FMP Task 8: Evaluation

I was quite excited about creating my very own comic as it related to a lot of my interests including manga as well as my overall desire to go into the illustration industry. Now as I approach the end of the project I faced a lot more challenges and problems than I first anticipated and the number one enemy was time.

Our first task was to research the current market in our chosen field so the logical thing for me to do was to go to Forbidden Planet and Travellers’ Tales Books in Manchester and ask the staff there what kind of manga sells the best and trends that are appearing the market. I also created a survey to hand out to customers and passers-by in that area. This was where I hit my first snag. I did struggle quite a lot to approach people on the street to ask them for some of their time. I worried that I would become something of a nuisance. This fear was only compounded when Forbidden Planet refused my request to ask some of their customer’s questions. This in many ways restricted the outcome of my primary research although I did get some useful insights into buying trends and popular genres which helped me decide how I would then market my own comic.

My next task was to generate some ideas for my comic’s concept which I had no problem with at all as I already had a strong idea for a story which had evolved naturally in my head and it was just a case of fitting it to the market research. This was pretty simple as there are so many widely accepted genres in this market that it was more a case of making sure it was produced in the right format. Because while manga fans are open to new manga’s they usually like to try them first before really investing money into the many volumes that follow. One thing I was certain of was that I wanted my comic to keep to very manga style roots but really wanted it to appeal to a western audience. So the idea of my story adopting a western culture and approach seemed the most logical way to attract that audience as it would be easier for them to relate to it. I tried my best to incorporate some of things I had learned from the critical approaches to audiences unit, especially with the two-step flow model which I genuinely think applied to the general manga audience.

To start the design process I first started looking at artists both from eastern and western cultures as well as modern and traditional. It was important for me to look at traditional Japanese artists like Hokusai where you can really see the roots of artistic styles and expressions found within the manga art style. I also looked at modern illustrators where I was seeking interesting ways to approach line art which is something I really wanted to apply to my own work. My design pack also included some of my own designs for characters and concepts for the universe. However I feel that the time we had left kind of freaked me out into starting the actual production of the comic which I do regret as I feel if had given myself more to refer back to I would have found the production process a lot easier.

I had initially planned to draw out my pages and then edit them as I go along and started to do this with the front covers but then I thought for the actual comic pages it would be best to draw them all out first as then I would keep the constant flow of the story. This is where I made the mistake of not dividing my time equally and I left myself very little time to edit the actual comic pages on the computer. I underestimated greatly how long the process of editing the pages would take. I also spent too much time seeking out more appropriate software for the task when I eventually discovered methods that made using Photoshop a lot easier. I was very pleased with the results of the methods I used in Photoshop and it actually gave the comic pages a sense of authenticity, it also allowed me to explore and experiment with the software with quite a range of pleasing results.

My biggest struggles definitely came when I started drawing out the comic pages and this could be for several reasons. The amount of different subject matter I needed to draw for the comic I constantly had to find reference images to assist me and it was a struggle to find appropriate help. In hindsight I should have spent more time going out and taking my own reference images and I did to an extent for anatomy posing but could have done more for the environments. Again this was because I allowed myself to get wound up by the constant time frame which wasn’t really necessary. I also struggled with the quality of what I was drawing, I never felt really happy with it and it was only when I started to edit on the computer that I realised it was coming together and wished I had persisted with some of the pages I scrapped up to this point.

At the start of this assignment I aimed to have fifty pages of a comic and a one minute thirty second animation. However this was a huge amount to put on myself and I think it was this kind of pressure looming in my head that made drawing out the pages quite difficult. This is because I constantly had my head what I still had left to do and this affected how I felt about what I was doing. What I had set myself to do in a production time of two months is what most manga artists do in several, and that isn’t even including the animation. I found it so difficult that it got to the point that all the initial enthusiasm for the project had almost vanished and things I should have compromised on early like how much I produced only happened later down the process. It was only towards the end of the process I started to realise the only one creating that intense pressure was I and the important thing was really the quality of the work and the process, rather than the quantity.

