Category: Art/Design

December’s Final Denouement: Swan and the Godliness of Page Design

9 Comments

It has been said that sometimes great design is great because you don’t notice it. It brings you the information you need without you having to struggle but doesn’t impress itself upon your mind, unless of course you are looking for it. Design, when it is good, can be an unsung hero that enhances your experience but for the most part goes unrealized. This is no less true when it comes to manga page layout. There are a lot of approaches to page layout to be sure, but I’m choosing to focus on Swan because it accentuates manga design so well and is an amazing sight to behold. (I apologize for the crease in my scans; all images can be enlarged)

The most basic function is obviously to lead the reader’s eye through the story. But page design can do so much more. Using the above image you can see the calm of the right page contrast with the chaos of the left. This chaotic feeling is achieved through the angles of the boxes and the way they fit together. From this a momentum starts to build up. Then the way the dancer is swept into the air where her toe points into the negative space your eye follows through the action. You literally might find yourself taking a breath like the gasp the audience utters as the movement leads you to the next page. Moving on to another example, the following spreads come one after the other.

Continue reading →

November’s Final Denouement: A Tale of Master and Student – Kenjiro Hata and Koji Kumeta

Leave a comment

hisuiconAt first Hayate the Combat Butler by Kenjiro Hata and Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei by Koji Kumeta might not seem like manga with a common ancestry. The sense of humor and storytelling is quite different in both manga. Hayate has a very traditional design for a comedy manga in Shonen Sunday where as Zetsubou-Sensei is very stylized. But when we realize that Kenjiro Hata used to be an assistant to Koji Kumeta we begin to see greater similarities in their styles. When we look at, Katte ni Kaizo, a manga they both worked on together we can see how Hata was influenced by Kumeta. Hata’s work on Heroes of the Sea Lifesavers is clearly influenced by his mentor. Hata would go on to develop his own style in Hayate while Kumeta would further continue to refine his own style in Zetsubou-Sensei. I have compiled some samples from each manga to help illustrate this evolution.

Continue reading →

NY Anime Festival 2010: Artist Alley – Making it Big!

7 Comments

GUEST POST BY SKEITH

For better or worse, the New York Anime Festival certainly shook things up this year by merging with the New York Comic Con. Thankfully, my usual haunt – the Artists Alley – was also on the winning end of this merger, taking advantage of the Jacob Javits Center’s layout to get as many of the 90,000+ attendees to take a look and perhaps buy some art from the many booths. I saw a lot of familiar faces, but more and more I’m beginning to see them making the transition from amateur artist to full-time professionals, making me wonder just how they made the jump.

“It’s a lot of work,” said  Sarah Moulder of Stuido Kitsu. “You have to look at it like a full-time job and put in the extra hours to do it.” Moulder started simply, making odds and ends such as Kingdom Hearts dangles. Now she peddles a wide variety of anime-inspired hoodies, costume pieces and more. Sharing a booth with Moulder are Carolann Voltarel and Carrie Wink of Athena’s Wink who also claim crafting as a full-time job – and not an easy one.

“The both of us sit [at home] 8 hours, Monday through Friday, sewing hats most weeks,” said Voltarel. “And half of our weekends we’re selling at conventions.” When asked if they could be considered a success story of the Artists Alley, Wink responded, “We’re still working on the success part.”

Sarah Moulder, Carolann Voltarel and Carrie Wink

Continue reading →