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Good Morning MASTER CLASS!!! #21 Max Andrade

アバター Penmaru 27/12/2016 25 min read
This week’s SMA MASTERCLASS 2017, the 3rd year fresh members who will be coming to Tokyo in 2017. This week we start a two week Brazil special with the man you may know.  The man who’s spreading manga throughout Brazil – Max Andrade ☆ Max is an eternal student of manga, constantly perfecting his skills! He told us how he sharpened his skills to get to where he is today 😉 Good Morning Max!
INTERVIEW WITH Max.   “I never imagined that I would go so far.”   -About where you live. Anything the world should know about the place? I live in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It is a new city (55 years old) designed by Oscar Niemeyer, a great Brazilian architect, with the purpose of being the center of politics and governments of the country.  I born in and lived in Uberlândia – Minas Gerais with my parents all my life.  But, I moved to Brasilia in the beginning of 2016 to work before starting to create and draw “Lend a Hand,” the GP Runner Up of SMA Round EX1.  The move was a shocking experience and I was nervous but, it seems that the new air of the city did me well haha.       -Your workplace – Please show us! + Any additional place you visit for inspirations? I live with my brother in a small apartment. The kitchen, the living room and my room and works place is all the same place huahaha! Everywhere I go inspires me.  But, I love Sao Paulo. It is a city lot of culture and I always meet nice people and see friends from the internet there.       -Any memorable events, in your manga creation career? Well, like my friends Salvatore, Andrea, and JIM said in their “Good Morning Master Class,” the greatest moment was the trip to Japan to receive the prize for SMA-EX1.  It was the most incredible thing that happened in my entire life. Being with the kids, the mayor, and the governor of Fukushima, meeting and talking with Hojo, Hara, Tsugihara Senseis and Horie-san… the living legends in manga history! What I can say… I read “Hokuto no Ken” when I was young, so until today I haven’t realized that this is real. I never imagined that I would go so far. I remember when Hojo Sensei arrived in the Zenon building the first time—my mind was blown.  I get nervous hahaha.  This was the author of “CITYHUNTER” and the guy who taught Takehiko Inoue-sensei… my mind couldn’t understand that I meeting this guy and he liked my manga. And we had some time on the last day with Hojo and Tsugihara-sensei to ask some questions about making manga and that type of thing.  Like, what is “manga” because in our home countries of Brazil (Max), Argentina (Andrea), Chile (JIM), and Italy(Salvatore) lot’s of people tell us that we don’t make manga because were not Japanese and that kind of stuff.  So, Hojo-sensei answered that we don’t make manga…we make REALLY GOOD manga!  Huahahha.  And he told us that if someone says that we don’t make manga only because were not Japanese, to bring them to him and he’ll teach them a lesson! hahahha.       -Any artist who had effect on your manga style? / Respect?   “This makes me want to get better and better every time.”   I really love the work of Adachi Mitsuru-sensei, Akira Toriyama-sensei, Yoshihiro Togashi-sensei, Takehiko Inoue-sensei, Tetsuo Hara-sensei, and lots of sensei’s in the manga industry. But, my favorite artist all time is Masanori Morita-sensei. He’s the best because he shows the passion of the characters in a brilliant way!  I love the expressions of the face and body that he draws.  I think that if the character is the most important, the expression gets really important too. I also have lots of influences from comics from other countries and in other types of experiences—in life and in music and books. But, talking only about comics, here in Brazil the greatest new comics artists for me are Ichirou, Paulo Crumbim & Cris Eiko, and Marcelo Quintanilha. I read the works of Ichirou in the Brazilian publication Gibi Quantico and after this I became a fan of his. And seeing his “Fathers Gift” (SMA2), that for me is the masterpiece of SMA until now.  Ichirou’s a great artists and his win motivated a crowd of Brazilians to get in the SMA contest.  Now that I’m a Master Class members with him it means we’re rivals, right?  But it is a friendly competition.  I mean… I love all the Master Class’s works and they’re great artists that inspire me.  So this makes me want to get better and better every time.  It is the same feeling about my friends Juan, Andrea and Salvatore. It is hard to explain in words, but it is like the respect that mangaka have one for each other.  