thejade9
angelbankai45
thejade9
Not trying to scare you, but these are the realities. Like I said, I've thought about becoming a manga artist in Japan, even going to art school to perfect my art. But getting into comics--Japanese or American--isn't an easy job, and you need to do your research first.
Thanks for informing me of this. Well, correction now: I want to be a non Japanese authentic manga artist. Of course I know that I need to learn Japanese to become one. I don't have a lot of money however. I can't afford to travel there anytime soon.
Being a pro artist is what I want to be in life. I've been trying to get a job for so long but so far no luck. If I had one I would be able to save money for it. Right now I'm still in my first year of college. I want to get a bachelor's degree in art. So becoming a manga artist isn't just something I want to do just because it's cool. It's because art is my passion, and comics/graphic novels are one of the things I love to do in art.
So I have a strong reason for wanting this. It's just something i'll have to fight for.
Don't let money stop you. You've just got to work twice as hard and be five times as resourceful in accomplishing your dreams. I came to Japan for the first time in 2008 with nearly zero money. I got into a city program that had a sister cities program for college youths. It paid for a good portion of the trip, and I saved up for the rest of it. I also did some side jobs, like drawing portraits for small events, alongside my regular job in order to save for it.
There's also the opportunity to study abroad. Some colleges have a special study abroad program or exchange program with a Japanese university. You pay the same amount for tuition as you would for your normal college, but you go to the Japanese university. Since you're a first year, you can also get a scholarship, and if there's no stipulations, use the money towards a trip to Japan. Currently, getting flights to Japan is cheaper for foreigners and tourists because the Japanese government is trying to revive the Japanese economy from the 2011 tsunami and earthquake.
Also, you can start your own web comic. One of the staffers in a school I worked at had her own web comic (mind you, I work in Japan, so this is a Japanese artist I'm talking about). It saves money and time, and it's a little easier to promote. Some American comic artists are also going digital in order to save on distributing costs.
Like I said, don't let money stand in your way. Lots of people have come up from having nothing because they strove for their dreams.
You mentioned a sister cities program you went through, can you elaborate on this?
