Monthly Archives: July 2012

Weekly Artist Post: If I were 12 Again

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If I could go back in time when I was 12, what would I teach my younger self?

It’s an interesting matter to think about… When I was 12 it was the year 1994 and I was into comics (I’ve been drawing comics since I was born I think!). If I’m not mistaken I was into some fandom, probably more than one… but I bet it was my “Dragon Quest (Dai no daibouken)” era… -in my country it was called “Fly“. So yes, I used to read manga (which was very difficult to find those times where I used to live…), and watch anime on TV. NO INTERNET! So the only influences I had were through that media. Not so handy as Internet but anyways… I think everything was quite more magical than now, availability makes thing easier but less beautiful.

I used to draw stories, comics and drawings, mostly fanart and I loved to create new characters and make them deal with the original ones from the series. I hadn’t any original story then… But I hadn’t any pressure but the joy of drawing itself. So it was fun! And not having internet, nor a computer can be counted as a good thing… Good thing because I wasn’t “corrupted” by almost anything or anyone. Good think because I had to improve my traditional skills everyday (I think I haven’t done anything traditional in years……). The bad thing: no feedback (which makes you improve); no references (which is always useful in case of need). No Ctrl+z xD

So if my 30 year old self had the chance to give some advice to my 12 year old one I would tell myself…

-Enjoy the moment! Enjoy the fact of being able to draw with no pressure (no for money, not in search for work….). You’re a child, there’s no need to worry.

-Draw always, even while sleeping. Practice will build the basis of a good artist, in the future.

-Be ready for new technologies… And all the good and bad things they bring.

I don’t think I would tell me anything about tecniques, maybe just “try to draw more backgrounds xD You’ll be grateful when you’re 30….”, but I think, except that point, the rest can be learnt by practicing -my main advice.

Really, I wouldn’t like to face my younger one… but well, this is what I would tell myself, in any case.

 

 

Ninona

About Ninona

Hello! I'm a freelance illustrator and comic artist from Barcelona who enjoys (needs) coffee. My current comic is the steampunk inspired Badirfilay.

Thought for the Week: Character Design with a Video Game

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Video game companies are known to develop art styles to fit their specific gameplay needs. In Valve Software’s upcoming game, Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2), 10 or more game characters can be on screen at any single moment, such that players need to easily identify both allies and enemies to be able to enjoy this action game. Recently the company released a character art guide that outlines their design decisions to solve this challenge.

Valve’s DotA 2 is a video game with a distinct art style.

A character’s distinct look starts with its shape. The silhouette must be easily identifiable and show something about the character’s personality. Do not forget to include accessories such as items, weapons and pets.

Next would be the range of a character’s lightness and darkness – called value. The guide suggests that character’s feet are the darkest while the head and uppermost parts the lightest. In my opinion it depends on the overall style of the comics. The important thing in this part is to capture the three-dimensional aspects of the characters.

The guide continues on about color and color schemes. I would love to babble more but showing you to the guide itself would be so much better!

1.  Character Art Guide PDF file

The PDF file which discusses techniques to make characters easily identifiable. This was written for 3D modelers but some parts can be easily applied to anyone doing character design.

2. Tales from the Secret Shop ”Are We Heroes Yet?”

Oh, by the way there is also a 48-paged comics about the lore of the game. Sweet!

~

I hope you find this guide as a fun reference for all of you!

 

powil

About powil

Hi, I'm a community manager at Mangamagazine.net

Thought for the Week: Comics are Art, aren’t they?

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Mass Effect 3 is part of a video game series recently criticized by its fans for having a bad ending. The companies behind the game (Bioware and EA) promised to take action and a few weeks ago, they released an “extended cut” installment to the game which in my opinion changed the ending significantly.

How similar is the art of game making with the art of comics making?

Games are yet to be established as Art. The decision to change the ending suggests that Mass Effect is not Art, but a commercial product. If it was Art, Bioware and EA would have said something like: sorry fans, we will learn from this and make a better game next time but no, we are not releasing another version of the ending.

I wonder if all comics that thrive on the internet share a similar situation. Printed comics have not yet been given a place in all Art circles and its little brother webcomics has even further to go. If readers want to change something in the story, should authors comply?

Consumers of fiction and non-fiction media are more connected now through the internet. Gone are the days of raging in isolation over a comic book with a bad ending. Today, readers may present their complaints at the authors’ virtual front doors. And if there is significant money at stake and especially if the artists’ livelihood is affected, reader’s will get the revision they want. If not, at least there will be an attempt to address their concerns.

Technology allows readers to connect with authors closer than ever. More importantly readers are able to communicate with other readers as well. Whatever the reaction is about anything, it is being multiplied by knowing somebody else shares similar sentiments and can chime in on your complaints.

A very popular comic recently had a very bad ending, and the internet is raging about it. Is it still relevant in today’s age to defend artistic integrity and not change the ending or is it better to update the work based on reader feedback?

