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Ryan Dave Jimenez

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Blog Entries posted by Ryan Dave Jimenez

  1. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    So this will be a short blog post because I just want to announce that my webtoon, "Geisha Epic" is now available online.

    I just uploaded chapter one to webtoons.com. I thought of uploading to Tapas too but I got turned off that they only allowed 10 MB for a chapter. And chapter 1 of my webtoon is pretty big at 20 MB. Since it's the first chapter I decided not to keep it short and just go for it.

    If I want to upload to Tapas, I have to divide chapter one into two. And I don't want to do that because I feel like I'm cheating the reader. Making it look like it's longer than it actually is. So I'm passing on Tapas for now.

    But someday I want to make a webtoon that is exclusively only to Tapas. Because they have some interesting features that webtoons.com doesn't have.

    If you've been following this blog, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And no it's not ending. I will still make blog psots as I continue to work on Geisha Epic. I will just switch to my visual novel for now.

    Check out the debut chapter of my webtoon here: https://cutt.ly/IQpeahC

    See you in the next blog.
  2. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    I am three pages or five panels away from finishing chapter one of "Geisha Epic". And I am so excited for that. It's been a long month. I think it took me a month?
    For this post I want to talk about what a real webtoon is. Because whenever I see someone promoting their webtoon half of them aren't really webtoons.
    They're either a webcomic, a manga, or a comic strip. And those are all different.
     
    Now some might say, does it really matter? They're all comics anyways.
     
    But it does matter.
    There are similarities between them and there are differences too.
     
    It's like saying does it really matter? Japanese, Chinese, Thai.... They're all Asians anyway.
     
    And that is wrong.
     
    A manga is Japan's version of comics For America you have the Marvel and DC, the comic books, and graphic novels For Japan, you have manga.
    Now manga is always black and white. Sometimes you have colored covers or a few pages are in color but it's usually always black and white.
     
    And webtoons are usually always colored. That is the first difference right away.
     
    There are webtoons that are in black and white but they are quite rare. I can't even think of a popular webtoon that is in black and white. Can you?
    And webtoon readers expect a webtoon to be in color.
     
    So if your so-called "webtoon" is black and white, it's not a webtoon. Stop calling it that.
     
    Next up is a webcomic. These are usually in color so they're webtoons right? No. Why?
     
    Because they're read left to right. Webtoons are read from top to bottom. That is the second difference.
     
    And I see this mistake a lot. If your so-called "webtoon" is read left to right, it's not a webtoon. Stop calling it that.
    Finally, we have comic strips. 

    They're colored and are also read left to right but the biggest differentiator is they're very short. Usually four panels or just one page.
    So if your so-called "webtoon" is a comic strip, call it a comic strip. It's not a webtoon.
     
    So what is a webtoon? A webtoon is Korea's version of comics. They were meant to be read digitally, hence the name web.
    And they are meant to be read using mobile phones, hence the top to bottom orientation where you scroll down to read.
    And a lot of webtoon creators don't take advantage of that.
     
    Webtoons are pretty cool because of its infinite canvas where the reading experience is smoother and seamless.
     
    You don't have to turn a page, you don't have to click next, you don't have to worry if you're reading the panels in the right order, you just scroll down.
    And the panels appear one by one. Things are revealed to you bit by bit. And if you're creative enough you can do a lot of cool things with this scrolling orientation.
     
    Manga isn't like that, comic books aren't like that, graphic novels aren't like that, web comics aren't like that, comic strips aren't like that.
     
    That is why I have an issue with other creators calling their work a webtoon when it isn't. Because they don't take advantage of that infinite canvas that only webtoons have.
    Plus, you're spreading misinformation because someone who is not in the know may start thinking that manga are webtoons. When that's incorrect.
  3. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    I may be 70% done with the first chapter on my webtoon. Which is called "Geisha Epic" by the way. So it means I'm close to uploading this on webtoons.com and Tapas.
    Which brings up the question, when will I upload chapter 2? How often will I update?
     
    And most webtoon artists will say, weekly is the best. It's a good rule of thumb or is the industry standard.
     
    And I don't agree with that.
     
