japanamerica in comix

[mojojo1984]

hey everyone,
it's me again.i have a question about Japanamerica.i know tokoypop does alot of Japanamerica but i was curious if japanamerica use in comic books not just manga.my dream is to be a comic book artist and i guess my artwork is more anime like style.i try to add some realism look too on some parts.but i'm worried marvel and dc comics or any other comic book company wouldn't hire artist like me.
well thank you for your time.
-Joe:)

[ChrisIII]

Not sure what you mean about JapanAmerica but there are many comic artists who use an anime-type style. The most popular is probably Adam Warren.


A couple of years ago Marvel also did a "Mangaverse" event in which they did mangaesque versions of their characters. Ocassionally a new Mangaverse mini comes out from time to time. Manga artist Kia Asamiya also had a short run on Chuck Austen's Uncanny X-men.

Also American series such as "Totally spies" and "Avatar" are inspired by Japanese animation.

[Ayo]

www.tokyopop.com
www.onipress.com
www.slg.com (I think that's the link)
www.nbmpub.com
www.gomanga.com

Read up on these publishers and pitch your projects to one of them.

[The Xenos]

I swear someone out there is pranking me and trying to give me a cerebral hemorrhage.

First of all, the term is AmeriManga. Though this has since been replaced by Global Manga.

Perosnally, I think both terms are full of crap. Manga is comics from Japan, no more or less. There is no manga style. There is no anime style. Hell, anime refers to animation. Each artist has an individual style. To lump everyone from a country into one style is an insult to the individual artists. Do all comics in America look the same? Hell no. Why do we assume that of Japan? Oh yeah, because manga has become a buzzword and a fad that is used to sell books. (Not that manga is a fad itself, but the way the word is overused is.)

Here's a hint. Don't try to copy 'anime style'. Find an artist you like, be they American comic artist, manga artist (an actual one that works in Japan), or even a designer for an anime. Find specific artists your like. Study their style. Study how they compose pages. Study their character design. Read interviews with them.

Of course, first you should lean to draw in general. Study anatomy. Study how to draw objects. Don't jump to doing 'manga style' right off the bat. That comes later. First, learn to draw. This is a very basic step, but one many fans tend to ignore.

Don't base your art off anime. Anime is like dumbed down art so it's cheaper to animate. For example, compare Trigun the manga to Trigun the anime. The manga art is much better because the designs get toned down and sacrificed to be animated. Though I will say designs have improved due to technology advances in animation.

Also, last I hear Totally Spies was French, not American. Avatar is America. Neither of them is anime as some others think, though the influence is undeniable.

As for starting out, those companies mentioned are good. Though first I suggest publishing your own book. No company is going to hire you if you don't have something already done of your own. Of course, self publishinbg can be tough. A web comic or web site portfollio of comics is certainly a way to go nowadays.

Also, don't quit your day job.

[Ayo]

"Amerimanga" is not an official term. I have NEVER heard a person who actually worked in the comics industry use that term or anything similar. All of these terms are just as made up as one another.


Anyways, lay off the dude, he asked a question, is all. If he's drawing comics using Japanese comics as his creative source, it's no different, worse or better than the guy who is using superhero comics as his creative source.

[Alex L]

While I agree with Xenos in that there is no singular Japanese style (since, by the same token, there is no trademark-American style), I do recognize that there are differences between what is thought of as Japanese and what is American.

Look up Scott McCloud's book, Understanding Comics. Fun as all hell to read, and will (in better depth) show you that the differences between American style and Japanese style go far, FAR beyond the size of their eyes.

[The Xenos]

To be hoenst if you aren't reading Japanese comics and having them influence your work.. You're missing out. Anyone reading just Japanese comics or just American comics is missing out. If you're an artist and are only influcenced by one or the other, you're missing out.

I keep saying people need to study from the house that Tezuka built in Japan as well as the house of Eisner and others built here in America. Nevermind all those European comics and cartoonists no one pays attention to.

A friend of mine runs a web comic and does art he sells at anime cons. He's very involved with the anime community, but he prefers to call himself just a cartoonist. As a kid he was more into American comics and also some European stuff like Asterix because his family's from Europe. Later, as I did myself, he got into manga.

