Nihongo - The Webcomic

2006-03-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

There are alot of errors in the comics we had posted up, and we haven't updated this website in a long time.

Nihongocomics may come back someday and if it does, we'll let you know, but in the meantime study hard but remember to enjoy yourself.

Thanks,
Aikeru

New URL

2005-10-02T03:44:00.000-07:00

The new Nihongo website has much more content to be added in the very near future, but the main code has been finished. The code for adding a comments feature has been written and tested successfully, and will soon appear on the later comics (possibly all of them) and immediately on any comics released after 10.

The extras (such as "Guest comics") are for the most part not on the site, simply becuase I wasn't sure how they would best fit in my new system of organization.

Anyway, visit here to see the new Nihongo Comics website Aikeru has coded from the ground up so we don't have to use someone else's system anymore. =)

- Aikeru (yes, I talk in 3rd person)

Cube - Positions

2005-09-12T04:19:00.000-07:00

Print this and cut out to make a cube that has the postions on it in Japanese. Learn and remember the words for behind, in front, to the left, ect.

Episode 10 part 2 due this week.

Some people are so immature

2005-09-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Andre Dirk, the administrator of the forum located at http://www.phpbbplanet.com/forum/index.php?mforum=chinaland disagreed with my position in an argument with another member of his forum. So, to win that argument, he banned my account, took it over and impersonated me, giving an apology and then locking the thread. (he also banned everyone who took my side, and openly ridiculed at least one of them - gee, how mature)
I have been communicating with PHPBbplanet support stuff, and thus far they have been looking into it.
I'm waiting for the final verdict, I suppose, but this admin also released my primary e-mail address to the public on that forum, at which I was very, very disturbed.
Why am I posting this here? Ummmm... I'll get to that. More updates for nihongocomics coming soon - Willu's finished the coloring.

The Life and Times of Pakku

2005-08-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

By Willuknight

Poor Pakku ToT

Episode 9 - Neko mimi

2005-08-19T02:59:00.000-07:00

OMG, yes its finally a release !!! Sorry about the long delay people.

Tabetai = Eat
Asoko ni kinasai = Come over here
~Asoko = Over there (place away from both speaker and listener)
~Ni = (partical) can be used to say direction

Other note: Neko mimi are cat ears on a head band that you can buy if you want your girlfriend to dress up like a cat girl... or something :) Check out the anime Tsukuyomi Moon Phase, it has an awesome OP that inspired the title ^_^

KICL vs SF

2005-08-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

www.kicl.info

uh.. episode 9 of nihongo soon... very soon... just have to do the typesetting :)

Video Tutorial: Colouring

2005-08-03T23:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=41E0B62P

Here is the f irst part of a video series i decided to make, on colouring. This part tells you how to take a basic scanned image, and use Adobe Illustrator's "Live Trace" feature to convert it into a cleaner/sharper image and resize it without any loss, if needed.

This series will run to 3-5 episodes, the end result being you learning to professionally colour in an image on the pc. Each episode consists of a video of what i am doing on the screen, and my voice explaining what is going on.

Episode 1: Using Live Trace to clean up scans to make it easier for colouring Episode 1a: Cleaning an image manually (note: i may not make this)
Episode 2: Connecting lines, Cloning, Using Vector lines and Setting up layers Episode 3: Colouring
Episode 4: Shading
(these episode plans are tentitive and may change)

I am using Paint Shop Pro 9 to teach this, however the same processes aren't too different in PSP. if you need the programs used in this tutorial, i think you can download free trials.. on a completely unrelated note, http://isohunt.com/ has a really nice search function...

The New Education Series

2005-07-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

After posting a previous post in my blog about this subject, someone was asking, what will come next from Japan to continue this crazyness ?

