Manga Creator Interview: AyumiNazu

Since we're all about manga creation at the grassroots, we will from time to time bring you exclusive interviews with Indie Manga Creators and Online Comickers! Today, we have Miss AyumiNazu, one of our own members. who is initiating pre-orders for her comic project, memories of Today. Ayumi is from Canada and delights in all sorts of cute and crafty things, from drawing to making crafts. She also likes to write.

LOOM: Hello, AyumiNazu! Thank you for sitting down to chat today! I understand you've put together you own manga project! Can you tell me a little bit about it?

AYUMINAZU: Hi, HeyTayHolt! Thank you for inviting me to this interview! My manga is entitled “Memories of Today.” A lot of the events in the story were taken from fun experiences that happened in real life when I was visiting my friend’s house. This project took a bit over a year to complete, but the time and effort spent was definitely worth it!



LOOM: I notice there are guest artists. How did you recruit them? Do you each have your own short story in the book?

AYUMINAZU:  I picked a few artists from my friend’s list and kindly sent them a Note inviting them to participate in my project. A few of them did not have the time and a few happily accepted. Three of the seven guest artists are winners of a competition that I hosted a few months ago. Their artworks won a place in my book! I’m very blessed to have such wonderful artists participate in my manga! Each one created 1-2 illustrations of the main characters of the book, so the only story is the one I drew out.

Guest Artists =



LOOM: Are these stories based upon real life experiences? I noticed it says "98% True Story."

AYUMINAZU:  Yes. As mentioned above, most of the events were silly and funny happenings I went through when hanging out at my friend’s house. The goal was to learn a duet together, but we got very distracted and ended up doing other things instead! Of course the real experiences were twisted a bit to add more flavor to the comedy in the story.



LOOM: In the interests of our members, how did you go about printing this book? Did you use an online printer, and were you pleased with the quality?

AYUMINAZU:  I searched for local printers and asked for a quote. After going through about 6-7 different companies, I found one with great services called 360 Digital Books. The reason I chose this company is because they had the option of perfect binding and gloss paper. I wanted the book to match the quality of the illustrations inside! With a company that has such services, customers get what they pay for. The books haven’t been shipped yet, as I don’t know how many to print. One of the reasons I started Pre-orders is to figure out how many copies to get. That way I won’t have a shortage of book and won’t have many left over. I heard many good things about this company so I’m expecting high quality products.



LOOM: Is there anything that frustrates you when it comes to creating? Do you get blocked from time to time? How do you get out of it?

AYUMINAZU: I think the thing that frustrated me the most was my slowness when drawing. When drawing a page, I take into consideration the quality of the artworks as well as how I do the story telling. Timing is very important in the panels of comics as well as the little details that make the story flow. To me, the art is just as important as the story. Due to that, I take several hours to a few days in order to complete a single page! I didn’t get any blocks while drawing out the story since I had written out the entire script and story board first. However, in order not to overwork myself, I took small breaks from the project and sketched other things to open up my mind. The breaks can’t be long though, otherwise you’ll loose focus and won’t go back to the project any time soon. Setting deadlines for myself helped me get back on track.



LOOM: What did you enjoy most about your project? Will you ever do another one?

AYUMINAZU:  I enjoyed being able to illustrate the story in my mind and turning it into a form of entertainment to other people. Since this is a comedy, I’m hoping that by reading this story, I can make my readers smile ^_^ If I ever do another story, it will still be a one-shot manga, but perhaps with hints of romance and action rather than slice of life comedy. I want to try drawing in different styles as different genre affect the art of the story. Since my current manga is a comedy, the art’s very cute with exaggerated expressions! This was definitely a fun project. I would recommend to everyone who’s drawing manga to never give up drawing half way in the story! The feeling when you complete it is very refreshing and joyful!



LOOM: What do you like about Manga-Apps? Is there any way Manga-Apps can help you more in the future?

AYUMINAZU: Manga-Apps is a wonderful place because you get to meet a lot of other people who’s dreaming to create their own manga. A lot of resources and references can also be found there! This may sound like an extravagant idea for a new project in Manga-Apps, but I believe that it’d be great if one day Manga-Apps becomes a group big enough to start their own manga magazine to help new artist mark their debut. It would be extremely helpful for artists with talent that don’t know where to start! Aside from that I can’t think of anything that can make this amazing group even better~

Thank you for reading this interview, I hope you will all support my manga by either pre-ordering or helping me spread the word, I will really appreciate it!

Pre-Order Memories of Today now! Check out the following deviation for previews and details on how to order:



BONUS: Order before July 24 and get a free button of choice! (Please click here for available designs!)

My Manga/Illustration Collection, MEMORIES OF TODAY, is OPEN FOR PRE-ORDER!

INFO
Title: Memories of Today
Size: 5” x 7.5”
PERFECT BOUND
Laminated Cover and Glossy Interior Pages
Pages: About 40 (including cover)
Content: Listed in the above image

95% of the book’s content has never been released online or anywhere else!

BONUS: Order before July 24 and get a free button of choice! (Please check here for available designs: [link])

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ARTIST


AMAZING GUEST ARTISTS
(Thank you so much for the hardwork! <3)