🧵 A Mega thread about making manga. I'll be including links to...

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🧵 A Mega thread about making manga. I'll be including links to resources and examples as needed below. PLEASE feel free to add your own or ask questions: Let's GO.

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1/xx: There is no one thing that defines what manga is or is not, especially in the indie/doujin spaces. Every circle is a little different, so bear in mind none of these are rules, just guidelines! The only stupid question is the one you don't ask (cause you never get an answer)

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2/xx: Let's start with Paneling, ie: Komawari. It's a bit different than western comics, but a lot of what I'm about to show can also apply to western comics or manga-inspired comics. It's the essence of panel flow in manga. So how does it work?

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3/xx: Most manga is made up of either Sandangumi (2x3) or Yondangumi (2x4). One could argue that yondangumi is a variation of yonkoma, but that's not a debate for today. aha 2x4 grids tend to be associated with older manga, like 2000s and older. 2x3 are more modern usually.

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4/xx: 4Koma or yonkoma are typically 1x4, but you can see them with 2 rows of 1x4 on a page. These are read with the first column top to bottom and then the second column top to bottom. Make sure to know which you are looking at!

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5/xx: There are "basic" panel layouts like you would see in western comics, and all layouts stem from these original 6, just with more panels on them. But what about... panel limits? How do you know how many to use for any given situation?

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6/xx: This brings us to a concept called "Rough" and "Dense" pages (and sizes of panels.) Rough = Fewer, larger panels. Larger panels generally take more time for the eye to scan, then slow down time and are great for impactful moments!

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7/xx: Dense pages have more panels, but you CAN have too many. Generally, whatever grid you use you should consider your "upper limit". 2x4 = 8panel limit and 2x3 = 6panel limit. You can do, honestly, whatever you like, but if your panels get too small, they may be unreadable.

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8/xx: There are lots of common panel types that you'll run into. A lot of these have western equivalents. These are the basics, so let's look into them!

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9/xx: Nanamegoma are are equal to oblique or diagonal panels in the west. These are great for channeling action, funneling energy, or creating a power imbalance in characters in a visual sense. These have non-90' angles and are marked in green below.

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10/xx: Massugugoma are the opposite and are alike to static or strict panels. These don't have to be boring, but can be livened up with dynamic action inside (YashaHime) or creative staggering and breakout panels (where art is outside the panel) like this Fushigi Yuugi page.

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11/xx: Additionally, The page turn set up is vital. I STRONGLY suggest you plan your pages in 2-pg spreads, it helps you plan hikigoma and mekurigoma better. Hikigoma refers to the last panel of a two page spread and mekurigoma refers to the first panel of the new 2pg spread Ex>>

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12/xx: In this spread from JJK, you can see the action is stopped, metaphorically (reading direction RtL) and literally (enemies) in the mekurigoma. Using the movement, the reading flow/action of the scene is redirected and leads perfectly into a new spread through the hikigoma.

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13/xx: Reading direction is incredibly important as you need to understand the psychological pull it has on the reader. In the west, usually: LtR - progress. Characters face TO THE RIGHT to insinuate progress, plot moving on, and good. Bad guys move literally in opposition, RtL.

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14/xx: You see this in film and animation all the time, though you can break this rule if given a good enough reason. The 180 rule can ALSO be broken at will if for a good enough reason. These are "Visual Narrative" concepts, which I wrote more about here: globalcomix.com/news/details/2…

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15/xx: Moving on, here's an example of Naname/Massugu/Page turn working together.
1: Menos beats up Aros. He's facing left to right, as he stopped Aros's mission. My Hikigoma is Ren drawing her bow to alert the reader someone is there! She fires and Menos stops, alarmed.

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2: Ren also faces left to right, she's a bad guy, and stops time for a moment as she talks to Menos, almost mocking him.
3. Menos has that 4th panel all to himself, but Ren invades his space w/ the breakout panel and grows closer to the reader in each panel on this page.

