'GIGAZINE Manga Awards' July 2024 Entries Open & How to Make an Announcement Banner and Key Points Explained



The GIGAZINE Manga Awards are currently accepting manga, original and drawing portfolios for monthly review. GIGAZINE posts announcement banners on its website, such as serialized manga, comics on sale, and announcements of the GIGAZINE Manga Awards. Check out the '

Manga Announcement Banner Explanation ' to find out how manga banners are made and what types of banners are popular.

Check out the ongoing manga and comics below!

Read 'The Part-Time Life of a Hero and a Corporate Slave' Death 1 'I've started working part-time!'



Read 'Secret Palace' Episode 1: 'Loneliness, a Beautiful Girl, and an Android'



Vampire x Maid x Garlic Gourmet ' Master, I Smell Like Garlic! ' Comic available below!



Also check out the comic '

Ame Ame Fure Fure Usoyandee ,' which depicts two weeks in the life of a girl who loves rain and a boy cursed by it!



◆Click here for the 'GIGAZINE Manga Award' application guidelines



If you have already read the recruitment requirements and just want to apply, please use the application form .

◆ Send your portfolio to apply for illustrations, storyboards, and illustration help positions



◆Click here for original script submissions for novels and screenplays



◆ Manga announcement banner explanation
There are three types of announcement banners: a rectangular banner, which is displayed large and close to a square, a wide banner, and a smartphone banner, which is a horizontal banner for smartphones. Below is a banner using the front cover illustration of ' The Part-Time Life of a Hero and a Corporate Slave: Death 2.5 '.



This rectangle banner is a simple banner made up of four elements: an illustration, a title logo, the text 'Read manga!', and a button for people to click.



On the other hand, if you create a wide banner from the same illustration, the size ratio of the illustration and the standard size of the banner will not match well. If you adjust the illustration used this time to a wide banner or smartphone banner, it will look like this. As you can see, materials that are designed to fit a rectangle often do not fit a horizontal banner.



So for this banner, we divided the original illustration into each character and the background, and rearranged them to fit the landscape ratio. In order to cut out the characters individually, the layers of the illustration and manga data need to be organized, so we asked the manga artist for help.



The banner below, which had a particularly high click rate for 'The Part

-Time Life of a Hero and a Corporate Slave, ' is a four-panel illustration of the battle scenes, characters, and setting of the hero and corporate slave. Designs like this that line up multiple elements tend to be easy to match with either rectangular or horizontal banners.



One of the key points in banner design is the choice of color. The two banners below are announcement banners for '

The Part-Time Life of a Hero and Corporate Slave: Death March 4 - VS Succubus!? A Three-Way Battle for the Job!!' , but the color of the 'Read Manga!' button on the bottom right is slightly different. This is because the banner on the left matches the light hair color of Lilimil, the main character in the episode, while the banner on the right matches the hair color of Lilimil in a dark scene. Depending on the layout of the material and the design intent, it is said that by matching the button color to the large characters or the main color of the background, the overall harmony can be achieved.



Also, below is the banner design for '

We're the Gas Man!! Episode 7: The Day I Saw the Stars.' The banner features an impressive scene and line from episode 7, which depicts a past episode about why the main character, who works at a gas company, chose to work at a gas company. Because it is a memorable scene in the main manga, it had an especially high click rate among all the 'We're the Gas Man!!' banners.



We sometimes use the same illustrations or manga materials to advertise on social media, taking into account the click-through rate of the banner. If you see a banner that catches your eye, be sure to click on it.



We will not only continue to serialize and solicit manga, but will also be releasing and explaining various behind-the-scenes footage, so if you have any comments or thoughts like 'I'd like to see this behind-the-scenes footage too!' or 'I'd like to know more behind-the-scenes information,' we would appreciate it if you could send us your feedback via the Contact Us form.



◆ 'GIGAZINE Manga Award' Application Guidelines



・What happens if you serialize a manga on GIGAZINE?
・Completely remote work & work timing can be left to your discretion

・Serialized manga will be published on GIGAZINE, so people can read it first.

