The general thread for Manga / manga-styled comic-making, manga-style illustration and related comic work. That said, everyone is welcome here.

Support each other and talk about your work or the work of others that excites you. Inking, character design, paneling / layout, writing, planning, and other discussions are all welcome.
Post resources, questions, in-progress pages, breakdowns of other works, etc. If a work is not yours, credit the maker (unless it's fucking obvious like a full page of One Piece or something).
Thanks to everyone for making /mmg/ a level-headed and helpful place. Remember, drawing and making comics and manga are difficult endeavors, and we're all in this struggle together.

Previous thread: >>7583884

Some resources:
/asg/, our stylistic sister-thread series for those focused more on illustration >>>/ic/asg

Books:
Understanding Comics
https://e-hentai.org/g/2042453/83e7da6ed0/
Making Comics
https://annas-archive.org/md5/d55168f7579c1e23275d1fc9f0a2255d
Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga
https://annas-archive.org/md5/2877da11e2f852d220853e9944e6ea49
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
https://archive.org/details/RobertMcKeeStorypdf/
Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga
https://kupdf.net/download/even-a-monkey-can-draw-manga_58b9ca16e12e89233badd376_pdf
The Shonen Jump Guide to Making Manga
https://mega.nz/file/i81imLpI#GcheJ9Jjk3lw1RE9nQWgL4RG4wEBNOcRmgA-iaU6Wpg

Videos:
"Manga Senpai/Tokyo Name Tank", "SMAC! THE SILENT MANGA AUDITION COMMUNITY"
Habanero Scans: https://www.dailymotion.com/HabaneroScans/videos
Full MANBEN Series link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0GiIM_rGEGPjTGQ4HadH4eizLu5E49Tz&si=gpRcOXt_H1l3shNF [Note: Videos appear to be taken down at the moment - check Habanero]
Urasawa Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkIFOAoFm47XOAlJwTa6Ieg/videos

OP image is from Senpai ga Urusai Kouhai no Hanashi Chapter 233

>>7591226 (OP)
Some western / indie publishers of Manga:

Saturday AM ( https://www.saturday-am.com/ )
> Digital indie magazine, seems to be on the up-and-up
> Open submissions for long-form series; also distributes series currently being published elsewhere.
> Regularly publishes one-shots, making it a good potential outlet for already-finished work.

Oni Press ( https://onipress.com/ )
> Technically indie, but at this point large enough by comic standards to be mentioned in the same breath as other publishers.

Antarctic Press ( https://antarctic-press.myshopify.com/ )
> Longtime large-indie publisher of OEL / manga-esque books.
> Seemingly taking submissions at present if http://www.antarctic-press.com/html/submissions.php is anything to go on.

Yen Press ( https://yenpress.com/ )
> Started out as a small indie publisher of original / Korean material, and has grown reasonably popular since.
> As of 2016, it is also one of the western arms of the Kadokawa Corporation, with Kadokawa owning a 51% stake.
> Editorial inquiries can apparently be sent to yenpress@yenpress.com, however, they apparently are not open to new submissions at this time.

Viz Media / Viz Originals ( https://www.viz.com/originals )
> *The* western manga publisher.
> Currently in the exploratory stages of setting up an English label.
> Submissions are open and several books have been announced. However, progress on the label seems to be moving very slowly.
> Still might be worth a shot anyway.

Shrine Comics ( https://shrinecomics.com/ )
> Small indie manga publisher
> Seemingly attempting to make the transition to physical volumes
> Allows crossposting to other sites

Iconic Comics (https://www.iconiccomics.com/)
>A bit like Oni Press and Antarctic Press
>A small publisher with a focus on indie works with manga inspiration

>>7591227
Other open comic publishers:

Dark Horse ( https://www.darkhorse.com )
>Dark Horse still welcomes your submissions, and all submissions will still be reviewed, just as they always have been.
>All unsolicited story/series proposals must have a full creative team on board. Writer-only proposals will not be reviewed.

Image comics ( https://imagecomics.com/ )
>Image Comics only publishes creator-owned material. They do not contract creators; they’re only interested in publishing original content for which you would retain all rights.
>Image Comics publishes creator-owned/creator-generated properties and THEY DON’T PAY PAGE RATES. Image takes a small flat fee off the books published, and it will be the responsibility of the creators to determine the division of the remaining pay between their creative team members.