    The one chapter a week thing started in Japan with Shonen Jump. A magazine containing manga.
    Any Japanese manga artist who wants to succeed needs to be published in Shonen Jump. That's the only way their manga will get popular.
    This was before the Internet age.
    Since Japanese manga artists needed Shonen Jump more than the other way around they had no choice but to follow the rules of Shonen Jump.
    And that is to release a chapter a week because it's a weekly magazine.
     
    And that is the only reason why one chapter a week became the industry standard for Asian comics. There is no other reason.
     
    It's not like Shonen Jump did a scientific study that showed one chapter a week is the optimal schedule for human beings to read manga. It's just because they're a weekly magazine.
    So why release a chapter a week? Why not every two weeks? Or every month? There are manga out there that update monthly.
     
    Why do webtoon artists outside Japan who don't need Shonen Jump, who don't need a big publisher anymore because it's the Internet age and you can self-publish, why are you still following that rule? When you don't have to?
     
    You can publish anytime you want. Every day, every week, every two weeks, every month, every year, it doesn't matter.
    Just don't think that it has to be every week because that's the best practice or whatever.
    Now I know webtoons.com pretty much copied this from Shonen Jump. They also give out contracts to good artists where they get paid a lot of money but have to make one chapter a week. Which is fine. I actually have no problem with that because you get paid.
    And that's the thing, it's okay if you're getting paid.
     
    So you who is probably a part-time webtoon artist, who is just doing this on the side and is not making money from it, why are you following this one chapter a week rule? At least get paid for it right? Stop making it hard for yourself.
     
    But why is a week not enough to make one chapter? How many weeks is needed to make a chapter?
    Actually, seven days is enough to make one chapter. But seven days is not enough to make one QUALITY chapter.
    Any comic artist can put out a chapter a week. It's easy. Just cut corners. Lower the quality for one. Make it black and white. Don't draw backgrounds anymore. Stop adding details to drawings. Cut down the page count and so on.
    The problem is when you want a quality chapter in one week.
    It's like wanting a big house that is also cheap. The fastest car but it has to be cheap. The best smartphone but it has to be cheap. It's not possible. You usually get what you pay for.
     
    It's like this, a great story, good looking art, updates twice a week. Choose two. You can only choose two. You can't have all three.
     
    So you have a webtoon that updates twice a week and has a great story but bad art or a webtoon with a great story, great art, but doesn't update regularly. You can't have it all in life.
    I will admit though that nowadays readers are expecting one chapter a week whether it be manga, webtoons, manhua, whatever. They demand weekly chapters.
     
    Again it's Shonen Jump who drilled this into our heads that comics should come out weekly. But it doesn't.
     
    To answer the question, what will be my update schedule for "Geisha Epic"? Every two weeks or every four weeks. I think that suits my lifestyle, schedule, and art style just fine.
    Because that's the point of self-publishing right? You call the shots.

    What do you think? What are your thoughts on this. Comment them below.
  4. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    In the last blog post I showed what the main characters will look like.
    After designing the main characters, I designed one more character. Since I already finished the script for chapter 1, I know what characters are needed for the debut chapter. So I realized I needed to design Atsuko.
     

     
    She is the clan's best geisha a very promising prospect with the potential to become the best geisha in the country.
     
    I wanted her to look cool and even a bit masculine. A cool chick.
     
    She is also always smiling because of how confident she is in her abilities.
    Now after figuring out how the characters will look, I needed to know how their bodies will look like. So I started designing their clothes. I mainly focused on chapter one. There are more clothes to design and characters to design but I decided to just think of the first chapter.
    I'm no fashion designer but this is what I came up with. It's based on traditional Japanese costumes. This is what a Head Geisha will wear.
     

     
    Head Geishas are like the principals of a school. They are in charge of everything. They start a Geisha school and they train them.
    This is what Maikas will wear or "Geishas-in-training". Similar to students in school.
     

     
    After designing the clothes, I did a trial drawing. Combining what the character looks like and the clothes they will be wearing.
    Here's the main character Yumi.
     

     
    Her magic is fire related. She can generate fire from her hands and use that to fight.
    Here's Atsuko. Yumi's classmate who is the best student in their school.
     

     
    Her magic is ice. She also generates ice from her hands and uses it to fight.
    I also made the storyboard for chapter one.
     
    A storyboard is like a blueprint to how something will appear. Engineers use blueprints to build machines and artists use storyboards to build creative things.
     
