Most publishers that take one-shots usually work like that: The less pages you can express the story the better they think you are at it. That's why the say "You can have it be up to 15 pages... iF yOu WAnT tO." 😂
There are some manga one-shot contests were the max page count is required to be 15 pages. But I don't remember which one I was referring to because the comment is old.
@@GodsPhantasy each sheet of paper is folded into 2, hence you will have 4 sides/pages with each paper. So your page count should be counted in the matters of 4, unless you have spreadpages. Add the cover page, and you will have 16
When writing the one-shot I'm working on I never really thought the shorter the better and felt that if I gave it everything I had it'd leave the reader more satisfied. After watching this I may have been wrong and the true skill/goal lies within the ability to complete the story as quick as you can. I still feel like taking the route I've chosen for myself and making a longer one-shot with multiple characters and their reasons but this gave me a new outlook on what is necessary and will keep it in mind on future projects. Ps: I've been watching a lot of your videos lately and it's helped me a lot so, thank you.
Thanks for leading me in the right direction, I've been coming up with all sorts of ideas but hesitated to do it because i thought it would take a lot of time. Good thing this video made me realize that stories shouldn't always be a long series.
Correct Death Note’s One Shot was a rare occurrence. It got that many pages because it was by the original creators who created a HIT. The typical Shonen Jump one shot for anyone would else would be around 21-45 pages. Sadly the west is very different, and magazines might literally give you a page limit. The 15 page limit mentioned in the video was the MAXIMUM amount of pages I could submit for Saturday Am’s One Shot Competition. Obviously if you’re just creating a one shot for fun, you could make it 100 pages if you really wanted, but in the professional field you might be forced to work under a strict page count
Thanks for the video man, you made me realize that my comics are too long. I come from book illustration and I just want to pack every single visual detail in every single panel. I avoided drawing cars so now I'm stretching a car ride conversation over 4 pages so I can give you every angle of the car and all the architecture along the road so I can prove to myself that I can do it; and a kid running after their ball has to take up two pages so I can get multiple angles of the street and so on...it's absurd. I'm working on a one shot about a woman who's been dead for almost a century but lingers on, not knowing why because she has trouble recalling her past life; when she reconnects with her memories she's reunited with her long lost fiancee. I did the thumbnails and it I ended up with 27 pages. I'm going to try to bring it down to somewhere between 10-15 without cutting the dialog.
Absolutely neat !!! you answered to many of my questions and for my aspiring author friend, now I feel more confident and conscious of what I'm supposed to do in order to begin my one shot properly, I'll definitely send this vide to my friend so keep it up !
this is such a great video! right now im taking part in an international manga contest and was worried about having to add too much detail storywise, knowing thats its generally better to do the opposite calmed me down a little bit LOL.
A lot of great tips here! Looking to create a romantic drama one-shot. Doing some research on comic writing and wanted to learn what goes into the making of a one-shot. This was very helpful! 🙂
Watching this video I realized that most of my favorite manga series started off as one shots… My Hero, Reborn, Dragon Ball, Gokurakugai, etc. it’s a lot more common than I’d thought. Thanks for shedding light on this!
I’ve never written a one shot before, because I write comics usually Ive always planned ahead just in case. I’m literally 8 graphic novels ahead of my artist rn (I’m not rushing her, she doesn’t have any time limits on her, nor will she ever) because I plan ahead a lot. But for the manga I’m drawing and writing (never drew before, it’ll be fun) I guess I should stop planning so far ahead. And practice on writing just short stories. Thank you for the video
I'm glad this video could help! There's nothing "wrong" with working on longer projects. One-Shots are just another type of story A lot of competitions held by publishers tend to be One-Shot focused because they don't have the time to read an entire novel from every entry, so they like to see what they can do in short form
I have a giant problem. Whenever I think about a story for a one-shot, I end up extending it to long chapters, even volumes (ofc by just writing down rough comcepts). I hope this video will give me an idea what I'm doing wrong 😅 edit: ok so I have a question, when you write such short story, do you have some concepts for this story in extended version already? Or you start with this short story and AFTER, when you get approved by a publisher to turn it into a long series, you decide to come up with more ideas, build the lore etc?
Thank you for taking the time to share! Personally, I’ve seen authors work both ways. With one shots you need to keep the story restrained to a small amount of pages. You are encouraged to present concepts and ideas you would like to explore in a larger series. Like the Naruto one shot example, the character Naruto was still in it and the concept of ninjas and the nine tailed fox were in it. The overall plot of the one shot was much simpler than anything the Naruto series explored. If your one shot is published as a series then of course you’ll further develop the ideas and come up with new ones. Some series are based on ideas from the one shots while others change the concepts but keep the characters. Hopefully that helps!
It helped me so much. I've been thinking of making a one-shot for a while now (despite not being able to draw good). Thank you for making this video and it helped me to think of how I should make a one-shot and overall helped me with research about how to make a one-shot manga
I've been watching your videos, this is great advice! I have had plot typed up for years now, and really want to at least make a oneshot. Thanks, Chris.
i am a webtoon comic artist with the webtoon Carbon Copy. (currently 17 subscribers, 714 views, and an 8.14 rating if you're interested.) i made it because i have a passion for superheroes, but hated how there weren't any with copying powers. anyway, i am currently scripting a one shot fantasy that i hope to make into an actual comic book if it clears a comic book competition i'm entering if i submit it in time. the concept is about a girl who comes to a capital of a kingdom out of boredom, where magic is common, but combative spells are reserved for the military and adventurers. she gets harassed by the guards, when an army of monsters attack the capital. where, she obliterates the entire army, as well as some of the ground with one spell. where it's revealed she's an elf hero from 700 years ago. i have 20 pages to work with. and personally, I am confident in my ability to come up with background lore to hint at the history of a past war. and, my drawing skills are good if i take my time with it, i just want an opinion about the concept, and if it'd work for a one shot.
