How to Become a Mangaka

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: December 2, 2022 References Approved

"Mangaka" is the term used for someone who is the creator of manga, a Japanese-style comic. They draw the characters and scenes for the comics, and many also create the story line. If you want to be a mangaka, you first must gain experience as an artist. Most mangakas get their start by creating their own comics and then presenting them to manga publishers and magazines.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Gaining Experience

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Take appropriate courses in high school. While you're still in high school, start building your artistic skills by taking art classes. Drawing and painting would both be helpful for building your skill set to draw manga art, and even a general art class could potentially help you build skills.^{[1]
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- In addition, take literature and writing courses. As a mangaka, you'll be creating a story line, as well, so make sure to spend time focusing on how to develop a story.
2
Seek out others with similar interests. Working with other people on similar goals can help encourage you in yours. In addition, you can learn new skills from other people in the group. Try to find a group interested in manga at your school or in your area. You could also join an art club to help increase your skills.
- If you can't find one to join, consider creating one. There's bound to be others who have similar interests.
- Look for classes or groups at your local library or with your park and recreation department.
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3
Consider an art degree. While you don't absolutely need a degree to be a mangaka, formal education can help give you the professional skills you need. A bachelor's degree in fine arts is a good choice, as it will help you build up your artistic skills. However, you can also go much more specific. A number of universities in the United States offer degrees in comic art,^{[2]
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Research source} and if you're willing to travel to Japan, you can earn bachelor's or master's degrees specifically in manga art.
- In addition, think about double majoring or minoring in literature or writing. Developing your writing skills will be helpful in writing stories later.
4
Practice your drawing. Formal schooling increases your skill set, but so does practicing on your own. Just like learning an instrument, practicing drawing will make you better over time. You can start out by imitating characters you like, but you can move on to creating your own characters and panels.^{[3]
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- In fact, comic artists recommend putting in practice every day. Make sure you are setting aside at least an hour a day to work on your artwork.
5
Use free resources. You don't need formal education to learn from professionals. You'll find many resources are available to you for free. You can find online courses for free on sites like YouTube, Coursera, and Princeton's website, all of which you can use to develop your drawing skills. You'll also find resources available at your local library. Make use of the resources available to develop your skills.
- Don't just get books on drawing. Look at books on writing comic books, as well as books just on writing.
- If your library doesn't have what you want, most libraries will order books from other libraries for you to use.
- If you are wanting to become a mangaka, you obviously have some familiarity with the genre. Nonetheless, make sure you are reading widely in the genre to see what is getting published. Don't just read your favorite mangas over and over. Branch out into ones you normally wouldn't be drawn to, just to see what else manga has to offer. Plus, exposing yourself to different styles will help you work towards your own style.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Create Your Own Manga

