Quote:
Originally Posted by potatoxpotato
So, a mangaka makes about $100 a page once published in a magazine. And there are twenty pages per magazine, and let's say the magazine is monthly. That would be $2000 a month and basically a page a day, which is drawing the storyboard, sketching the page, inking it, then scanning it on the computer for computer graphics, which, for me, takes just a few hours. This, truthfully, is not a lot of money.
Then, let's say, you work on 2 other manga to get more pay. I think someone suggested mangakas do multiple mangas at a time a while before. This would make 3 mangas, $2000 x 3 which is $6000, and just 3 pages a day, which, honestly for me is 15 min storyboard, 30 min sketching, 30 min inking and an hour adding computer graphics-- about 2 hours x 3 is 6 or 7 hours of work, about a normal workday right? And $6000 is a lot of money. Being a mangaka doesn't seem to bad, now, does it?
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I have to add to what MMM said in reply to this, as I almost laughed out loud. I *do* know someone personally who is a published mangaka (actually successful at that - she got an anime deal.)
It is nothing even close to how easy you put it.
First - the major publishers (the ones that actually pay) do not accept any CG work unless it is for colored pages. They require all the work to be submitted on specific types of paper, hand drawn, using ink and tone.
Right here, this changes the entire equation.
You simply cannot finish a page on paper in the same amount of time as with using CG.
Second - There is another huge step in there that you are missing. Taking a rough copy to the editor. You need to have a rough copy (but drawn well) of the next section quite early. There are 2 to 3 meetings with the editor to check the work, iron out plot points, get advice on certain areas, etc. No one just draws what they want and turns it in.
Third - Related to both the first and second sections of this, if you`re at all successful (as in being published), you will need an assistant and you will need quite a chunk of money for supplies. Remember - no CG work, and an editor-linked system that may give you only 2 or 3 days to produce a full segment. (Happens all the time - an upper editor didn`t think that some plot point was good - rewrite the whole thing and turn it in within 3 days.)
Fourth - running multiple manga at once is laughably unthinkable at this point in time. First, because magazines simply don`t accept multiple runs from a single artist as one always suffers. Occasionally they will accept a one off that you might have finished over months in the background... Or accept something you helped with (such as a work by an assistant)... But running more than one as a single artist? I`d forget it.
Oh, and there is another huge thing I forgot.
Magazines are
weekly in Japan. There are a few monthly, but the page numbers are completely different. Think instead of 18~20 page, 60~80 pages per segment.
So let us go back to your equation.
As an average mangaka, you will likely make around $500~800 per weekly segment depending on the magazine and how popular you are. As you can`t use CG as a tool, and you need to pump out 18~20 pages a week, you will need to spend money on supplies and an assistant. Publishing type forms are generally about $10 for a pack of 5 sheets, so think $2 cost to you per page. Tone is also pretty painfully expensive at $1~10 a sheet (depends on design).
You will go through publishing sheets like there is no tomorrow as you need to present a working draft to your editor half way through the week.
So, let`s say $50~100 a week on supplies.
Then there is your assistant. I can`t imagine someone managing all the work of 20 pages in 3 or 4 days alone and not burning out. Let`s say they are paid $200 a week to come in about 4 to 6 hours a day and help with the working draft and final draft.
If you`re on the low end of the scale, that`s almost half your pay gone to just to
make the manga. All the other costs of living still remain.
Sure, if you make it big you can make a ton of money. But even the regular published mangaka do NOT make all that much.
When my friend`s manga was made into an anime (single season) - her huge bonus went into buying a condo for her and her mother. And... That was it. No life of glamour. The middlemen take most of everything. She was laughing that after the anime, she only made about $500 more a month from sales of tankobon... But had to travel so much that it was a complete minus.