The SILENT MANGA AUDITION® (SMA) is the world’s biggest manga audition, exclusively for manga without dialogue. By drawing silent manga, talented international creators can also get the opportunity to join the Japanese manga world. Draw your characters’ expressions full of emotion and heart to work towards your dream of debuting!
This round’s theme is ‘My Dream’, but we’re not talking about the dreams you see while you’re sleeping! There’s a lot you can do with the theme of ‘dreams’, so we’re asking entrants to get creative! For example, you could write a story about “your dream for the future”, as seen in the banner illustration, drawn by SMA MasterClass member Moritaka Neko (also known as Tati from DS Studio). Tati’s ongoing manga series, “Himekuimushi”, is being published on the Comic ZENON website! Her characters dream of creating a family together – but that’s just one example! Yours could be…
Show us your characters’ dreams and the emotions they evoke – be it joy, hope, fulfillment, despair, love, or something else! Remember – it’s not only about drawing the emotion big, but also about the build-up to the emotion, the overall situation, and the characters. We encourage you to think of a variety of possible situations and the emotions they might call forth.
We dare you to dream like you’ve never dreamt before, and capture that dream in a silent story! No dialogue, no language barriers – just pure storytelling! Create a 5-17 page story that can be understood through visuals alone! We hope you’ll dream big!
Just like you, these creators joined SMA while following their dreams! Now they’re with us in Japan, working towards their debuts! Check out what we’ve produced so far:
Offer to Enter the MasterClass and Receive Editorial Support Introduction to the Artists Village Aso 096k Project
Offer to Enter the MasterClass and Receive Editorial Support Introduction to the Artists Village Aso 096k Project
¥100,000
Excellence Award and Above to be Published on “MangaHot”
Excellence Award Runner-Ups and Above to be Featured in Monthly Comic ZENON
¥30,000
Excellence Award Runner-Ups and Above to be Featured in Monthly Comic ZENON
¥10,000
EVERY entry receives professional editorial feedback! The feedback will contain your entry’s strong points and highlight things we’d like you to practice and learn more about in order to create professional-level manga.
Entrants who complete a survey after joining SMA23 will receive a Clip Studio Paint EX 3-month activation code! Clip Studio Paint is the artist’s drawing, painting, comic, webtoon, and animation tool, loved by professionals. Don’t miss out on your chance to try Clip Studio Paint! Please also keep in mind that you can only receive the free trial code once!
The SMA judges evaluate SMA entries based on the following criteria. Above all, conveying your character’s expressions is the most important thing.
Characters’ emotions are expressed and displayed clearly.
The story and setting display your originality.
The theme is conveyed well through a story that’s easy to understand with enjoyable paneling.
NOTE: Entries done on paper should be scanned and digitized with a 300 dpi resolution. Page Layout Guidelines HERE (B4 Size) >>
Check out our tutorial on how to set up and export your pages in Clip Studio Paint EX!
Check out our tutorial on how to upload your silent manga to the entry system!
COAMIX Inc. is a Tokyo-based manga publisher founded by manga creators who are famous worldwide. Among its many titles, Record of Ragnarok, MOTHER PARASITE, Keiji’s Kabuki Adventure, and The War of Greedy Witches stand out as some recent and internationally acclaimed manga series from COAMIX Inc.
