Quote:
Originally Posted by typing
I know I'm resurecting this post from the dead but.
I fiund an interesting statistic from my friend who works at Jump Comics (just as a secretary but still)
She says that in Japan alone a person has only a 0.001% chance of being able to become a real "Manga Artist" (That means being able to live off their manga earnings for more then 5 years) thats one in 100,000.
These .001 are your death notes, your narutos, your Monsters and Spirited Aways. Frankly unless you can come up with the originality of Miyazaki, or the sheer dedicative girth of Inu Yasha you're just one of the many thousands.
The rest? Well a lot of them do get published. Some only go as far as self publishing doujinshi's (which just means self published comics, not neccisarily fancomics) but they'd need to work second jobs, they're not rolling in the cash.
anyway. Just some interesting numbers
Kinda makes you depressed ne? definetly not a job you can get into unless you love it.
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I made an account just so I could respond to this thread. I honestly do not know the answer to the question at the beginning of the thread (though I have a sort of ballpark jiff of it) but I think enough knowledgable people answered it so I'm just going to put in my input about being a mangaka.
My goal is to become a mangaka. I don't want to have to move to Japan to become one. I plan to stay in the US although there is only one company manga publisher here that I know of that publishes original American works. There is only one art college that I know of in the US that offers a manga class. My parents and visual arts academy teachers have no idea about my goal and I have a feeling they won't be very supportive.
Despite all that I'm willing to take a chance and work hard to become a good mangaka. I practically grew up on manga. Before manga became really popular in the US I was already an otaku. When I was just a little kid I had already developed a very critical taste of manga and was very picky about what manga was considered good. More than a decade has passed since my obsession started and I still
love manga.
I've read so much manga I started to think in manga. I dreamed up my own characters along with their own stories many years ago that even now they still pester me in my mind and will. Not. Shut. Up. But it's alright, because they've become so
real to me I've come to love them like family. I'm not saying I have hallucinations about them -_-; . I just really love them. You can call me crazy. I don't care.
All I care about is that I can share them with others.
I'm currently a student of a visual and performing arts academy in the visual arts strand. I've taken drawing, architecture, graphic design, and animation classes amongst other visual art classes. I've been told I have talent and a good sense of perspective and color. I've been drawing manga since I was little and I think I can say I draw manga better than most people though there is still a lot I have to learn. It's fine because I'm willing to work hard to learn what skills I'm missing.
I'm willing to take a second job so I can become a mangaka. My sister is writing the first few manga stories I'm going to draw so I can gain some experience and exposure. She has been complimented on her writing a lot from her college professor, high school teachers, and my father (who by the way has very high standards). I think she and I will make a good team until I can finally stand on my own.
Every year my academy sends all the visual arts students to National Portfolio Day so we can have a chance to get feedback from big art colleges and universities, and sometimes some students get their portfolio accepted which means they're been accepted into their school. I plan to check out the one art college I know that holds manga classes and hopefully get accepted.
I'm aware the chances of making it big is slim especially in the US, but I'm willing to take a chance. I have so manga stories with so manga unique and colorful characters. All I want is a chance to share them and let others know them as I know them.
If anyone has any advice or a place or person they could refer me to that could help by all means please let me know.
Thanks for reading. Wish me luck.
OH! I almost forgot. If you're like me, an aspiring mangaka, I advice you to read Bokuman. It's a manga that describes how to get into the manga business and how to get popular. It's very informative while still very entertaining. Even if you're not looking into becoming a mangaka this manga is still a good read.