Thank you for taking the time to share! I really appreciate it! Your superhero story Carbon Copy (love the name!!!!) sounds super cool! As far as your one shot goes, I like the concept but I have a few notes. For one, a one-shot should have minimal backstory and focus on the present. From the sound of your description, it seems like you want to explore the character's past. I would either save that for a series or make your entire one-shot revolve around the past hero only. My other note has to do with her destroying an entire army in one spell. I just want you to keep power balance in mind when developing these characters because overpowered characters can get boring really quickly. Aside from those two notes, I think you have some cool ideas! I think it should be fine for a one-shot! Best of luck!!
Thank you for the comment, I totally agree haha. Back when I did projects on my own, I'd always give myself at least 30-45 pages for a one-shot. Mostly because 45 is the magic number in Japan for pilot chapters and first chapters. Unfortunately, that's not how it went at Saturday AM haha. Some people were given even fewer pages than 15. I got lucky and was given the max number. It was all up to the publisher who reviewed the pitches. I'm guessing it was a challenge since the one-shot contest I entered was an annual event. It was definitely a rough experience because how can you pace a story reasonably in only 15 pages. Our publisher told us "I could give you a million pages and it wouldn't make a difference, a real author can tell a compelling story in the limit given." In the end, if you're just making one shot's for your own enjoyment, give yourself as many pages as you need haha.
This was very helpful. I now have a better understanding of how I could create a one Shot story. I dont draw Manga (even though I wish to be skilled enough for that :c) but I write and I think I have an Idea of what to do next. Thx for this video ^^
I'm glad the video could help! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! Happy to hear you're writing your own project! There are many artists out there looking to partner with writers! Best of luck!
@@maverick12070 Funny enough, Facebook Groups dedicated to digital art, comics, or manga are where I see them the most. My next bet would be on a blog site like Amino. Instagram and Twitter are also good, but a little less effective. They're definitely out there though, but artists are selective! Make sure you have sample writing pieces or a few chapters written so you can really sell yourself when the opportunity arises! Good luck!
I'm working on a one-shot right now called "That Thing in the Mirror", it's about a thug who becomes a henchman for a company that makes monsters. I'm excited to show a character without powers trying to survive against something super strong and scary, and show what a high level monster hunter looks like in this world. I designed the main character in a short on my channel, I just don't know his name yet. I'm worried I'm planning to make it too long though, I saw that some one-shots are pretty big, but you said 15 pages and I'm planning 55, maybe I should slow my roll a bit.
Depends on whether or not you plan to do art. If you do, practice art non-stop. If you can't, start with light novels. Dont underestimate the amount of work an artist does for a manga- unless you can pay, you need to get yourself a good reputation as a author before you can begin writing manga for artists to draw. If you're lucky, you can get a manga adaption for your light novels.
@@CJMoo-zm8zw he possibly meant, for example he has a manga made or light novel made already, how can he make it published? thats possibly his question
I share the belief that I got a RUclipsr I am also subscribed to, "The Rageaholic" that "more is more". I am not for less is more, as much I understand why you and other people believe that. However, I do agree with limitations breed creativity. So, I will use the 10-to-15-page rule to help me create a one-shot. I prefer 10 to tell my story as quickly as possible, though.
I can’t thank you enough for helping push me in the direction to throw together my one-shot: “WishCatcher”. It’s rough, but it sells the main point of the story, the flow is tight and consistent, and it’s something I can be proud of. Thank you for this, and I’m hoping you can offer me more advice to get my series improved and, hopefully, help me find the confidence to unleash Sanchez Chronicles onto the world.
Since I’m fairly new in the digital art department, I might and make some one shots for practice, and not for them to progress into anything further because it sounds genuinely like a lot of fun!
Thank you for taking the time to comment! My published series is set to debut in Saturday AM in March! If you have their mobile app downloaded you'll be able to read my manga for free when it drops!
Im super inspired by your work and am so thankful that you make the videos you do, each and everyone of them helps me in my own way when it comes to making my manga. thank you!!
Of course! I'm really glad my stuff can be of use! Thanks for taking the time to watch all of my videos and leaving a comment! I really appreciate it! Best of luck with your manga!!
LOL he shows his face a lot more these days on his own channel and on Instagram live, so I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deall. You had me sweating for a minute haha.
Im creating a one-shot and i wanted to know how many pages would it need to make a simple one shot. Im trying to hone my skill into writing and drawing , so that i can prepare myself to do an actual series one day
There is no "set amount" unless you are entering a contest or submitting to a publisher (then they'll outright tell you the page count) It can be as long as 200 pages (a book) or as short as 1 page. On average most tend to be around the 40-60 page range!
How about character development ? Is it necessary or should we just leave them out ? And if we should add them how much character development should we put into the main character ?
Thank you for the comment! I think a little bit of development is necessary for a one shot. As for how much I'll refer to the basic story structure I use when pitching a story (Who is the protagonist? What Does the protagonist want to achieve? How does the protagonist go about accomplishing what they want to achieve? What stands in their way? How do they overcome the obstacle? How is the protagonist affected in the end." I think you can play around with HOW much development to give, a basic example I can think of is an obnoxious boy who needs to save his friend from monsters. In order to save his friend he realizes he needs to be smart and take things seriously because he could die. After the adventure, he saves his friend and by the end, he is less reckless because he learned the importance of life and how easy it could be taken away. I think stories like that have an emotional wrap up that can be satisfying for a reader. The importance of a one shot is to tell a full story that comes to a fitting end. Of course this isn't the only solution, you could also go the route of taking your reader for a roller coaster ride and focus mainly on the plot and sequence of events. The new death note one shot is a perfect example of this because we are introduced to a new main character, he accomplishes what he wants to do, but he ends up dying in the end. His character never changed and life as he knew it stayed the same, but the reader still went through a rollercoaster of events because they were dragged along for the ride. Hopefully this answered your question and could help a bit lol
@@MonitorComics i should be the one thanking you cuz I learned a lot, the 3 chapter rules, the different type of story telling, professional storyboards etc…. fr god bless you !!
My man please tell me u have a discord server i want to join it ive just been binge watching all ur videos since today morning when i found your channel and im hooked keep doing what your doing
Thank you so much I really appreciate your support! Unfortunately I do not have a discord server at the moment, mostly because I haven't found people to moderate it yet. I plan to look more into it over the summer!
