The Rising Stars of Manga

[Ashen Victor]

Here's the page listing all the winners from Vol. 2. Hey, we have a NY girl in there, Ashen...
http://www.tokyopop.com/news/mangata...st_winners.php

pick me up from my house and we'll stalk... *ahem* i mean, "scout" her out.

ya know, the more i see this thread up top, the more and more i feel like i should stop being lazy and get to work on something. but then laziness comes back and beats me into submission. i'm not going to lie. it's a harsh mistress.

[Dolemite]

Why do I always never see these until way too late? Wonder when the next one will be...

Check the website, I'm sure they will announce it.

And, if nothing else, Vol. 3 is due out in June, I believe, and it will have the due date for submissions for vol. 4.

Yeah, way to hide your win. You already know.

I wish I did...

ya know, the more i see this thread up top, the more and more i feel like i should stop being lazy and get to work on something. but then laziness comes back and beats me into submission. i'm not going to lie. it's a harsh mistress.

Dude, I'm a lazy bitch too, but the experience was so worth it. Even if I don't get published, I'm just proud that I got the thing done and that I did a pretty good job on it. And you have an advantage that I didn't have, that being time. I had to crank out my entry from scratch in about a month, which almost killed me. Vol. 3 is due out June 7th, and I'll assume (I could be wrong) the deadline announced in that book for vol. 4 entries will be at least 3 months from then. So, including May, you'll have at least 4 months to work on the thing. Man, I wish I had 4 months to have worked on my entry...

[Drewbacca]

Oh, right, forgot about that. I'll try to bring some stuff to work tomorrow and scan it. I'm not scanning and posting 18 pages, however. Sorry!

Don't be lazy. I'm supposed to be the lazy one here.

[Dolemite]

Well, I didn't get in.

I went to MoCCA in the Soho district of NYC saturday to meet with the Tokyopop reps and get my portfolio reviewed. There were about 25 other artists and writers there. They did a little presentation about their art guidelines, gave out some free books and pamphlets, and then got to the reviews. They spent about 15-20 minutes with each person. The editor that was emailing me ended up being the guy that reviewed me and he actually recognized my story right away when I showed it to him, which was cool. Turns out that the editors in the contest and their original manga department LOVED (I mean, really loved) my writing and story, but felt that my art needed work, and they were right. I mean, this WAS a rush-job, and there were some aspects of the art that I liked, and some that I later looked at and made me want to cringe. Mostly, there were problems with my anatomy and perspective, though they were very impressed with what I accomplished given the fact that I had done it all in only a month. Still, they kept going on about my writing, pointing out that it was probably one of the strongest pieces submitted and that's why they wanted to follow up with me on it. They really felt I have potential, and wanted to point out the areas they feel I need to improve in if I want to get published. It seems that most of their entries don't tend to have very good writing to back up the visuals. They said if my art had matched the story, I would have won. I was part of a small group of entries (out of over 1000) that didn't win, but they wanted to meet with anyway to give detailed feedback to.

This makes me both happy and sad. Happy, because they gave my writing so much recognition, but sad because I was really into the entry I submitted. I have this whole epic sequel planned, and I'd love for it to see print one day. Perhaps I should have gone with my first instinct and just waited for vol. 4 instead of rushing it. Still, the editors I met with were friendly and really supportive, and actually sat down with me and went over my entry page by page, pointing out things they liked and didn't. They really encouraged me to send in another submission for vol. 4 (due by the end of the summer). In fact, the one editor took down all my contact information and asked me to email him when I mail my next submission so he knows it's coming and can personally check it out. Seems my entry piqued their interest enough that they want to see how I do with some extra time and compare my new entry with my old one.

So, I'm off to work on my new submission. I haven't decided if I'm re-drawing my original entry (since they loved the story so much), or just doing a brand new story from scratch. I should be able to drastically improve the art given I'll have 4 months to work instead of 1. Still, I'm glad I did it. The experience and encouragement I recieved were worth it.

Still, winning would have been nice.

However, it would have meant a shitload of work. If I did get do do my own book, it would have had to have been 3 volumes at 150 pages each, according to the editors. Damn, that's a lot, considering I work full-time. I'd do it in a second, however.

BTW, I'll scan and post some of my entry on Tuesday.

[Ashen Victor]

what time where you there on sat? i was in the area with my girlfriend after 5 or so. but man, i wish i knew about that cuz i would've loved to have some of my work looked at. seriously though, that post was awesome man. puts a smile on my face even though it wasn't even me that was there.

[ChaoofNee]

Seems like you've got some friends in the business now, eh?
Good job, sir pimp. Now, I've gotta see this story you've submitted...

[SHiNgO]

Hey Dolmite... is there a way I can get a taste of what your story was? I would love to read it somehow. I know you're probably a bit protective over it since anyone could steal the idea, but if you are willing to share.... I would love to read it. ^_^;

[Dolemite]

what time where you there on sat? i was in the area with my girlfriend after 5 or so. but man, i wish i knew about that cuz i would've loved to have some of my work looked at. seriously though, that post was awesome man. puts a smile on my face even though it wasn't even me that was there.

I was there about the same time you were. The presentation started at 2PM, and the reviews about 3. They got to me about 4:45, and I was about in the middle of the list. Then my girlfriend and I (she came with me, she's a wiz at navigating through the city) hung around the general area for a bit. We caught the 8:05 train back to LI.

BTW, while they looked at individual pieces of art, they were mostly interested in looking at sequential stuff.

Seems like you've got some friends in the business now, eh?

Thankfully, yes, it seems that way. So, hopefully, that gives me a good foot in the door on the next entry I send in.

Good job, sir pimp. Now, I've gotta see this story you've submitted...

Well, like I said above, I'll scan some stuff tomorrow, or if we ever run into each other I'd be glad to show you.

Hey Dolmite... is there a way I can get a taste of what your story was? I would love to read it somehow. I know you're probably a bit protective over it since anyone could steal the idea, but if you are willing to share.... I would love to read it. ^_^;

Yes, I am a bit protective, but as I said above, I'll be posting stuff from it this week...keep an eye out.

Thanks for the interest.

[Drewbacca]

Stop posting build up and let us read the story you asshole. It's only 18 pages!

How about this, you post like the first 6 pages and if we like it then you have to post more. I don't care about the art. You can always spend time with perspective. Story is always going to be hard because in reality it directs the artwork.

I'm interested to see what this is. I'm not educated at all in the Manga/Anime/whatever fair, yet because I sort of know you I'm interested in it. Show us dude!

If you don't want to scan the art then just post a script or SOMETHING.

[Dolemite]

Finally got my official rejection slip in the mail yesterday, thanking me for submitting my entry. At least they included a fancy certificate with my name on it, suitable for framing.