Overall I am pleased with how the pages I finished came out and although it is by no means the finished product it does give a good sense of the concept. I just wished I had realized earlier that it would have come together in the end and hadn’t wasted a lot of time fretting over perfecting every drawing. I do have in my head a wider scope of how my concept will evolve and I do hope to continue developing it in the future. This project has really taught me the importance of utilizing the time you have and making sure you scope the whole process rather than getting stuck on just one small section.

FMP Task 3: Ideas Generation

I knew from the start of this project that I wanted my idea very much to be set in a western culture and what better area than the one I live in. This meant that the characters had to be very street savvy, with practical appearances. Already this is very anti of what is typically found within most manga’s where character designs are very flamboyant with over the top features and hair and more often than ostentatious costume designs. This fine because the uniqueness factor I want for my comic is for it to be a manga that very much roots itself in western culture.

Despite this very down to earth setting I also wanted to add a fantasy element to my story as it is an area I have a lot of interest in. I then decided I wanted to go about this by exploiting something that a lot of people especially in this day and age have very strong ideals about politics. There is no denying that there is a lot of frustration around regarding a constant divide in social classes, where budget costs are being made in the wrong places and benefits and support are being taken away from people who really need them young people have never been more attuned to these circumstances than now. So it seemed natural that the main protagonists of my story would be fighting for the 'smaller' man but rather than having the divide be circumstantial I will make it even more personal by making it biological.

The core of the idea is basically that within the human race a rare mutating gene has been discovered that if possessed can give that being abilities beyond that of a normal human. However the catch is it dormant and can only being awakened via a recent technological breakthrough called the BRACE.

To get inspiration for my art style I looked at both modern manga artists, traditional Japanese artists and western artists as well.

Although these are black and white I chose Camilla D'Eriricos and Varshesh Joshi because of their style in lineart. Camilla D'Erricos makes her lineart stand out with bold neon colours and in some of her pieces its the outline alone that really makes the piece. Varshesh Joshi on the other hand uses very sharp and messy outlines to give his piece a very graphic feel. I really wanted to concentrate on line art because it is a very important thing to keep in mind especially for the manga art style where the weight of the lines can define distance or strengthen the definition of an important image on the page. You can see the roots of this in work done by more traditional Japanese artists like Hokusai, because of the consistency of the ink media the definition of each line on the art is very different and makes it really distinct. You can also see the origin of effects such a speed lines especially within the ocean piece where the current of the waves is determined by the positioning and direction of the lines. 

The universe of the story is an alternate reality and is very much set in this modern day time but with fantasy elements. Originally when the technology the BRACE was developed governments planned to use these people (called aberrants) with abilities as military assets, the more countries had of them the more potential power they possessed. However people without abilities began to hate the divide and felt that the freaks with abilities were being treated better. Riots broke out in many countries and in Britain a rogue aberrant went off the handle and slaughtered many human beings. Because of this the aberrant program was shut down and all the aberrants began to be treated like scum. For any minor transgression they were sent to the pit, giant holes with technology around the edges which absorbed the energy from the gene transmitted by the BRACE and they were left to live on the fringes of society this is where the protagonist tries to hang on..

Illaine Winters

Illaine Winters is an aberrant who tries her very best to keep herself to herself and just live as a normal life as possible. After her brother is taken away for conspiring against the nation she is left to fend for herself as just nineteen years old. Living in an old bedsit and working at the local market the only parental figures in her life are the couple who run her local pub who have strong empathy with aberrants as their son fifteen year old son is one too.

Because of her tough circumstances Illaine as had to grow up quick and her personality reflects that. She is very mature and is self-controlled when it comes to showing emotion. She acts a bit like a loner but is quite friendly with the people she is close too. The couple’s son Bradley looks up to her a role model but she does have her vices. She has a very addictive personality and is a heavy smoker and also is quite partial to an alcoholic beverage.

Illaine's ability is often referred to as Elemental Forge, if a raw element is ever within her reach depending on how strong it is she will be able to call forth weapons with enhanced abilities 

Bradley 'Bass' Crane

Bradley is a young fifteen year old aberrant who is a son to two normal human beings who run a local pub in an inner city district. Unlike Illaine Winters he struggles to keep his emotions in check and is quick to anger. This can lead him into a lot of trouble especially in school where he is one of a few aberrants to attend.