That is more common nowadays! It's been a while since I made this video so I forget exactly what I said, but if I said something like 45, then that was more normal when the big 3 were still being published!
One Punch Man is an example of a bad artist getting successful by writing well. The webcomic had pretty trashy art, but Yusuke Murata loved the story and ideas so much he decided to partner with ONE to re-illustrate it. Long story short, if your story, writing, and characters are good, you can get away with bad art.
At the end of the day, the story's writing is all that really matters! A story can look absolutely beautiful and make ZERO SENSE LOL. It may get sales for the art alone, but it'll never be respected as an actual "good piece of work!" Keep building up your skills and don't give up! Best of luck!
If you are going from the prexisting series->one shot route yes, it needs to be simplified and self contained. With that being said though, it is much easier to just make a story specifically for a one shot, which is why some competitions ask you to make something exclusive for the contest
A one shot is self contained, meaning it's a one and done deal. The average one-shot length is 25 pages, 45 pages, or 60 pages, but it can be shorter or longer if you want, those are just common numbers
So do majority of series that get serialized start with one shots as part of their pitch? I never knew naruto had a one shot I thought it’s first chapter seemed liked a pilot chapter since it resolved but left you wondering more. Then the introduction to characters and more began with chapter2. So based off that, would you say series don’t use chapter one as a pilot chapter since they most likely did this in the pitch phase by presenting a one shot ?
Basically I’m getting at, do you need a one shot in your pitch phase instead of a pilot like chapter one, not the same as like a one off one shot that could be 60 pages but basically as you say, proof you can do this. I also thought in the pitch phase along with chapter1, you provided an outline/summary of the story as a whole to show you have at least a concrete story to tell with themes that they can look at and see if itll be profitable or “worth it” long term
Yes! It was one of my oldest videos so I ended up remaking it. Most of the information was moved into my video about self publishing and traditional publishing: ruclips.net/video/nW7Y_QtGPxM/видео.html&ab_channel=MonitorComics The elevator pitch template I learned from my publisher is about 7 minutes into the video!
God I sound stupid you actually compete in an event hoping that if your story is good the judges will pick you among the others I did not know that 😅😅😅
Yeah and the event itself is competitive to get into. Out of like hundreds of applicants, only like 10 are selected to compete, and out of those 10 only like 4 are published regularly as series
This is a good idea, thank you for sharing! Personally, I would never recommend drawing with a mouse. There are meme videos online of people doing the "mouse only" challenge, but it isn't efficient at all. I always recommend drawing tablets. There are two types, pen tablets, and screen tablets. Screen tablets are a bit more expensive and are pretty much Ipads. I use a screen tablet called a Wacom Cintiq 13 inch tablet. Pen Tablets are more affordable but harder to use in my opinion. You basically draw on it and the image appears on your computer screen. Some people can get used to not seeing exactly where you draw, but I could never get used to it and just saved up until I could afford a screen tablet. The pen tablet I used to own was Wacom Bamboo Tablet! Hope that helps until I make the video!
i have a question so I have already planned for a full manga story like where the story begins how the char evolve what the story is about, power and so on, but for the one shot do I need to use the main 3 characters from my story use the powers and stuff from my story and stick to what the story is about but from like a middle part and skip how they got where they are in like 15 pages or more or can I start from the beginning tell what happens and end on what they are about to do ,I am very confused on how to do a one shot because I am getting confused on how to tell the story in a few pages .if you could reply and tell me I would appreciate very much thankyou and your video helped me too thankyou ./
Thanks for taking the time to check this video out and leaving a question! In most cases, it is a LOT easier to create the one shot FIRST, and then if you like the ideas in the one shot, you work on developing it as a series AFTERWARDS It's a lot harder to work backwards and trying to plan EVERYTHING at first and then scaling it back to fit a one shot Every one shot is different. In the Naruto one shot, the only "main characters" were Naruto and Iruka, sasuke and sakura weren't even invented yet. The One shot was very different than what the Naruto series would become but it showcased a few elements that had potential (the art style, the titular character, the powers, and the world) The same can be said for the numerous One Piece one shots that would later inspire the series. Many of them solely focused on Luffy using his power to solve some problem in the world For your project, you're going to have to think much smaller and focus on a few elements you want to get across. Maybe that's only focusing on one or two characters, the powers, briefly introducing the setting, and have them deal with a problem that can be resolved in a short amount of pages
The one thing to remember is that ONE SHOTS are DIFFERENT from Chapter 1's. So you definitely don't want to end on a cliffhanger or "what they're about to do" In my experience working as a judge for Saturday AM's One-Shot contest this year, pitches that sound like "Chapter 1's" are immediately rejected A one shot's only purpose is to showcase "what could be" in a small amount of pages
@@MonitorComics aaa yes thankyou the thing is I at the beginning I had already like thought of a story and continued with it and created a lot of characters before and as I worked then I searched and I forgot about the one shot and now I am finding it a bit hard because I have all these ideas and I cant think of a way do to like shorten but yes thankyou this is helping me a lot I really appreciate it. yes I read the Naruto and the one piece one shot I enjoyed reading them they made sense like the way they both showed few things compared to the manga anime we know now but with those few things made a story good, the thing is that I was struggling with was that I and couldnt understand at what time and when do you begin and how to continue with it and because I have almost a whole story written down thats why I am getting confused because I cant create a one shot that technically makes sense because of the story i have
@@MonitorComics I see so I can do my oneshot like from a middle part and create a situation and show the things that are important for the story but in like 15 pages or 20 pages. or can began at any point of the story as long as it makes sense and has like situation that the main characters can solve in like 15-20 ? and do i show the important things of the story like what it is about in a short way ?
