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A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist who writes and/or illustrates manga.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the industry as a primary creator. More rarely a manga artist breaks into the industry directly, without previously being an assistant. For example, Naoko Takeuchi, author of Sailor Moon, won a Kodansha Manga Award contest and manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka was first published while studying an unrelated degree, without working as an assistant.
A manga artist will rise to prominence through recognition of their ability when they spark the interest of institutions, individuals or a demographic of manga consumers. For example, there are contests which prospective manga artist may enter, sponsored by manga editors and publishers. This can also be accomplished through producing a one-shot. While sometimes a stand-alone manga, with enough positive reception it can be serialized in a weekly, monthly, or quarterly format. They are also recognized for the number of manga they run at any given moment.Schodt, Frederik L.: Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics, Kodansha International, August 18, 1997, 3rd Asian Cartoon and Art Exhibition : Manga Hai Kya, Comics : Shekhar Gurera
The manga corresponds to the medium of art the artist uses: comics, or Japanese comics, depending on how the term is used inside or outside Japan.
The - ka (家) suffix implies a degree of expertise and traditional authorship. For example, the term mangaka would not be applied to a writer creating a story which is then handed over to a manga artist for drawing. The Japanese term for such a writer of comics is 原作者.
In 2009, 5,300 mangaka were honored with a title published in bound volume in Japan. In a 2010 message, Japan Cartoonists Association chairman, Takashi Yanase says: "while Japan is often said to be the world's cartoon kingdom, not a few people will surely be wondering what exactly the Japanese mean by the term 'cartoon'. Unfortunately, there is no hard-and-fast definition that can be offered, since the members of this association lay claim to an extensive variety of works."
Assistants are commonly used for inker, letterer, and shading, though the predominance of black and white art in manga means that, unlike in the western comic industry, a studio rarely employs a colorist. Some manga artists only do the sketchwork for their art, and have their numerous assistants fill in all of the details, but it is more common for assistants to deal with background and Cameo appearance art, leaving the manga artist to focus on drawing and inking the characters. Assistants may also be employed to perform specialized artistic tasks. Go Nagai, for instance, at one time employed a specialist to draw helicopters and other military vehicles, Kaoru Mori employed a historical consultant for Emma, and series that incorporates photorealistic architecture, animals, computer-rendered imagery, or other technically demanding effects may employ or contract separate artists trained in those techniques. Assistants almost never help the manga artist with the plot of their manga, beyond being a sounding board for ideas. A manga artist's assistants might be listed in the credits for a manga tankōbon, and short interviews with or illustrations by assistant artists are a common form of omake in these collections, but they typically do not receive individual credits.
Most manga artists started out as assistants, such as Miwa Ueda to Naoko Takeuchi, Leiji Matsumoto to Osamu Tezuka, Kaoru Shintani to Leiji Matsumoto, and Eiichiro Oda, Hiroyuki Takei and Mikio Itō to Nobuhiro Watsuki, who was himself an assistant to Takeshi Obata. It is also possible for an assistant to have an entire career as such without becoming an independent manga artist. Assistants, particularly specialists, may work with several different manga artists at the same time, and many assistants also self-publish works of their own in the dōjinshi scene.
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