Online Communities for Aspiring Manga Creators

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Updated: 3/27/2020

After writing about some classes for aspiring manga creators (Manga Courses for Aspiring Manga Creators), I got some emails about communities for aspiring manga creators. Here are a few communities to explore.

 

Manga Raiders (http://www.mangaraiders.com/): This forum-based community gives manga artists and writers a positive atmosphere to share their work “without having to face unnecessarily rude and disrespectful criticism on their work”.

Manga Workshop (http://mangaworkshop.net/): This forum website is for amateur manga writers and artists. It provides a directory of artists and collaborations.

 

DeviantArt (http://www.deviantart.com): If you’re not already on DeviantArt with your work, get on it! This is one of the hottest spots to share your art, get feedback from fellow artists, and find resources.

Manga Writers and Artist Creators Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/mangawriters/): Here’s another social media-based group for manga writers and artists. Join for free and try it!

Skillshare (http://www.skillshare.com): Want to see what other artists are learning? Take an online class or watch tutorial videos to perfect your art.

We Make Manga (http://www.wemakemanga.com/home): Take manga classes offered through University of Southern California and add in the internet and a group of artists, and you’ve got yourself a community of manga creators! Read useful and relevant articles and interviews, and look at the original art by students.

If there are any online communities I have missed, please comment below!

Screentones for Manga Artists Outside of Japan

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Screentones for Manga Artists Outside of Japan

“Where do you get screen tones if you’re outside of Japan?” 

If you want to make manga the traditional way by cutting screentones and applying them directly to your drawings, you can find some online, but they’ll be a bit pricey. It’s better to go to a Japanese district if you’re near one and find a bookstore. Otherwise, you can go online and order them.

If you’re more of a digital artist, you can use a computer program to make the screentones. The most common programs are Clip Studio Paint ($49.99) and Photoshop ($699). (If you go to an anime convention, you might see a booth selling Manga Studio with discounted versions available. If you don’t have this program and you’re on a time crunch, just download the trial versions.) You can also download  free screentone packs from other artists like the Screentone Society on Deviant ArtAshura’s Screentone Depot, OrneryJen’s screentone page, Psychobob’s screentones (password: psychobob), Shounen Ai Go’s screentones (old), or Jason Tucker’s “Screentones” page. The only bad side to using purely digital screentones in manga is that sometimes the tone looks too digital, too clean. Some ways to get around that is to scan a few physical screentones and use them when the manga looks off after toning.

Here’s a video on how to do digital screentoning on Photoshop (new and old versions of Photoshop are applicable):

If you want the best of both worlds–the traditional way of making manga with the digital ease–you can print screentones on transparent paper and apply them to the physical manga. You can also scan the physical screentone to your computer, define a block of it as a pattern in Photoshop, and use it (Edit>Fill>Pattern) after selecting the area you want toned.

If you’re skilled with a pen, you can also use carefully planned hatchbacking and pointillism, but it won’t look so professional (just more artsy).

Hope this helps with your manga dreams!

Also, please read former Prince of Tennis manga assistant Jamie Lynn Lano’s (http://www.jamieism.com) posts and theshazerin’s (http://theshazerin.deviantart.com/) post about manga supplies.

Need more inspiration? Check out these manga with Renta! that use many different screentones, but really pay attention to the softer tones!

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Check out Renta! manga for screentone inspiration!

Bonus

If you don’t know how to apply traditional screentones to your manga, here’s a tutorial from Manga University.

 

If you’re looking for pens to ink your manga that will suit your budget, please read this post (Manga Pens for Manga Artists Outside Japan) comparing Japanese manga pens and their prices from online shops.