The following notes were taken at Anime Expo 2026 during “Making Manga with VIZ” panel presented on 3 July 2026. The session provided information about manga creation and submission to VIZ media. (Learn more about submitting here: https://www.viz.com/submissions)

These notes have been organized by topic and lightly clarified for future reference. Some submission requirements and terminology may need to be verified against current publisher guidelines before being used as formal course material.

Manga Creation & Submission Notes

One-shot submissions may be a good opportunity for emerging creators as they allow creators to demonstrate their storytelling, visual style, and ability to complete a self-contained narrative.

VIZ is working as a potential publisher/resource for creators interested in submitting one-shot manga and getting started on an international scale.

A one-shot submission proposal may include:

• 20–50 pages of the manga manuscript
  • Sample sequential artwork
• A self-contained story synopsis
• Character descriptions
• Character designs
• Target audience
• Comparable titles – Existing manga that are similar in genre, tone, audience, or approach
• Author biography

Manga Production Pipeline

The manga creation process can be thought of as a series of interconnected stages:

Concept + Outline→Visual Development ↔ Script ↔ Thumbnails (Line-art)→Pencils→Inks→Final Art & Lettering

1. Concept + Outline

• Establish the basic story concept.
• Develop the overall plot and structure.
• Determine what the story is about before moving into detailed visual development.

2. Visual Development

• Begin figuring out how the story and characters will look.
• Develop:
  • Character designs
  • Visual style
  • Setting
  • Overall aesthetic

3. Script

• Develop the dialogue and narrative details.
• The script works alongside visual development and thumbnails rather than necessarily being a completely separate, linear stage.

4. Thumbnails (sometimes called line-art. It is a very rough-draft stage sometimes as simple as shapes or lines on the page)

• Rough visual planning of the pages.
• Used to work out:
  • Panel arrangement
  • Composition
  • Pacing
  • Character placement
  • Flow of the story

5. Pencils

• More developed drawings based on the thumbnail/layout stage.
• Establish the detailed artwork before inking.

6. Inks

• Finalize the linework over the pencils.
• Establish the finished visual lines of the artwork.

7. Final Art & Lettering

• Complete the artwork and add the final textual elements.
• This may include:
  • Dialogue
  • Captions
  • Sound effects
  • Other lettering elements

Some Manga Terminology Mentioned in the Panel

– Asides: Dialogue or comments that are not essential to the primary narrative. Often provides additional characterization, humor, commentary, or context without advancing the central plot.

– Floating text: Text incorporated into the artwork outside of conventional dialogue balloons. Can include sound effects (SFX) and other visual/textual elements. Particularly important in manga because sound effects can function as part of the visual composition rather than simply as supplemental text. For example, pages where the sound effects start to cover the page also create tone.