1. You can Follow Many Manga Artists on Social Media
Some of them share hand drawn art on their social media accounts.
Here are some manga artists who have social media accounts you can follow:
Maashi Kishimoto, the author of NARUTO: https://www.instagram.com/masasikishi/
Akira Toriyama, the author of Dragon Ball series: https://www.instagram.com/akira.toriyama/Yusuke Murata, the author of One Punch Man: https://twitter.com/NEBU_KURO?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
2. Most manga artists work with an editor.
Manga projects are teamwork made by a team of an editor and the manga artist (and the help of assistants). It all starts with the editor and the manga artists having a meeting about the next project. Throughout the process, the editor and the manga artists keep having many exchanges, usually consisting of the manga artist sharing his or her idea, and the editor making comments on what to change.
3. Many manga starts out on weekly or monthly comic book magazines.
For example, popular series like One piece, dragon ball series, NARUTO were first featured in weekly magazine, Shonen Jump, where authors submit one episode per week.
4. Many manga artists have assistants.
Those artists who work for weekly magazine publishers are having to pump out content at a very high rate, so they need assistants to help them.
Assistants usually help by drawing the backgrounds, coloring in black parts, adding shading, and more. Sometimes, assistants have to spend nights to complete the projects.
5. Most manga artists work from home.
In order to come up with new ideas, and to depict the subject accurately, manga artists must do research. This can be done online, but some artists take a trip and interview people to do their research. Research is an especially crucial part of educational manga projects.
6. About 75% of manga artists converted their workflow to digital.
Manga artists used to draw on physical paper to create their work.
Today, manga artists have three options: traditional way, digital way, and the combination of the two. About 75% of professional artists have completely converted to digital workflow.
Drawing the art digitally helps some artists cut down on cost and time.
7. Manga artists tend to live unhealthy lifestyles.
Since many manga artists work for weekly and monthly magazine publishers, they must work long hours to meet their deadline. Even with the help of assistants, they tend not to leave their desk most of the time, and only leave the desk to eat and bathe. Some of them work for over 20 hours a day at the desk drawing.
8. Manga artists do researches.
In order to come up with new ideas, and to depict the subject accurately, manga artists must do research. This can be done online, but some artists take a trip and interview people to do their research. Research is an especially crucial part of educational manga projects.
9. Many publishing companies host Newcomer’s Awards contests.
One of the ways manga artists get their job is by submitting for the publisher’s newcomer’s awards contests. The purpose of the contest is to find a new talented artist to recruit.
10. Manga Artists are called “sensei.”
Just like martial arts teachers, the title for Manga artists is 先生 (sensei). They are typically called by Last name + First name + sensei (i.e. 岸本斉史先生, Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, for the author of popular anime series, NARUTO), or last name + sensei.
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