No strict deadlines make scheduling easy

- No restrictions on genre or target audience, anything is OK as long as it's interesting

・Assistants available to help with coloring and backgrounds (no need to pay for yourself)

・Because we are still a young label, it is easier for our opinions and requests to be accepted, just like a venture company!

・For those who have concerns about working as a freelancer, such as 'Is it okay if I don't know anything about laws or taxes?' or 'What is it like working on a serial with an editor?', we have

published 'Guidelines for creating an environment where freelancers can work with peace of mind' in line with the guidelines of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. We have compiled a Q&A to answer any questions or concerns you may have, so please check it out.

Etc. If you have any other questions, please click here to contact us.



・Basic conditions:
・It is assumed that it can be read on a smartphone (no double pages, vertical scrolling is the standard)



・Full color, full digital (black and white works may be treated as 'original works', but applications are welcome)

・Any genre and the completed manuscript of 'Episode 1' and its behind-the-scenes materials should be submitted. Please send behind-the-scenes materials including character designs and settings, as well as a summary of the entire story in a range of 200-800 characters. Please note that if there are insufficient content in your application, we may not be able to proceed with the review.



・Manuscript format:
Please refer to ' The Princess and the Gamer ' for aspect ratio, file size, and resolution.

・Number of manuscript pages:
Free. Any number of pages is OK.

·others:
・Original works that you have already published in other media or on other platforms are OK

・Works that were published in magazines but never published in book form, or that were discontinued midway through due to unavoidable circumstances, are also OK. Please don't give up.

·The deadline:
Wednesday, July 31, 2024, 11:59:59 PM



・Review process:



After the first round of selection by the editorial team, the review process is scheduled as follows: The review process and stages may be subject to slight changes, so we will send you separate explanations and confirmations before the first round of review.

Phase 1: Evaluation in a closed environment that can only be viewed by GIGAZINE Secret Club members + Evaluation including making materials by the editorial department
↓
Stage 2: In a format more geared towards serialization, we will review your work after you have prepared additional necessary information, such as the first episode manuscript and a plot up to the final episode. If you make it this far, we will almost guarantee that your work will be serialized in some form.
↓
Final stage: The serialized manuscript will be judged by the editor-in-chief of GIGAZINE, evaluated by GIGAZINE Secret Club members, and judged by guests such as writers currently serializing in GIGAZINE, to determine the winner of the Grand Prize. In addition, if the work remains in the final stage, the serialization will be guaranteed.

・Rewards:



All the people who passed the first round and were selected for the first stage:
Prize money: 30,000 yen

2nd stage advancement:
An additional 20,000 yen prize will be awarded, plus an editor will be assigned to serialize the work.

Finalists:
If you advance to the final stage, you will receive an additional 50,000 yen prize (total of 100,000 yen) plus a guarantee that your submitted work will be serialized after being polished.

Winners and above:
Additional prize money from 100,000 yen + guaranteed serialization

Grand Prize:
Prize money of 1 million yen + guaranteed serialization of submitted work

・Results of submitted works selection
For works that proceed to the first stage of judging, we will contact you via email at the address you provided when you applied by the end of the month following the month of application with details about the judging.
Please note that in all other cases, we will not generally notify you of the results of the screening.

・Procedure after winning the award
After the serialization on GIGAZINE is over, the work will be made into an e-book and sold on Amazon. We will pay you the prescribed manuscript fee and royalties. GIGAZINE will also be responsible for the sale and promotion of the e-book.

・Question Form:
If you have any questions about applying, please click here to contact us. If we receive similar questions repeatedly, we will compile them as an FAQ, so we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

・Manga Award Application Form:

Click here




◆Applications for illustration staff, storyboard staff, and illustration help staff



・How to apply for 'drawing only':
Just show the URL of your portfolio or collection of works in the Manga Award application form . Please write 'Applying for illustrations only' in the 'Other' column. There is no limit to the number of illustrations or manga for your portfolio, and there is no line on how many you need, but the more you have, the easier it will be to get recognition.