Drawn and quarterly ( https://drawnandquarterly.com/ )
>Please email a low resolution PDF with at least 20 pages of comics and cover letter to submissions. Do not send dropbox links, scripts, or proposals. Please read our submissions FAQ.

Fantagraphics ( https://www.fantagraphics.com/ )
>submission page: https://www.fantagraphics.com/pages/faq

Top Shelf Productions ( https://www.topshelfcomix.com/ )
>Regarding submissions, we're easy. Just email us a download link of what you'd like us to review. NOTE: We cannot accept cover letters, plot synopses, or scripts unless they are accompanied by a minimum of 10-20 completed pages (i.e., fully inked and lettered comic book pages).

Additional publisher lists:
> https://jasonthibault.com/definitive-list-comic-publisher-submission-guidelines/
> https://writingtipsoasis.com/best-independent-comic-book-publishers/

>>7591228
Current Contests:

Webtoons 2025 Contest:
https://www.webtoons.com/en/notice/detail?noticeNo=3321 [may have ended, "ends in May 2025" wasn't very clear]

/mmg/'s very own anon-led anthology: /ic/onography
https://discord.gg/QYnFBves7V
https://forms.gle/d3a2Cwwd44sJYyqv9
(Anthology project is defunct but the discord is alive)

Additional community added Resources:
Mangafonts: https://mangafonts.carrd.co/
Hiro Mashima YT: https://www.youtube.com/@mashimaCh/videos
Ganmo, a job listing board for manga assistant work: https://ganmo.j-comi.co.jp/posts

How (You) can help /mmg/:

> Know about a contest or a publishing opportunity? TAG THE OP and post a link.
> Have a new resource? TAG THE OP and link / mention it for inclusion.
> Don't be a crab
> Have a link / DL for a mentioned resource? TAG THE OP and mention what you're supplying a link for.
> SCREENSHOT / PASTEBIN effort posts that help you for posterity.

first

>>7591446
I was lurking for 2 and a half hours

Howie gang ww@

It's more fun to talk about manga than drawing. Can't wait for A.I. to advance until I can feed art styles into it to draw my story.

>>7591507
It's not my fault I have no good ideas I like. I mean I have some, but making manga needs a buttload of good ideas which all fit together.

>>7591226 (OP)
why do people still want to become a mangaka in japan?
their financial condition has been a dead man walking for decades
soon they will crash and become the next greece

>>7591226 (OP)
>https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2025-05-14/shueisha-reveals-details-for-2025-seinen-manga-newcomer-award/.224436
Why haven't you submitted your masterpiece yet, anon-kun-tachi?
Shueisha needs their new 100k seller.

>>7591567
>in japan
I'm here to make comics just generally for fun. I have absolutely zero desire to live like a rat on a mangaka's schedule. I've already gotten fanart from it so I consider everything thus far to have been a success.

>>7591567
it's like a bad horror scifi plot. people get a brain worm that makes them submit to a foreign culture and experience slavery lite just so that they can be in place, japan

NTR THE YANDERE GF!

WHO FUCKED UP THE GENERAL WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THAT

>>7591746
Look like what?

I want to start using 3D assets and photo backgrounds- simply put i have a big car chase scene in a real world city coming up and I can't draw a lambo or any other car for shit.

What programs do I need to get a 3D model of a lambo i can turn in to manga lineart? Does anyone have good tutorials they can send me?


Pro mangaka with teams of assistants use traced photos and 3D assets, and I don't have any personal qualms about it.

>>7591758
I would say csp maybe?

Still can't draw like this yet so I'm left only fantasizing about making manga. It's very painful.

>>7591789
I can draw my entire life and I've been fantasizing about making my own stories most of it. only recently. like two years ago I learned to actually try and do it.

And even them, I found out the hard way that things not always look as good as they do inside your head, the writing department specially. is very easy to write some really cheesy crappy and don't notice. Just do it, man, even if your art is bad.

>>7591800
Exactly. Unless you are a one in 10 billion talented savant like Mozart, the only way to get good at something is to spend alot of time doing it. Even then, the mega talents like Mozart and Sasuke Uchiya worked insanely hard on top of being inherently talented. In short, just start. You may be shit now but if you keep going you'll get good eventually.

How do you get away from copying your favorite artists? What do when your taste has already been done?

>>7591800
Do you ever feel like you're wasting ideas? Or like you're settling for stories you're less passionate about because you're not good enough for your magnum opus?

