Here’s a little look behind the scenes at the making of “Centurion.” It’s interesting to see the way a story evolves from idea to script to manga. This will be a good look at the process, for those who are interested.
Script:
Centurion started with a script, written by Zach Motts with a little help from Robin A. White, and translated by Emiko Harmon. The story was inspired by a short passage in the Bible (Matthew 8:5-13). Here’s a short excerpt from the first page…
Rough Layouts:
Once the script is handed off to the artist, it’s the artist’s job to interpret the story visually. This begins with rough layouts or thumbnail sketches. Usually a script will include visual cues, but sometimes there are things left for the artist to figure out. A good artist can bring a story to life in ways the writer might not have intended, but which can really enhance the story.
Here’s a look at “Centurion” artist Ryo Azumi’s layouts, based on the above part of the script.
As you can see, she did a great job at bringing the Centurion’s thoughts to life visually. Even in this rough format, the page design is really dynamic.
Pencils:
At this point, in a collaboration, the artist will show this to the writer or editor for feedback, and any major changes will be made here, before the artist goes on to the next stage.
Once everyone agrees that the layouts are good, next, most artists do a more refined drawing in pencil. Here’s a look at Azumi-san’s pencils.
As you can see, it’s much more detailed, but still a bit rough. Some artists actually do this stage digitally, but even if it is, things are still kept loose for now.
Finished pages:
After this, the artist does the clean, finished line art in ink or digitally, after which tones or colours, as well as lettering, can be added. Here’s a look at the same two pages once Azumi-san finished them.
