Group items tagged

Abstract background effects:

Symbols:

Sweat drops, usually drawn largely on the head region, commonly indicate bewilderment, nervousness, social discomfort, or mental weariness. On a sidenote, actual physical perspiration in manga is signified by even distribution of sweat drops over the body. A round swelling, sometimes drawn to the size of baseballs, is a visual exaggeration of swelling from injury. A nosebleed indicates sexual excitation following exposure to stimulating imagery or situation. It is based on a Japanese old wives' tale[1] Throbbing veins, usually depicted as a cruciform in the upper head region, indicate anger or irritation. Hatchings on the cheek represent blushing, usually used when embarrassed by romantic feelings, while oval "blush dots" on the cheeks represent rosy cheeks.

line over form

Impressionistic backgrounds

sequences in which the panel shows details of the setting rather than the characters.

right to left,

small noses, tiny mouths, and flat faces.

the transparent feeling of pupils and the glares, or small reflections in the corners of the eyes are often exaggerated,

eyes of characters who have died are the colour of the iris, but darker.

hair partially covering the face, the eyes that would otherwise be covered are often outlined to make them visible,

The following is a non-exhaustive and incomplete list of artistic conventions used in mainstream manga and their place of origin. A white cross-shaped bandage symbol denotes pain. A large sweat drop on the side of the face denotes a broad spectrum of emotions, usually embarrassment or exasperation. A scribble on the cheek can show injury; it is also used in black-and-white media to denote red cheeks, i.e. blushing. A red cheek denotes embarrassment or blushing. A throbbing vein, sometimes comically simplified to a "+" shaped outline on the head (or occasionally other body parts, especially fists), represents anger or irritation. A balloon dangling from one nostril (a "snot bubble") indicates sleep. Electricity shoots out on the eyes of two characters when they are fighting. Nosebleeds, usually caused by shocking sights - especially those with a sexual undertone. There are many eye symbols such as love-hearts, crosses, flames, stars, and spirals. A character suddenly falling onto the floor, usually with one or more extremities twisted above him or herself, is a typically humorous reaction to something ironic happening. The pupils disappearing from the eyes, and the iris gaining a glass-like glare smoothness denotes loss of conscious control because of possession (ghost, demon, zombie, magic, etc). The eyes becoming huge and perfectly round with tiny pupils and no iris and going beyond the reach of the face, plus the mouth becoming like a stretched semicircle, the point of which extends past the chin, symbolises extreme excitement. All facial features shrinking, the nose disappearing, the character lifting off the floor and the limbs being multiplied as if moving very fast symbolizes panic; if the same but with larger facial features it symbolises comic rage. Tear drops everywhere indicate intense joy or sadness. An ellipsis appearing over a character's head indicates a silence, implying that something is going unsaid. Eye shapes and sizes are often symbolically used to represent the character. For instance, bigger eyes will usually symbolize beauty, innocence, or purity, while smaller, more narrow eyes typically represent coldness and/or evil. More often than not, character colorizations tend to represent the character in some way. A more subdued character will be colored with lighter tones, while a flamboyant character will be done in bright tones. Similarly, villains are often colored in darker tones, while colder character will be given neutral tones (black, white, grey, etc.). An odd white shape (more often than not, something close to a mushroom) that appears during an exhale represents a sigh of awkward relief or depression. Completely blackened eyes (shadowed) indicates a vengeful or deep anger. It could also indicate that someone's being sort of a wise-guy, grinning. Characters push their index fingers together when admitting a secret or telling the truth to another. A character's eyes are shadowed regardless of the lighting in the room when they become angry, upset, something is wrong with them, or they are emotionally hurt. The anime character's eyes turn into two thick half-circles, conveying a cute, delighted look. Face expressions change depending on their mood, and can look from apple shaped to a more subtle carrot shape. Parallel vertical lines with dark shading over the head or under the eye may represent mortification or horror. If the lines are wavy, it may represent disgust. A wavy ghost coming out of the mouth is often a comical representation of depression or mortification. Cherry blossoms indicate a sweet or beautiful moment. This is a reference to Mono no Aware. A flower blossom falling off its stem may indicate death or, more commonly, sex. A fang peeking from the corner of the mouth indicates mischief or feistiness. (Unless, of course, the character has fangs normally). A cat mouth (like a number "3" rotated 90° clockwise) replacing the character's normal mouth, and usually accompanied by larger eyes may also represent mischief or feistiness. Unbound hair may represent freedom, while hair that is tied back may represent some form of either literal, figurative or emotional enslavement of some kind.

an increasingly large class of professional creators uses doujin sales as a substantial segment of their income, acting as freelance illustrators, mangaka, and designers when they’re not doing doujin work (and vice versa).

Perhaps the biggest issue raised by the emergence of this group of professional and semi-pro doujinka is that of intellectual property rights and copyright infringement.

in many instances the people producing the doujinshi are the same as those producing the original works being parodied. The doujin scene is so interbred with that of professional anime, manga, and game creators that it would be impractical for all but the largest IP holders to crack down on the parody doujin scene.

soft circles

Lilith’s business model is the culmination of doujinshi as commerce - small, versatile, ubiquitous, and high quality.

The doujin world now spans works from the rank amateur to the polished professional and everything in between,

I wonder if anyone will try to release digital manga by chapter shortly after release in Japan though. For long-running shounen series like Bleach and Naruto, it seems like it would be much easier than any attempt to release anime concurrently (though Crunchyroll and partners seem to be doing reasonably well). Viz already has the license. It doesn't take nearly as long to translate a chapter. It would be gold. Just figure out how to price a chapter.

The only issue would be that a chapter of manga is much easier to find online than an episode of anime, or at least, they're easier to access. No having to deal with torrents. You don't even have to download anything! Just pop over to Mangashare or Onemanga and you're set. Then again, if Viz did create a legal way for readers to have timely access to Japan's newest manga, I feel that many scanlators would hang up their work hats in good faith.

establishment of an official industry presence in the form of an industry booth dealers’ section

alternate media such as software, music, and character goods.

doujin circle (同人サークル). A doujin circle is an individual or group of creators who collaborate as a discreet entity to produce doujin items for sale;

Recently the so-called “kojin circle” (個人サークル, personal circle) composed of a single member has been increasing, as individuals take on all aspects of doujin production from the application process, illustration, post-production, printing, and staffing of the table space allotted at the event.

Step 1 Purchase an application packet.

Step 2 File the application correctly and on time.

primary focus of the event is the buying and selling of doujinshi

Step 3 Wait for the election results.

Step 4 Produce a doujin.

Also, copyright considerations that apply to other events such as Wonder Festival are in effect here when it comes to certain types of character goods (no unauthorized figures), and while most IP is considered fair game for parody in the doujin community, a few exceptions such as Disney stand out as taboo.

Step 5 Coordinate replication.

Step 6 Make final preparations.

This broadening of distribution means that it’s no longer necessary to attend events in person to obtain many professionally produced books at a reasonable price. While they’re still cheaper at Comiket, many circles have recognized the need to provide something more to encourage fans to attend (or just to show gratitude to those who do show up), and that’s where the copy book comes in.

Step 7 Show up and sell!

At some point before 9:30 an event staff member will visit you at your table where your participation will be officially registered. You must provide both a sworn statement that you’re not selling anything illegal and copies of the books you’ll be releasing that day to the staff, and then you’re clear to go.