Japanese-style Manga comics excite UBM students<\/p>\n
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Dozens of students at Bunda Mulia University were listening
\nintently to Japanese comic artist Machiko Maeyama's presentation
\nduring the workshop on comics at their campus in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Maeyama, who runs a manga school in Kemang, South Jakarta, was
\nexplaining and demonstrating how to draw manga characters,
\nincluding the popular wide-eyed characters.<\/p>\n
All the students were familiar with the drawing style.<\/p>\n
\"Manga comics are very popular in the world. They also have
\ninfluenced many students here,\" said Fernando, a student at UBM's
\nschool of visual communication design.<\/p>\n
However, Fernando, who has won several local animation
\ncompetitions, said he preferred to combine the Japanese-style
\nwith the American style, which is particularly known for the
\nmacho looks of its super-hero figures.<\/p>\n
According to him, Indonesian comics are different from
\nJapanese and American comics, in the sense that the former
\nfeatures drawings with natural looks.<\/p>\n
\"Our comics are good. But, probably, they need more
\npublicity,\" Fernando, who was also the head of the workshop's
\norganizing committee, said.<\/p>\n
The workshop was part of the \"Komikasia 2005\" event, which was
\nheld by UBM in cooperation with the Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology (ITB) and the Japan Foundation from Nov. 25 to Nov.
\n27.<\/p>\n
Several comics by UBM's students were also exhibited in the
\ncampus during the event.<\/p>\n
The comics depict the life of young people, often during
\nsports and school activities, as well as imaginative things.<\/p>\n
The influence of manga is strong. Wide eyes, small noses, thin
\nlips and slim bodies in black and white or pastel colors are
\noften chosen by the students for their figures.<\/p>\n
Some of them were hand-painted, while the others were
\ncomputer-generated.<\/p>\n
ITB's visual design lecturer Hafiz Ahmad said he was excited
\nto see the increasing attention of young people in comics, as
\nwell as the increase in the number of events held to promote the
\nart.<\/p>\n
\"Now, so many young people want to be comic artists. It's very
\ndifferent from the past years,\" Hafiz said during a talk at the
\nuniversity's campus.<\/p>\n
He said many companies and publications now needed people who
\nhad skill in drawing and animating for advertisements of their
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
Aside from business purposes, he said, comics could be used to
\npromote education, as comics could make certain studying
\nmaterials, such as math and physics, more interesting and
\nunderstandable.<\/p>\n
\"Comics have been used as communication media everywhere.
\nSometimes, we do not realize that,\" explained Hafiz.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the same forum, Retno Kristy, an editor of
\npublishing company Elex Media Komputindo, said publishing
\ncompanies were also in need of local comics. She thus invited
\nyoung artists to send their comic art to her company.<\/p>\n
\"Making comics can be an interesting job,\" Retno said.<\/p>\n
She added that her company would pay comic artists 10 percent
\nof the sales.<\/p>\n
The artists will get 25 percent of the royalty as a down
\npayment after the books have been printed, regardless of the
\nnumber of sales of their comic books.<\/p>\n
However, Retno said her company required that the drawings
\nshould not contain violence or offend religions, ethnic groups,
\nraces of other groups.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/japanese-style-manga-comics-excite-ubm-students-1447893297",
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