    And that's everything I've got so far. I got my storyboard done so I can now start drawing for chapter one. That's very exciting. Thanks for reading. Take care!
  5. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    I just finished the story.

    Well, half of it is already done. So I guess it doesn’t count….

    But at least the story is going somewhere.
    I strongly believe in getting a solid foundation for your story right away. It doesn’t have to be the final version but your story should have a version 1.
    I also moved on to the next step which is the script for chapter one.
    What about the title? What’s the name of your webtoon?
    I don’t know yet.
    It does feel weird that my webtoon is still nameless.
    I followed a screenplay format for the chapter 1 script. But I wasn’t too strict about it. Ignore the writing too because I’m not really a writer. I just wanted to get my thoughts on paper and decide what will happen in chapter 1.
     

     
    What I like about using a script is, it’s preparing you for the next stages in making a webtoon. For example, this is already the dialogue. This will become the speech balloons.
     

     
    And these descriptions of what’s happening will eventually be for the storyboard.
     

     
    Story? done! Chapter 1 script? done! Now it’s time to draw. It’s time to design the characters.
    The main character: Yumi Hashimoto.
     

     
    Yumi is the youngest of the five main characters. I also wanted her to look a little boyish or angry to reflect her immaturity but still looking feminine.

    Since they’re geishas, I also needed to give them accessories like earrings, ribbons, makeup and so on. Because that’s how a real Japanese geisha looks like.

    Sachiko Takano is the oldest of the main characters. She is also a beautiful, seductive, sexy character. So I did my best to make her look more mature physically.
     

     
    Miho Goda is probably my favorite character. And you will know why when she starts to show her powers. Miho is the strongest and scariest of the main characters. She rarely talks and she gives everyone the creeps. So I needed to make her look gothic. Like a Goth chick.
     

     
    Eiko Maita was supposed to be the tomboy in the group but she didn’t turn out that way. She still looks feminine but not that feminine which is okay I guess. It can probably work.
     

     
    And last but not least is Katashi. The only male in the main characters. He is going to be a badass ninja and hopefully be a cool character. And yeah, he will be the leading man but with who? Who will be his romantic interest?
     

     
    So that’s everything I’ve accomplished so far.

    Let me know in the comments which character are you most looking forward to?
  6. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    I’m almost done writing the story.

    Well almost, almost is the key word there. Just a little bit more and I can finally start drawing.

    I cannot show you what I’ve written so far because it will contain spoilers. And I do want you to read this webtoon someday.

    But I want to share with you a cool tool I just discovered. It’s a map generator.
     

     
    Now I know they exist but it’s the first time I actually used one. It’s called Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator.
     
    And it’s perfect if you’re writing a fantasy story. Like me. Especially for world building. So you can better imagine your fantasy world.
     
    Every time you refresh the page it comes up with a new random map. It even comes up with names if you’re too lazy to think of some.
     

     
    Clicking on a place name will get you more information that has been randomly generated for you. And of course you can change it to your liking.
    You can pan around to check out the map.
     

     
    And the most important part, you can save this map so you can edit it later. Because remember, once you close this tab your map is gone and a new random map will be generated.
    All in all I found this tool really useful in writing my story. And I hope it can help you out too. Comment below what you think of Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator. Or what tools you use to make your writing easier.
    I’m going back to writing now.
  7. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    I wrote where I got my webtoon idea from in the last blog post. You can read that first before reading this one.

    We can start expanding this idea into a full story. It’s time to write!


    Writing is really hard. It’s harder than drawing to be honest. It’s so hard that a lot of webtoon creators actually skip it.

    They go straight to drawing instead. They do a very rough draft of their story and go directly to the fun part of making a webtoon. Which is drawing.


    And that is why you get Anime, TV shows, or games that have crappy endings.

    Because the story was a second priority. It was just made along the way.

    However, it’s not practical to write a complete novel before you even start designing your characters. That is too extreme.

    I think it’s best to be in the middle where you have the story done. It’s complete but not set in stone. You can make changes along the way. But you already know how it will go and even know the ending.

    I am using a Microsoft Word template to do that. It works by asking me questions that will help form the story. I will have a complete story once I answer all the questions.