@@MonitorComics and another thing that confused me was that like that the naruto one piece berserk felt like they could be first chapters and i thought you have to work like your creating a first chapter began with your character make them fight for example solve it and end it
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment I really appreciate it! The short answer is YES of course! Go Nagai, the author of the Devilman series had a completely different vibe in his one-shot version Mao Dante. Toriyama's Dragonball was also a bit different from its one-shot Dragon Boy. Attack On Titan's one shot was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT and had a different set of characters that may have inspired the current ones. Usually, ideas from the one-shots develop into the full-fledged series. Hope that helps!
copperX That’s mainly up to you and if you think it will benefit the story. A bit of world building is probably necessary to set the scene. If your one shot is a passion project or for fun then you can really do whatever you want. One shot’s are intended to be the “first drafts” of a potential series. If you’re entering a competition or something more professional you might want to keep worldbuilding minimal because editors can tell when people are trying to shove a 100 volume epic into a one shot or disguising their one shot with their actual chapter 1. In the professional field nobody is guaranteed anything with a one shot so focus on presenting what you’re good at and cut the fat of the story.
There is no hard rule! If I mentioned a number in this video it might be based on the average. This video is also a bit old, when the Big 3 were serializing, the "normal" for Shonen one shots was around 45 pages. Nowadays around 60 is also common!
Different publishers have different competitions! Just follow them on social media and keep an eye out for when contests are! The company I work with, Saturday AM, has yearly contests! This year's just ended so submissions should open again next March! If you're picked you might be able to have your one-shot published in the magazine!
Just front, so 10-15 pages total. Every one-shot competition is a bit different though, that's just the average number I've encountered. If you aren't entering a contest, then you can make it any length you want. Japanese One-Shots tend to be more around 45 pages. Hope that helps!
@@RUdigitized it’s definitely a challenge! I’ve heard of some other competitions with shorter page counts like 1-5. It all depends on the specific publisher or contest
No. A one shot just needs to introduce and tell a completed story. You should be thinking of a one-shot as its own thing, not a tiny part of something bigger I'd recommend reading some one-shots to see what I mean. In the Naruto one-shot, it takes place during a random mission. In the One Piece one-shot, it takes place as soon as Luffy leaves his hometown One-Shots are meant to be a quick, concise way to test a story and concepts. That's why many lead to a bigger series based on it When you try to work backwards (turning a large story idea into a one shot) you can run into a lot of problems
Most publishers that take one-shots usually work like that: The less pages you can express the story the better they think you are at it. That's why the say "You can have it be up to 15 pages... iF yOu WAnT tO." 😂
EXACTLY GREMA
Why fifteen pages?
It should be 50 to 60 btw
There are some manga one-shot contests were the max page count is required to be 15 pages. But I don't remember which one I was referring to because the comment is old.
@@GodsPhantasy each sheet of paper is folded into 2, hence you will have 4 sides/pages with each paper. So your page count should be counted in the matters of 4, unless you have spreadpages. Add the cover page, and you will have 16
One shot: Importance
Filler and Backstory: *IRRELEVANT*
THIS PERSON SPEAKS THE LANGUAGE OF THE GODS
in summary
manga series - surpass your limits
one shot - limit yourself
LOL True!
When writing the one-shot I'm working on I never really thought the shorter the better and felt that if I gave it everything I had it'd leave the reader more satisfied. After watching this I may have been wrong and the true skill/goal lies within the ability to complete the story as quick as you can. I still feel like taking the route I've chosen for myself and making a longer one-shot with multiple characters and their reasons but this gave me a new outlook on what is necessary and will keep it in mind on future projects. Ps: I've been watching a lot of your videos lately and it's helped me a lot so, thank you.
Iioo
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Currently working on a one-shot rn. This been very informative.
Super great to hear that! Best of luck!
I'm writing a one shot but its on the more longer side to short to be series but to long to be a typical one shot
I didn't know! Summer of manga alumni here as well! My story was Ghouls Corp. Your vids are very informative! Thanks!
Oh damn, how's it going man? Dope to meet another alumni! Glad my videos could help, I appreciate the support! Good luck with your projects!
Thanks for leading me in the right direction, I've been coming up with all sorts of ideas but hesitated to do it because i thought it would take a lot of time. Good thing this video made me realize that stories shouldn't always be a long series.
Did u ever make a one shot? I'm curious
Death Note one shot is 80 something pages I think. I don’t think one shots have to be that short. What you’re referring to is the minimum.
Correct Death Note’s One Shot was a rare occurrence. It got that many pages because it was by the original creators who created a HIT. The typical Shonen Jump one shot for anyone would else would be around 21-45 pages. Sadly the west is very different, and magazines might literally give you a page limit. The 15 page limit mentioned in the video was the MAXIMUM amount of pages I could submit for Saturday Am’s One Shot Competition. Obviously if you’re just creating a one shot for fun, you could make it 100 pages if you really wanted, but in the professional field you might be forced to work under a strict page count
@@MonitorComics I am trying to hire an artist for a one shot would you be interested ?
@@mathewchesser5531 Thank you for the offer, but at the moment my commissions are currently closed! Best of luck!
I think depends on what manga it is, I find most oneshots which include greater character dynamics and action to normally be above 40 or so pages.
Like Gokuraku-gai Sanbandori no Ken, Goodbye, Eri and sakamoto. (Especially Goodbye Eri lmao)
Thanks for the video man, you made me realize that my comics are too long. I come from book illustration and I just want to pack every single visual detail in every single panel. I avoided drawing cars so now I'm stretching a car ride conversation over 4 pages so I can give you every angle of the car and all the architecture along the road so I can prove to myself that I can do it; and a kid running after their ball has to take up two pages so I can get multiple angles of the street and so on...it's absurd. I'm working on a one shot about a woman who's been dead for almost a century but lingers on, not knowing why because she has trouble recalling her past life; when she reconnects with her memories she's reunited with her long lost fiancee. I did the thumbnails and it I ended up with 27 pages. I'm going to try to bring it down to somewhere between 10-15 without cutting the dialog.
Absolutely neat !!! you answered to many of my questions and for my aspiring author friend, now I feel more confident and conscious of what I'm supposed to do in order to begin my one shot properly, I'll definitely send this vide to my friend so keep it up !
I'm really glad this video could help! Thanks for taking the time to watch and sharing all of that! Best of luck to you and your friend!
