Writing your own anime story is an exciting possibility. Plus, all your hard work will definitely pay off. To achieve your goal of creating an anime story, you will have to create characters, storyboards, and illustrations. Basically, if you can dream it up and are willing to put the time and energy into creating it, you will be able to bring your anime story to life.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Create the Characters
Step 1. Create the characters
The first thing you should do is create the main characters. These characters must have a definite set of characteristics and must have a certain backstory. Write a summary of each character. Here are some questions you might ask yourself during character design:
- What does the character look like?
- What her name?
- What type of personality do you have?
- Where does it come from?
- Do you have any special powers or abilities?
- Is he a hero or a villain?
- What is the nature of your relationships with the other characters?
- For example, you could write a story about a young boy named Charles who has dark skin, dark brown eyes, and a lean, strong body. Maybe Charles is a smart, cunning, and funny orphan. Charles lives in a foster home in Boston along with his gray cat, Charcoal, and is the hero of the story.
Step 2. Reflect on what you want the characters to accomplish
Each character must have a goal. If you know the goals of the main characters, the plot will reflect that and you will be able to read it fluently. Without solid goals, the characters will appear to be adrift or have no meaning in the story. Remember that your goals drive action in the story and motivate the characters to take their actions.
Our characters, Charles and his cat, Carbon, want a loving family to adopt them. This is the goal that motivates all the actions they take
Step 3. Make interesting or memorable characters
Create characters that are authentic and complex. There are several ways to do this:
- Make the characters oppose the natural progression of the story.
- Let the characters put up more resistance.
- Get them to deal with conflict or dangerous situations.
- Make them have difficulties, and at the same time, learn from them.
- Include characters that are emotional or messy.
- Give them many actions that they can take.
- Create characters that are a contradiction to themselves.
- For example, Charles may have a meeting to meet someone who could adopt him, but he is anxious and runs away from his foster home with Coal. Since he escapes, Charles does not know this person and prolongs his time in the foster home, making his goals run counter to the plot. His action also creates tension and conflict between the characters, as the host family is worried about him and goes to look for him along with the police.
Part 2 of 3: Write the Story
Step 1. Create an original plot
Jot down some ideas for creating your plot. You may need to share your ideas with friends or family for some plot suggestions if you feel stuck. When you create the plot, remember that you can be inspired by the simplest idea. You should determine the following when you create it:
- What kind of story do you want to tell?
- How do you want to tell the story?
- Where will it happen?
- What is the main conflict?
- In this example, you want to tell the story of how Charles and Carbon find a forever home. What is planned is to tell the story in a linear fashion and make it happen in Boston. The main conflict will be finding a suitable person to adopt Charles.
Step 2. Make an outline or plan the story
You have to plan the whole story with the main plot points before you start writing the details. This will allow you to notice how the character arcs and plot points will develop, and will show any important gaps in the plot before you start writing. When writing your plot outline, keep the following in mind:
- Create a notion of urgency at the beginning of the story.
- Introduce all supporting characters at the same time to avoid confusion or lengthy introductions.
- Once you establish everything, introduce something new, be it a conflict or a new relationship.
- Make it difficult for the characters to resolve their conflicts.
- When the characters solve the main problem, let them celebrate their victory.
- Perhaps the story begins with Charles and Carbon escaping from the foster home to quell Charles's anxiety about meeting a potential adoptive family. Charles and Carbon have an affair along the way, but then a police officer finds them and returns them to the foster home. The adoptive family thinks that Charles is very troublesome and decides not to adopt him, but the police officer who found him shows interest in him. The policeman visits him frequently to talk to him and, in time, they become friends. He adopts Charles and they all live happily ever after.
Step 3. Write the story
When you finish the outline of the story, which is the basis of the story, you are ready to start writing the whole story. This is the point where you will fully develop the details of the story and write the dialogue. You may have to write several drafts before you are satisfied with the story.
Part 3 of 3: Create Storyboards
Step 1. Create the storyboard text
This is the point where you will begin to design the story in spatial terms. Write the texts under each panel and identify who is speaking and what is saying. Storyboards typically contain the following:
- action
- important information
- dialogue
Step 2. Begin the visual design process
When you finish the text for the storyboards, start filling in the empty panels with the illustrations for each scene. Show the action you want to represent by these images. Remember that anime images are usually drawn by hand.
Step 3. Read the storyboard for consistency
After you finish illustrating the panels, read the storyboard to make sure the action, dialogue, and illustrations you've created line up properly to tell the story. If you find any gaps in the plot or missing dialogue, edit the script to fill them.
Step 4. Share the storyboard when you finish it
Your friends and family will be a great audience for your work. Share your storyboard with them and be proud of your achievement.
Advice
- Have fun.
- Be patient with the process.
- Don't get frustrated with the details. If you're feeling frustrated, take a break and pick up the story when you calm down.
- Share your ideas and stories with friends and family.