     
    I made this template by combining things I learned from using Storyweaver and Dramatica which are very old software.
    I used them in the past and I thought it was pretty cool that they helped you construct a solid story.
     
    You will eventually hit a writer’s block where you run out of ideas. It happens to everyone so don’t worry about it.
    What I did was I went to You Tube to do research. I searched for Japanese mythology or Japanese legends and watched a lot of videos.
    I also used a Japanese name generator for my characters. This saves me time of having to brainstorm them names. Unless a character needs to be named something specific.
     

     
    And here’s the first version of the synopsis. This is just the first version and can change over time.
     
     
    Let me know in the comments below what you think. Is it too cliche? And do you have any suggestions to make it better?
  8. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    Way back in 2002 I was playing a game called "Battle Realms".


     
    I liked that game so much that I would skip school for half a day just to play. 😆 It was that fun for me. 
    I also liked the eastern Japan feudal period it was in. It looks so beautiful. The architecture, the forests, the way the characters looked.
     

     
    Me and my friends were also making manga at that time. We were amateurs and it was just a bunch of nerds that thought making our own manga would be pretty cool.
    And I needed a story. So I wrote one taking inspiration from Battle Realms.
     
    Thankfully, it was somewhat original and not just a blatant rip-off. Which is common if you're young and a fan of something.
     
    I also played "Throne of Darkness" and "Divine Divinity" during that period. So I guess I got some elements from those games as well.
     

     
    I like the story of Throne of Darkness even if it was a very simple one. And I like the seven samurais too. And of course the demons that you fought were awesome. Again, it was set in feudal Japan.
    For Divine Divinity I only took inspiration from the PDF file that came with the game. I think it was the prequel story or background story. But it wasn’t the game itself. It was still a good game though.
     

     
    We were actually able to make one chapter of this story. The first and last one.
    I called it “Terra Firma.” Which is a terrible name in hindsight. 🤣
     

     
    It’s 2021 now and I’m dusting the story off to bring it back. It’s basically an 18-year old story. Which is crazy.
     
    I also thought it would be a good idea to post this on Reddit to see how webtoon readers would feel about it. This takes a lot of guts because you never know what people will say. Not recommended for people with thin skin.
     

     
    It didn’t get much attention to be honest, only one person commented saying it sounds so cliche but would still read it. That’s actually a good sign because it means this story has potential. It sounds cliche for now but still interesting enough if done right.
     

     
    I also set up a poll for users who don’t want to comment but still want to help. You know, those silent lurkers. And it got three votes.
     

     
    Three not four because I voted on my own poll. That was the only way you can see the results early in Reddit. I know it sounds weird and I think Reddit should fix that.
    Two users found this story interesting and one user chose to pass on this one. So 66% of webtoon readers might be interested in a story like this. And that was good enough for me to give it a go.
    I’ve always wanted to finish this story.
     
    I never got the chance 18 years ago but I have the chance now. I feel like I owe it to the younger me to get it done.
     
    There you have it. That’s where I got my webtoon idea, from video games. From 18 years ago. Games are not a bad idea to get weapons ideas from.
    Let me know in the comments below, where do you get your ideas from?
  9. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    This is a saying in technology that basically means, poor input will always lead to poor output. That a computer only gives out what you put in. But I find this applies to humans too. Especially in terms of creativity.
     
    Creators are consumers, but not all consumers are creators.
     
    Before you make something you need ideas. So how do you get ideas? The easiest way is to consume media.
    If you want to make anime but have no ideas whatsoever, watch anime. If you want to make a game but have no ideas, play games. Eventually inspiration will strike and the ideas will come. Creators are fans too. We are just fans who love something so much we decided to make our own. While most fans are happy being consumers.
     
    And so the saying, garbage in garbage out comes to play. If you consume crappy stuff you will make crappy stuff. 
     
    I am a big believer in not watching bad anime, playing bad games, watching bad movies, etc. As a creator it will make you a bad one. As a consumer it will lower your standards.
     
    That is why I started reading/playing Steins; Gate. Said to be the best visual novel of all time.
    And right away I already learned something.
     
    Compared to my visual novel (Super Detectives), Steins; Gate had more dialogue. It had deeper writing.
    Take note I never committed to a visual novel before.
     