Despite his bravado he is also quite sensitive and loves his parents more than anything and he is worried there involvement with other aberrants may land them in hot water with the authorities. He is also very close to Illaine Winters where they share a very sibling like relationship.

Bradley has the unique ability to control air particles he can change their properties and send them at flying speeds or can bunch them together to create a force field. Although he has a lot of power has yet to tap into the full potential of his ability.

Boanna

The mysterious Boanna is a seventeen year old girl that looks completely out of place in a city setting with her bohemian style dress sense and lack of social tact she is the epitome of free spirit. Originally from the countryside, Boanna acts as a shepherd to a flock of sheep that are not exactly as they appear.

As a young child Boanna fell extremely ill, her parents could not understand what was happening and when they came across an ex-government scientist they pleaded for his help. He realised the symptoms she had related to a powerful string of the DNA that causes some people to become aberrants. Yet her potential was so great he had to separate her energy into separate entities that must be kept with her at all times. Now grown up she is the only aberrant in the world who possesses abilities without the need of a BRACE. The British Government are terrified that she is a danger "a wolf in sheep's clothing" so she rapidly became the most wanted in the country.

Her ability is extremely unique and unheard of. The sheep she keeps with her are separate entities of her and therefore she can transform them, replace them and manipulate them to her will. But a second ability is soon discovered that could drastically change the future of aberrants around the world.

Here is a rough outline for the first three chapters of the plot.

FMP Task 7: The Final Product

The six first pages to have been edited are really there to express the concept for my comic book and give an idea of what is to be expected with the rest of the comic.

Task 1: FMP Initial Interview

This is the contract I agreed to at the start of the project. In the time this was done my project was under the working title MAGI although it is now called Aberrant no Exile.

After my initial interview with my project manager Amanda Panesh we kept a log of comments and targets that were made during the progression of the project.

FMP Task 6: Evidence of Production

This is my final updated version of my production log edited on the 23rd of May 2013.

FMP Task 5: Pre-Production Planning

Contractual

I am under a book publishing contract with Paper Pocky where delivery date and possible future works have been left open. As a publishing deal I will retain a hundred per cent of the intellectual property where I will receive royalties from Paper Pocky on any sales my manga comic makes where they will keep a percentage. A deal could be made for them to own part of the IP to expand the franchise possibly but this will all depend on how well the series takes off. I will ask for two thousand pounds upfront while the first volume is in production than I will ask for ten percent royalties until the number of volumes sold reaches 250,000 then I would want the percentage to be raised to 15 percent which would then remain when the next volumes are released.

Health and Safety

I have the following health and safety documents highlighting risks that I may face in a college classroom setting.




Ethical Agreement



Resources

For the production of my graphic novel I will need an A4 sketchbook to plan out my pages and panels I will also need a standard scanner and a graphics tablet. I will also be using Adobe Photoshop to refine my pages and digitally ink them. For my animation I will use either Adobe Flash or After Effects depending on how my storyboard will pan out.

Budget

If an average manga artist takes a week to complete one chapter and an average manga volume consists of five to six chapters this would hypothetically take a month and a half to complete a volume. That means if I am given two months to complete my first paperback volume of Aberrant no Exile and am paid two thousand pounds in royalties upfront to count for cost of production and living. Printing cost will come down to the publisher. This will leave me with two hundred and fifty pounds a week and within a week I will work for seven hours a day, six days a week which will give me the hourly rate of £5.95 an hour. If an average manga artist takes a week to complete one chapter and an average manga volume consists of five to six chapters this would hypothetically take a month and a half to complete a volume. If I earned 10 percent of of sales and sold 500,000 copies in my first year I would earn around £350,000 a year.

Schedule 

Bibliography

http://www.brandewyne.com/writingtips/authorspaid.html

FMP Task 4: FMP Pitch and Proposal

For this task I had to propose my final idea and my final intent on what product I was going to create implementing the market research and defining my target audience. 

This is this presentation I created to help me alongside my pitch and proposal.

This is the video evidence of my pitch which took place on Wednesday the 13th March.