The answer, is undoubtedly this new Education Franchise:

Guest Comic : Ninja Stylings

2005-07-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

click for full size

Aikeru's away for a week, so heres something to tide you over :)

Shirt Guy Dom

2005-07-17T01:45:00.000-07:00

We apologize for the delay in updates. Aikeru has been sick the past few weeks and just recently Willuknight has caught a flu ;_; I would also like to mention a few things:

Normally the Japanese will be easier and more structured than in episodes 7 and 8

We are redesigning the website. Once this is finished, updates will be more consistent. We also have been trying out several new methods of a artwork, the madness is almost over, please bear with us.

Aikeru & Willu

Episode 008 - There's no mall

2005-07-11T01:43:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry about the typos in the kana version. The original comic was not saved, so we will edit it when we can. In the meantime please tolerate our roumaji.
Gomen ;_;

The first sentence Pakku is saying "mise ha doko desu ka?" bearing in mind that "ha" is read "wa". This means "Where is (the/a) shop?" (since in Japanese there aren't words for "the" or "a").
The girl's exclamation "kaimono~!" (the tilde is just for effect) means "shopping" and later she says "koko desu yo!" which means "It's here!".
Koko - here (this place)
Soko - there (that place)
Asoko - over there (that place over there)
These reflect the distance from the speaker. (like kore/sore/etc)
As in the comic, you can say...
"Mise ha doko desu ka?" "Asoko desu."
"Where is the shop?" "It's over there."

It is after this that the dialogue gets a bit more complicated as the girl converses with the shopkeeper. Here is the translation, with notes following:
Girl: "Sumimasen, Ikura desu ka?" "Excuse me, how much is (this/it)"
SK (shopkeeper): "Senman en desu." "It's ten million yen."
Girl: "ahahaha... chotto takasugimasu ga, hoka ni arimasen ka?" "It's [a little] too expensive. Don't you have anything else?"
SK: "Onaji shurui no desu ka?" "Of the same kind?"
Girl: "Naji shurui no ka nita no ga hoshii n desu ga..." "I want the same kind or something similar."
SK: "Iie" "No"
Girl: "Demo... mouhoka ni wa arimasen ka?" "But, don't you have anyone else? [to show me]"
SK: "Motto oyasui no desu ka?" "Less expensive?"
Girl: "Moshi attara!" "If possible!"
SK: "Kou yuu no ga gozaimasu..." "We have this [kind]"
Girl: "Ikura desu ka?" "How much is [this one]?"
SK: "Hyakuman en desu." "One million yen (is)"
Girl: "Sou desu ka... Hoka ni arimasen ka nee?" "Ah, I see, don't you have anything else?"
SK: "Kore wa ikaga desu ka?" "How is this? (this how is it?)"
Girl: "Etto...ii desu." "Ummm, that's fine."
SK: "Omochi ni narimasu ka?" "Will you take (it with you?)"
Girl: "Hai, onegai!" "Yes, please (do this for me)"
SK: "Maido arigatou gozaimasu..." "Thank you for your patronage(Thank you very much each time you come)"
Girl: "Sayonara!" "Goodbye!"
SK: "Sayonara..." "Goodbye..."

"shurui no" and "shurui no mono" = "one(s) of the same kind"
"nita no ga" = one (that) resembles (it)
When the shopkeeper says "Kou yuu no ga gozaimasu..." the "gozaimasu" is an extra polite version of "arimasu" that he would use for a customer.
"oyasui" is an extra-polite form of "yasui" or "yasui desu" containing the honorific prefix o-. (Adjectives that do not start with "o" can use this prefix to honor the person you are speaking to/about)
"ikaga" is an extra-polite version of "dou" which is "how".
"Omochi ni narimasu ka?" is a respectful, polite form of "mochimasu ka?" or "motte ikimasu ka?"
"Maido arigatou gozaimasu" is a common expression used by shopkeepers. "Maido" meaning "each time" and "arigatou gozaimasu" is formal/extra-polite "thank you".

Episode 007 - Those Eyes

2005-06-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry the text took so long to post! ^^; I had it all typed out a few days ago, but the computer erased it...