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17/xx: This is to say you should plan your layouts with the reader's reaction in mind. A good comic or manga manipulates the reader and they don't even know it, which I spoke about a lot in this thread earlier this month:
x.com/artcrumbss/sta…

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18/xx: Moving on, the concept of "Ma" is listening quietly to a conversation, not preparing your answer as you listen. After they finish, then you consider your response, and reply. In western culture, we are quick to respond without this "ma", but it's everywhere in manga!

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19/xx: My favorite fight in manga is Jin and Yusuke in the Dark tournament in YuYu Hakusho. I've broken down the page here for your enjoyment, but you can see how nanamegoma, ma, massugugoma, and a new panel type called Misegoma work together to build tension.

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20/xx: Misegoma are the most important moment in a spread, the focus. It could be action OR information. (Spoiler EX) In YashaHime, Towa and Setsuna are "ashamed" of their "intense" eyes. Kohaku tells them to be proud, their father, a daiyoukai gave them their eyes. (More coming)

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21/xx: Here's some resources on paneling and Komawari before I dig into more concepts like Margins and stuff.
I've made into YouTube Videos that go into all the above with more detail. In the description are even more resources!
Komawari 1:

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22/xx: Komawari 2:

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23/xx: The specific width of the gutters varies by mangaka, but the gutters side-by-side are usually thinner and top-to-bottom are wider. In western comics, gutters tend to be the same width, but can vary by creative team too. Go ahead, check your favorite manga!

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24/xx: Margins! Everyone's favorite and something I see more people using incorrectly. This is another reason why it's super helpful to work in a 2pg spread. Similar to comics, manga has margins and areas you use for specific things in managing files.

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25/xx: You want to be mindful of where your panels end. Typically panels will end at the Hanmen/safe area line or go all the way past the bleed. The only real exception is the nodo area, which is the gutter in the middle along the spine.

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26/xx: You can actually see that part about the nodo in action when you look at a lot of manga. If you look at the top, you can see where the art ends! This also varies by mangaka. The top book there is Witch Hat Atelier #1! (follow them on Twitter, so wholesome @shirahamakamome)

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27/xx: SPEAKING OF Witch Hat, this video does a really indepth discussion on the unique paneling of WHA, I strongly recommend it! It's one of my favorite videos on the topic. youtube.com/watch?v=GDQrr9…

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28/xx: If you use the Shueisha Template A in CSP (I do), you'll see this extra (green) line in your template. That is your "safety margin" and it's a "second safe area" to put it simply. When something like manga goes between two different print formats (tankoubon and magazine) +

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29/xx: it's frustrating to adjust artwork between print runs. To avoid this, manga margins often include this extra line (in green here) to be your cue for the end of ANY ARTWORK that you don't want cut. There's a great guide to this here: tips.clip-studio.com/en-us/articles…

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30/xx: Moving on to actual art techniques, lineart and hatching are often the bane of artists. Lots to learn. Things like Hatching (kakeami) will be helpful to learn. Here's an article with extra resources I wrote here: globalcomix.com/news/details/2…

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31/xx: A great book about lighting and inking is Framed Ink series:
Framed ink 1: goodreads.com/en/book/show/8…
Framed Ink 2: amazon.com/Framed-Ink-For…

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32/xx: Proko Also has a wonderful video on this: youtube.com/watch?v=bNjkPM…
Study Kakeami here too: youtube.com/watch?v=JnuqoX…

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33/xx: I'll also list this YouTube playlist by the @t_nametank Youtube Channel. It's been probably the single most helpful resource in learning about manga as a self study. There are subtitles and manga senpai is so wholesome/fun to watch.
youtube.com/watch?v=fTX_Yv…

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34/xx: I COULD talk about lettering for manga, but that's not exactly my expertise (I letter western comics lol). If anyone would like to contribute information about that, let me know, I'll add it or I'd love to share your thread/resources as a reply if you have one!

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If I missed any topic you want to know more about, please ask it. The only stupid question is the one that you don't ask because then, you'll never get an answer! 
Thank you for reading, I look forward to your questions.

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Wanna see all this advice in action? Check out my manga Godsbane! I've got a pilot of two chapters available here while I'm still working on the final pages: globalcomix.com/c/godsbane-/ch…

🧵 A Mega thread about making manga. I'll be including links to...

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