 eady to join the Circuit?
From multiple views and genres, the Circuit is a project dedicated to promoting great kamishibai stories and artists. If you're curious about contributing please read the corresponding sections and feel free to contact us.
[WRITERS] ~ [ARTISTS] ~ [VOICE ACTORS]
Prospective Artist: One of the most important elements of a kamishibai, standing toe to toe with the story, is the artwork. After all, without either, a kami simply isn't a kami. You are, of course, more than welcome to do do both the writing and artwork for you own stories. Kamishibai authors have been creating kamis this way for years. However, there are stories in The Circuit that need artists also, and if you're willing to help out, you can see which stories need help on the status page. Now onto the info.
~Essentials
It should go without saying that in order to take part in this project as an artist, you'll be doing most, if not all, of the necessary artwork. The creative vision should be yours, and you should feel free to grow artistically. However, it's also important to do your images well. As the artist you'll be the forerunner in making a kamishibai series both alluring and enticing to a potential reader. To do that, there are a few things that will be needed:
~Banners
Basically, these will be the ads used in The Circuit advertising campaign. We have stories and we need to promote the one you work on in conjunction with any other stories we get. These ads/banners would be shown in a slideshow fashion on The Circuit's website, Otaku World, and anywhere else people who would like to help the project gain notoriety offer up. These other places could be signatures in a forum, link pages on a website, and so on.
Your ad/banners should be intriguing and attractive, showcasing what the series is about and presenting the series title. You need to make:
One 115x330 banner for the Circuit website
One 248x160 banner for Otakuworld
One teeny banner 88x31 (optional)
The ads should probably be the easiest part, and you can make as many as you would like. You may even want to use the art you created for the series in the ads.
~Series Artwork
More important than the banners is the artwork you'll do for the selected series. You will need to do the art for four episodes, and will be given three months to complete them, on average. If your artwork is heavily detailed and intensive then more time may be allotted so that you can get the work done to your specifications. Otherwise, the standard three months should suffice.
Now in a kamishibai, images need to be made to be 200 pixels wide by 112 pixels tall. That may be small, but understand that you're working with an artform. You can't make pottery if you refuse to use clay and you can't sculpt topiary if you have a problem with sharp objects. Wonderful images and animations have been made within the allotted 200 x 112 space.
That being said, it would really be up to you how you do it from there, because artwork means artwork. It doesn't mean it has to be drawn out. You can use photos, vector art, traditional art, photoshopped art, etc. Whatever you think will tell the story best, be that in black in white or color, would be more than satisfactory for the kami. Just run what you want to do by the writer, unless you are the writer, to be sure he or she has a little say in the matter also.
~Omake Artwork
It is a tradition among Kamishibai makers, in reference to artwork, to make an Omake Folder for the kamishibai included in the zip file. These folders usually include rough sketches of the characters or nice artwork that can just be wallpapers, comics, or off topic art that relate to characters and places, but not necessarily the story. Now every kamishibai doesn't have to have one, so this is purely optional, but some people find it fun to include. For good examples of these, check out the latter episodes of the NEKP series.
~Dedication
It is necessary that as the artist, you can stick to your guns when it comes to making the artwork. It's not hard and it's not easy. You have three months to prepare, and during these three months we need to receive updates from you every three weeks, once a month basically, letting us know that things are moving along and you're doing okay. That means you'll need diligence when you take on someone's story, or your own story for that matter. Don't feel hampered; if there is a problem let us know about it so that we can stay on top of things and help out if necessary.
~The Artistic Rights Remain the Artist's
If you're doing the art for someone else's story then that art is yours. The writer has no claim to them or what you do with them nor does the Circuit. If you want to post the images on message boards, your artist account, and so on, then that is your right.
However, you have to understand that once a kamishibai is completed, you have to share the rights to the kamishibai with the writer. That means that the characters you draw and places need to be credited to the proper person, which is, in most cases, the writer. You need to be sure to mention the writer because the ideas aren't originally yours when working off of someone else's script or story.
The only rights that The Circuit has with the images submitted is when it pertains to advertising and promoting The Circuit website and project. Other than that, the rights do belong to you. You want to use them in a portfolio? Go for it. The skies the limit.
~Auxiliary Information
Kamishibai is a great way to improve how you do your artwork. You can receive readily available feedback from other kami makers and get constructive criticism. But you may still have confusion when it comes to how to do the artwork. Check out the Kamishibai MasterClass, which can be found on KamiCross, to get an understanding of how kamishibai artwork typically is.
Definitely watch a few kamishibai to get an idea of how you may want your artwork to be. The Free Zone on Otaku World is a great place to start, and there are sites out there with free kamishibai for you to download. Watching and reading a kamishibai prepares and inspires you to get started.
Want to do the artwork for a series but not sure which one to do or can't find one to do? Contact us and we'll help you out. There are tons of stories out there and we should be able to find one for you.
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