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Brainstorm ideas for plot. Even though manga comics are visual-based, you still need a plot to drive the story. Think about the stories that you love to read, and how you can make your own contribution. Manga has a wide variety of stories, from horror to love stories, so feel free to let your brain run wild. The key is to be thinking about your story all the time. If you limit your brainstorming to just when you sit down to write the story, you're not giving your creativity the time it needs to build a good story.^{[4]
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- Try starting with one idea on a piece of paper. Build off that idea by connecting dots to other ideas you come up with.
- Another way to get your creativity flowing is just to free write. Start with a word or image, and just start writing until you hit on something you like. Once you do, start developing that idea.
- Pick an idea you enjoy. Working on your own manga is going to take some hard work. If you don't pick an idea you love, you'll have a hard time motivating yourself to work on it.^{[5]
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2
Plot out a story. Once you have an idea for a story, you need to work beyond that because manga comics generally need more planning than a normal novel. You need to create an outline of how your story is going to move from beginning to end.^{[6]
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- Start by figuring out the main plot points. What's the driving force of your story? What are the major events? Make sure to include setting, as well. Think about the background you want for your setting and how that will affect your story. For example, an urban setting is very different from a rural setting in terms of story.
- Move on to going scene-by-scene, so you have an idea of what the main scenes will look like.
3
Make your characters. When creating your characters, you need to think both about their place in the story (personality) and their physical appearance. To keep them consistent throughout your story, you should develop character sheets that outline both types of traits.
- For appearance, you can simply draw the character in a model or turnaround sheet. Basically, you draw the character from every angle, figuring out clothing, hair, and proportion, so that you can recreate the character in the same manner throughout your manga. You can also create a 3D model using something like clay instead.
- For their personality and personal traits, write down traits for the character, such as personality quirks, personal beliefs, religion, favorite foods and color, and so on. Don't forget things like personality flaws. No one is perfect, and no character should be either. Also, think about things like motivation.^{[7]
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- Create sheets for all your characters, but make sure your main characters are the most fleshed out.
4
Develop a style. Really, developing a style comes from drawing for a while, and using your creativity to figure out what you like. However, it's important to pick something that's doable. You don't want to start on a style that's hard for you to maintain over time. Use one that you enjoy and find easy to draw.^{[8]
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- That doesn't mean that it must look simple, just that it's simple enough that you can put in the hours it takes to draw it through a whole story or a series of stories.
- Explore different styles. Once you see what others do, you can see what you like and don't like. That will help you figure out what you like in your own style. Try not to just copy any one style exactly. You want yours to be unique in some aspect.
5
Create your manga. Working scene by scene, create your manga. Begin by sketching out the scenes, blocking where the dialogue and characters will go; remember, you're just creating a bare-bones sketch to see where things will go. Move on to fully drawing out the scenes, but use pencil so that you can make changes. Later, fill in with ink and color. Many mangas are not colored, due to cost restrictions, so you can work just in black and white if you prefer. In fact, many publishers prefer black and white.^{[9]
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Research source} How you create your manga is up to you, as many manga artists work in digital formats nowadays.^{[10]
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- If you prefer to work digitally, consider using a manga drawing app. These tools are designed for creating comics, so they will make it easier for you to work.^{[11]
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- Don't forget to make your text legible. If people can't read your text, they won't read your comic.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Getting Your Work Published

1
Get your work ready for a publisher. When looking at publishers, consider what types of work they tend to print, and then pick one that fits your style and theme. Make sure you follow all their guidelines to the letter, including maturity level. For instance, most will want PG or PG13.^{[12]
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- Most publishers will want a copy of your manga, not the original. You can make a copy on a high quality copier or use a laser printer.
- Pay attention to sizing formats for the company you are sending it to.
- Most companies will expect you to have the basics of drawing down, such as proper proportions. If you aren't there yet, you may want to wait awhile.
2
Present it to a publisher. One simple way to find a publisher or magazine you want to contact is to look at the back of your favorite mangas. You can call up the publisher and schedule an appointment to be seen and show your work. It's actually a common practice, and many mangakas began in this manner. You can also look them up online.^{[13]
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- You need to have your work ready to show. It may not be published, but many publishers will give you advice on how to do better. Others will hire you to work for them.
- If you can't visit in person, many publishers take submissions by mail.
3
Enter competitions. Some people become mangakas by submitting their work through contests run by the publishers. Most contests will focus on Japanese-language contests, but a few accept submissions in other languages. Sometimes, mangakas are hired from these contests.^{[14]
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- Morning Manga and Comic Zenon both sponsor manga contests in other languages, so find their websites if you want to learn more.
4
Consider self-publishing. Self-publishing is becoming more popular in all writing and comic book genres, especially in a digital world where you can do so much on your own personal computer. You can do the same thing with manga, and sometimes, you can even be recruited to be a mangaka from your online work.^{[15]
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- If you self-publish, you can either take the route of an ebook, or you can publish a serial manga on a blog. You can self-publish ebooks through sites like Ebooks Direct or Amazon. You can publish free blogs through any number of sites, even sites like Blogger or Tumblr.
- If you take this route, you'll need to market yourself on platforms like social media by posting about your work and encouraging others to read and follow you.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I just use pencil and paper or do I need to use a computer?

Community Answer

You can use whichever you like! It's been said that digital is easier when you're learning to draw if you can find the right tools, such as a drawing tablet and the right programs. Popular Mangaka's who use traditional paper and pencil have generally had a lot of training and experience drawing, but both are good skills to learn. Do whichever you're most comfortable with first.
Question

Is it too late to becoming a Mangaka if I am 16 years old and don't take art classes?

Community Answer

No, it is not too late. You can start at any age: just sign up for competitions and try your best! It is best to take art classes, but you don't have to.
Question

Can I became a manga artist even if I'm not living in japan?

Community Answer

Yes, you can. For one, you can self-publish manga, and you can even earn a living doing it. However, you'll probably have more luck if you're living in Japan.