For me it's good to think of it like a quick skit. Like a minute skit from ur favourite RUclipsr
this is such a great video! right now im taking part in an international manga contest and was worried about having to add too much detail storywise, knowing thats its generally better to do the opposite calmed me down a little bit LOL.
Super glad to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to check this video out and leaving a comment! Best of luck with your submission!
"Dio" XD I think you already know what I'm about to say..... Good vid👌🏾
thanks bro XD
A lot of great tips here! Looking to create a romantic drama one-shot. Doing some research on comic writing and wanted to learn what goes into the making of a one-shot. This was very helpful! 🙂
How do you only have like 200 subs man? This is such a good video. Advice, editing and all. Love the artwork too.
Thank you so much, that means a lot!! I appreciate your support!!
@@MonitorComics Keep up the good work!
Watching this video I realized that most of my favorite manga series started off as one shots… My Hero, Reborn, Dragon Ball, Gokurakugai, etc. it’s a lot more common than I’d thought. Thanks for shedding light on this!
I’ve never written a one shot before, because I write comics usually Ive always planned ahead just in case. I’m literally 8 graphic novels ahead of my artist rn (I’m not rushing her, she doesn’t have any time limits on her, nor will she ever) because I plan ahead a lot.
But for the manga I’m drawing and writing (never drew before, it’ll be fun) I guess I should stop planning so far ahead. And practice on writing just short stories. Thank you for the video
I'm glad this video could help!
There's nothing "wrong" with working on longer projects. One-Shots are just another type of story
A lot of competitions held by publishers tend to be One-Shot focused because they don't have the time to read an entire novel from every entry, so they like to see what they can do in short form
I have a giant problem. Whenever I think about a story for a one-shot, I end up extending it to long chapters, even volumes (ofc by just writing down rough comcepts). I hope this video will give me an idea what I'm doing wrong 😅
edit: ok so I have a question, when you write such short story, do you have some concepts for this story in extended version already? Or you start with this short story and AFTER, when you get approved by a publisher to turn it into a long series, you decide to come up with more ideas, build the lore etc?
Thank you for taking the time to share! Personally, I’ve seen authors work both ways. With one shots you need to keep the story restrained to a small amount of pages. You are encouraged to present concepts and ideas you would like to explore in a larger series. Like the Naruto one shot example, the character Naruto was still in it and the concept of ninjas and the nine tailed fox were in it. The overall plot of the one shot was much simpler than anything the Naruto series explored. If your one shot is published as a series then of course you’ll further develop the ideas and come up with new ones. Some series are based on ideas from the one shots while others change the concepts but keep the characters. Hopefully that helps!
@@MonitorComics Okay, so I guess I'll just mention or suggest a few things like the lore, main villain etc. in dialogues... thanks for your reply 😊
I feel Your pain... Well, at least i make a One-Shot Idea and a One-Shot only with 10 Pages.... Now its Just i Write The Story
@@drquem4279 I ended up working on a whole series 😂
@@cynxmanga kkkkkkkkkk, looks like me
It helped me so much. I've been thinking of making a one-shot for a while now (despite not being able to draw good). Thank you for making this video and it helped me to think of how I should make a one-shot and overall helped me with research about how to make a one-shot manga
I've been watching your videos, this is great advice! I have had plot typed up for years now, and really want to at least make a oneshot. Thanks, Chris.
thank GOD i found your video, i was searching for so long on how to approach this, thank you bro u earned my sub
i am a webtoon comic artist with the webtoon Carbon Copy. (currently 17 subscribers, 714 views, and an 8.14 rating if you're interested.) i made it because i have a passion for superheroes, but hated how there weren't any with copying powers. anyway,
i am currently scripting a one shot fantasy that i hope to make into an actual comic book if it clears a comic book competition i'm entering if i submit it in time. the concept is about a girl who comes to a capital of a kingdom out of boredom, where magic is common, but combative spells are reserved for the military and adventurers. she gets harassed by the guards, when an army of monsters attack the capital. where, she obliterates the entire army, as well as some of the ground with one spell. where it's revealed she's an elf hero from 700 years ago.
i have 20 pages to work with. and personally, I am confident in my ability to come up with background lore to hint at the history of a past war. and, my drawing skills are good if i take my time with it, i just want an opinion about the concept, and if it'd work for a one shot.
Thank you for taking the time to share! I really appreciate it! Your superhero story Carbon Copy (love the name!!!!) sounds super cool! As far as your one shot goes, I like the concept but I have a few notes. For one, a one-shot should have minimal backstory and focus on the present. From the sound of your description, it seems like you want to explore the character's past. I would either save that for a series or make your entire one-shot revolve around the past hero only. My other note has to do with her destroying an entire army in one spell. I just want you to keep power balance in mind when developing these characters because overpowered characters can get boring really quickly. Aside from those two notes, I think you have some cool ideas! I think it should be fine for a one-shot! Best of luck!!
Working on a one-shot at the moment, and this type of videos are quite helpful!
How can you plot in 15 pages? Like One-Shots like attack on titan and death note have 70 pages each.
Thank you for the comment, I totally agree haha. Back when I did projects on my own, I'd always give myself at least 30-45 pages for a one-shot. Mostly because 45 is the magic number in Japan for pilot chapters and first chapters. Unfortunately, that's not how it went at Saturday AM haha. Some people were given even fewer pages than 15. I got lucky and was given the max number. It was all up to the publisher who reviewed the pitches. I'm guessing it was a challenge since the one-shot contest I entered was an annual event. It was definitely a rough experience because how can you pace a story reasonably in only 15 pages. Our publisher told us "I could give you a million pages and it wouldn't make a difference, a real author can tell a compelling story in the limit given." In the end, if you're just making one shot's for your own enjoyment, give yourself as many pages as you need haha.
good job with your success. currently working on writing one-shots because I just want to finish something haha
Not me, watching Monitor’s videos and realizing we went to the same school. Wild stuff, man
WAIT WHICH SCHOOL LOL
@@MonitorComics I go to Lehigh too lmao
@@ianbyrne465 Yooo small world, I'm currently a senior haha. Shoot me a DM sometime!
@@MonitorComics hell yeah, absolutely man!
This video was very helpful
Happy to hear that! Thank you for the nice comment!
