AI Manga Production Lab Day 1

Can't manga production be more fun and easier?
I gave it the grand title of "AI Manga Production Lab," but the origin of this project lies in that very concern.

Having arrived at manga production using AI images, I was able to create and even sell manga that I had always wanted to make but couldn't. I achieved that dream.

However, after trying it, I realized that making manga is quite tough. And I learned very well that it's not just about making the manga...

It's truly fun when I'm actually making the manga. Thinking of characters, setting up character profiles, creating the story (though I actually skip the storyboard creation here because I'm bad at it), paneling, creating images, inserting images, editing images, adding dialogue, adding onomatopoeia, editing, selling, and so on...

Up to this point, the production part is genuinely fun. But...
Having made 18 works so far, I've also seen the parts that take time.

I think the fact that I skip the storyboard part is having an impact, but I spend a huge amount of time on paneling, thinking about character movements, the flow of the manga along the story, designing with the reader's feelings in mind, and selecting images.

Also, the fact that it doesn't end with just manga production is becoming a bottleneck. That's right, just making it doesn't mean it will sell at all. Of course, thanks to large platforms like FANZA, it sells a little, and I understand that it depends on variables like whether fans follow me or if the subject matter hits the mark.

However, there is a lot more to it than that. The issue of exposure is a big one. Naturally, as a circle and author whose name hasn't really spread yet, it's a problem that will end if I just give up and say it can't be helped...

Yes, manga production didn't end with just making it. Marketing strategy parts like how to deliver it, how to get people to see it, and how to get them to buy it; the parts originally handled by manga and magazine editors, such as what kind of subject matter to handle in the first place and how to make the created manga better; the production assistant parts that manage the little backgrounds, materials, and decorations during production; and the strategy parts for how to further expand the created content into multimedia... That's right. These are functions that publishing companies originally have, but it turned out that it wasn't the case that I could do without them just because I'm a doujin author...

I knew that manga artists could focus solely on manga production because other people handle these other functions.
Since I'm not in that position, I have to do all of this by myself... Although I'm sure there are many people who handle all of this alone...

There's a limit to how hard I can work...
I still have many works I want to create. They keep welling up. But I believe that if I ignore all of these things and just make manga, I will reach a limit. Once I create something, I want many people to read it, and I want it to sell. It's obvious, but I honestly feel that way.

There's no point in just working hard manually. I thought I would explore my own way, and that's how I came up with this activity.

Yes, don't I have the "power of AI"?
Going back to the origin, I became able to produce manga with the "power of AI."
If so, couldn't I also solve the current problems with the "power of AI"? No, I think I can.

I intend to keep the parts I really need to focus on—the "story," "characters," and "expression"—as they are (while keeping the parts that can't be cut to make an attractive manga), and have AI help with the rest.

I've seen many people on Note trying this kind of approach. While referring to the approaches of such people, I want to try out methods that I think might work while writing this series (or rather, I'll be writing about what I've tried).

First, I'm starting by creating an AI agent.
I chose "Dify" as the tool. I'll write about why "Dify" another time.

I've set up a "Secretary and Strategy Manager" to be my right-hand person, and have also set up an editorial department, a public relations/marketing department, and a research department.
※I have given them names, but I've masked them because it's embarrassing lol

The article has become quite long, so I'll end Day 1 here. I'll explain why an AI agent and why this configuration next time.
※I spent too much time on this production over the weekend and only got about one page of manga done... lol I want to proceed while being careful not to put the cart before the horse... I don't know how many people are looking forward to this, but I'll continue at my own pace...

Also, I thought about using a countdown method like "XX days until completion," but that would put pressure on myself, so I used a count-up method lol. So, this is the end of "Day 1."

In this Note, I would like to continue posting about my manga (doujinshi) production using AI image generation, so I would appreciate it if you could like and follow me.
Thank you for reading!