist can promote his drawings here. and then there are occassions that the aspiring cartoonists will head down to singapore to attend the anime/manga event there and sell their drawings too.
but… though it may seem as that may be the only place to sell your artworks, it really doesn’t have much impact on promoting a person’s artwork or manga. so far, from what i’ve noticed in these events, the crowd that attends it generally are attracted to really cute drawings or fanart works. original drawings are hardly appreciated unless you’re exceptionally good with it and has the japanese anime/manga feel to it. other than that, the general sales are pretty low. so let’s just say your style is that of a mixture of hunterXhunter and la cirque de karakuri. now as la cirque isn’t really that proportional and hunterXhunter is a bit messy at times, your artwork might not be acknowledge or rather you might not have that much sales. so, there’s really no possible way people might actually recognise you unless you promote your artworks on sites like deviant art or submit your manga to GEMPAK.
Stumbled on this thread while searching for myself. Sorry for being a month late… ;p
Wow, I’m the topic of discussion! Firstly, let me clarify that I’m actually a news reporter by profession now and I’m 30 years old. That experience I wrote about, that was in the 1990s.
Secondly, I could not have gone into detail like Core did, I was limited to a 500 word essay.
Thirdly, I think I’m a better journalist than I am a manga artist. Drawing will always remain a passion for me, but I don’t think I will make a career out of it.
Cikucina,
You’re in good company here. I also wanted to be an artist, and in fact I have two degrees in art, but ultimately I reaized that I write better than I draw.
Anyway, thanks for starting an interesting discussion!
Thanks Brigid, for the welcome. =)
Hehe, I was suppose to start a manga / anime column commentary thingy and that article about mangaka and all was my first article of the series.
I couldn’t commit the time though, because shortly after I wrote that piece, I was caught up with investigating a govt corruption scandal.
Now I’m stuck doing such stories because my bosses liked what I did (and so do the readers, judging from all the emails I have received). Also, since my contacts trust only me, I can’t pass the investigative work to someone else.
I actually find my work as a journalist much more satisfying than drawing manga these days. I mean, drawing will remain a passion and all, but doing my bit to get rid of corruption that’s crippling the country is waaaaaay more satisfying.
Hope ya all have fun with your dreams though! And to the Malaysians aspiring to become manga artists, keep at it. I may not join your ranks, but I will try to make the country a little better so that being a mangaka is a viable career option in the future.
Cheers. =)
I’m Amber.
Well I don’t really have a lot of experience or something.
Though I am a big manga fan.
I just wanted to say that that guys should never give up!
Because that’s where I think is the test!
And once you pass you’ll be rewarded greatly!
Act on your dreams!
…
I just think that we have no hope for comics industry in Malaysia. No company’s willing to invest big cash for this. It started as underground and will remain underground until no one cares anymore…
I agree in a sense. Don’t give up your dream simply because you cant draw the way you like. Work at it, learn the basics, make your own style/designs ans characters. Writing an amazing story doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and nothing looks good the first time you do it. That’s no reason to up and quit, nor is it one to take it so far to a college to try an accomplish your goal.
If you want to draw, DRAW. There’s no need to get down or set impossible goals when you start out. Start simple, learn the basics and move on from there.
There is no right I’d wrong way to tell a story through art, nor is there any single prime example to follow, the industry is still in development stage and has yet to bloom around the world, while there are many amazing artist and stories out there, no one story is the absolute and undisputed best, same with style.
Work at your own pace, do what you want, and eventually, you’ll reach beyond your goal and even further than you’d think possible.
As a fellow artist, and aspiring manga-ka, my advice to you all is to try your best, start slow and work at your own pace. It’s good to draw ideas from others but the best of them comes from, you guessed it, YOU.
Good luck to you, fellow artists!
-trobl