Is anime/manga art?

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Well why on earth are you criticizing the picture, when it's one of billions that I could've randomly chosen from Google Images? I just picked one that showed the amount of talent lurking in the manga community :lol:

The thread is about the style :p:

Because I thought it was a bad example of how manga can be art.

Of course it is art.

This is art:

But manga isn't?

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

Reply 23

puddledancer

Original post by Plums&Peaches

This is art:

But manga isn't?

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

Yes that is art. The problem is that you are looking at it without context.

Reply 24

liftorrot

One word: Berserk !

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tkFz5AXRZog/TScXiAs6a0I/AAAAAAAAAHU/JEvDHv7Squ8/s1600/berserk18602463.jpg
http://www.photography-match.com/views/images/gallery/Berserk_2.jpg

Who can argue that the above is not an art ?

IMO it is the best piece of art I have come across ( my def. of art covers the drawings , plot of the manga , character development, everything speaks of maturity when it comes to this manga) . My statement is subjective , being a non art guy .
So on the whole it is excellent piece of work ! :tongue:

Reply 25

Nephilim

Original post by Plums&Peaches

This is art:

But manga isn't?

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

Did you know a few months ago an artist in Australia tried to pass $7,000, in 3 bundled pieces, as art and somebody bought it for $20,000! That actually happened, btw. Things like that make me want to kill myself :pierre:

Reply 26

beccafairy

the thing is that a lot of manga artists ignore human proportion, and unless the artist has a knowledge of human anatomy before stylising it, it looks terrible! but i think that as long as she could have backed it up with artist researches and taken her own pictures to then convert into a manga style, she could have gotten away with it.

for example - you have to laugh at this!

so i think that's what the teachers were weary of?

but then there's also beautifully drawn manga styled art, for example -

art teachers can be strict like that though and tend to favour 'traditional' art - i got told off for using an illustrative style for my A level art but my theme (chosen by the exam board) was art nouveau, make sense of that one!

and i fully agree what people are saying about how it's much more art than a lot of contemporary art is. at least it requires actual drawing! :tongue:

Reply 27

johnaulich

A lot of contemporary art is just misunderstood, because it requires one to look right over the craft and into the purely conceptual, which is quite a difficult thing to do sometimes. A lot of it is also just plain bad, but hey ho. It fits in lots of different genres, too... so lots not be too hasty with our generalizing. I think even the contemporary art which is all concept (like the unfairly despised Duchamp's Fountain) has a better claim on capital A Art than a very technically drawn piece with no substance beyond how nice it looks.

Reply 28

Plums&Peaches

Original post by beccafairy

the thing is that a lot of manga artists ignore human proportion, and unless the artist has a knowledge of human anatomy

I'm pretty everyone knows that a head is bigger than your hand, I don't see your point :s-smilie:

Reply 29

DeadGirlsDance

Original post by acw151

Some time I ago, my friend was in the middle of doing her art exam at school (I can't quite remember whether it was GCSE or A Level). She is incredibly talented at drawing and in particular, has a talent at drawing manga.

When she was trying to plan her final piece, she of course wanted to do something that had a manga-inspired theme to it. However, several teachers took it upon themselves to discourage her from doing so, with one teacher actually making the statement: "Manga isn't art". She was therefore forced into creating a piece which quite frankly, didn't display her strengths as well as she could have if she'd been allowed to create the piece she wanted to. In a way, I could tell she was made to feel stupid for choosing to create a manga-inspired piece.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an expert at art. Maybe she would have gotten a lower grade if she had done a manga-inspired piece. But I do think saying that manga isn't art is pretty unfair and ridiculous considering that I've seen some pretty awful/grotesque pieces in my time getting called "art".

Am I missing something here? Or were those teachers out of order?

That sounds just like me! My final piece was terrible because of my teacher trying to get me to do something else :/.

Reply 30

drummer

Teacher knows nothing. I had a great teacher who helped me climb to the top of the class in GCSE. Then she retired and came an awful teacher that tried to force impressionism, textiles and things I had no interest in. I loved to draw and although never had a go at manga it is definitely art because each mangaka has their own style of drawing it.

Reply 31

Pi!