This was very helpful. I now have a better understanding of how I could create a one Shot story. I dont draw Manga (even though I wish to be skilled enough for that :c) but I write and I think I have an Idea of what to do next.
Thx for this video ^^
I'm glad the video could help! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! Happy to hear you're writing your own project! There are many artists out there looking to partner with writers! Best of luck!
@@MonitorComics Oh I wish I could find someone who I could collaborate with but dont know where To Start xD
@@maverick12070 Funny enough, Facebook Groups dedicated to digital art, comics, or manga are where I see them the most. My next bet would be on a blog site like Amino. Instagram and Twitter are also good, but a little less effective. They're definitely out there though, but artists are selective! Make sure you have sample writing pieces or a few chapters written so you can really sell yourself when the opportunity arises! Good luck!
I'm working on a one-shot right now called "That Thing in the Mirror", it's about a thug who becomes a henchman for a company that makes monsters. I'm excited to show a character without powers trying to survive against something super strong and scary, and show what a high level monster hunter looks like in this world.
I designed the main character in a short on my channel, I just don't know his name yet.
I'm worried I'm planning to make it too long though, I saw that some one-shots are pretty big, but you said 15 pages and I'm planning 55, maybe I should slow my roll a bit.
My one shot follows some of the rules and breaks many others, but I’d say overall it fits within these perimeters.
homeless god is underrated! I would love to see this!
I would like to be a freelance manga creator/light novelist, how do I get started and how do I get my projects out there?
Depends on whether or not you plan to do art. If you do, practice art non-stop. If you can't, start with light novels. Dont underestimate the amount of work an artist does for a manga- unless you can pay, you need to get yourself a good reputation as a author before you can begin writing manga for artists to draw. If you're lucky, you can get a manga adaption for your light novels.
@@CJMoo-zm8zw he possibly meant, for example he has a manga made or light novel made already, how can he make it published? thats possibly his question
Alright...now I know how this works, thanks alot random RUclips man 👍
Haha glad I could help random commenter!
I share the belief that I got a RUclipsr I am also subscribed to, "The Rageaholic" that "more is more". I am not for less is more, as much I understand why you and other people believe that. However, I do agree with limitations breed creativity. So, I will use the 10-to-15-page rule to help me create a one-shot. I prefer 10 to tell my story as quickly as possible, though.
I can’t thank you enough for helping push me in the direction to throw together my one-shot: “WishCatcher”. It’s rough, but it sells the main point of the story, the flow is tight and consistent, and it’s something I can be proud of. Thank you for this, and I’m hoping you can offer me more advice to get my series improved and, hopefully, help me find the confidence to unleash Sanchez Chronicles onto the world.
Glad I could help! I appreciate the nice comment! Best of luck!!
Thank you. Your tips is really BIG help for me to review how i do my oneshot, I plan to create one soon.
That's awesome to hear! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and share! Best of luck with your one shot!
@@MonitorComics No problem buddy. Hope to enter in Medibang.
Thanks for info. I'm inspired to start a one shot
Since I’m fairly new in the digital art department, I might and make some one shots for practice, and not for them to progress into anything further because it sounds genuinely like a lot of fun!
That's awesome to hear! Thank you for taking the time to share! Best of luck!
Wow your an artist now, cool
I read second serving, it was awesome!
that's so cool, thank you!
@@MonitorComics you inspire me, keep up the fantastic work!
Working on a one shot now thanks to you! (Btw, this is my favourite video on the channel)
Thank you so much! I'm happy you enjoyed it! Best of luck with your one shot!
Woah I just discovered your channel and you're very underated.
Amazing advice. Your videos are great.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed!
Thank you for the tips and ideas and if you do continue with your own manga or so, I'll be reading
Thank you for taking the time to comment! My published series is set to debut in Saturday AM in March! If you have their mobile app downloaded you'll be able to read my manga for free when it drops!
Im super inspired by your work and am so thankful that you make the videos you do, each and everyone of them helps me in my own way when it comes to making my manga. thank you!!
Of course! I'm really glad my stuff can be of use! Thanks for taking the time to watch all of my videos and leaving a comment! I really appreciate it! Best of luck with your manga!!
6:46 lol a sneak diss
4:35
You dare challenge me mortal?
If you want reference for how to tell short stories, love death and robots is a good series to look at.
Only if u an adult tho.
he basically face revealed whyt manga
I liked that
LOL he shows his face a lot more these days on his own channel and on Instagram live, so I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deall. You had me sweating for a minute haha.
Im creating a one-shot and i wanted to know how many pages would it need to make a simple one shot. Im trying to hone my skill into writing and drawing , so that i can prepare myself to do an actual series one day
There is no "set amount" unless you are entering a contest or submitting to a publisher (then they'll outright tell you the page count)
It can be as long as 200 pages (a book) or as short as 1 page. On average most tend to be around the 40-60 page range!
This was good advice, thanks
Of course! I'm happy you enjoyed the video! Thanks for taking the time to watch and leaving a comment!
Starting my own one shot
Awesome! Thank you for sharing and taking the time to comment! Good luck!
How about character development ? Is it necessary or should we just leave them out ? And if we should add them how much character development should we put into the main character ?
Thank you for the comment! I think a little bit of development is necessary for a one shot. As for how much I'll refer to the basic story structure I use when pitching a story (Who is the protagonist? What Does the protagonist want to achieve? How does the protagonist go about accomplishing what they want to achieve? What stands in their way? How do they overcome the obstacle? How is the protagonist affected in the end." I think you can play around with HOW much development to give, a basic example I can think of is an obnoxious boy who needs to save his friend from monsters. In order to save his friend he realizes he needs to be smart and take things seriously because he could die. After the adventure, he saves his friend and by the end, he is less reckless because he learned the importance of life and how easy it could be taken away. I think stories like that have an emotional wrap up that can be satisfying for a reader. The importance of a one shot is to tell a full story that comes to a fitting end. Of course this isn't the only solution, you could also go the route of taking your reader for a roller coaster ride and focus mainly on the plot and sequence of events. The new death note one shot is a perfect example of this because we are introduced to a new main character, he accomplishes what he wants to do, but he ends up dying in the end. His character never changed and life as he knew it stayed the same, but the reader still went through a rollercoaster of events because they were dragged along for the ride. Hopefully this answered your question and could help a bit lol
@@MonitorComics Ohh i see i see Thxx this really helped me a lot 👍👍
that picture of Imran Khan had me dying of laughter
I feel like my largest issue with this is coming up with the actual concept for the one shot. Are there any tips you can recommend for brainstorming?
