This week’s SMA MASTERCLASS 2017, the 3rd year fresh members who will be coming to Tokyo in 2017, is the first Masterclass member from Malaysia – Hyrohiku☆
Hyrohiku is never afraid to try things he never imagined in his manga so he can learn and become better!
Today he showed us how to take on that challenge ourselves 😉
Good Morning Hyrohiku!
INTERVIEW WITH Hyrohiku. “Nothing is impossible.” -Congratulations on becoming a Masterclass member! There must have been a party when the you first heard the news. Nah…I just told my family, then some of friends. Nothing fancy. But, it was big news in my countries comic community. The news spread really fast thanks to Facebook and everyone was congratulating me. A Malaysian going to Japan and becoming a mangaka is a rare thing…haha! -About where you live. Anything the world should know about the place? I live in a small town called Semporna in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. Semporna is well-known as a pit stop for tourists and divers before going to its beautiful surrounding islands and coral reefs.
-Any memorable events in your manga creation career?
My most memorable thing would be being chosen as one of the SMA Masterclass. Nothing bigger than that! Being the first Malaysian and a representative for my country. Hopefully, this will inspire lots of my country men and women to strive for their dreams and ambitions. Nothing is impossible.
-Did creating manga have any effect on your life? In what ways?
“I’ll keep learning something new…keep creating and keep trying to inspire other people.”
Creating manga helps me to find my life purpose. People around me alway say, “You should be this and that, do this thing and stop doing that”…they made me confused and clouded my mind of something that I love to do.
But, finishing a manga is a satisfaction that’s very hard to explain. I’m improving myself by finishing one after another right now, and still improving. There’ll be no end to this and I’m loving it! I’ll keep learning something new…keep creating and keep trying to inspire other people.
You got a lot of push back for being a comic creator. It must have been tough dealing with all the criticism.
Perhaps when I was younger it was hard. Right now I’m old enough to deal with bad and good criticism with a smile on my face. Actually, I didn’t receive a lot of negative criticism to become this strong. It was the real world (outside of making comics) that taught me how to deal with bad stuff. Sometimes with people and sometimes with myself. It’s a constant struggle…haha! Some experiences enriched my knowledge. From that I applied them to my storytelling.
There must have been interesting experiences with people you’ve used in your manga. When did you meet the dinosaur for “Blind Vengeance” (SMA6)?
OMG! Are you joking there? Haha! Only in my imagination!
How about experiences with “Third” (SMA5)?
For that manga I mostly referred to anime that I’ve watched. About how young girls would interact with each other as a friend. New anime nowadays always have young schoolgirls in it. It’s hard to miss seeing them
I was also trying out a manga with a simple story. I read a winning entry in SMA and that manga only had like 7 pages, pretty simple, and something you might see in real life. I was trying that way of storytelling.
-We saw you’ve published in Malaysia after participating in SMA. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience?
It is really hard publishing in Malaysia. There are only two options if you want to create comics here, either send it to a comic magazine or send it to KomikM (a very popular comic publisher in Malaysia). KomikM publishes their comics in book form and they even encourage artists to make their own solo comic book. Actually, my debut was with KomikM. Haha!
I drew my debut comic “Ka Cha oleh,” just after I won awards in SMA-EX1 and SMA5. The editor of KomikM was interested in having my work in their next comic anthology about superhero’s. It was an uproar that time—I was the 1st Malaysian to win awards in SMA after it was held 5 times. It was exciting getting it published and I even did its cover!!! I designed the one character to look like a mix of Ironman, Batman, and a little Superman. And one character looked like Saitama from “One Punch Man”… with more hair HAHA!
-You must have been influenced by a lot of different styles to make that cover. Are there other Japanese, American, or maybe some Malaysian comics that impacted you too?
“Manga with simple but effective storytelling show emotions of the characters through character’s reactions, body language, and face.”
YES!!! KAORU MORI-SENSEI!! Her art style in “Otoyomegatari” is phenomenal! Plus the storytelling is magnificent! Sadly, her officially translated manga are very hard to find here. I need to learn the Japanese language just to read them!!
Another one is Kiyohiko Azuma-sensei! I love his manga titled “Yotsuba To”. I prefer manga with simple but effective storytelling because they show emotions of the characters through character’s reactions, body language, and face.
No Malaysian comics though…It was mainly by anime and manga. Some styles were developed accidentally through experiments and tryout. I’d like to thank SMA for that. My god! How SMA put me out from my comfort zone!
-SMA put you out of your comfort zone?
Believe me, SMA did. If I didn’t join SMA, I wouldn’t have improved this fast! SMA forced me to try stuff that I thought was impossible before, like drawing detailed backgrounds. I used to be too afraid to fill empty spaces in my manga panels with backgrounds haha! Also, it forced me to learn how to apply screen tones on my manga. I’m proud to say SMA brought me great satisfaction and frustration at the same time…but in a very good way!!
-Show us the tools you use for drawing! Any tips to share?
