PROFILE
Pen Name / Name: Leopard Gecko 
Age: 30
Favorite manga: Haikyu!! / Doraemon
Favorite movie: Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Favorite quote: “You didn’t come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here.” – Alan W. Watts

Entry title: “Ode to the Anime Kid”
Round: SMA Taiwan Round: “Smiles”
Award: Grand Prix Runner-up

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“Think of it less as a place to prove yourself, and more of a chance to find out what you do and do not enjoy about the manga making process.”

About SMA

How does it feel to receive a SILENT MANGA AUDITION® award?
It’s very exciting! It is encouraging to know that I was able to reach this level of professionalism with my manga.

What was the inspiration behind your awarded work?
The characters and their emotions were very much taken from my own experiences in art school, where there was this constant tension between skill and style. Of course, now that I’m older and have more experience with art and storytelling, it’s easy to see that those two things are merely two sides of the same coin. But, back then, it all felt like such a struggle to navigate.

What challenges did you face while making your manga? How did you overcome them?
Expecting too much from myself, especially when it comes to how much work I can realistically do in a day. I always want to be able to do more, draw faster, and get more pages done. But just forcing myself to sit at my work desk for 15 hours a day isn’t really all that effective.
The much more realistic way to cut down on time is to work at the level my speed and energy allows and to adjust the complexity and level of detail according to the amount of time I have.

READ Leopard Gecko’s Awarded Work HERE!

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About Your Manga

How and when did you start making manga? What do you wish you knew as a beginner? What advice would you give to someone who wants to start drawing manga?
I became interested in creating manga when I was in 3rd grade, when I read the first volume of D.Grey Man. Though I had read other manga series before that one, it was D.Grey Man that made me think, “I want to do this, too.” 
However, it wasn’t until I graduated college and went into the workforce that I really tried making short comics. The first 30 page short I made was for a competition here in Taiwan, about four years ago. 
The biggest thing that helped me get better was simply finding a topic to obsessively make manga about. Telling yourself, “I need to practice drawing and hone my story-writing skills to make good manga!” will never be as motivating as asking yourself, “How can I make my two favorite characters profess their undying love to each other in five hundred different ways?” LOL

Do you draw your manga digitally or by hand? What are your go-to digital or analogue tools?
A bit of both. I find that it’s much easier for me to think when I’m working traditionally. So anything that requires heavy thinking, like story writing, concept design, storyboards, etc, I do on paper.
Anything that requires a higher level of completion, like detailed sketches and the final manga pages, I do digitally in Clip Studio Paint.



What was the first manga you picked up? Is it easy to access manga where you live?
It’s very easy to access manga in Taiwan. Manga and anime culture is huge here! My earliest manga was probably Doraemon. My mother would get me a couple new volumes every time we went to visit my grandparents, and I’d spend the whole trip reading and rereading them. 

Which manga changed your life?
Haikyu!! because it’s what pushed me to finally start making my own manga in earnest. If it wasn’t for that series, and how hard I fell in love with those characters, I’d probably still be dreaming about making manga, instead of actually making it. My overwhelming obsession with Haikyu!! forced me into a fancomic creation frenzy, and I came out of it four months later having learned more about making manga than I did in the previous four years. (LOL)

Which manga character do you most identify with? Why?
Eliquo from Tower Dungeon. There’s something about him being not quite the main character, but still having to navigate a world that’s going crazy, all while struggling with very realistic biological issues that aren’t exactly dignified, but still have to be dealt with, that really makes me think, this man gets it. 



What kind of manga do you want to make next?
I want to practice character-centric story writing. The stories I write tend to lean too heavily on plot and world-building. The stories that stay with me the most are invariably the ones with the most interesting and engaging characters. I want to be able to create those types of stories, too. 

I’m not very familiar with the manga publishing industry in Taiwan, which may in itself show how that industry is struggling. Even in a country that’s so in love with Japanese manga, the domestic manga publishing industry doesn’t leave much of an impression.

About You

What do you do when you’re not making manga? How do you relax?
I either read books or play video games. More recently, I’ve started learning Japanese. That may sound like work instead of relaxation, but I find studying the language to actually be quite fun. 

What industry do you work in (if manga making isn’t your primary job)?
Up until last year, I was working as a storyboard artist for 2D animation. Since the show finished and the team all went their separate ways, I’ve been joining manga competitions in hopes of starting a new chapter in my career. I’m happy to say I’m making good progress (^ ^). 

Where do you see your manga career in five years time?
Hopefully, I’ll have a couple volumes of published manga under my belt!



What manga making advice would you give to your younger self if you could?
What you are struggling with isn’t style, it’s skill. Get better at figure drawing, perspective, and proportions, then the pretty style will follow.

What advice would you give to people entering the SILENT MANGA AUDITION®?
Think of it less as a place to prove yourself, and more of a chance to find out what you do and do not enjoy about the manga making process. Take the prompts and really deep dive into how you can create something that you yourself would love reading. 

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Thank you, Leopard Gecko! We’re eagerly awaiting your next manga masterpiece!

The deadline to join SMA24 is May 10th. Enter for a chance to develop your potential as a manga creator with us in Japan!