Is it true that a art career for artists is like an elimination round in a tournament?

[Silver7]

Take the many Japanese artists that submit their work to Shonen Jump and get rejected for example

There are countless skillful and talented artists that know how to draw a good story and they still get turned down

Is the truth that a lot of artists in Japan have to find something else to do career wise, like I'm saying that's just how art is?

[wolflu66]

Times have changed. Many manga artists in Japan now publish their comics on Twitter, and only publish physical books after gaining popularity.

There are now many channels that allow your work to be seen by everyone - this is a benefit of technological advancement. But at the same time, artists in this era have to face the challenge of AI generation.

[kyupol]

It's like 100 hungry dogs fighting for one piece of steak.

Only the ultimate alpha will win.

[abigaillmartin]

The “Alpha Male” is a myth. It doesn’t exist. The only way for any man to succeed is to be a decent human being and not dominate, compete or control others.

[jwabeasley]

It's more like a lottery in that it doesn't necessarily depend as much on your skills as your luck and connections, and that success for those you know is more likely to lead to success for you too - it's not a zero sum game.

That said, it is very difficult to make a decent living (house, spouse, children) on comics. Even for famous comic artists. Don't go into it for fame or fortune, there are far easier ways to get both.

[abigaillmartin]

One of my teachers at church was a pretty well known illustrator here in the US. He did lots of illustrations for magazines, Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven series and The Land of Stories series by Chris Colffer.

He had to go to dental school to raise and support his family. He is a really talented and respected artist but even with all the recognition he had, he still couldn’t make ends meet. It was at time where I knew that writing comics couldn’t be my full career. I had to do something practical. I knew I always wanted to do it for fun and give joy to people. He taught me a great lesson and he didn’t even realize it. I am grateful for that every day.

[Caro]

Its definitely tough for sure but you have to remember Shonen Jump is just one of many shonen manga outlets and beyond that there are more genres and probably hundreds of monthly/weekly magazines. Do they pay the same? No. Its the same as anywhere. A lot of people either work in the background either on the publication side or the production side as assistants or they have their own serialized manga with a magazine not as widely known as SJ. There are a lot of people being regularly published who maintain day jobs. This is coming from having known people who worked in the manga industry either as assistants or people I know whose works are serialized in monthly manga magazines.

Lets not forget the absolutely HUGE culture of self publishing in Japan with Comiket being the biggest indie comics fest in the world.

And of course the industry has changed because of the way we can now just share our stuff online without having to go through gatekeepers. That applies to Japan as well.

Comics are a tough industry wherever you go. But there are always sneaky little side channels if you have the desire to make them. But more than likely you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket.

[justincarbunkle]

It's a test of endurance. How long can you keep putting time into this craft, knowing you will very likely never receive any notable recognition for your work. How far can you improve yourself? How many projects can you make? Even if you are making fantastic art, there's luck involved in getting recognized.

[moontokkym]

It's not just Japan. Most artists worldwide, specifically comic book artists, have a day job. Even if you have a steady gig as a comic book artist in one place, often it's not enough to pay the bills and you have to be working on multiple comics or have a job that provides healthcare and other benefits to be comfortable while you work up a portfolio and hopefully royalties.

However treating it like a zero sum game or as if all artists are actually your competition isn't true either. Because styles and backgrounds are so varied, most artists aren't going for the same jobs nor the same audience, so especially with online publishing, being a popular artist just requires base skills and good marketing.

[moontokkym]

... You do know that "the alpha" that people thought was in wolves are just the parents of the pack who teach their kids to not starve. Your "alphas" are mum and dad, and most people's "alphas" aren't fighting them for domination. In fact the wolves that were overly aggressive and hurt their siblings and parents eventually got kicked out of the pack and starved to death. This is way more representative of how humans are, if you really want to base your worldview on big foxes.

[Stargazer31]

Shonen jump is notoriously strict and demanding. Not all artists work with Shonen Jump anyway

[Lensing]

99.999% artists have a day job and make art as a hobby.
A career would be to study medicine and then become a doctor

[llobucervallince]

Yeah and you're a chihuahua, grow up.

[Leyelle]

I'm not in japan, but companies do wittle down art submission "piles" to finally choose the ones they'll keep/use. I've been accepted for publication in three magazines, and only one of them didn't use this system

[moontokkym]

That's how HR works on CVs too :3 they'll whittle down the pile to a manageable number of interviews, then whittle down again for second interviews if need be. It's kind of encouraging when there's a bunch of people saying "art isn't a real job" knowing that the mechanics of hiring people for a job is the exact same, whether it's a zine or corporate.

[thepenmonster]

There's one Hendrix and millions of dusty guitars sitting in closets.

Those would be guitarists weren't lacking in skills or determination. They were lacking in a way to peddle their art. The audience for anything has always been finite and the distribution methods even more so. The system relied on big hits to pay for the rest of it.

The manga industry is the same: One or two monster hits keeping the rest afloat. There's a reason most of the magazines' covers focus on celebrities or gravure girls.