I do my manga digitally, so my tools are my old Wacom Intuos 3 graphic tablet, Cintiq 13HD (seldomly in use), PC, and laptop.
For software, I mainly use Corel Painter 2016 and Clip Studio Paint. In digital drawing, the software is the most important because it represents your ink and paper. Learning the software thoroughly will help you a lot in creating unique strokes and ways of drawing.
-Please say ONE THING about “Manga NAME (DRAFT STORYBOARD).”
If an idea is a seed, the manga NAME will be the roots. The roots will help the seed to become a strong and big manga that can deliver sweet fruitous stories.
“If an idea is a seed, the Manga NAME will be the roots.”
“If an idea is a seed, the manga NAME will be the root.” That’s a nice saying.
Thanks. I always thought manga as a tree. It takes nutrients from the roots for its growth and produces for others. The NAME that I made for my comic “Si Hati Kayu” followed the symbolism of the seed and tree. That is where everything started, all the story reviewing, corrections, modifications, and additions. From there it grew into a prefect tree by the inking process. Hopefully the finished story succeeded in delivering what I wanted to tell.
-Any other good tips to share?
“It’s a good thing to find opportunities of learning new stuff in everything you do”
In manga creation, it’s a good thing to find opportunities of learning new stuff in everything you do, as this will help to enrich your own knowledge. Playing video games as an example, try to make yourself learn how the game made you feel as you play it. In horror games, what made the game deliver the horrifying feeling like it should? Why sometimes you can feel it and sometimes not. You can even make yourself learn your way of walking!
-Is there any moment you felt “Ah I’m glad I entered this competition”?
SMA made me give my best in every entry that I’ve submitted. Frustration and satisfaction emerged at the same time. SMA is the best journey I’ve ever did.
“SMA is the best journey I’ve ever did.”
-Any tips to fellow SMAC! contestants?
SMA is about giving your best, keep on doing that.
-How do you feel about joining the SMA MASTERCLASS?
Happy, proud, nervous, and mind blown at the same time.
There must be lots you want to learn as a Masterclass member?
Yes!! Not everyone can become a Masterclass member. Being one is a privilege, so I want to absorb everything to the maximum! Like that KTSK (Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu) Taiyo-san talks about sounds really interesting. I’d like to know more about it. Also, anything that’s new to me!
-Any tips you received from a SMAC! Editor? / Other editors?
“When we thought we drew something hideous or imperfect, in others eyes it probably the most beautiful thing they ever saw.”
A saying said by my editor/boss Mr. Wanzu while doing some comic work for KomikM made me more confident in drawing comics. He said, “Sesuatu yang tak best di mata kita mungkin best di mata orang lain” which means, “When we thought we drew something hideous or imperfect, in others eyes it probably the most beautiful thing they ever saw.”
The saying, “Sesuatu yang tak best di mata kita mungkin best di mata orang lain,” it’s really beautiful. It must have really impacted your creative style.
It actually had a huge impact on how I see my own work. There were times I felt unconfident with works that I’ve created. His words really opened my eyes, it made me just give my best and be more confident in everything I do.
Also, he’s my editor so I need to please him…haha! Hmmm…That sound like a good idea for a manga right? It can help new mangakas on how to sweet talk editors and succeed!
Aside from a manga about sweet talking the editors, you must have some other ideas floating around?
Haha, yeah…of course! Something involving my original characters from “Blind Vengeance” or “The 81st Trial” (SMA5). They have their own story, but related to one and another. They are still in the brainstorming state and still kind of blurry to me right now. Or maybe I can do manga with one of the male characters I sketched.
Any words to the readers?
Never stop doing what you love, keep on learning new things, keep on giving your best in everything you do, and keep on believing dreams can come true.
Thank you for your time Hyrohiku senpai! We can’t wait to see your plans for the characters from “Blind Vengeance” and “The 81st Trial”! Malaysia’s creative talent is like a Tiger waiting to pounce. We want to see what manga these tigers create as they join the Masterclass!! Please show your worth, by joining & start creating for SILENT MANGA AUDITION® today!
INTERVIEW WITH Hyrohiku. “Nothing is impossible.” -Congratulations on becoming a Masterclass member! There must have been a party when the you first heard the news. Nah…I just told my family, then some of friends. Nothing fancy. But, it was big news in my countries comic community. The news spread really fast thanks to Facebook and everyone was congratulating me. A Malaysian going to Japan and becoming a mangaka is a rare thing…haha! -About where you live. Anything the world should know about the place? I live in a small town called Semporna in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. Semporna is well-known as a pit stop for tourists and divers before going to its beautiful surrounding islands and coral reefs.
Thank you for your time Hyrohiku senpai! We can’t wait to see your plans for the characters from “Blind Vengeance” and “The 81st Trial”! Malaysia’s creative talent is like a Tiger waiting to pounce. We want to see what manga these tigers create as they join the Masterclass!! Please show your worth, by joining & start creating for SILENT MANGA AUDITION® today!