    This will probably be the first and last visual novel I will consume. At least it was a very good one.
  10. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    To anyone who has made something or attempted to make something, you know this feeling too well. 
    "Can I really do this? Who am I kidding? I don't know what I'm doing."
     
    I dabble in a lot of things. From web development, video editing, animation, web comics, making games, photography etc. But I never called myself a web developer, video editor, animator, artist, game developer, photographer. Because I never really felt I was one. 
     
    I thought since I was a beginner and not as good as others, I shouldn't  call myself a (insert title here).  As it would be insulting to the REAL (insert title here). No matter what my accomplishments were, no matter how much experience I got, I was just a wannabe, a fake, an impostor. 
     
    But then I realized.... you are what you do. 
     
    Some people talk the talk and some walk the walk.
    Some think they are cool while some ARE cool.
     
    If you made a website, you are a web developer. If you made a web comic, you are an artist. If you took a photo, you are a photographer and so on.
     
    Many if not all veteran creatives went through this stage. Where they doubted themselves. But chose to keep going.
    And in the end, the feeling of being a wannabe disappeared. They became a real legitimate (insert title here).

    Have you ever felt impostor syndrome? How did you overcome it?
     
  11. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    Don't get me wrong, I WANT TO LIKE visual novels. And I've tried many times in the past to get into them. I pick one up and play or read it. Then I quit as I get bored. Then years pass and I try again. Only to end up bored again.
    Maybe you're playing crappy (or hentai) ones? My latest attempt into liking visual novels was Doki Doki Literature Club. So no. Doki Doki is hyped up for a reason. It's really good. I gave it a try. But I got bored and quit before reaching the good stuff. I kind of regret quitting early though. SPOILER WARNING....

    Maybe because you don't like reading? Err.... I read a lot of books. Granted they are all non-fiction. The only fiction book I read was Harry Potter. So I don't mind the reading part.
    I think I can't get to liking visual novels is because they take a long time to get going. And I get it. They're trying to establish things. Setting up the world, the characters, and so on. But it takes way too long for me. 
    And here is where it gets weird.
    I am currently making a visual novel. Like I said, I want to like them. So even if I can't get through one I still want to make one myself.
    I just hope mine doesn't make someone bored too. 🤣
  12. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    Aside from my webtoon, (mentioned in a past blog post here.) I am also working on a visual novel game called Super Detectives (working title). I stress the "game" as I want it to have some gameplay and not just be a book. And here is the synopsis:
     
     
    For previous readers of old my blog, (which is now abandoned) this sounds familiar. The story was taken from a discontinued project of mine with the same name. Which was supposed to be a motion manga. However, I realized a emi-animated manga is quite a big challenge. And now is not the time for something that difficult. So I decided to switch to a more realistic project. Which is visual novels.
    I decided to re-use the story as I felt it had good potential. Not to mention it still works as a visual novel. And now, instead of just watching it. You get to be part of it. An advantage videogames have over TV shows.
    Super Detectives is still under development. And I will be posting my progress in this blog. But here are a few screenshots of the visual novel. Thank you for reading this!
     

      

     

  13. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    Single Since Birth is a webtoon that is currently uploaded to Webtoons.com (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/single-since-birth/list?title_no=401158) 

    Here is the synopsis:
     
    I was on You Tube one day when I saw a video that caught my eye. The title read, What happened to the man who married a hologram? The groom in the thumbnail seemed familiar. Then I remembered a news article in the past about a Japanese man who married an anime character. Turns out, it was the same guy. So I got curious and clicked on the video.
     
     
    I got pretty emotional after watching that. It wasn't really pity. I did not feel sorry for the guy as he actually seemed happy with his decision. Instead, I felt inspired. I wanted to make a story about a genuinely nice guy who would eventually find love. That they don't have to settle for an imaginary character. And there is no need to escape into fantasy. I know there are more guys like him out there and I wanted to let them know that it's okay. You will find true love.
    So what do you think of the video? Or his decision to marry a fictional character?
     
  14. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    So I was finally able to stop procrastinating and get stuff done. And here is 30+ seconds of my animated webcomic.

    30 seconds is a lot of work for an animator. Although this isn't full animation just limited animation. And to be honest this is the easy part.

    It gets harder from here.

