Hiroyoshi Tsukamoto - Super Manga Matrix

I like objects created by human hands. Certainly, nothing matches nature, which was created by God, but many beautiful things can be created by people. Among the many things that can be created, I am most interested in characters. What is a character? After some considerable contemplation, I learned that there are certain rules in the method of creating characters. The design team who created the hugely successful character Ultraman, which has been a tremendous hit in Japan, provided me with the wisdom for character creation. I was told, Tsukamoto, you cannot design characters one by one.

If you are producing a series of characters, you need to design over thirty characters. If you design characters randomly, it will bring out an uncomfortable feeling. You need to have your own style. I learned that I needed to have a style for creating my characters. The Ultraman design was based upon a sculptural style called archaic smile, developed during the Archaic period in Greek art. The Ultraman series incorporates monster designs, also, which were created by adding elements from various kinds of animals, insects, or monsters taken from Greek mythology under a definite style.

This concept is introduced in this book as the Addition method for creating characters. The Addition method can also be found in Greek mythology: human + horse = centaur, human + bull = minotaur; and so on, wherein two base form elements were combined. From this example, I believe that this method of creating characters appeared in ancient times. In this book, we shall introduce other techniques for character creation, such as: Subtraction, Division, Multiplication, Using Attributes of Nature, Personification, and the 1-2-3-4-7 Technique. All of these methods explain the concept of the matrix (source of creating life) in developing manga characters. The questions below are ones that you will ask and ones that you will answer.

How do we create characters? How do we develop charm in characters? How do we produce a story from characters? I will be most grateful if my book helps you understand and love characters as much as I do. Spring 2012 Hiroyoshi Tsukamoto