>>7591845
nta but yea, for me it's definitely the writing, it's simply too difficult to write stories I am satisfied with
I probably started too late to really get into story writing

>>7591845
>Or like you're settling for stories you're less passionate about because you're not good enough for your magnum opus
classic beg writing mistake
just make your magnum opus now, pick up the pencil and start drawing/writing immediately
if you finish it and still like the idea, but dislike how you executed it, you can start over and fix your mistakes
more likely you won't like the idea any more and will have new ideas you want to try
writing is like drawing, if you want to draw X well, you don't avoid drawing X, you draw it over and over again
if you want to write a story about X, just do it, you will learn more about the type of stories you like telling and how to tell them

>>7591845
more the second. I'm still experimenting with smaller more digestible things before trying to do something massive I'm passionate about just to give up 5 pages in.

The thing is when you start working on a story and it picks up enough momentum were you get attached to the characters this matters less. The only "magnum opus" I have was an simple idea I come up with for a relatively short story (30 to 60 chapters tops) I could random things about. but eventually with me working on it inside my head it snowballed in something I'm kinda too scared to start.

I've been toying with smaller comics so far and the effect is the same, the start feel akward but the moment you actually get the feel for the characters it feels rewarding, compared with my attempt at writing stories I cared more about and because of that nothing ever looked that good.

>>7591845
Yes, I am making my fantasy stories before my scifi stories.

>>7591892
I don't even know why you would bother, best/most popular stories are just fantasie stories larping as scifi (war hammer 40k, star wars, evangelion) and the best fantasie stories are go so hard on the retarded lore for their stupid magic that it becomes just sci-fi. If you want to go in to novels the deal is complete different, but for comics is how it works.

Is how comedic romances are the best source of porn and porn are sometimes the best source for romance.

>>7591789
Don't worry anon, Yusuke Murata can't draw that way either. A large gaggle of his assistants working together can.

But here's the hard hitting truth; art quality doesn't actually matter as much as drawing an appealing image. People LOVE a lot of stories with art that is technically low quality, because they communicate strong emotions. You make a story with striking art and likable characters and you can rule the world. You are wasting your time waiting for your art to "get good"

Anyone figure out how to bot upvotes/likes yet?

>>7591789
Am I the only one that find this type of super clean look very unapealling? Dont get me wrong, I can recognize how technically impressive it is, its just that when Iook at it, it doesnt really grab me.

>>7592096
Nah, super clean is always impressive (if done by hand at least). The artstyle is not the best

Who else /lit/ here? The writing part is the hardest to get into when making manga.
Yesterday I researched a bit about how to write endings/resolutions. I wasn't aware of how simple this actually is. You are kind of limited in how to write an ending, because there are only like 7 types of endings for all stories. I find this makes it kinda difficult to get away from copying your favorite authors.
1. Circular ending (starts as it finishes)
2. Resolved ending (ties up loose ends)
3. Unresolved ending (to be continued - TV series - or Horror)
4. Ambiguous ending
5. Unexpected ending (Twist ending - Mystery)
6. Expanded ending (Also known as an epilogue - Final Fantasy 8 for example)
7. Reflective ending (popular in fantasy and science fiction - LotR?)

And you also can mix ending types, by making an unexpected ending which also has some circular element for example.

>>7592117
I'm a writer first and an artist second, but sequential art combines both.

It's very useful to know the types of endings, but thinking they all neatly fit into those categories is a mistake; those endings are descriptive, not perscriptive. Many stories blend two or more, and a good story often has multiple narratives going on simultaneously, which may start or end earlier or later than others.

>>7592079
The secret that one punch man drawn by ONE and demon slayer teach is it's actually all about composition. Being great at composition makes up for all other artistic deficiencies.

>>7592129
>thinking they all neatly fit into those categories is a mistake
Well, I said you can mix ending types too, but after reading this yesterday I realized how many stories I read actually fit into these descriptions.

I legit couldn't find this thread because it was in color, jerk.

>>7592217
It also doesn't have the general name in it. Simply searching for "manga" on this board gives too many results

Shall we all make/migrate over to a new /mmg/ then, if somebody makes one? We could have this one get bumped down over time since it doesn't have a title.

>>7592273
Not a bad idea

>>7592217
It's not about the destination, but the journey. aren't you glad how much you grew as a person with the nature of this struggle?