    It also feels weird as I don't know where to categorize it. It's a motion comic. But it's not Marvel or DC. There are no super heroes here.

    It's not a web anime series as it's not 100% animated. It's not a web manga either as it's colored and has some animation.

    It's not a webtoon as most webtoons have Asian settings. And focuses mostly on Romance. 

    But yeah I think I've rambled on long enough. Here is the link to the first 30+ seconds: (Let me know what you think)
     
    Le
  15. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    In a previous blog post: 

    I talked about working on a new project. A motion webtoon. (A semi-animated colored manga)

    I posted that with no idea of what to call it yet. That is until now.

    Super Detectives is going to be the name of the motion webtoon. It was kind of surprising on how the name hasn't been taken yet.

    I assumed an anime or manga called Super Detectives would exist. But luckily none yet. According to a My Anime List search I did.

    So with a name already selected, I proceeded to make a logo. I wanted it to look like a typical anime show logo. And here it is:


  16. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    I have been away from AF for 2 months. And it seems a lot has changed. I was supposed to put this in the Creative Corner but it doesn't fit there anymore. I guess that's why there's the AF Projects club.
    So I guess I will have to blog about current and future projects. Anyways,

    I am working on a new project. Basically, I want to make a motion comic. Or a comic book with some animation.  It's not really just images but it's also not fully animated. But instead of a Marvel / DC motion comic, it will be an Anime / webtoon motion comic. 

    It will be a mystery story so if you're reading this and you enjoy mystery Anime, reach out to me! I could use the help.

    I took inspiration from reading books like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and the Famous Five.
     

     

     

     

    Here is the story synopsis:
     
    And here are the 4 main characters (club members):

    Misao Takano. The sophomore leader of the detective club. She is a good and caring leader but sometimes can be impatient.
    Nara Hiruma. A sophomore member. The best friend of Misao. She is creative, kind, and cunning.
    Junichi Kai. The sole male senior member of the club. Junichi is constantly looking for action and adventure. He is also very frugal. Probably the most frugal person you will ever meet
    Makiko Handa. A freshman member. She is very energetic but slow-witted.



     
     
    I did not draw the background in this image:
     

     
     
    So I would like to hear your thoughts and if you have any suggestions for the mystery they will actually solve?
     
  17. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    So I have an anime website called Anime Gauge. It basically scores and ranks anime similar to the Billboard Top 100. It's different from other websites like MAL and Ani DB because the score is taken from reviewers all over the internet. Resulting in a more comprehensive score. For example a MAL score is just from MAL users. Ani DB scores are just from Ani DB users. And so on. Also, Anime Gauge takes scores from MAL, Ani DB, IMDB, Anime Planet and pretty much every major anime website. 

    About 2 months ago I started thinking maybe I should add anime recommendations. To help users find new anime to watch that they would really enjoy. So I posted a blog entry and got some awesome feedback. Thank you to the people who commented on that post.

    The biggest issue seemed to be the "recommendation" itself. It seemed that in other anime sites, their recommendations were contributed by users. Now that would not work for my website because the site's focus is not on community but in ranking anime. But I realized I already knew which anime were good and which were not. Because I have the data for it. So I decided to use the rankings in making my generator. Making it a tad different to the anime recommendations of other anime sites.

    And I'm finally done! It took me about a month to make it. haha (I am not a skilled programmer) I actually tested it here in the forums. That would explain me posting a lot in the Recommendations forum.

    If you are interested or bored, feel free to check it out at: www.animegauge.com/anime-suggestions
  18. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    So my website Anime Gauge uses the MAL API to get pictures of a show. And at first everything is fine. It's working perfectly.

    Then one day, maybe 2 out of 100 shows will have a broken image. It seems MAL keeps changing the picture of their anime or the link of the picture.

    And today, voila! All of the anime images are broken. Did MAL decide to change all their anime pictures? Or change all the links? I don't even know why they keep changing them.

    I know MAL got hacked some time ago so they completely stopped people from using their API.

    I guess it's time to find a new API where I can get images for anime. I'm open to suggestions. Please comment below.

    UPDATE: 

    I managed to fix the broken images. It seems MAL changed their CDN url. I hope its the last they do that. So for now things are OK again. I'm still open to suggestions though for an API where I can get images of anime shows.
  19. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    So I just finished adding genres to all the anime on my website Anime Gauge. 

