One Piece, Naruto, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Full Metal Alchemist – are just a few examples of manga known around the world. This mysterious Japanese term is translated as “irresponsible pictures” and refers to cartoons or comic strips. First appeared in Japan in the late 1800s, nowadays cartoons and comic strips do not stop arising the public’s admiration and challenging their creators for new ideas and inventions.
Though the term implies “irresponsible pictures,” the profession of animator/manga artist requires much from those engaged in it. Creativity and the ability to work hard are the basic skills necessary for this occupation. The constant search for new ideas and ways of implementing them – is an ordinary thing for people of this profession. Their works reflect everything that they find the worth of the viewers’ attention. Once something attracts an animator or a manga artist, they get a pencil at once and starts sketching it quickly.
Everything and anything may become the subject of their creatures. Animators and manga artists are expected to use pictures to tell stories that concern topics of interest to a wide range of diverse public. Normally, their works reflect the main events and development tendencies of the society they live in. Therefore, the occupation demands much of the observation skills and knowledge of how to render the results of this observation to the public.
As created stories often deal with a wide range of subjects, starting from humor, fantasy, cookery, sports, and going up to business, economics, and policy, their authors need to be all-rounded people. The more they know, the more varied themes they will be able to cover in their works.
Also, animators and manga artists should be capable of constant learning, as the industry is rapidly developing and demands more and more knowledge from those involved in it. One can hardly imagine an animator/manga artist without basic knowledge of art classes and other skills like Adobe Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop, etc. People of this profession should not fear experimenting with a wide range of styles and techniques that will help them to render their messages to the audience.
It is important that at the beginning of their careers, animators and manga artists should be able to analyze the current trends in the industry and appreciate the works of master artists. It does not mean copying the existing products; it means strengthening one’s artistic skills by gaining knowledge from others and enlarging one’s experience through familiarizing with the results of their work.
The ability to work in a team is another constituent of an animator/manga artist’s success. The thing is that these professionals often involve a team of art assistants in their work. Cooperation with specialists in street scenes, architecture, cars, etc., enables them to focus only on the main figures, whereas others embrace other aspects of the work. Therefore, animators/manga artists should find ways to make the collaboration as fruitful as possible.
Contemporary society offers a large number of places where one can develop their artistic skills. The main factor that determines success in this venture is a true interest in developing in this area, readiness to work hard, and to meet the challenges that the professions under consideration might bring.
Works Cited
Brown, Carolyn M., and Sonya A. Donaldson. “Animated Tale: Graphic Artist Brings Characters to Life.” Black Enterprise 2003: 65.
Gravett, Paul. Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics. Collins Design, 2004.
Schodt, Frederik L. Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. Stone Bridge Press, 1983.
Schodt, Frederik L. Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics. Stone Bridge Press, 1983.