You can blame everyone about it too, but you know the only one to blame are ourselves. What we seek is not only this general, or a simple way of drawing mangas. we want to tell the world what is hidden beneath, in the darkest corners of our hearts, there somewhere. And for that you need to find, find so much, and lose and get lost much more. So don't pretend this is a thing you should cry over, but cry anyway, even if the world mocks you, even if every creature and living thing under the sky and high above turns against you. cry and be heard.

Also, stop being a little bitch, is not that big of a deal, you found the general in the end, right?

>>7592333
>you know the only one to blame are ourselves
Great line for a psychopath villain

>>7592343
Thank you, I would say a great deal of my charm and luck with women come from my unhinged dangerous sociopathic tendencies. They love the stuff.

Lord what did I do to deserve being so untalented. Nvm I probably did a lotta shit, but PLEASE just give me some talent so I can draw great manga

>>7592081
Just start posting lil bro, i got retweeted by someone that honestly liked my work, and i got 4 new followers

>that one /mmg/ anon that thinks people aren't aware of his poorly disguised fetish thats in his manga

>>7592574
It was never disguised

>>7592574
I exert my dominance by putting my fetishes at the forefront of my manga.

>>7592081
Doing fanart is always a good way to cheat legally.

How do I make a double spread template in krita for manga ? or if one already exist out there
>>7592574
why not just tell who it is anon we're anon here

>>7592679
It's a bit, get it? Like it could be any of us, when its probably most of us

A final bump for this doomed thread to notify you all that a proper thread has been made at:

>>7592735
>>7592735
>>7592735
>>7592735
>>7592735

>>7592744
Nah

>>7592744
mega newfag move
I can't believe how weak this general has gotten

>>7592744
retard newfag

Autistic people don't like change.. colored manga ain't so bad.

>>7592744
The retards fell for the decoy thread. We can now post here while the other thread gets shit up.

Do you guys make references for your comic?
Things like, character sheets, environment designs, misc details like how to draw specific bits and pieces of the characters outfits?
I know it's done in the production of anime, but I don't know about manga/comics, it seems like it would be a good way to stay on model panel to panel

>>7591567
>>7591622
There are problems with it, sure, but nowhere else has a stronger comic industry. Nothing even comes close, in fact. Aiming to be published in japan is the practical option here.

>>7593702
If they do I've never seen them. I've seen very simplistic sheets like this, but never the kind you see with anime. Theres a bit of debate in the writing communities (at least in the west. I'm not sure about Japan.) about whether or not character profiles are actually useful or just a way to trick yourself into thinking you're being productive. Might be the same with art sheets.

>>7593702
Do what's best work for you, It's definitely helpful but not necessary.
It only takes some time. Can even flex it on another page

>>7593755
I think you're just way over thinking it for some weird reason. They mostly just exist to keep things consistent for other artists/assistants/animators working on the project, and the turn arounds help show the detail from angles like the side and the back that aren't often seen so they know what details and design elements look like from those angles.

Meet the gang/cast.

>>7594070
Oh, hey, I remember this.

How do you improve your pacing? There are a million guides on teach you how to draw but none about this. And yes, I already know about the 3 act structure but that’s not enough. I need a more in-depth guide for study.

>>7594588
pacing is really about detail. Slowing down the pacing means going into detail, faster pacing usually means not going into detail.

>>7594588
It's exceptionally difficult to get pacing right because you the author are too close to the work to tell for yourself if it's too fast or too slow (though it's usually too fast). You need to make something, read it back later and adjust accordingly. You really just need to feel it out, and once you have, look at what others are doing.
One of the things I personally like about HxH (the comic, not the anime) is how immaculately paced it is. It never really stops for more than a few short breaths right up until volume 20-something. It's always introducing new things and developing the story, characters and world without ever feeling like it's going too slow or fast. To me it's the gold standard of pacing. Try and find your own gold stnadard of pacing and see how they achieve that.

Posting in both threads so i can always come on top

>>7595055
>Posting in both threads so i can always come on top
oh shit anon cracked the code he has to be stopped before he gets too powerful

>>7595079
I haven't cracke shit man, i just suck the double now

>>7592404
Talent doesn't just fall from trees you know

>>7594492
Have I posted this one already?

>>7597093
Not that I can remember.

>>7592679
have you checked the krita artists resource page? You can also wget the template images from CSP's marketplace (for some reason trying to save them as-is makes them break)