    It took awhile because I had to do it manually. One by one. I also followed Beocat's suggestion and used Anime Planet genres instead of MAL.  Anime Planet just categorized anime better.

    With that done I can now build an "anime suggestion" feature for my site. I have a vague idea of how it should work. But I would love to hear from you guys.

    Currently I'm thinking it should go like this:

    A user can put in anime that they like, for example I type in: Death Note, Case Closed

    And it would suggest a list of anime similar to those two.

    You can also type in genres, for example I type in: Isekai, Slice of life, Ecchi

    And it would come up with a list of anime that are like that.

    So do you think that's a good enough anime suggestion thingy? What else do you think is missing?
  20. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    About 3 months ago, I posted here in AF asking feedback for a story idea I had.  If you haven't yet, I recommend checking it out so this will make sense: 
     

    So I went through with it and I finished chapter 1. I followed Archie-kun's advice of starting with a webcomic because it's the easiest. Compared to an animated short.

    It's a huge milestone for me as I've never finished making a colored webcomic before. Farthest I got was about 2-3 pages.  

    It's also the first time I made a webtoon (like a webcomic but different)

    I think it's good but it can still be better. There are some mistakes I noticed but it was too late to fix. I will fix them comes chapter 2.

    If you have free time and want to check it out (it's a very short read) you can find it at:

    Webtoons: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/founders/the-routine/viewer?title_no=300915&episode_no=1

    Or Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Founders

    How about you? Any creative projects you're working on? Whether it's a webcomic, webtoon, or whatever.
  21. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    A lot of people have requested for Anime Gauge to have genre categories. So when they're looking for anime recommendations it would be easier.

    The funny thing is that the site used to have genres. But I removed it because no one used it. Now that it's gone people want it back.

    But it is a good idea though. As some people have favorite genres or just want to watch a certain type of anime.

    So I've started adding genres to the anime in the site. I decided to use My Anime List as it has a big database of anime. But I don't know if they're that reliable? For genres? There are probably better sites out there for that. Just let me know if you know any. Because almost every anime I encounter has a genre of comedy. Even if it's not 100% a comedy. I guess it has a bit of comedy warrants it having a comedy genre?
  22. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    So if you haven't seen my signature, I created a website called Anime Gauge. It's basically a Metacritic for anime. It gathers reviews from reviewers all over the Internet and averages their scores into one. Which gives you a good "gauge" if an anime is worth watching or not. 
    The site also ranks the anime from worst to best. Similar to the Billboard Top 100 for example.
    So I've always wanted to boast that Anime Gauge has ranked 1,000 anime. And I finally can!! Actually I hit this goal weeks ago. Currently, it's at 1,010 anime. And I have no plans of stopping.
    Now why 1,000? Why not less than that? As far as I know, there hasn't been a website that ranked that much anime. Maybe 500 best anime of all-time. But I don't think anyone has done 1,000 best anime of all-time. Correct me if I'm wrong of course with a comment below.
    And so the question, now what? Comes into my mind. Well I plan to just keep going. The goal has changed and gotten bigger. Now I want Anime Gauge to rank 2,000 anime. 
  23. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    As suggested by Archie-kun I will be moving this blog series into the Forums. To be specific, under the Tutorials section.

    I think it's a great suggestion so it can reach more people. And others can even pitch in with their own tips.

    So thank you for reading this. I really appreciate it.

    I will be blogging about something else now. Mainly about how my creative projects are going.

    I hope you can find the time to click on those as well. 
  24. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    This is the third entry in a series on how to make your own web manga.
    The story structure we came up with in the previous post is good enough that we can start drawing. However, you might want to expand it more so your story will have polish. Here’s a look at our current story:
     
    As previously mentioned, a basic story structure is composed of a beginning, middle, and end. An advanced story structure meanwhile has a:
    Beginning Beginning (that’s not a typo)
    Middle Beginning
    End Beginning
    Beginning Middle
    Middle Middle
    End Middle
    Beginning End
    Middle End
    End End
    Confusing isn’t it? It will start to make sense once you realize what’s going on. We are just taking our 3 main parts (beginning, middle, end) and adding another 3 parts to each one. Beginning gets its own (beginning, middle, end) Middle also gets a (beginning, middle, end) and the same thing happens with End. Let’s see it in action.
     