I say don't sell yourself as an 'anime style' artist. Sell yourself as an artist and let people judge your art on the art itself. Also, make sure you can site specific artists you like. If you like a certain anime, learn the character designer's name. Same with manga artists. Find out their names. Look for interviews, if any, that are in English. If you're lucky you may even get to see them at a con.

Also, yes, Understanding Comics is essential reading for anyone interested in comics. His new book Making Comics is somewhat a revised edition. I skimmed through my friend's copy. Need to get one myself.

[Inkthinker]

I say don't sell yourself as an 'anime style' artist. Sell yourself as an artist and let people judge your art on the art itself. Also, make sure you can site specific artists you like. If you like a certain anime, learn the character designer's name. Same with manga artists. Find out their names. Look for interviews, if any, that are in English. If you're lucky you may even get to see them at a con.


Well said! Speaking professionally, it's never a good idea to really nail yourself into a groove. Throughout your life there will be no lack of people who will want to narrowly define your work as this or that "style", and there's neither any use nor point to doing it for them.

And it's not only smart, it's respectful, to learn the names of the artists behind a production who's visual aesthetic you find deeply influential or inspiring. I don't tell people I like Final Fantasy... I tell 'em I like Tetsuya Nomura, Hideo Minaba and Akihito Yoshida, who are the men largely responsible for the visual design of the characters and worlds within the various games.



Also, yes, Understanding Comics is essential reading for anyone interested in comics. His new book Making Comics is somewhat a revised edition. I skimmed through my friend's copy. Need to get one myself.

Making Comics is a good deal more than just a "revised edition" of Understanding Comics... it is, in fact, exactly what the titles indicate. Understanding Comics was about the background, composition and theory underlying the sequential storytelling art form... Making Comics is directly focused on the craft and structures that can be used to tell stories through sequential art.

Both, in my opinion, are required reading. :D

[The Xenos]

Ah. I guess when I thumbed through my friend's copy (as he was doing stuff for his webcomic funny enough), I just was noticing familiar things from Understanding Comics. Though now that I think about it, I belive the context of this book was different. As you said, the focus is on.. well.. Making Comics.

Also, yeah. It's a pet peeve of mine when people don't acknowlage the authors and artist of series they like. Now I admit my memory's terrible and Japanese names are more difficult to remember and even more difficult to pronounce. Still, I try to remember some favorites.

The worst thing I see at cons are people who act like they own the characters. They'll draw fanart (often of two male characters who don't go together.. um.. getting together) or they'll dress up as the characters and pretend to know everything about them. Too often they just ignore what the original author created and go off on their own fantasies. Too often jokes or fanfic about character place themselves above the original text. How many Naurto fans actually know the author's name? How many actually buy the manga? Well, not that I do. I prefer One Piece by Eichio Oda. (I know I messed up his first name. Aha. Eiichiro Oda. 尾田栄一郎. Thanks, Wikipedia.)

(Though when it comes to what Judd Winick did to Batman comics, this aproach is totally acceptable. The whole Red Hood fiasco was bad fanfic, nothing more. I don't care if DC somehow accidently published it.)

As for Final Fantasy art, I mainly know Amano's art. (Doesn't hurt that an ex was into his work.)

[Ayo]

In high school, I made up a little song to help me remember my favorite Japanese comics artists' names.

[mgs]

In high school, I made up a little song to help me remember my favorite Japanese comics artists' names.

waiting.....listening..... :)

[mgs]

I have to admit, TX has a good point, but sometimes I say those things too, it sometimes just makes it easier to categorize things when you are generalizing or talking about something that you are not all that passionate about because it also makes it easier for those outside of comics to understand what you are talking about without getting into too technical details. Pedestrian speak is okay in that sense, I think, I mean others do it all the time so that they are simply understood (doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc)

[Inkthinker]

For Final Fantasy fans, it breaks down like so:

Hideo Minaba: character designer behind FF Tactics, Ogre Battle, and FFIX
Akihito Yoshida: character designer behind Vagrant Story and FFXII
Tetsuya Nomura: character designer behind FFVII, VIII, X, X-2, Kingdom Hearts, The Bouncer and a host of other Squaresoft games.

Yoshitaka Amano hearkens back to the days when an artist wasn't necessarily designing the material that would be directly placed within the game. He's well-loved, but not one of my favorites.