Gayles – IMM Senior Thesis

Prototype 3 / elevator pitch – Chance Gayles

Chance Gayles

IMM 498

November 25, 2019

Prototype 3 Write Up / elevator pitch

For my third prototype, I decided to draft a streetwear design using hand-drawn graphics that takes elements from both design philosophies of Manga IP merchandise and streetwear. I created the graphic using photoshop, mocked it up using an online generator, then brought it back into photoshop to add finishing touches. The purpose of this exercise was to attempt to balance elements of the two styles in an attempt to breakdown the aesthetic differences between the two and create my own. I could have even gone as far as creating a physical version to demo but distance circumstances don’t allow that.

Examples of IP merchandise (top) and Streetwear Merchandise (bottom)

Elevator pitch

“How do we bring freshness to a beloved storytelling medium while also having a hand in the fashion and streetwear scene? My goal is to combine the two creative mediums and create a project that will utilize both in tandem to push a narrative. This will be done by running a digitally created manga publication that will run simultaneously with merchandise releases that will deliver the same high standard of design and concepts as well-established streetwear brands and online shops. Fans will be able to interact with story concepts like never before. I aim to solve the issue that Manga and Anime companies have with making their own items and apparel that can be deemed fashionable and be worn by the streetwear community. Combining the two mediums will create a new experience that while open more doors into other industries that other publishers have never had before.”

Industry Event – Chance Gayles – 京都国祭マンガ・アニメフェア２０１９」

Chance Gayles

IMM 498

November 20th, 2019

Report on Industry Event

In late September, I and few friends attended 「京都国祭マンガ・アニメフェア２０１９」The Kyoto International Manga Anime fair 2019. The goal of attending this event was to engage with multiple booths of people that work within the Japanese comic-making industry and get advice from the editors of Japan’s top weekly manga anthologies. The event was held in Miyako Messe in Kyoto, Japan from 9:00 am – 17:00 pm and featured multiple floors of booths with representatives from leading publications. Unfortunately, due to the timeline of projects and assignments, I was not able to bring in physical work to be evaluated. However, along with me was a friend who had works from over the years which allowed us to sit down and interact with a few editors and hear some insight directly from professionals (in Japanese of course).

What impacted my learning most was some of the thinking that goes into writing these stories and how to convey ideas through paneling. One piece of advice that stuck with me was related to how the main characters of stories and the dynamics of the main supporting characters really affect the success of a story in the genre (Shonen) I would like to illustrate for. The example that was given to me was something that is so prevalent in japan media such as games and comics but I hadn’t really noticed as having an aimed purpose before then. It was pointed out to me that readers have to relate deeply with the main character (of course), and that usually there is a dynamic of three. Two competing male main characters (one usual energetic and the other usually being the cooler character), and one female character. Which is shocked me as I realized just how many prevalent the dynamic was in nearly everything I’ve seen from Shonen media.

Quick, Examples of stories with this shared dynamic

‘Naruto’ Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura

‘Kingdom Hearts’ ex. Sora, Riku, Kairi

“Pokemon – black and white 2’ ex. Nate, Hugh, Rosa

Prototype 2 – ‘Manga Page Paneling’

Test two will look at the arrangement of comic/manga tiles and how they are used to express what is happening within the contents of the pages. I will draft one page with multiple different tile arrangements to experiment with expression. As I research, I’m finding that tiles and story correlate more than I had previously thought.

Image 2 – Test type 2 – Dialogue & Story

I’ve chosen to make two separate manga pages that use different techniques to convey the action and intent of the pages. With this prototype, I learned about crop marks for printing, screen tone usage, how to convey a certain mood with panel composition, and various other techniques. Also, importantly, I’m now more able to better gauge my time of how long it would take me to complete a designated amount of pages. By speaking with a manga teacher, hearing feedback from professionals, and examining works of professional manga artists, I was able to gain information about various techniques, and marketing information. My biggest personal take away was gauging my timeline and how long it would take to make to get this portion of my final project. It’s crucial for me to manage the ratio between the various project parts and the amount of each I will turn in.

Prototype 1 – ” Poster Compositions”

“Test one will look at different compositions of property-related artwork, for example, the composition of splash art. I will do quick sketches to compare the ways art is presented in splash art of (a) character(s). Here I will be trying to find the best way to express a sense of story and action within a single snapshot. “

For this composition, I chose to do a character cast oriented sketch that focuses on a group of characters rather than a single subject. This would be a method I would use If I decided to do one poster rather than one for each character as the format has the potential to encompass the gist of an entire story. Drawing it was quite fun, and I took a lot of inspiration from posters I’ve seen In the shops around Akihabara during my research trip to Tokyo.