I actually have a video and a livestream vod about brainstorming you can find on this channel!
@@MonitorComics oh alr cool, thanks
"for 10 million episodes" god damn! LMAO
Bro really added Imran khan at 0:27
for the tezuka contest a one shot goes up to 55 pages max
That's good to know! Thanks for the information!
@@MonitorComics i should be the one thanking you cuz I learned a lot, the 3 chapter rules, the different type of story telling, professional storyboards etc…. fr god bless you !!
My problem is that I can't imagine how I would introduce my story to the reader, since I'm completely used to the story.
My man please tell me u have a discord server i want to join it ive just been binge watching all ur videos since today morning when i found your channel and im hooked keep doing what your doing
Thank you so much I really appreciate your support! Unfortunately I do not have a discord server at the moment, mostly because I haven't found people to moderate it yet. I plan to look more into it over the summer!
@@MonitorComics can I be a mod in your server.
Subbed..Hontoni Subarashii, senpai!!
But why are some oneshots 60 pages long?
That is more common nowadays! It's been a while since I made this video so I forget exactly what I said, but if I said something like 45, then that was more normal when the big 3 were still being published!
Do a bad art make a bad managa/one shot? I'm not very good at drawing
One Punch Man is an example of a bad artist getting successful by writing well. The webcomic had pretty trashy art, but Yusuke Murata loved the story and ideas so much he decided to partner with ONE to re-illustrate it. Long story short, if your story, writing, and characters are good, you can get away with bad art.
Thanks you helped alot!
Really glad to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to watch!
2:38 Im in a similar situation to you except my art skills suck... So Im relying on a fun/funny story to pull me through.
At the end of the day, the story's writing is all that really matters! A story can look absolutely beautiful and make ZERO SENSE LOL. It may get sales for the art alone, but it'll never be respected as an actual "good piece of work!" Keep building up your skills and don't give up! Best of luck!
0:30 LOL, that's Imran Khan
*when you notice that the intro didn't say "the place where we make comics and manga"
So if im understanding this correctly, just take a concept of your (not you persay) series and compose it.
If you are going from the prexisting series->one shot route yes, it needs to be simplified and self contained.
With that being said though, it is much easier to just make a story specifically for a one shot, which is why some competitions ask you to make something exclusive for the contest
So the one shot must be differently to the main series?
Not necessarily! A lot of one shots have very similar concepts and themes found in the main series.
Leon Points
What if, like the Naruto one shot, I want to expand on the one shot in the future and connect it to a bigger series?
That is totally possible! The One Piece one shot was similar and brought a lot of elements to the series
Can you make a one shot where it just a prequel with a few chapters or does it have to be just one chapter.
A one shot is self contained, meaning it's a one and done deal. The average one-shot length is 25 pages, 45 pages, or 60 pages, but it can be shorter or longer if you want, those are just common numbers
So do majority of series that get serialized start with one shots as part of their pitch? I never knew naruto had a one shot I thought it’s first chapter seemed liked a pilot chapter since it resolved but left you wondering more. Then the introduction to characters and more began with chapter2. So based off that, would you say series don’t use chapter one as a pilot chapter since they most likely did this in the pitch phase by presenting a one shot ?
Basically I’m getting at, do you need a one shot in your pitch phase instead of a pilot like chapter one, not the same as like a one off one shot that could be 60 pages but basically as you say, proof you can do this. I also thought in the pitch phase along with chapter1, you provided an outline/summary of the story as a whole to show you have at least a concrete story to tell with themes that they can look at and see if itll be profitable or “worth it” long term
Dude can pls put your one shot title in the description.????
How 2 Make Backgrounds
Please can i have a sample of any script you did ?
I can't find the link to the elevator pitch video. Maybe you took it down?
Yes! It was one of my oldest videos so I ended up remaking it. Most of the information was moved into my video about self publishing and traditional publishing: ruclips.net/video/nW7Y_QtGPxM/видео.html&ab_channel=MonitorComics
The elevator pitch template I learned from my publisher is about 7 minutes into the video!
Hmmm nah, I don't even wanna make a oneshot
God I sound stupid you actually compete in an event hoping that if your story is good the judges will pick you among the others I did not know that 😅😅😅
Yeah and the event itself is competitive to get into. Out of like hundreds of applicants, only like 10 are selected to compete, and out of those 10 only like 4 are published regularly as series
@@MonitorComics God damn only 4😅
I'm gonna download this
I wanna join Saturday am too I'm 14
Ur very helpful sir
Thank u
Awesome! I'm glad my videos could help! Keep working hard and take advantage of Saturday Am's contests and submission periods! Best of luck!
Yo I’ve been wondering lately should i draw eith a mouse or like what equipment should i use? Could u make a video
on tht
This is a good idea, thank you for sharing! Personally, I would never recommend drawing with a mouse. There are meme videos online of people doing the "mouse only" challenge, but it isn't efficient at all. I always recommend drawing tablets. There are two types, pen tablets, and screen tablets. Screen tablets are a bit more expensive and are pretty much Ipads. I use a screen tablet called a Wacom Cintiq 13 inch tablet. Pen Tablets are more affordable but harder to use in my opinion. You basically draw on it and the image appears on your computer screen. Some people can get used to not seeing exactly where you draw, but I could never get used to it and just saved up until I could afford a screen tablet. The pen tablet I used to own was Wacom Bamboo Tablet! Hope that helps until I make the video!
