Screentones Tutorial

Screentone is very useful in manga because it can save manga-ka time and it also improve the quality of manga. Doujinshi-ka can also use screentones to make an interesting artwork. Screentones can be divided into line action, special effect, shading, and background. Line action is the screentone that can be use to make effect and impact from the movement of character or object in manga. While special effect is use for effect like cloth’s texture, emotion effect, exploding effect and many more. Shading is use to make a shadow effect or to make a dark surrounding like at sunset or night. While background is use to make a complex background and repeating background. Screentone can be bought from bookstore but its price is expensive. If doujinshi-ka know how to use graphic software, it can be made using Adobe Photoshop.

Steps to make simple screentones using Adobe Photoshop

1. Open a new file in Adobe Photoshop with size of 8x8 pixel in JPEG/JPG format and white background. Don’t use bitmap/bmp format because we will use the Layer function in the next step.

2. Zoom in to the maximum available.

3. Then go to the Tool Bar and choose Pencil Tool. Next, right click on Paintbrush Tool, Pencil Tool is below the category.

4. After that, open a new Layer. Use Pencil Tool to draw 2 point on your file. Both point must be aligned at 45 degree. To ease your work, think like this:

Your file size is 8x8 pixel. If your first point coordinate is (3,3) then your second coordinate should be located at (7,7).

5. Next, open a new Layer and repeat step 4. But this time redraw both points on the same position, and make them bigger and reshape it according to yourself. Repeat this step until you get a variety of shape in different sizes.

6. Now go to Select > Select All, then choose the first layer that has points on them (not the empty layer). Go to Edit > Define Pattern and name your screentone.

Repeat this step for every Layer. All Layer that have been saved will exist in Pattern category for your use.

Congratulations! Now your screentones have being made successfully.

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Gun X Sword

Year: 2005
Studio: AIC A.S.T.A.
Total anime episodes: 26


In a planet called Endless Illusion, there are many fighters and warriors live and dangerous criminals also exist. The civilazation are like the western-style and they also have a high mechanical technology. They also have war machines that were called Armors. The story begins when Van’s wife, Helena was killed by a man called Clawman on their wedding day. In his wedding cloth, Van go on a journey to hunt the killer without realizing that his target is a dangerous person.


Van- Tall and always show spiritless expression, but when he is angry or when fighting he will be a serious man. He is an expert swordsmen and the pilot of Armors called Dann of Thursday.


Wendy Garret- She joined Van on journey and hoping to meet her brother. She thought that her brother was kidnapped by Clawman. But the truth was her brother was consent to join the Clawman.


Priscilla- A girl that was very energetic and aggressive. Met Van in an Armors duel and she admire him. She pilots an Armors called Brownie that is very quick.


Carmen99- A special agent who works as an informer and ever work with Van.

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Naruto

Year: 2002
Studio: Studio Pierrot
Total anime episodes: 220

This anime is about Uzumaki Naruto who dreams to be a skilfull ninja in his village, ‘The hidden leaf village’. But the 4^th Hokage had sealed a demon wolf into his body since he was young. Therefore there are not a single villager who loves Naruto. To reach his ambition, Naruto has trained with his best friend, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke by his teacher, Hatake Kakashi.

Naruto



Naruto has a powerful chakra. His ambition is to be the 5^th Hokage.

Sasuke

A shy guy. His power came from his bloodline, Sharingan. His main ambition is to kill his elder brother, Uchiha Itachi who had killed all the villagers including their parent.

Haruno Sakura



Very expert in using chakra. She loves Sasuke although she knew that Naruto loves her. Her main enemy is Ino because both of them love Sasuke.

Hatake Kakashi



Naruto’s teacher and also Sasuke and Sakura’s teacher. He was promoted to Jounin rank when he was 6 years old. He has a Sharingan technique that can copy enemy’s movement.

Gaara



When he was born, his father had sealed a sand creature, Shukaku into his body. He can uses sand to attack and defending.

Orochimaru



He was a legend and is about 50 years old. He was trained by the 3^rd Hokage, but after he was not appointed as the 4^th Hokage, he learned many forbidden juutsu to get revenge.

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Planning the plot for doujinshi

1. Pre-sketching

First, determine the story that will be made, such as adventures, romances, friendships, or others. Then analyse the plot theme and the messages that want to be delivered. Next, determine the location/setting plot and the characters that will be involved. Make the sketching for location images and the characters. Finally, begin to plan the plot structure in details. This step is so important to distribute the share of pages and to determine the overall balancing of doujinshi that will be made.

