Anyone dreams of making Manga 4 a career?

I used to, but then realized I have zero motivation and can't keep my attention to making even a single page. Also figuring out panel placement is too confusing for me, like algebra. >.< I'm too much of a perfectionist too, so I'd probably spend an entire day trying to perfect just one single panel and coloring/shading it. I couldn't even finish a simple chibi-style web-comic to make fun of a game. Mangaka sure work hard.

I wouldn't dream of becoming a full-fledged manga artist. I'd rather keep it as a side job. It's enough stress as is, even if you don't have fixed deadlines to finish stuff. Really helps if you're able to emulate a lot of styles-- and do that fast. Even if it's EOL manga, you still have to sit hours on end with your writer on a formal arrangement (in some cases). But geez, even making it through the list of candidates for illustration is tough.

Yeah, i think it is stressful even without deadlines because of competition and getting noticed among millions of other artists who are just as talented or even more talented. @_@ It involves a lot of luck, just like acting and singing. Unless you get famous, you can't rely on it as a source of income either. I find emulating other artists' styles to be really fun, and also helps you learn about the proportions and "rules" of anime style, as well as finding what your like to incorporate into your own style. I've found that I really enjoy drawing like "otome game style" for characters' faces and hair, and sort of mix that with other styles like standard anime style and sometimes realism.

@Kohagura Agreed. It's pretty harsh, but that's how it is. It's a jungle of competition out there. It's by chance and luck that you get commissions. Not very stable. ^^ With art, I'm not very consistent at it. Sometimes I go shounen. Sometimes, I take the 'otoge' route like you do. It's really fun mimicking other art styles, just for kicks. Buuuut, I'm pretty slow. I can only finish three page drafts a day, and take longer to ink and tone them.

I've found that I can make somewhat of a living with a different type of art that requires no competition/luck, that is, a virtual shop selling pre-made art. Second Life, to be exact. Although, maybe it's debatable if it's considered art since most customers buy it as virtual fashion... Well, I consider my own things to be art regardless, so I guess that's what matters. Some people do have ads for art commissions there too, where they draw someones' avatar for a commission, or create a 3D avatar of their character, etc. Come to think of it, it could be good to draw manga version of real life people as a portrait, like how street artists do caricatures of people. I have only ever seen one person doing it, a former shoujo manga artist who set up a stall in Japantown and drew everyone's portrait in shoujo manga style. It was free, though. I bet she could have made a lot by charging money though. They were adorable drawings.