It can be art, in the same way films can be art. The problem with drawing Manga for school/uni work is that it can be too easily copied off other artists/designers and doesn't show your own skills.

Reply 32

JOftw

My art teacher was quite the same. By the end of the 2 year GCSE course she had convinced us the only way to pass was to randomly throw art materials together onto a canvas.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 33

beccafairy

Original post by Plums&Peaches

I'm pretty everyone knows that a head is bigger than your hand, I don't see your point :s-smilie:

i meant that you need to know anatomy before you stylise it or the proportions will come out looking really weird, which is what their art teacher might have been worried about. also, a hand is proportionally the size of your face :rolleyes:

Reply 34

caiitlinz

I was dead-set on doing a manga-based piece for my GCSE Art. My teacher told me it wasn't art and forced me to do some pretty traditional, from-life portraiture instead.

The project I ended up doing improved my observational skills to no end and introduced me to artists and styles I would never have known otherwise. I can still look back on some of the work I did then and be (slightly) proud of it. Had I done something manga, I know that wouldn't have been the case.

Ultimately my personal artistic style developed away from manga and became something (I hope) is slightly more original than the cliché, dreadfully anatomically-incorrect rubbish I produced at 15. Not speaking for everyone here, but being forced outside of my comfort zone when I was at GCSE and A-Level made me the 'artist' I am today.

Reply 35

fifi*

its definitely art - just because it isn't the cookie-cutter formula manet painting over here doesn't give it any less artistic value!

Reply 36

bobdat

Does anybody else actually read manga, as well as just look at it?

Some of the best storylines and characters I've ever come across have been in manga, and I can't think of many teachers who'd claim writing isn't an art.

If you mean is the anime/manga style of art really 'artistic', then yes, all drawings are artistic. If someone appreciates looking at it, it's art (I suppose). Just because it's a style that's not familiar doesn't detract from its merit.

If you tried to actually produce manga (i.e. a story as well as pictures) for an art exam/coursework, I expect it would be far too difficult. But using the style would be acceptable. The teacher is just unenlightened.

Reply 37

WhyAmILikeThis11

Manga is most definately an Art, and those teachers should be slapped for their ridiculous, ignorant comments and their discouraging a student like that. However, I can't say they were wrong in making her create a different piece without seeing her work as a manga artist.

The thing is that there are many manga and anime fans out there today, and as much as I hate to have to say this, many of them THINK they can draw manga very well, when they really, genuinely suck at it. Kind encouragement from friends don't help in this situation.

I, myself, am an A-level art student who choose Manga as the style for my coursework project. My art teacher was hesitant at first about letting me use manga as my style, but I showed her some of my works and she decided to let me go ahead with it. In last years AS results, I got an 'A' in my coursework, where I combined manga styles with oil paint. At the same time, a GCSE student (possibly inspired by me :P) began doing her work based on manga also, combining manga with acrylic paint. She ended up getting an 'F'... (To be fair, I've never done GCSE art, so i don't know if the mark scheme is different or anything.)
But here's where my above stated point comes in; all her friends tell her 'oh my god, your manga art is amazing!', 'wow i wish i could draw as well as you!'. But when I peaked at her work, her manga art was really average. in fact, it was only boarderlining average. (i feel awful for saying this, but it's sadly true -_-)

Our art teacher disapproved of her using manga style even though she had encouraged me. And I hope i don't sound arrogant or up-myself when i say this, but in all honesty, my teacher was right in the sense that using this style wouldn't get the GCSE student high marks like it would for me.

For your particular case, judging by the teachers' nasty attitudes, I'd probably blame their stupid biased views rather than doubt your friend's artistic talent, but I think it's worth keeping in mind what i'm trying to point out.

It is very important to do what you're good at though, if manga is what your friend is really good at.
example time! In my exam piece, I thought i'd try something completely different, unrelated to manga. (i used collaging, mixed media and stuff like that) and I got a C. ^^" Proves that you have to stick with what you love, and do best at, doesn't it? xD

Reply 38

DaldinDoX

I agree with u silver. some foolish people think manga isnt art but when u really come to think it is. I hate when someone discourages who is really talented, I personally think even a blank paper is an art because when u look at it u put creativity into it .(only artist will be explicit in this secret) all to whom don't have a talent please stop trolling in threads.

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