World Famous Comics: How To Draw Manga Volume 39: Creating Stories (How to Draw Manga (Graphic-Sha Numbered))
How To Draw Manga Volume 39: Creating Stories (How to Draw Manga (Graphic-Sha Numbered))
By: Junichi Sugamoto Publisher: Graphic-Sha Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Graphic-Sha Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 140 Publication Date: April 29, 2007
Product Description: Which one comes first, the story or the characters? Without the essential story, the vibrant illustrations at which you have excelled with the aid of the How To Draw Manga series, won't become a manga. It was once true that creating characters was the key element for a manga. Now, even if the illustrations are less than spectacular, the story is the key element. This unique book concentrates on the fundamentals of making a manga.
Okay but far from concise I admit some aspects from the book were helpful but I found it rather dull and not as informative as I had hoped it would be. It barely touches on the visual aspect of manga storytelling which is very different from writing a novel. I think this book is okay but rather lacking. I found Scott McCloud's Making Comics book to be far more helpful than this volume in the how to draw Manga series.
Great I am very intrigued by what this author has to say about the creation of your character's (and nemesis') personalities. Basically, to make an original character, it should be your alter ego of your strengths, and the reverse goes for the nemesis. It goes into how to make fully rounded protagonists, antagonists, supporting casts, sidekicks, love interests, and how to make a good story based on page amount and how likely a novice artist will be hired.
I'm very impressed that the book has so much to say, as opposed to just look at. It really explains what it covers well, which the HTDM series sometimes falls flat at.
Just to let you know, a great companion for this book is "HTDM: Amazing Effects", it covers panels and getting published as well, but far more in depth ;D
An ok creating stories guide I was very excited when I finally got this book in a couple of weeks ago, when I saw the cover, I just knew this book would be awesome! But when I opened the book, I was a little disappointed. Unlike the other creating stories manga book I own by Mako itsuki, this had very little illustrations in it with lots and lots of text. Which is fine if you like that sort of thing, but since I have a short attention span, I need something that can keep me interested. This book isn't like Mako, her book reads more like a manga, this doesn't; It also have little snippets of other works from preveious manga artist's form various HTDM books, which I found to be a little annoying. Well let's get down to discussing this book shall we? This book basically covers the key fundamentals of creating the perfect manga story. It elaborates on how you should go about drawing the characters, the steps to brainstorming your story, The concepts and the panel layout, and the different genre to choose from when writing for your manga as well as the artwork production. Don't get me wrong, this book is actually packed full of very useful information, despite it's lack of creativeness in pictures. This book pretty much has it all from the protagonist to antagonist, to everything in between! This book also explains that if you wish to do a manga based on historical facts, even though you are putting in your own twist and humor, you need to get all the facts straight. All in all, I would rate this book a 4 for those who can really use this book for it's contents, I rated it a 3 since it isn't everything I expected it to be. I would definitely recommend this book for any beginner-advanced manga-ka out there. It will really help you guys out when you are perplexed when it comes down to how you should go about designing your characters based on their personna, looks, and role. I don't recommend this book if you are hoping this book will be similar to Mako itsuki's "Creating stories" book, you will be sorely disappointed. If you are looking for a book that teaches you about writing stories, then i recommend Shoujo manga techniques "writing stories: by Mako itsuki", that one explains the writing process just like the one by Junichi, and Shoujo manga techniques "drawing basics: by Hirono Tsubasa" is basically the companion to the first book I recommended. Other than that, buy this book, if all the info on the book apply to you. It will be a great advancement tool to add to your HTDM arsenal.
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