2. Set up the plot plan

Plot is usually being made of four level:

a) Introduction

This level is to introduce the characters, especially the hero and heroin characters. The details for each characters like name, age, short description of their background and characteristic must be included so that reader will recognized them.

b) Conflict

Conflict is divided into two parts, the beginning conflict and the middle conflict.
The beginning conflict is usually the introduction of antagonis character. If there is no antagonis, then it will be the starting problem for the hero/heroin. This part is very important because if it was not arrange properly, it will disturb the overall plot. The details must be reveal carefully, don’t reveal all the important details in the beginning conflict. The middle conflict is the chapter where hero/heroin tries to solve the conflict. In this part, the hero/heroin will discover more details of the problems arise.

c) Climax

Climax is a critical moment where the hero will fight the antagonis leader and facing the most difficult problem. All questions wil be answered in this part.

d) Ending

Ending part will shows the scenario after the conflict had been solved, either it will be peace or sad. It will also be the clue for the next episode (for continue series).

Tips: The share of pages for one-shot (8-12 pages) usually use the 1:3:2:1 ratio (intro:conflict:climax:ending).

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Fullmetal Alchemist

Year: 2003
Studio: Bones
Total anime episodes: 51

Two brothers, Alphonse & Edward Elric had tried to revive their dead mother using alchemist. They have failed and thus causing Alphonse to lose all his body and Edward lose each of his hand and leg. At that time, Edward had saved his brother by putting his spirit into an armour suit. Until then, they must try to find the Philosopher stone that has the power to regain their bodies back.


Edward Elric – A nice guy who always take care of his brother. He can change his hand into a sharp weapon for fighting. His automail hand and leg was made by Winry Rockbell. The installation of them are very painful.


Alphonse- He is the younger brother, but peoples always mistaken him as the elder because of his physical appearance that are twice of his brother. He can also perform alchemist but he was not recognized as the National Alchemist. Al owe his life to Ed because Ed has saved his spirit.


Winry Rockbell- Ed and Al friend when they were young. She is the same age as Ed and she was also the creator of hand and leg equipments that was being used by Ed.


Roy Mustang- National alchemist who has the ability to use fire as alchemist. His rank in army is Liutenant Colonel.

Alex Louis Armstrong- He has a pair of strong hand. He was proud of his body muscle and always try to show it in front of peoples.

Maes Hughes- An army that works in investigation department. He loves his wife, Gracia and his daughter, Elicia very much.

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Fan Fiction

Fan fiction is a creative writing by fans that want to hail the anime, manga & games (AMG) that they love. Fanfic is a re-written story or an alternative story base on favourite characters in AMG. Normally, the plot in fanfic is same as the original plot. There are many categories in fanfic, below are some of them:

1. Alternative Universe

This fanfic uses an alternative story for an AMG series. In this fanfic, writer has the freedom to change the plot and characters according to themselves.

2. Continuation

This fanfic is the continuation of the original plot of AMG series that had been finished. Usually this fanfic is written using the original concept without any changes. Some writer may chose to develop some plot that are not been considered by the original maker.

3. Het

This fanfic focuses on love plot between the male and female characters. This fanfic is focusing on relationship among them and sometimes it will also include sexual relationship.

4. Alternative Pairing

This fanfic also focusing on relationship between characters like Het category, but this time it focusing on dream characters of the fans, not the original pair as it was in the original series.

5. Crossover

This fanfic is written using characters from two or more different AMG series, usually by the same creator of the series.

6. Slash

This fanfic is about homosex relationship between characters. Usually the characters were chosen by the writer or fans.

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Cosplay as a profession

There are not many choices in career base on cosplay because it is still not being recognized as a main occupation. But for those who are willing to try, below are some jobs related to cosplay.

1. Costume Designer

Costume designer are the expert in researching and the making of blueprint for cosplay costumes. They work by gathering all of information about costume’s character that being ordered by customers. Then they will make the sketching for the costume. The sketch is important as a reference for the tailor. Costume designer must have the ability to design an exact sketch of the original costume for the character.

2. Costume Tailor

Costume tailor is an expertise in sewing costume. In AMG, they are many complex design, so a good technique in sewing is a must have for costume tailor. Furthermore a good knowledge in fabric also important. Usually costume tailor will work together with costume designer, but there are also peoples who did both jobs at the same time.

3. Prop designer

Prop designer has the same scope like costume designer, but they work on cosplay prop like weapons, equipments, and accessories. Prop designer must has knowledge in scale drawing, so that the equipment will be made using right scale.

4. Prop maker

Prop maker is the people responsible in making the cosplay equipments for cosplayers. Knowledge in carpenting or metal cutting are the main assets for a prop maker.

5. Make-up artist

Make up is one of the important elements in cosplay. For those who are expert in make-up can offer their service, but this will only happens during cosplay conference or cosplay photo shooting. So this job is not suitable to be chosen as a full-time job.

6. Stylist

Stylist is the expert in making hair style, either using original hair or wig. To become a stylist, a person must have skills in hair cutting, colouring and treatment.

7. Cosplay Shop

Cosplay shop is a dream job for a cosplayer who has capital to start a business. A cosplay shop usually offers services like costume/prop designing, costume/prop making, costume rental, make-up, hair styling and wig.