i have a question so I have already planned for a full manga story like where the story begins how the char evolve what the story is about, power and so on, but for the one shot do I need to use the main 3 characters from my story use the powers and stuff from my story and stick to what the story is about but from like a middle part and skip how they got where they are in like 15 pages or more or can I start from the beginning tell what happens and end on what they are about to do ,I am very confused on how to do a one shot because I am getting confused on how to tell the story in a few pages .if you could reply and tell me I would appreciate very much thankyou and your video helped me too thankyou ./
Thanks for taking the time to check this video out and leaving a question! In most cases, it is a LOT easier to create the one shot FIRST, and then if you like the ideas in the one shot, you work on developing it as a series AFTERWARDS
It's a lot harder to work backwards and trying to plan EVERYTHING at first and then scaling it back to fit a one shot
Every one shot is different. In the Naruto one shot, the only "main characters" were Naruto and Iruka, sasuke and sakura weren't even invented yet. The One shot was very different than what the Naruto series would become but it showcased a few elements that had potential (the art style, the titular character, the powers, and the world)
The same can be said for the numerous One Piece one shots that would later inspire the series. Many of them solely focused on Luffy using his power to solve some problem in the world
For your project, you're going to have to think much smaller and focus on a few elements you want to get across. Maybe that's only focusing on one or two characters, the powers, briefly introducing the setting, and have them deal with a problem that can be resolved in a short amount of pages
The one thing to remember is that ONE SHOTS are DIFFERENT from Chapter 1's. So you definitely don't want to end on a cliffhanger or "what they're about to do"
In my experience working as a judge for Saturday AM's One-Shot contest this year, pitches that sound like "Chapter 1's" are immediately rejected
A one shot's only purpose is to showcase "what could be" in a small amount of pages
@@MonitorComics aaa yes thankyou the thing is I at the beginning I had already like thought of a story and continued with it and created a lot of characters before and as I worked then I searched and I forgot about the one shot and now I am finding it a bit hard because I have all these ideas and I cant think of a way do to like shorten but yes thankyou this is helping me a lot I really appreciate it.
yes I read the Naruto and the one piece one shot I enjoyed reading them they made sense like the way they both showed few things compared to the manga anime we know now but with those few things made a story good, the thing is that I was struggling with was that I and couldnt understand at what time and when do you begin and how to continue with it and because I have almost a whole story written down thats why I am getting confused because I cant create a one shot that technically makes sense because of the story i have
@@MonitorComics I see so I can do my oneshot like from a middle part and create a situation and show the things that are important for the story but in like 15 pages or 20 pages.
or can began at any point of the story as long as it makes sense and has like situation that the main characters can solve in like 15-20 ?
and do i show the important things of the story like what it is about in a short way ?
@@MonitorComics and another thing that confused me was that like that the naruto one piece berserk felt like they could be first chapters and i thought you have to work like your creating a first chapter began with your character make them fight for example solve it and end it
Thank you this helps alot
I'm happy to hear that!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Best of luck with your project!
@@MonitorComics thank you I hope your still doing good on yours
Underrated
1:33 He had to flex rq 😂
Gran video encerio muchas gracias 👍
Gracias!
2:01 I thought the was more of substance then Race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
can your one-shot have completely different characters from the real series?
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment I really appreciate it! The short answer is YES of course! Go Nagai, the author of the Devilman series had a completely different vibe in his one-shot version Mao Dante. Toriyama's Dragonball was also a bit different from its one-shot Dragon Boy. Attack On Titan's one shot was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT and had a different set of characters that may have inspired the current ones. Usually, ideas from the one-shots develop into the full-fledged series. Hope that helps!
@@MonitorComics thank you very much this clears a lot of things up
Should we do world building tho?
copperX That’s mainly up to you and if you think it will benefit the story. A bit of world building is probably necessary to set the scene. If your one shot is a passion project or for fun then you can really do whatever you want. One shot’s are intended to be the “first drafts” of a potential series. If you’re entering a competition or something more professional you might want to keep worldbuilding minimal because editors can tell when people are trying to shove a 100 volume epic into a one shot or disguising their one shot with their actual chapter 1. In the professional field nobody is guaranteed anything with a one shot so focus on presenting what you’re good at and cut the fat of the story.
I thought one shots need to be 25 to 60 pages long 🤔
There is no hard rule! If I mentioned a number in this video it might be based on the average. This video is also a bit old, when the Big 3 were serializing, the "normal" for Shonen one shots was around 45 pages. Nowadays around 60 is also common!
@@MonitorComics Gotchia
how did you add that patterns with clip studio paint ?
It would be nice to know where I can post my one shot are there any websites or apps for that
Where can someone submit a one shot? How can you find out if it can become popular?
Different publishers have different competitions! Just follow them on social media and keep an eye out for when contests are! The company I work with, Saturday AM, has yearly contests! This year's just ended so submissions should open again next March! If you're picked you might be able to have your one-shot published in the magazine!
@@MonitorComics amazing. Thank you very much
Why do u not have 100 subs yet
thanks kaiwe :''')
Cuz he started last week XD jk
You mean 10-15 front and back? Or just front
Just front, so 10-15 pages total. Every one-shot competition is a bit different though, that's just the average number I've encountered. If you aren't entering a contest, then you can make it any length you want. Japanese One-Shots tend to be more around 45 pages. Hope that helps!
@@MonitorComics wow that seems really short! You really do have to think how to make it work
@@RUdigitized it’s definitely a challenge! I’ve heard of some other competitions with shorter page counts like 1-5. It all depends on the specific publisher or contest
does the one shot have to start from the beginning of the story?
No. A one shot just needs to introduce and tell a completed story.
You should be thinking of a one-shot as its own thing, not a tiny part of something bigger
I'd recommend reading some one-shots to see what I mean. In the Naruto one-shot, it takes place during a random mission. In the One Piece one-shot, it takes place as soon as Luffy leaves his hometown
One-Shots are meant to be a quick, concise way to test a story and concepts. That's why many lead to a bigger series based on it
When you try to work backwards (turning a large story idea into a one shot) you can run into a lot of problems
Can I write/start with a one shot even if its not a for a competition or context.
Why put imran khan with pen apple guy?
I already wrote da plot n everything but a one shot????
It's funny how much more expressive you were years ago. What happened?