    Beginning Beginning
    Takeji is a nerdy highschool boy. He’s quite tall and gets bullied for it constantly. This makes him want to quit school.
     
    Middle Beginning
    The bullies who usually give Takeji trouble are 4 boys from the school swimming club. Their leader is a boy named Kaiba. One day during gym class, Kaiba steals Takeji’s shoes without him noticing. He then hides it somewhere leaving Takeji no choice but to walk home on barefoot.
     
    End Beginning
    Because of this latest act of bullying, Tajeki no longer wants to go to school. He cries and begs his parents to let him drop out. He would start looking for work instead. His parents eventually give in and agree that in a week he would be stopping school.
     
    Beginning Middle
    On his last day, Takeji bumps into a transfer student named Hayato who is also tall. Hayato asks if he plays basketball. Takeji says he has never even heard of the sport. 
    Shocked, Hayato shows him an NBA game.
     
    Middle Middle
    Lying in bed that night Takeji couldn’t sleep. He was thinking about the basketball game Hayato showed him. For reasons he didn’t know, he wanted to play basketball. The next day he shocks his parents telling them he wants to continue school. He then finds Hayato who agrees to teach him the game of basketball.
     
    End Middle
    While training, Takeji surprises Hayato by telling him he wants to try out for the school basketball team. When Hayato asks why? Takeji says he wants to make it to the NBA and play against the best players in the world.
     
    Beginning End
    Takeji and Hayato sign up for the upcoming tryout. There they meet 2 players from the school basketball team named Shinzo and Chinatsu. Shinzo is surprised as to why the nerdy Takeji wants to try out for the team. He then warns him that he would soon regret his decision.
     
    Middle End
    The tryout begins. Takeji and Hayato pass the first 3 cuts and are on the final one. The final cut pits aspiring members against the school’s basketball players. It’s an intense game as Shinzo matches up with Takeji.
     
    End End
    Takeji and Hayato make the final cut and are now official members of the team. Takeji also earns Shinzo’s respect. But deep inside Takeji knows he barely made the team and realizes he has a long way to go.
  25. Ryan Dave Jimenez
    This is the second entry in a series on how to make your own web manga.
    Now that you have a story idea we can start expanding it. For the sake of continuity, let’s say my chosen story idea is:

    We have an idea. Not a story. In its current form, it’s useless. It doesn’t give us much information. We have to take it from concept to actualization. We can do this by adding structure.
    Basic Story Structure

    Every good story has a beginning, middle, and end. Think of your favorite movie, book, or anime. They all have that. It’s what separates a good story from a bad one. Stories that don’t follow this tend to be incomplete and confusing.
     
    Beginning
    Takeji is a nerdy highschool boy. He’s quite tall and gets bullied for it constantly. This makes him want to quit school.
     
    Middle
    One day he meets a transfer student named Hayato who is also tall. Hayato shows him an NBA game. This motivates Takeji to learn the sport of basketball. With Hayato’s help he gets ready to try out for his school’s basketball club.
     
    End
    Takeji makes the cut and is accepted into the club. However, he also realizes how far he is from making it into the NBA. He has a lot to improve on first. This was only the first step of his long journey.
     
    Try reading this story again but skip the middle part. Confusing isn’t it? Club? What club? He wants to make it in the NBA? But why? I thought he wanted to quit school?
    Try reading it without the end part. It feels unfinished right? It makes you want to know what happened next. Was that it? That’s the whole story? Did he make his school’s basketball club?
     
    What is the “Beginning” for?
    This is where you do the introductions. Where does your story take place? Show the time period and setting. Reveal the main character and side characters. Give a taste of what people can expect.
     
    What is the “Middle” for?
    This is where you tell your story. This part will be longer than the beginning and end. The climax (highlight) of the story takes place here. The middle is the part that people find the most exciting.
     
    What is the “End” for?
    This is where you wrap things up. And provide a satisfying ending. You can also setup a sequel here. Like what I did in my example. Your story’s message should have already been delivered at this point.
     
    Our story idea has now been transformed into a complete story. Albeit a very short story. Next stop is to flesh it out some more.

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