I know there are a ton of people out there who love anime and have so many stories in their minds ready to be told.     I’m sure the dream is to go to Japan, find a company they can submit to and have their stuff made into anime.

They wish they could make their own but lack the actual talent to do so.  Plus no money.  This concept is also the same if you are trying to make a comic or manga.  It is still a challenge for the person who can’t draw.  So what can you do?

Collab?  Nope folks won’t really collab with you.  I know.  I tried.  So what can you do?

Well you may have to spend some money but maybe not as much as you think.

Brian Haberlin showed a really cool way to make comics.  I posted here earlier about it using Poser.

This is a great way to make a comic/manga without knowing necessarily how to draw.

But what if you don’t want to use the standard Poser characters?  Hire someone to model and rig the characters for you.  Now I know it costs money for this but the cool thing is this.   You can find modelers out there who will work with you.   Start simple and work your way up.

Sketchfab is a great place to find some modelers.

I’m doing a search right now for my newest characters and my current comic.

 

 

I know it is a little late but RWBY is back.

One reason I really love RWBY is knowing how this show was created.  It really helped me realize that this cool stuff can be created by even the smallest of groups using a little imagination and creative thinking.

I wish Monty Oum could have seen this show to fruition.    Thanks Rooster Teeth for a promising new season.

 

Here is one of the latest Anime’s.

You can do this too.  This would be great for a comedy style anime.  Less drawings, with a lot of detail.

This is just another example to help inspire you to try different things and tell stories more simply.

 

Okay so when you think of telling a story visually, especially in animation you may be wondering what kind of animation can I make especially if I am a single person working on a project.

I wanted to show you the different styles you can work on and actually get things done.  Here are some different types of animations you can make.  Hopefully this gives you ideas on telling your stories visually.

1.  Minimum animation.

This style is one of the easiest because it takes less drawings and less art and is yet still beautiful and fun to watch.

Here are some examples of the Minimum animation style.

D7 Peacemaker

Technical Dave

Broken Saints

Afterworld

Now I know these are not anime per se but the concept is still there.  Could you tell your story in a minimalist style?  Notice Afterworld which is about 13 hours long.  If your story is good could you tell it with minimum animation?   Could you concentrate on telling the story with great visuals doing it this way?  Could you hire an artist who can draw just a few drawings and tell a whole story?

Anime incorporates a lot of pans and slides all the time.  This is just a simpler form of that.  I use the above examples because they are entertaining and tell a very big story which otherwise might not have been possible any other way.

What kind of story could you tell this way?

PS here is a nice version of that.

Less animation but still visually stunning.  I think if you have limited time and money you could go this route and still tell an awesome story.

Money is always a challenge.

You need money to live.  To make money you need to spend time working.  To work you lose time to create.

If you are a writer and not really a visual artist you may need money to hire artists to bring your vision to life.     Money is not everything but having it is.   If you had a ton of money making anime, cartoons, series,  comics, etc would be a lot easier.

If I had 2 million dollars to spend I’d just go to the Korean outsourcers Japan uses and have them make my 13 part epic anime series.  But I don’t and chances are neither do you.

This has been a big challenge for me.  It goes hand in hand with my personal talent.  I don’t feel I have the talent to model 3d characters.  There are also tools I want that make things go by faster and there are a ton of other reasons I would like an actual budget for telling stories.

Now there are some new ways to find money.  I am talking about Crowdfunding.  The big boys out there are Kickstarter and Indiegogo.    That is an option open to anyone.  I will tell you truthfully though that it is a lot of work.  I ran my own campaign twice and failed twice.    You have to almost become a full time marketer.  That takes a lot of time and money.

So you have to ask yourself how much do you really need that money?

Coming up with a basic budget, being realistic and balanced can go a long way.   Plus we live in an age where there are more and more free tools that you can use.  Yes the technology to create your own anime is free.   For every high dollar piece of software there is a poor man’s open source free version.

Maya = Blender

Zbrush = Sculptris

Toonboom = Synfig

Below is an animated short created with Synfig and Blender.  All free software.

There are also cheaper alternatives.  I will tell you thought given budget constraints you can get a little more creative.

Also many software packages are allowing a monthly subscription.  The entire Adobe package is about 50 bucks a month.  I’m sure more people can swing that.

I also wanted to mention that if you have a little budget aside you can find artists for cheaper prices.  I have found great modelers on sites like Fiverr.com and Deviantart.com for pennies on the dollar.    If you can afford a Playstation, Xbox or a computer you can get a lot of artwork at that price.

Below is some artwork from a great artist I found on Deviantart.com.  I am not going to tell you the price but it was a really good deal.  It was affordable on my paycheck.

fiverilovekaiju

Here are some bullet points in regards to money.

*Determine your wants and needs

*Use free alternatives if you cannot afford the

 pro level tools-in many cases the free versions are just as good.  

*Be more thrifty- can you make your coffee at home for 10 cents on the cup vs $5

 for that latte mocha.  

*Find little quick ways to earn money to sink into your project.  

I’m selling my comic books and figurines I have collected over the years.  

*Try crowdfunding, it worked for me…errr….well it has worked for a lot of other people.

*Outsource if you must. 

There are plenty of starving artists out there who just need a little pizza money or

 even a few followers who you can convince to believe in you. 

*DIY- Do it yourself. If you cannot afford something do it yourself.  You can work for free.