This basic sketch is what I would consider being the opposite of the previous, as it focuses on a single character rather than a cast. What I Like about this format is that it allows for more personality to be shown from each character and can be used to display what each is about in a single snapshot. It further allows gives more opportunity to foreshortening techniques. Marketing wise, Single character posters can cater better to niches within fandoms and may have more sales potential I may think.

For my final sketch, I decided to test a more ‘artsy’ feeling composition. A simpler more basic composition that could be useful for the cover art of a book or even a poster aswell. The angle is more direct and leaves room for the application of marketing text compared to the other two. I feel its closer to a simple, American style movie poster format than a one for Japanese IP.

Chance Gayles – Research Update 2

Chance Gayles

IMM 498

November 4th, 2018

Research Update 2

This week I did an architectural study of Tokyo and some of its encompassing prefectures as I desire to base my project’s setting in this area. The areas I visited and photographed include Shibuya-ku, Harajuku, Shimo-Kitazawa, Akihabara, and Ikebukuro. Looking closer I found that city architecture (especially Tokyo’s) is extremely complicated. For example, I noticed that often there are certain shops that are located either below or in between other bigger shops that are easy to miss if you aren’t vigilant. There is also definitely a cultural difference between the main streets of Shibuya and the hidden side streets as each one can have a different feel and different architectural look. I feel that each side street had it’s own personality and audience which was something I was not expecting at all.

The way manga and Intellectual properties are marketed within Japan is astounding. You can find characters from various series and franchises on a variety of items and objects. From small stationery to T-shirts and merchandise to large trucks driving through cities, the methods of how these properties are marketed is vast. Some franchises like pokemon can transcend age gaps and market a massive variety of products. I visited every major pokemon center in Tokyo and found every last one to be extremely filled with people from all age groups buying merchandise such as pins, T-shirts, trading cards, and plushies. The best idea I got from this was possibly adding pins and art cards to my project list for next semester.

Harajuku in Shibuya was easily one of my favorite locations as it considered to be a center of fashion and youth which turned out to be true. You can find many shops that sell higher-end clothing along Omotesando Avenue, along with hypebeast and hypebeast-Esque brand shops along Takeshita Street. Along Takeshita Street, you can also see lots of youth in their trendiest and most unique outfits which was the highlight of the study for me. Shops here are usually multi-leveled and sell pieces for around 6,000 JPY to 25,000 JPY (around 55 USD – 240 USD respectively). While in Shibuya I also discovered “fruits” magazine, which takes a look at Harajuku street fashion. I hope to use this publication for a good chunk as aesthetic-related research.

Prototype Plan

Chance Gayles

IMM 498

October 31st, 2019

Prototype Plan

Test 1 – 11.11

Test one will look at different compositions of property-related artwork, for example, the composition of splash art. I will do quick sketches to compare the ways art is presented in splash art of (a) character(s). Here I will be trying to find the best way to express a sense of story and action within a single snapshot.

Test 2 – 11.18

Test 3 – 11.25

Test 3 will look at physical marketing. I want to design and draft merchandise that could be sold along with the intellectual property in order to test the viability of merchandising. During this test, I believe I will be looking closely at tee-shirts or maybe enamel pins.

Research Update 1 – Gayles

Chance Gayles

IMM 498

Research Update 1

October 28, 2019

October 21, 2019 – October 26, 2019

Manga Composition and Presentation

In order to replicate traditional manga techniques to a digital format I’ve been taking class work and researching what programs and ways I could use to do so. I’ve been recommended “Clip Studio Paint” and have purchased it to begin working my way around the program. I’ve also decided to complete the semester long manga drawing class by using the digital format rather the tradition format used in class. This passing weekend I’ve purchased two books from a local second-hand book store. These titles were “Akira Club”, and “Akira” Issue 6/6 (japanese edition) both by the legendary Katsuhiro Otomo. I will be using these to research panel arrangement techniques within manga and composition of art pieces within publications. Next I hope to find examples of good composition from lookbooks of well known fashion or just well developed streetwear brands in general. After I will looking into how companies merchandise their independent properties and how they target their audience.