 

powil

About powil

Hi, I'm a community manager at Mangamagazine.net

Weekly Artist Post: When We Were 12

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Panda’s POV:

If I could go back in time when I was 12, what would I teach my younger self?

Going back to my early 12… Let’s do it. It is 1991… That year I discovered roleplaying games and started playing. In fact, that was the reason I started writing. I wanted to make my own stories and characters… and the games allowed me to do it. The part that I enjoyed the most was storytelling. Storytelling became part of my life. I was daydreaming most of the time, daydreaming about the next story I wanted to tell…

But, returning to the main question… What would I teach my younger self? Try again. Rise and rise again, no mather how many times you fall. Work, work hard, because there are no shortcuts to success and there is only one way, hard work. Make yourself strong, because some people are cruel and will make fun of whatever you write. Make up your mind and taste every drop of life, because it is precious. Every single beat of heart has it’s own story. Remember it, learn about it, write about it. Never let anybody tell you your stories are a waste of time. Some day a lot of people will read them, and will have fun with them. And you will be proud.

A page from Pandapon Studio's Midnight Hunters

 

Kamapon,’s POV:

Well, actually, when I was around 12….I started being interested in becoming a professional. I was still in school, and I was a super fan of Dragon Ball. Also, my older brother gave me Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theatre. My first manga, “Underworld” was of course, pretty N00b and strongly influenced by Toriyama’s style but it was my base and my point of departure in this long journey.

I’d have told my 12 years old me that I should persevere, that  I should keep trying harder, because, of course, my goal was not really getting involved with publishers and deadlines….I assumed everything was easy and nice, and of course, I had to study…so I simply kept drawing… but always copying someone’s style… Dragon ball, Slayers, Digimon, Berserk…. my drawings changed depending on what manga I was reading at the time…or what anime I was watching. And that was my mistake, too. Seeing things as I see them now…

I’d tell my younger self to concentrate and develop my own style, too. It’s very important to get youw own style of drawing, something that everybody can say it’s yours and only yours when they see it :)

I’d tell myself to study a little anatomy, too, and more importantly, to do backgrounds…

I wish I could tell my 12 years old self that…*sighs*

 

Pandapon

About Pandapon

Panda writes, Kamapon draws. We are Pandapon Studio! We're guilty and completely responsible for the manga Midnight Hunters .

Weekly Artist Post: Time machine

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When I was 12, I had just been exposed to digital art after having first visited the magical paradise that is the internet. Digital art was amazing and convenient all at the same time to mini me, who had lived all of my prior art life with pens and coloured pencils. Soon after, I obtained my first tablet and my digital art spree started from there. I think throughout my first years with digital art, I had nothing in mind except to have fun, and be able to just crap out pretty pictures for my own indulgence. Great times were had, but on the flip side, I didn’t really learn anything art related properly. All I did was drawing the same type of pictures over and over again, pretty girls, sparkles and flowers and dodge and burn everywhere without the slightest clue about what on earth composition or anatomy or colour theory could possibly mean.

Not that I think I would have cared anyway, if I found out about them; I just wanted to enjoy myself and I wasn’t going to start practicing for a hobby. I already had to do that for piano so my laziness told me I wasn’t going to practice for art. But man do I pay a dear price now for that negligence since I’m a full time freelance artist! I’m not the type of person to dwell on what I could have done in the past as everything I have done would’ve contributed in one way or another to my accomplishment today and I would not change it. But if I could go back in time when I was 12, I probably would have had a lot to say to myself still, so that I have better foundations to stand on today.

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I would have told myself to read a lot more manga/comics, or just read manga/comics, period. I’ve had a lot of surprised reactions from people about the fact that despite running my own manga series–one with style clearly derived from Japanese comics–I don’t actually read manga. I think I’ve read a grand total of about 5 complete series over my entire life, plus 2 or 3 mangas that I only read a few chapters of. This is even less for anime, movies and general television franchise. I am certain I miss out on a lot of essential knowledge about manga–or even comics–from this alone, which is significant damage for me since I don’t have education background to back me up either. As a music graduate, I realize now the importance of repertoire and environment. Even if I don’t consciously study each piece of work I come across, having come across countless works would have taught me a lot of the living, breathing life of what makes natural manga/comics.

I would have also told myself to draw a lot more sequential art rather than illustrations, whether or not it will eventually amount to a meaningful story. I have learned so much from drawing comic pages alone, having fun in the process since I cared about my stories, than illustrations because it forces me to do so many things I would otherwise never do. Maybe I would have willingly recognized the importance of understanding the basics of art a little sooner through this, without the need to force myself into practicing, and built myself a better foundation for drawing later on.

Still, even if my 12-year-old self refused to listen to these advices, I don’t think there would be any problems. What fun is life without things for you to take your time and figure out on your own? This is always what made drawing enjoyable for me, and if I have to take twice the time getting to a certain skill level because I didn’t know any better, all I would hope for would be enough time in my life for me to enjoy the most of this process (:

About Shilin

A freelance illustrator and sequential artist who focuses on the creation of her original manga series, Carciphona!