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Fate/ Stay Night

Year: 2006
Studio: STUDIO DEEN
Total anime episodes: 24

Fuyuki City was destined to become the place for the next Holy Grail war. The choosen magicians (master), have summon spiritual warriors (servant) to fight against each other in the war. The winner of the war will receive holy grail that will fulfil a wish for them.

Servants are divided into 7 categories: Saber, Archer, Berserker, Rider, Lance, Caster and Assasin. Every servant are not called by their real name to hide their identities, advantages and weaknesses. A master can only summons a servant to protect and fight with them. Even though a servant has their own advantages, but the strength of his/her master will reflect his/her’s strength.

This anime series was inspired by visual graphics game developed by Type-Moon in 2004. In 2005, Nishiwako Datto has adapted it into manga and was published in Shonen Ace Magazines. Then in 2006, the anime series was aired on Japan TV.

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Drawing Tools – Pencil

Pencil have four grades:

1. H Grade

H means hardness. It start from 2H to 9H. This grade has a hard graphite and make a clear tone. But it must be use softly to avoid marks being left on the paper.

2. F Grade

F means fine. It has a moderate graphite in hardness and tone. Usually it will be use to make a basic sketching in drawing.

3. HB Grade

HB means medium. It almost the same as the F Grade, but it is darker. This pencil usually being used as a writing pencil.

4. B Grade

B means blackness. It has a soft graphite and can make a darker tone. The more bigger the number, the more darker it will be; it start from 2B to 9B.

The most usual pencil being used by doujinshi-ka:

1. Grade B pencil

Grade B has a darker tone and easy to erase compare to Grade H. It’s suitable for pencil drawing that use a variety of tones.

2. Mechanical pencil

Usually mechanical pencil has 2 tip size, 0.5 & 0.7 and using special 2B graphite lead. The lead is refillable, so using only one pencil is enough. It can be use to a drawing that needs inking work because the line that has been made is soft and accurate.

3. Blue Pencil

Blue pencil is use in sketching because its marks can be erase easily and will not be seen after photostat or scanning process to a computer. It’s suitable for those who have untidy drawing style. Besides regular pencil, blue pencil is also available for mechanical pencil that use a special blue lead.

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Romeo X Juliet

Year: 2007
Studio: Gonzo animation



This anime is about a love story between Romeo and Juliet. After 14 years since Montague's rebellion, the politics scenario in Neo Verona still unstable. Peoples that were oppressed tried to find an alternative way to regain peace and freedom that they have in Capulet's era.

An appearance of Red Whirlwind, a hero in mask that opposing Montague's was welcomed by the people but it made the government become more strict to eliminate Red Whirlwind’s influence.
Meanwhile, Capulet’s supporter have arranged a plan to regain their power by using Juliet as their new backbone.

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Publishing a doujinshi

1. Digital Printing

Digital printing is a kind of publishing that needs a lot of money, depending on the pages of the doujinshi and the colour scheme that was choosen. The price will be more expensive if the printing is in colour. Black & White printing is less expensive. The advantage of digital printing is the printing quality is more clear. It will be wise to publish in a large quantity to get price discount.


2. Photostat

This kind of printing is more cheaper than the digital way. But it has some disadvantages. The quality is poor, usually depend on the type of machine that was used. If the machine use harblur toner, the printing will be easy to fade especially when in contact with water. Printing from machine that use liquid toner is more resistance from fading but the cost will be higher. Colour printing is more expensive using photostat machine and the quality is not as good as digital printing. So this kind of printing is suitable only for Black & White printing.

3. Online Publishing

Using today technology, doujinshi-ka can sell their doujinshi with minimum costs by publishing them on the internet. Even though this method is still new, many doujinshi-ka have used this method to sell their artworks. There are two method to sell doujinshi using internet.
First by subscription; the doujinshi-ka has to get a web site that can support the subscription activities. This is to make sure that only subscribers can read the doujinshi. Besides that, the doujinshi-ka also needs to get Paypal account or online banking service to make customer’s payment become easy.
Second by previewing the artwork on the group’s web site first. After customer paid the payment, the doujinshi will be send to the customer by e-mail. This method also need a Paypal account or online banking service.

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Crossplay

The word crossplay was originated from the words cross-dressing and cosplay. It means cosplayers that act as characters of that opposite sex to themselves. Even though there are many cosplayer around the world, the amount of male cosplayers are less than the female cosplayers; only 30% of them are male. The small amount of male’s cosplayer had caused the shortage of male characters in Cosplay Conferences. This situation has stimulated the crossplay phenomenon; when female cosplayers took the role of male characters in order to balance the amount of female characters. Those peoples are called crossplayers.

At first most of crossplayers are female, but later on there are also male crossplayers appeared. Usually female crossplayers are looking good and were accepted by other cosplayers. But there were some negative impressions to male crossplayers as they were related to sensitive issues like homesexual and transexual. This was because some of the male crossplayers have chosen characters that were very contra to themselves. Their action was considered as over-acting and aiming to challenge the etiquette of cosplay. The different opinion being made between male and female crosslayers have made male crossplayers viewed this as a discrimination to them.

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