Sumimasen, wakarimasen. = Excuse me, I don't understand.

Sumimasen = Excuse me.

Wakarimasen = the verb "wakaru".

The masu form is "wakarimasu",

which is "understand". "Wakarimasen" is also used for "I don't
know" or "I haven't made up my mind yet." This is known from
context.

The warrior in the top panel next to the girl is saying...

Dakara boku, yoru mo roku ni nemurenai n desu.
because/so I/me, night also sufficiently/well can't sleep
(explan.) is "So I can't even sleep well at night."

Dakara = because/so/therefore

boku = masculine "I/me"

yoru = night

mo = also, ex: "Watashi mo" "Me too/me also"

roku ni = Roku means "good" or "well" but is usually used with a
negative to mean "not well" -> "bad/poor" etc.

nemurenai = can't sleep (nemui = sleepy, nemuri = sleep) n = (explan.)

desu = is/am/are

The girl next to him is saying "Huumu" which is just the sound

effect for "Hmmm".

The archer girl is saying...
"roku demo nai hanashi bakkari da"
"You don't hear anything but bad news."

roku = good/decent

demo nai = "is not"

hanashi = talk/conversation (verb root = hanasu)

bakkari = nothing but (colloq. of "bakari" which is "only/nothing but")

da = is

In the bottom panel Senchan says "Eigo ga wakarimasu ka?" which

means "Do you understand English?"

Eigo = English

ga = indicates direct object

wakarimasu = understand (root = wakaru)

ka = indicates a question

The girl responds with "iya" which is a colloquial "iie", meaning

"No."

Episode 006 - It's Big

2005-06-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

Episode 005 - Sen-chan

2005-06-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

This comic is mainly to demonstrate the meanings of "honorifics". Things like "sama", "kun", "san", "sempai", "sensei", "chan", etc... these are all honorifics. "San", while above is referred to as "Mr." is very commonly used. (will post more info on this at another time)

Episode 004 - I think it's still breathing!

2005-06-25T23:28:00.001-07:00

Only new Japanese word here is "nani". It means "what".
Kore wa nani desu ka? - As for this, what is it? (Kore - this, wa - particle, nani - what, desu - is, ka - indicates question)
"nani" can also be replaced by "nan".

Episode 003 - Hajimemashite

2005-06-25T23:28:00.000-07:00

"Hajimemashite" is 'Nice to meet you.' "Namae wa" is 'name' followed by the particle, "wa".
"Namae wa Michael desu." (My name is Michael.) "wa" can be though of like this...

"Namae wa" - "(as for [my]) name"
"Namae wa Michael desu." - "(as for [my]) name, Michael, is."

Yeah, and "desu" is "is, am, are"...

Episode 002 - The Beginning

2005-06-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

Episode 001 - What the Heck is Nihongo?

2005-06-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

Behind the Scenes

2005-06-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

Getting the Story

- Story Form -In free-flowing thought, the story is mapped out across several paragraphs. It's usually Aikeru just writing things out in pencil on paper or in notepad about as fast as I can think them.

- Comic Organization -The comic is divided into individual pages conforming the story to an outline that is done in comic form.

Drawing the Comic

- Rough Draft -First Aikeru draws a rough draft of the comic. This can be anything from very close to what the comic will look like, to something almost entirely different. It is mainly a feel for the poses of the characters, how much space will be needed for dialogue, and how everything might be laid out.When this is done, I will often draw arrows to where things will be moved in the final version, stretched or expanded.Sometimes the art in these drawings is "chibi"-like, and Aikeru thinks in some ways, sometimes the "rough draft" looks better than the actual comic!

- Sketching (No.2 Pencil and Electric Sharpener) -Through light, casual pencil marks and lines kept "straight" by Aikeru's Best Buy nametag (haha), the final comic is drawn. Often characters and objects in this stage are "see-through" so that objects partially obscured wont look any different than they might otherwise by trying to draw the entire depth of the comic in one shot.The comic is then scanned and sent to Willuknight to give him a general idea of what the comic will look like.

