When I was working hard on my manga, I suddenly thought to myself,
“This is supposed to be fun, but… I’m running out of energy and stamina.”
It’s a fact that I didn’t really want to realize.
I have the physical strength of a bean sprout.
Hello, my name is Sara Yano, and I’m a Japanese artist.
In this series, I’ll be sharing the production process behind my original manga, “Tabintail.”
The theme is: “An Artist’s Quest to Create a Manga Without Burning Out.” 🎨
By using 3D software (Blender) together with illustration and manga software (CLIP STUDIO), I’m exploring ways to create manga that I can keep enjoying—without exhausting myself as an artist
Introduction: Why 3D Manga Production?
There was a time when I used to post hand-drawn illustrated diaries and manga.
Drawing was fun, but my ideals kept getting higher and higher.
“I want every single panel to be a drawing I’m satisfied with!”
But if I do that, it inevitably takes a long time to finish.
“I’ve heard that posting more often helps you get noticed. Maybe I should try uploading my manga in a rough, unfinished state.”
But then, when I look back at them later, I feel a bit disappointed…
And no matter which approach I take, I always end up exhausted after finishing a piece.
That’s when I had an idea:
“What if I just make a detailed 3D model in Blender?”
Then, after that, I could just pose and arrange the models like playing with dolls.
I could add hand-drawn touches to the images I create that way.
This style would let me focus on the parts of the artwork I really care about. It sounds promising.
→With this approach, I might even be able to include human characters that would normally take a lot of time to draw.
→ And maybe, just maybe, I could finally try making a completely fictional manga.
I’ve found that information about 3D manga is surprisingly hard to come by.
I wondered,
“Are there actually any artists making fully 3D manga?
I’d love to use them as a reference,”
so I searched online and in books.
But I couldn’t find much information at all.
It’s not that there’s nothing out there, but just doing a quick search, there doesn’t seem to be much info in Japanese.
Most examples I found were about using 3D for backgrounds or as drawing guides, rather than for the entire manga.
When there are so few real-world examples, I start to get anxious.
“Does that mean making 3D characters is just that difficult?
How long does it actually take to produce them?”
The more I researched, the more worried I became.
(In fact, after this, it took me several months to create my first human character.
My experience with Blender was limited to a few failed attempts in the past.
So I had to review how to use Blender, learn new workflows, and create an original character —it all took a considerable amount of time.
If this hadn’t been a self-paced personal project, I don’t think I could have managed the challenge.)
Still, once it’s all finished, I feel like making manga will become a lot more enjoyable.
↑Molding clay and painting the surface—those hands-on, analog-like steps are really enjoyable for me…
↑But these next steps are unique to 3D, and at first, I was pretty confused.
They also took a lot of time.
(If I had unlimited time, I’d probably enjoy them too—but I started to lose sight of my original goal, which was to make manga.)
These are exactly the parts I want to make more efficient…
The Strengths and Best Uses of Hand-Drawn and 3D Art
I really love the hand-drawn feel, so I think the common approach of using 3D just as a guide or base for drawing is totally valid.
But since I’ve come this far, I want to challenge myself to create an “almost entirely 3D manga.”
↑It took me months—maybe even a whole year—to get to this point…
Now that I’ve finally finished this model, I want to use it in my manga just as it is.
That said, there are still some parts I plan to do by hand.
・Fixing areas where, for example, the 3D body pokes through the clothing—those correction steps
・Touching up and enhancing things like emotional expressions and facial features—the finishing and reinforcement steps
I’m especially looking forward to the finishing and reinforcement part.
↑We would like to continue to value the handmade and hand-drawn feeling.
My Reasons for Starting a Making-of Series and My Feelings About the Main Story
So far, I’ve only completed two models, so the road to releasing my manga “Tabintail” still seems pretty long.
(That said, I’ve built up a lot of notes and manuals from the process, so I think I’ll be able to create the next ones much faster. Probably.)
Since it’ll be a while before I can post the main story,
I decided to start by sharing my making-of posts.
Also, I just bought the manga creation software CLIP STUDIO, and I still don’t really know how to use it.
For now, I’m just watching tutorials online and getting excited about all the features.
I want to practice making manga with it and use it for my making-of series as well.
↑There will be many useful materials such as speech balloons and masking tape.Happy to use them easily.
Balancing Passion and Efficiency
Honestly, I’m a bit greedy—I have so many things I want to do.
If I try to put my all into every single aspect, I’ll probably never be able to release anything.
My top priority is to post my story manga, “Tabintail.” ⛳️
I’ll share updates about the production process from time to time,
but starting the main story comes first.
There’s so much to do from here on out:
writing the story, creating main characters, background characters, settings, props, translation work (I’m actually thinking about releasing it in English, too)…
When I think about everything on my to-do list, I start to wonder,
“Will I ever actually get to posting the main story…?”
Sometimes it’s dizzying, though on good days, I feel really excited about it.
For backgrounds and other supporting elements,
I’d like to make use of free resources and materials if possible.
I feel like the key is figuring out
“how much should I obsess over the details?”
and “where can I simplify things?”
To be honest, it would be embarrassing if I wrote all these detailed posts and then gave up…
But I’m going to post them anyway.
I keep telling myself, “Enjoying the process is important, too.”
That’s all for now.
Next time, I plan to post about creating a 3D female character.
制作クレジット／CREDITS
・企画・漫画ストーリー
矢野サラ
・アートワーク（イラスト・3D・アニメーション）
矢野サラ
・サポート（アイデア整理・発想のヒントや幅を広げる補助）：
Perplexity（2025～）
参考文献：『AIを使って考えるための全技術』（石井力重／ダイヤモンド社）
↑書籍掲載のプロンプトも参考にしています。
Planning, Comic Story
Sara Yano
Artwork (Illustration, 3D & Animation)
Sara Yano
Support (help with organizing ideas, finding inspiration, and broadening perspectives)：
Perplexity (since 2025)
Reference:
All Techniques for Thinking with AI (Rikie Ishii / Diamond, Inc.)
Prompts published in the book were also referenced.
英語版への翻訳／Translation into English
制作スピード向上のため、以下の翻訳ツールを活用しています。
↓翻訳工程順
- 日本語原文制作：矢野サラ
- 英訳：DeepL or Perplexity
- 漫画作中の口調修正：Perplexity
- 英文最終チェック：矢野サラ
※作者は現在英語学習中です。不自然な表現があればご指摘いただけますと、今後の制作に活かせるのでありがたいです。
The following translation tools are used to speed up the production process.
↓Translation process order
- Original Japanese text produced by Sara Yano
- English translation: DeepL
- Correction of tone of voice in cartoon work: DeepL or Perplexity
- Final check of English text: Sara Yano
The author is currently learning English.
I would appreciate it if you could point out any unnatural expressions so that I can make use of them in future productions.
Contents
Contents
“To Drink Sweet Water” [Independent Animation]
It is a short film lasting 3-4 minutes.
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About Comments and feedback💬
・You are welcome!🙏
We may respond to your questions in the article, so please feel free to ask. (Please note that we may introduce your comments.)
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About replying to comments
It is difficult for me to respond at the moment, but I am carefully reading all of your comments. Thank you very much!