Architectural research and Travel

In terms of research on Shibuya-ku, Tokyo’s architecture, I’ve booked a 3 day long trip to the area along with Shinjuku and Akihabara to get the lay of the land and take landscape photographs in to study and replicate what makes the city look the way it does in terms of architecture and, crowding. I hope to have enough photo content to get a grasp of how this architecture works in order to draw it more confidence and precision.

Reflection This week

As I look deeper into the processes of creating each element I believe this is something I can achieve as long as I balance the amount of content per element. For example If I do too much of the manga I won’t have time for any of the other portions. Also, time management is very important as some of the elements require other parts to be completed first.

Research Plan

Chance Gayles

IMM – 498

Research Outline

What – I need to Research

Japanese Folklore
Japanese Yakuza
Japan’s Institualized children phenomenon
Japanese City architecture (Tokyo and Tokyo wards)
To whom Japanese companies market product
The Traditional Manga making process
Fashion trends
Contemporary artists
Contemporary artists in the fashion field
Contemporary fashion & trends
Streetwear trends
Clip Studio Paint techniques
Splash Art techniques
Photography and Composition
Storytelling techniques
History of the field
Current State of the field
How to implement and blend the mediums
TBA

How – I will research these topics

Some of these topics will require me to complete fieldwork and traveling around Japan. Some require reading, and others require tutorial and media viewing. Prototyping may require multiple drafts of character costuming/designing and composition of splash art and Manga panel arrangement. All of the Japan-exclusive knowledge will be done while I am abroad and can more easily access the locations of interest. Construction of the project will begin as each research portion is completed to maximize time and allow time for drafting and finalization stages.

Finalized Concept

Chance Gayles

IMM – 498

Finalized Concept

My final project will be a portion/beginning of a manga (Japanese style comic) about Japan’s gangs and Yakuza (Japanese mafia) along with conceptual and developmental images, splash art, and promotional material. With my project, I wanted to create something that can incorporate my interests in multiple disciplines and challenge myself by putting myself through some of the developmental stages of a multimedia project usually handled by larger entities. By building this project I will be able to incorporate ideas from western and eastern philosophies of storytelling, marketing strategy, character design, and fashion design. In the future, I hope to become something that lies somewhere between a conceptual artist for games, television, and comics, and a conceptual fashion designer, or a combination of both. This thesis project will serve as my introduction to these fields and will give me the opportunity to hone and display my skills with a professional level of quality.

This idea inspires me because it allows me to produce a project that combines my interests in storytelling, character design, and fashion design. There has been a spike in popularity in Japanese style storytelling and media in recent times to the extent that major fashion brands even collaborate with anime intellectual properties. Even as early as five to ten years ago anime and manga have been somewhat stigmatized within America (particularly in the black community) but have quickly gained popularity among the masses in more recent times. Others should be interested because I plan to deliver a high-quality project that will be stylistically and conceptually unique that could easily fit into the category of pop culture and fashion. It will further blend the two mediums of character design and fashion design.

What makes my project different from other existing works is an ensemble of ideas and concepts coming together which could only be fitted together do to my personal experience within the United States and Japan. I plan on using programs such as Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, Clipstudio, and more to complete the digital portions of the project. I will then look towards fulfillment companies to provide the physical marketable portions of the project i.e. poster blanks, and other physical media. Not all of the details are flushed out but will be over the coming semester.

Digital manga and Marketable material (Revisited)

Digital manga and Marketable material (Revisited)

(Previously)

Using the skills I’ve been gaining the past year (and while in Japan) for my thesis, I will create high quality chapters of a digitally created manga (using photoshop / clip studio paint & various techniques and digital methods) along with character sheets, cover, marketable materials such as Poster (photoshop), Video Advert (adobe after effects), Merchandise, etc.

(Revisited)

To make my manga idea more unique and innovative I have decided to work multiple elements into the project such as basing character designs on modern/ popular fashion, and unique combinations of story concepts combining western elements I’m accustomed to with eastern elements that I learned about while abroad. Ex. being the incorporation of elements from Japanese religions that I am learning about in my “Religion in Japan” lectures that I have every Tuesday and Thursday. I also want to explore how the digital medium would allow me to present the manga in different ways if time allows.

List of deliverables I would hope to present

Small Physical Booklet

Manga content
Character sheets / Turn Arounds
Project info
etc

Video Promo (with V/O)

High Quality Character Sheets (adaptation ready)

Merchandise (based on Japanese IP Merchandising)

Pin(s)

T-Shirt(s)

Poster(s)