- Inking (Ball-point pen!) -Using a black non-descript pen Aikeru traces over the pencil marks. This is difficult because for some reason the pen does not want to draw on top of pencil marks, and details are easy to miss when the literally "sketchy" pencil markings cover up things that need to be drawn over. Next the pencil lead is erased (using the No.2 pencil's eraser) and the image is somewhat cleaned up. Aikeru should (but sometimes fails to ^^;) do a final, thourough check of all the details at this point.A second scan is sent to Willuknight, which he will use to create a masterpiece.

Digital Artwork

- CleaningAfter Willuknight gets the inked picture, he opens it up in paint shop pro and 'cleans; the image. This usually involveds increasing the midtones / shadow settings so that the lines are darker and thicker, and that less dirt on the page is visible. He then removes all of the background possible. Sometimes he will also need to use another background colour, such as yellow, to make it easier to spot marks on the drawing.

The second part of cleaning is to zoom right up into the smaller drawings to double check how they show up. Often he needs to use the white paint brush to repaint some sections.

- Vectoring Willuknight then uses Adobe Illustrator's live trace, and live paint tools to turn the image into vector art. This allows us to resize the image without any loss in quality and also makes it easier to colour images.

After the image has been vectored, he will go over it with the pen tool, trying to make sure all lines are connected. Then he will export the image as a jpg (because Adobe is evil and doesn't let him export vector formatting that Paint Shop Pro can read).

- Colouring Willu then opens the vectorised drawing jpg in Paint shop pro, promotes it to a normal layer, and creates two new layers (Colour and BgColour Layers). Both are set to the Multiply blend setting.After that, the white background of the jpg is deleted

The first part of the actual colouring process is to colour in the main characters. First an area is selected on the drawing layer, then he feathers the selection by 2-5 points. Next the layer is changed to the Colouring layer, and the selection is filled with the appropriate colour.

Often there will be areas that are still not properly closed, and Willu needs to paint them into a closed area before he can colour them. Otherwise the colour will leak accross multible areas.

After the main characters are coloured, he will then colour in all the secondary characters. Finally he will colour in all the background objects, on the bgColour layer.

Often Willu will need to consult with Aikeru about colour choices, or about about other problems that may become evident during this process.

- ShadowingBasic highlighting/shadowing will be done with the Light/Shadow tool in PSP.

- BackgroundIf there is any background, this is cleaned, vectored, coloured and shadowed seperately. It will then be inserted into the comic and resized to fit

Dialogue
The last step is to add all text and speech bubbles to the comic.

Aikeru sends Willu a document that contains the script for that episode. Willu then opens up the coloured comic in Paint Shop Pro, and inserts all the text. Then he creates a new layer for the speech bubbles (this goes under the text layer) and draws and places all the speech bubbles required.

If the comic contains hiragana, then we make two versions, one with romaji and one with Hiragana. This is done so that those that can't read kana will still beable to benifit from our comic.

Finally, the finished comic is hosted, and everyone gets to gaze in awe (or not) at the new pretty picture

Clock in:

Script: 5 minutes - 2 hours depending on creativity levels
Drawing: 1-2 hours
Inking: 30 minutes - 1 hour
Cleaning: 2hrs
Colouring (and other gfx preperation): 5-8hrs
Dialogue: 1-2hrs

About Nihongo

2005-06-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Nihongo is a webcomic created with the aim of assisting the learning of Nihongo (Japanese Language).

It was originally created by Aikeru who drew the first 5 comic strips by himself.
Since then I (Willuknight) have joined the project and i assist with the colouring, cleaning and editing of this comic.

We are hardly Japanese teachers, and we are still learning the language ourselves. We hope our efforts wil help you with your learning :)

[/] Willu.