・How to apply for 'Name Composition Manager'
We are also looking for 'name composition' who will turn the original text script into a name. As with the illustration only, please send us as much information as possible about your portfolio, names of works you have created in the past, and manga works.

・Judging process for 'Artwork only' and 'Name composition':
If you pass the first stage of screening, which is based on your portfolio, we will contact you by the month after you submit the form. In the second stage, we will ask you to actually draw a trial original. If you pass this, we will move on to the final stage of voting.

・Rewards:
Participants who passed the first stage portfolio screening and participated in the second stage:
Prize money: 50,000 yen
*Because this stage of judging requires additional manuscript work, all applicants who advance to the second stage will receive a stipend.

Winners of the final judging:
Additional prize of 100,000 yen + serialization guarantee

Grand Prize:
Additional prize of 200,000 yen + serialization guarantee

*Due to the nature of the original script, we cannot guarantee that your work will be serialized immediately, but we will guarantee that it will be serialized by making it a priority proposal.

・How to apply for help:
We are also looking for helpers who can help with the production of full-color manga. We also welcome helpers with underpainting characters, text placement, and backgrounds. This is a completely remote project and you can participate from home only when you can.

·conditions :
Nothing in particular. The flow is 'if you can work, choose what you want to take on from the task list and work on it,' so it's possible to not participate if you're busy.
You can also help out, earn some pocket money and improve your skills, while also creating original works and making suggestions to the editors.

・Rewards :
For 'coloring help' and 'background help,' the hourly rate is calculated using work management software. The hourly rate is set as a trial period at first, and can be increased based on the level of skill and the number of contributions made.
In the case of 'name composition', the manuscript fee will be calculated per page.

·Application method :
On the GIGAZINE Manga Award application form , paste the URL where you can view your past color manuscripts and portfolios instead of the 'address/URL for downloading the work file.' Also, in the last 'Other necessary information we need to know,' enter the appropriate information you would like: 'Coloring help,' 'Background help,' or 'Name composition.'

・Manga Award Application Form:
Click here




◆ Original script submission requirements



・In addition to the manuscript for Episode 1 , please also prepare a plot (synopsis) from Episode 1 to the final episode . The synopsis should be a detailed summary of the entire story, between 100 and 800 characters, on the first page of the manuscript.

・The first round of judging will simply look at the entertainment value of the story and the completion of the first episode. If you make it through the second round to the final round, you will be judged on whether you can consistently write stage directions right up to the final episode, with the idea of actually creating the original manga.

・If you are submitting an 'original work only' and it is text only, you can simply paste the text into a Google document and enter the address of the shared link in the application form. In this case, please do not edit the document after submitting.

・Please make sure that your Google sharing settings are set to 'Anyone with the link.' If you leave it set to 'Restricted,' submitted work will not be readable. For more information, please check 'Share files publicly' in the Google Docs Help .



・Rewards:
All the people who passed the first round and were selected for the first stage:
Prize money: 30,000 yen

2nd stage advancement:
An additional 20,000 yen prize will be awarded, plus an editor will be assigned to serialize the work.

Finalists:
If you advance to the final stage, you will receive an additional 50,000 yen prize (total of 100,000 yen) plus a guarantee that your submitted work will be serialized after being polished.

Winners and above:
Prize money of 100,000 yen + serialization guarantee

Grand Prize:
Prize money of 200,000 yen + guaranteed serialization of submitted work

*Due to the issue of matching with illustrators, we cannot guarantee that your work will be serialized immediately, but we will guarantee that your work will be serialized by making it a priority proposal.

Click here for the application form



The Manga Award selection process includes the 'GIGAZINE Secret Club (GSC) Closed Review.' Whether you are a GSC member or not, please take this opportunity to become a member of GSC and witness the birth of a future masterpiece. Register for the GIGAZINE Secret Club here .

We look forward to receiving your submissions from all creators. Thank you very much.

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