This was taken from HOW TO DRAW MANGA
Creating a Short Story Manga
A story is something that is composed of a character and actions that the character brings about.
You will notice that majority of the stories are series where a lot of fascinating characters appear. And with these characters, the story gets bigger and more interesting but... that won't work for short stories.
With short stories, if you want to create a complex story, you'll end up increasing the number of characters in a lot of unresolved episodes making for a half-finished, difficult to understand story. So why does it end up like this?
As a familiar example, let's say you in your school uniform are in the same class as B-kun. Since you have just met, you don't know much about each other. It's one year later. Now what kind of guy is B-kun?
The same goes for manga characters. After the reader sees a few scenes, they understand the character and have feelings for him. It goes without saying that pages will have to be expanded to show scenes.
But, short story - as the name suggests - has a limited number of pages. In addition, throughout the story, the setting has to be explained, the characters have to be introduced and the storyline needs to be developed. And since the development of the setting and storyline cannot be omitted... If something has to go, the only thing to omit is the number of characters. Making many characters is not suitable for short stories. In a word, a few crack characters are desirable for creating a short story.
While the rule - the less characters the better - holds true, if the characters don't have something that will fascinate the readers, they won't amount to much. One method is to make people think the character is a slightly quirky person.
Short Story Themes - Keeping it Simple
The theme is the 'character as he ought to be' which runs through the center of the storyline.
Avoid big themes if possible with short stories. A big theme would be something like becoming the strongest man in the world or defeating a powerful villain and the like. If the theme is becoming the strongest man in the world then the character must defeat several other characters, which doesn't make for a short story.
So what kind of themes are oriented toward short stories? For example, confessing one's love to someone or defeating one's (one and only one) rival are tales with only a few characters. When the number of characters is limited from the beginning, the themes are naturally geared for short stories.
Allotting pages from the Script to the Manga
Add scene settings and dialogue to the plot outline to complete your script.
It is important to consider the type of speech suitable for each character. It is easier to do this now than at the plot outline level. Next, allot parts of the script to the manga pages. Divide off the script into one-episode scenes.
Getting the Right Number of Pages
To get the right number of pages make abbreviations and omissions to the script when scenes are too detailed or too long or too much has been written to explain something pedestrian.
However, if omissions are made to the part expressing the theme or the thoroughlines in the script, you won't be able to convey what you want to the reader. Omissions is a means to get the important parts of the story on the page and by no means intended to thin out the storyline.
Fundamental Frame Rules
Based on the script, consider the spread of the frames using composition paper. Following the basic knowledge of flow, strange shaped frames can be created. The most important thing to consider is whether or not the frames are easy to read. The number of frames per page should be six or seven at most.
Then, consider the organization of the frames using a variety of compositions.
Getting the Story Rolling
The introduction is the 'hook' of your story. Try getting the story rolling with the script and visuals (including frame allotment).
First of all, the following must be conveyed to the reader: who is the main character, what is the setting and world.
As a general rule, the main character appears in the beginning; however, his physical being does not have to be shown. For example, characters gossiping about the main character is enough to give him existence. That is absolutely true but what manga editors really want is something that hooks the reader from the start.
Creating a Short Story Manga
A story is something that is composed of a character and actions that the character brings about.
You will notice that majority of the stories are series where a lot of fascinating characters appear. And with these characters, the story gets bigger and more interesting but... that won't work for short stories.
With short stories, if you want to create a complex story, you'll end up increasing the number of characters in a lot of unresolved episodes making for a half-finished, difficult to understand story. So why does it end up like this?
As a familiar example, let's say you in your school uniform are in the same class as B-kun. Since you have just met, you don't know much about each other. It's one year later. Now what kind of guy is B-kun?
The same goes for manga characters. After the reader sees a few scenes, they understand the character and have feelings for him. It goes without saying that pages will have to be expanded to show scenes.
But, short story - as the name suggests - has a limited number of pages. In addition, throughout the story, the setting has to be explained, the characters have to be introduced and the storyline needs to be developed. And since the development of the setting and storyline cannot be omitted... If something has to go, the only thing to omit is the number of characters. Making many characters is not suitable for short stories. In a word, a few crack characters are desirable for creating a short story.
While the rule - the less characters the better - holds true, if the characters don't have something that will fascinate the readers, they won't amount to much. One method is to make people think the character is a slightly quirky person.
Short Story Themes - Keeping it Simple
The theme is the 'character as he ought to be' which runs through the center of the storyline.
Avoid big themes if possible with short stories. A big theme would be something like becoming the strongest man in the world or defeating a powerful villain and the like. If the theme is becoming the strongest man in the world then the character must defeat several other characters, which doesn't make for a short story.
So what kind of themes are oriented toward short stories? For example, confessing one's love to someone or defeating one's (one and only one) rival are tales with only a few characters. When the number of characters is limited from the beginning, the themes are naturally geared for short stories.
Allotting pages from the Script to the Manga
Add scene settings and dialogue to the plot outline to complete your script.
It is important to consider the type of speech suitable for each character. It is easier to do this now than at the plot outline level. Next, allot parts of the script to the manga pages. Divide off the script into one-episode scenes.
Getting the Right Number of Pages
To get the right number of pages make abbreviations and omissions to the script when scenes are too detailed or too long or too much has been written to explain something pedestrian.
However, if omissions are made to the part expressing the theme or the thoroughlines in the script, you won't be able to convey what you want to the reader. Omissions is a means to get the important parts of the story on the page and by no means intended to thin out the storyline.
Fundamental Frame Rules
Based on the script, consider the spread of the frames using composition paper. Following the basic knowledge of flow, strange shaped frames can be created. The most important thing to consider is whether or not the frames are easy to read. The number of frames per page should be six or seven at most.
Then, consider the organization of the frames using a variety of compositions.
- low angle composition
- eye-level composition
- high angle composition
- full scene shot (master shot)
- long shot (distant view)
- full shot (entire body view)
- close up shot
- close shot (bust-up shot)
Getting the Story Rolling
The introduction is the 'hook' of your story. Try getting the story rolling with the script and visuals (including frame allotment).
First of all, the following must be conveyed to the reader: who is the main character, what is the setting and world.
As a general rule, the main character appears in the beginning; however, his physical being does not have to be shown. For example, characters gossiping about the main character is enough to give him existence. That is absolutely true but what manga editors really want is something that hooks the reader from the start.
