So the first half of graphic noiz manga 2 is done with the lineart. I have finished 50 pages of the 96 page manga. I have lineart for the front cover and the back cover and 46 more pages of lineart to go. I wanted to talk a little about my process for making a manga since this is the second book in this series. I thought I might as well just talk about the lineart and inking work. Since this volume is 96 pages which is twice as long as the first one that means there is a lot more work to do. So lets dive in shall we and get started with the post.
Making Lineart
So I had to start using different paper for this version of the manga because the art store discontinued the 10×14 paper. That initially messed me up a little but I am 50 pages in and thing I have a handle on the 1117 paper about now. I am still working on blocking pages. I have 6 chapters done so far. The plot is similar to book 3 of the novella series but it is not exactly the same so the reader will get a little bit of a different experience out of reading the manga. With the series I get to go indepth with the storyline. The manga allows the reader to experience Shiro’s emotions a little bit more. This is only limited by my ability to render the artwork. Since the story is already written I have a place to go. So it is not so much a big deal that I do not have any dialogue as I draw the pages. When I have worked in the past I have done dialogue and storyboards/scripts first but I am not doing this with graphic noiz manga. I am more winging it. Sure this takes some level of knowing your story but well the lineart is coming along fine.
Copying and Reducing
I talk all the 11×17 pages and copy them down to 8.5×11 this requires some scaling and now that the pages are different size it will require some additional cleanup when it comes to scanning the pages into the computer. The original manga paper has blue non-printable lines which actually showed up on the copies so those will have to be removed. I have now copied the first part 1 of the manga 2 and will start work on the lineart for part 2. Once all the lineart is done and reduced/copied then inking will start.
Inking
This time we will actually ink. I let some of this be done by the copier but the lines are too light. Working on the 8.5×11 pages inking and not on 11×17 will give me more freedom in my inking. Once all the lineart is inked and the shading in grey tones is applied, we will copy again and then scan them into the computer.
Shading
I use neutral greys to colour the interior pages. I have 6 shades of grey. The front and back covers will be in colour. I will also need to buy some additional blue copic markers for Noiz’ sweatshirt but I have to finish the lineart first. I have a colour sheet of who gets what colours and have been able to stick with that so far. Each character has their sets of colours that I use for them and their outfits. I know that my colouring is all done traditionally because I cannot colour digitally and it is too bad that I did not learn how to ink in art school so I muddle along and try my best and more practice is needed. I tell a good story. Which I know I can do. So please bear with me and my colouring. I will try hard to make it right or as best as I can.
Final Photocopying
Once all the pages are shaded, inked and lineart is done then I take the pages to the copier again and copy them with a higher darkness. This will ensure the scanner will pickup the colours. Sure this is many steps but well it seems to work for my amateur self. This is also 8.5×11 and is in preparation for scanning.
Scanning
This is done with my scanner into JPG files which are usually upside down. I number all the pages based on chapter and page number and then flip the pages and crop them fixing the levels as the scanner scans light. Once this is done and I have the PSD Photoshop file I am ready to add dialogue.
Adding Dialogue
This is done in manga studio. I have to make the dialogue up as I go along since a script was not written before hand. I do have the novella book 3 so I know the story and I might keep it similar like I did in “A Storm’s Coming” to the story in the novel. The dialogue is added in Manga Studio and any narration is finalized in Photoshop. The page has an original scanned JPG, a LIP file for Manga Studio, a PSD file with words, and a final JPG file with words. This final JPG file with words is used for the book.
Book Production
Putting together the book is done in InDesign and creates an INDD file and the final PDF file of the entire book at the right size. Each page the final JPG with words is placed and sized to the page. Headers and footers are added and the back and front coloured cover. Then the whole book is saved as well as the individual PDF page files. The individual PDF page files are used for the printer version of the file which are available for comic conventions.
Printing the Book
Going to the printer we use 100 pound cover glossy for the cover and 80 pound book weight for interior pages. graphic noiz manga volume 2 will be 96 pages and perfect bound at 7.5×9. The first volume of manga in this series was saddlestiched but I wanted this one longer so we could get it perfect bound. The printer usually takes a week and a half to get everything done once the individual files are provided. I give them the PDF full book reader spread to help them set the book then they create a printer spread with the individual pages. My printer is expensive so each copy should be about 16 dollars but I sell them online for cheaper.
Making an eBook and online paperback
I use the Amazon Comic Creator and the individual JPG files to create the ebook of the manga. The Paperback uses the full book PDF. These books are 7.5×9. The paperback formatting is usually a nightmare but I have to make several passes before it is correct. I can usually get it done. If you have more questions about that feel free to IM Natsuya Uesugi on Facebook for more.
Putting the book online as a Webcomic
I have not decided if we will do this as well for manga book 2. We are doing it for book 1. Each page has to be resized in JPG format to fit the webcomic hosting site. This is more work but if I want it online I have to do it. The web hosting site I am using focuses on manga.
Selling at ComiCon
You want free stuff like manga from grydscaen and graphic noiz, come see me at ComicCon and get your free first edition copy until they run out. Then they will be the price they are set to on Amazon. So if you are lucky you can get a free read.
So that is my full process. This manga 2 is going to take some more time because I have 46 more pages to draw. Will update more progress as we go. For now happy manga and enjoy your process as I hope you continue writing stories and getting your art out there for al to see.