They’re friends that are on the same path of mine, making they’re works for the same publisher.  So, I want to do a work that I can feel proud of when I see them.     -Any specific titles that influenced you? “Slam Dunk,” “Dragon Ball,” “Yu Yu Hakusho,” “Rokudenashi BLUES,” “Video Girl Ai,” and “Rurouni Kenshin” were the most striking in my work.  A lot of my favorite mangas are from the 90s.  I think it was the best time of Shonen Jump, too. And the two classic movies from the 80s: “Stand by Me” and “The Breakfast Club.”  I love the emotional charge of the two works and I think John Hughes is a brilliant director for the atmosphere he puts in his stories.  He make us get in that world and care about the characters.  He’s where I learned to put a bit of me into all of my characters.       -Did creating manga have any effect on your life? In what ways? Creating manga had changed my life completely. I really love to make it and when I was young my dream was move to Japan and publish there. I put aside lot’s of things just to focus on manga many times.  Like, studying design in University.  It was different from what I had thought and I did not have time to make manga and stuff.  I knew that if I stoped maybe I would never comeback.  So, when I started to get money with drawing and won some local prizes with my mangas I started the series “Tools Challenge” to test myself and improve on my manga art techniques and writing.  People started to read it online and loved it so much they asked for a physical edition. My independently published version sold so well a publisher called Editora Draco got interested and wanted to publish the series with me.  I think I would be a complete different person if I didn’t do manga.   “Creating manga had changed my life completely.”       -Show us the tools you use for drawing! Any tips to share? I like to test lots of materials. But my favorites are G pen, brushes, and now I’m using B4 paper to make the pages. I like to draw traditionally, but love the digital process too. So, I make the tones and effect lines in Manga Studio and Photoshop. My tip is to test all the types of materials and choose the best for your own style.       -Where do your CHARACTERS come from? / Inspirations, imaginations and influences Well, I like to find inspiration in my friends and my real life.  Books, movies, and everything is good to learn from, but I think that if you don’t have life experience it is all empty. It is good to have fun, have friendship and love experiences, be happy, be sad, all this real stuff, haha. Like the first manga I ever made in 2008, “Interhigh Fight!,” was inspired by a fight that happened during my high school days.  It was just a stupid bully playing with a weak guy, but the characters in my manga were based on the ones who were fighting—some were friends of mine.  But, in “Interhigh Fight!” a boy who wants to become a doctor suffers bullying during a visit to a university and his friends fight help him.       -We say, “Breathing life into characters” is the magic of manga artists : Tell us how YOU cast that magic! Wow. I do this magic? Huahaha. I try to make the characters real. I aways put a bit of me in all of them and all sorts of characteristics of real a person. When I’m planning the text and the actions of the characters, I think what would be the reaction of real persons. It is hard to explain but, I believe that everything we do is for our point of view.  Like, if I meet “Ken” I’m projecting a person not completely like the real “Ken,”  but the perception that I have of “Ken,” of Japanese culture, and all my previously experiences in my life.  So everything I do is fulfilled through my perceptions.     -Please say ONE THING about “Manga NAME (DRAFT STORYBOARD)” The NAME is the most important part of the making manga process for me. It is when we make all the rhythm of the story and the storytelling.  So, I want to do it in the best way I can. When I started, I made the NAME in a full pages before I learned about the thumbnails to plan the scenes haha.  Now, I make small thumbs first and after this I make the NAME with some modifications in a half paper.  But, since the thumbs are small I think it is easier to control the pages and see whats good and what needs to change. In the real NAME I make it with the corrections so it doesn’t take a long time.  To me, I think this is faster. Actually I want to learn all SMAC! has to teach about the NAME haha.   “It is when we make all the rhythm of the story and the storytelling.”       -About DEADLINES – How do you schedule your work? Any good/horror stories to share with us? I try to make 1 page per day when I start to make a manga. Sometimes I need to make more than this and gets difficult.  