SMA11 Interview #2 – Priscilla Miranda and Lucas Marques
19/11/2019
9 min read
PROFILE
Name: Priscilla Miranda and Lucas Marques
Age: Priscilla: 26 / Lucas: 31
Country: We’re from Brazil, a complex, miscegenated and joyful country, with who Japan has a long history of cultural and economic exchange
Favorite manga: P: Hadashi no Gen by Keiji Nakazawa; Solanin by Inio Asano/ L: Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo; Suiiki by Urushibara Yuki
Favorite movie: P: Mona Lisa Smile (Dir. Mike Newell); The Breadwinner (Dir. Nora Twomey) / L: Eyes Wide Shut (Dir. Staley Kubrick); Mulholland Drive (Dir. David Lynch)
Favorite quote: P&L: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
“Don’t give up before trying, and give yourself the chance and time to develop!”
QUESTIONS
1. How does it feel to win a SILENT MANGA AUDITION® award?
We’re very happy and grateful. When we saw our manga amongst winners, we felt very excited and amazed. Knowing so many talented people enjoyed our story is a dream come true. We couldn’t believe it!
Being part of the SMA winners inspired us to engage even more in the art of making mangas, and it gave us motivation to keep writing and drawing new stories. It was also surprising because we’re a couple and it was the first time we worked on a story together. This made us realize great things can happen when we come to together, much like awakening creative potential in each other. We feel inspired to achieve more with this partnership, because winning together has a special taste!
2. What were your first impressions of the theme?
It was very challenging. My creative process was never based on a specific theme, so my challenge was dealing with the direction of elaborating a story, which took a number of days. It was encouraging to try something different from what I was used to though.
As I had just finished another graphic novel, I was concerned about participating in the SMA. I came up with some ideas, but I wasn’t able to develop any, so Priscilla stepped in to support me, cheering me up and talking to me about possibilities. Before we know it, we had created the complete script together.
3. What was the inspiration behind your winning work?
It came from some movies. As fans of the drama genre, Lucas was fascinated by the them of alcoholism in the movie The Lost Weekend (By Billy Wilder). But the inspiration for the promise came from our conversations. We couldn’t help but think about moments of our lives when we made and broke promises. We wanted to show a character who has flaws, who has difficulties in keeping promises to make it more realistic, as everyone goes through battles in life. ¥
4. What challenges did you face making your manga? How did you overcome them?
The deadline, for sure! Also, some difficulties with approaching the theme when I was working alone. But once we decided to do it together, it took just one day to write the story. The most striking moment was when my girlfriend’s sister went into birth labor so she rushed to the hospital to help her bring the baby to the world.
Sharing the tasks and trusting in each other was essential! We needed to be organized and focused, with us working on our parts, which included cooking food and daily housework! Now we have a cute tiny nephew we can’t wait to introduce him to the world of manga.
5. What did you learn from making your manga? Did you pick up any new skills or techniques?
We learned that there are mane creative process possibilities, and that if we want to make manga, we need to be organized and focused. We also learned that drawings alone can be enough to tell a story.
Theres a power in the silence. Because it was a manga with no dialogue, we realized that images have a great importance in creating the mood of the story, instructing the reader to a moving an interesting experience.
(L: I also learned that Priscilla can get really angry when I don’t give her a little bit of attention! Ha ha)
6. How important is entering the SILENT MANGA AUDITION® in relation to your professional goals?
It was important because it gave us international exposure and some visibility. It’s also very exciting as it opens the possibility of interacting with Japanese editors, learning from them, exchanging experiences, getting better… And we’re amazed at the chance of having classes with the masters one day, and realizing our dream of meeting them in Japan!
7. What advice would you give to people entering the SILENT MANGA AUDITION®?
Persistence!! Count on your friends and close ones for support. They motivate you, encourage you and they’re there to give you a big victory hug, as well as a learning hug. These ties make a difference. We also would say that enjoying the process is essential, so focus on your passion of making comics, and let this flow into your work. Because if you don’t have pleasure in drawing and taking some kind of message forward, it will become a boring and frustrating process… Don’t forget to exercise patience to see results, because making manga has no immediate return. It’s a constant learning experience!
Don’t give up before trying, and give yourself the chance and time to develop!
“Don’t give up before trying, and give yourself the chance and time to develop!”
QUESTIONS
1. How does it feel to win a SILENT MANGA AUDITION® award?
We’re very happy and grateful. When we saw our manga amongst winners, we felt very excited and amazed. Knowing so many talented people enjoyed our story is a dream come true. We couldn’t believe it!
Being part of the SMA winners inspired us to engage even more in the art of making mangas, and it gave us motivation to keep writing and drawing new stories. It was also surprising because we’re a couple and it was the first time we worked on a story together. This made us realize great things can happen when we come to together, much like awakening creative potential in each other. We feel inspired to achieve more with this partnership, because winning together has a special taste!
2. What were your first impressions of the theme?
It was very challenging. My creative process was never based on a specific theme, so my challenge was dealing with the direction of elaborating a story, which took a number of days. It was encouraging to try something different from what I was used to though.
As I had just finished another graphic novel, I was concerned about participating in the SMA. I came up with some ideas, but I wasn’t able to develop any, so Priscilla stepped in to support me, cheering me up and talking to me about possibilities. Before we know it, we had created the complete script together.
3. What was the inspiration behind your winning work?
It came from some movies. As fans of the drama genre, Lucas was fascinated by the them of alcoholism in the movie The Lost Weekend (By Billy Wilder). But the inspiration for the promise came from our conversations. We couldn’t help but think about moments of our lives when we made and broke promises. We wanted to show a character who has flaws, who has difficulties in keeping promises to make it more realistic, as everyone goes through battles in life. ¥
4. What challenges did you face making your manga? How did you overcome them?
The deadline, for sure! Also, some difficulties with approaching the theme when I was working alone. But once we decided to do it together, it took just one day to write the story. The most striking moment was when my girlfriend’s sister went into birth labor so she rushed to the hospital to help her bring the baby to the world.
Sharing the tasks and trusting in each other was essential! We needed to be organized and focused, with us working on our parts, which included cooking food and daily housework! Now we have a cute tiny nephew we can’t wait to introduce him to the world of manga.
5. What did you learn from making your manga? Did you pick up any new skills or techniques?
We learned that there are mane creative process possibilities, and that if we want to make manga, we need to be organized and focused. We also learned that drawings alone can be enough to tell a story.
Theres a power in the silence. Because it was a manga with no dialogue, we realized that images have a great importance in creating the mood of the story, instructing the reader to a moving an interesting experience.
(L: I also learned that Priscilla can get really angry when I don’t give her a little bit of attention! Ha ha)
6. How important is entering the SILENT MANGA AUDITION® in relation to your professional goals?
It was important because it gave us international exposure and some visibility. It’s also very exciting as it opens the possibility of interacting with Japanese editors, learning from them, exchanging experiences, getting better… And we’re amazed at the chance of having classes with the masters one day, and realizing our dream of meeting them in Japan!
7. What advice would you give to people entering the SILENT MANGA AUDITION®?
Persistence!! Count on your friends and close ones for support. They motivate you, encourage you and they’re there to give you a big victory hug, as well as a learning hug. These ties make a difference. We also would say that enjoying the process is essential, so focus on your passion of making comics, and let this flow into your work. Because if you don’t have pleasure in drawing and taking some kind of message forward, it will become a boring and frustrating process… Don’t forget to exercise patience to see results, because making manga has no immediate return. It’s a constant learning experience!
Don’t give up before trying, and give yourself the chance and time to develop!
Read “Someone To Care” HERE ↓
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