Like the story “Good Friends and True” that I made for SMA5 with my friend Leonardo Souza was drawn in 4 days.  I slept 2 or 3 hours per day and the rest of the time I was drawing.  Even baths and food, I did it all fast to draw in time. When I finished I forget how to sleep Huahahah.  I almost died that time huahaha!     -Is there any moment you felt “Ah I’m glad I entered this competition”? Of course when I received the e-mail inviting me to go to Japan for winning the SMA-EX1.  It is still hard to understand the feelings hahaha.  The email was in my spam box, so I was thinking that was a joke from someone.  When I found out it was real I had little time to make all the preparations to go to Japan.  I had never travelled outside of Brazil and I did’t have passport or nothing.  But, when I realize I was in Japan it was a big rush Huahahahahhahah! Also meeting Horie-san and being invited by his company to go to Japan was a shock and amazing because he was the Chief Editor of the best moment in Shonen Jump.  Sometimes it still seems like a dream. And now when I was invited to Master Class! I’ll really work hard to make the dream to make a regular manga series in Japan come true. =)   “Sometimes it still seems like a dream.”       -Specific areas of focus, when creating your entry? I try to surprise the readers in all them. On “Lend a Hand,” (SMA-EX1) the tree was the surprising point. In “Our Relation,” (SMA5) was how it ended, and in “Wanna be a Legend!!!” (SMA6) was the plot twist with the Kaiju. I also focused on the expressions of the characters in “Wanna be a Legend!!!” So I just thought what is the best expressions to make people like the Kaiju more than the superhero?  I think is aways good to make the readers have fun with a surprise.       -Any other good tips for fellow SMAC! contestants?   “Of course you need to practice every day too.”   It is really important to read the winners of every round of SMA and watch the videos of Mocchi and Taiyo to look for what is missing in your work.  Mocchi and Taiyo give precious tips about how to make a good and interesting story.  So if you want to win a contest I think the best way is listening the ones who will judge you and what they think and like about making manga. This way you can improve in the correct ways to win in the next round! Of course you need to practice every day too.     -How do you feel about joining the SMA MASTERCLASS?   “It is the best opportunity to make manga in Japan”   Becoming a Master Class is the biggest plot twist on my life of course Hahahahha.  It is the best opportunity I think I’ll have in life to make manga in Japan.  I want to make good manga, so I need to learn with the best haha.  Like how to make the people interested in my characters, like they really need to read the next chapter.  I want to put this emotion in them.     -Any tips you received from a SMAC! Editor? / Other editors? I learned a lot talking with Taiyo (most of time just listening) when I was in Japan. And watching the videos of Mocchi and him, especially the episode of KSTK (Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu) is Kamehameha.  I think that was when I started to think to use this structure in all the stories.  Even if it was a series, all the chapters need to have all the parts.  But, the tip of being simple and pure is my favorite.     -What do you wanna create from now on?   “I want to do something fun for the people of Kumamoto.”   I’m starting to make a work for SMA-EX2 Kumamoto with the help of the editors.  I want to do something fun for the people of Kumamoto. I’m thinking of making a story about Musashi Miyamoto finishing his legendary book “The Book of Five Rings.” I also want to make a really exciting shonen battle manga with SMAC! and show the power of the guts and will to all the readers!!!  I think something like “Yu Yu Hakusho,” in a world more like ours, but with fantastic elements.  Or a series of fighting Kaiju where the main characters could transform into Kaiju like in “Devilman.” And I hope to do this in 2017!       -Any final words for the readers? I really want to create good manga and make some difference by touching the readers life in same way like all the mangas I loved had changed my life. Hope you all read and have fun!        
Thank you for your time Max senpai! We can’t wait to read your SMA-EX2 manga about Musashi Miyamoto and your shonen battle manga! Brazil is a growing creative powerhouse.  We think their are manga creators with power to stun the world with their creations.  We want to see those works as they join the Master Class!! Please show your worth, by joining & start creating for SILENT MANGA AUDITION® today!
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