Samurai Chef Creators: Writers

Nigel February 12, 2015 No Comments

Over the past few weeks we’ve been looking back at the making of the complete edition Samurai Chef manga, talking to the people who played a part is bringing it to life.

We’ve heard the thoughts of the book’s illustrator (both of them), editor and printer. Without every one of these people the book would not have been possible, let alone look as good as it does!

But we couldn’t let them have all the fun, so here are our thoughts on the Samurai Chef book too:

Which part of the book did you work on?

mayamada-founders-nigel-laoLao and I created the Samurai Chef character and story.

This involved developing the plot, creating the characters within the story and writing the script for Pinali to translate into the final comic pages.

We were also responsible for managing various elements of production from writing, to the Kickstarter, all the way up to the printing.

What was your highlight during the process?

Seeing the story slowly come together with each completed comic page.

Even though we already knew how the story would unfold, it was amazing to see the words of the script come to life visually page by page.

Pinali has a talent for bringing the characters to life and seeing the little touches she added along the way meant we could experience the story in a new light.

What was the biggest challenge for you?

The editing process. After we got through enjoying the comic, we had to get to the work of making sure it was printed without any mistakes.

We also wanted to get the book finished in time to send books to our Kickstarter backers before Christmas and for Hyper Japan in November. There was a lot of pressure on to put everything together in a short space of time.

Luckily we had a great editor, Lara-Lee, who caught all spelling a grammar mistakes…turns out there were a lot of them! But she stayed alert throughout the whole process and is the reason the book reads as well as it does.

What do you hope readers will take away from Samurai Chef?

Without giving too much away, there are some lessons in teamwork that hopefully come through over the course of the book.

Aside from that, we hope people will take away the belief that if you have a good idea you can bring it to life. The Samurai Chef is an original story idea that we created from scratch. If you’re working with your own idea, it can be done!

Who is your favourite character in the book and why?

We love all the Samurai Chef characters equally as if there were our own children…but we like Zane more equally.

He doesn’t have a huge part in the book but we liked the way he maintains a cool assuredness and balances out Kamu’s somewhat unstable energy.

Other notable mentions go to Ms Yasahsii, Jimi and of course the Samurai Chef himself.

What’s next for the Samurai Chef and mayamada?

The Samurai Chef story is complete for now, but it’s not the end of the character and another book is definitely a possibility in future.

For now we’ll be working on releasing comics for other mayamada stories. Serious is coming next, but expect to see something from 11th Hour and Hot Lunch stories too.

We’ve got a lot happening in 2015 including new clothing designs and event plans too. Stay tuned…

Samurai Chef Creators: Illustrator

mayamada January 13, 2015 No Comments

It’s been two months since we released the complete edition of Samurai Chef out into the wide world. The response has been great since its debut at Hyper Japan and the book has since been picked up by Orbital Comics, Petit Miracles Hub and the Prince’s Trust Tomorrow Store.

You will also be able to get your hands on our new manga book, plus the Collectors edition at the London Anime and Gaming Con, February 7th-8th.

Before our first event of the year comes along, we want to take a moment to look back and give you an insight into the making of the book by talking with the people responsible for putting it all together.

This week we’re talking to the illustrators on the book starting with the person responsible for bringing the characters and the book to life, Pinali:

sc-illustrator-pinaliWhich part of the book did you work on?

I was responsible for the majority of the artwork in the book, which means character design sheets for every speaking character, translating the provided script into a comic layout, sketching, inking, shading and lettering/sound effects for each individual page.

I also did the cover artwork and illustrations for most of the promotional materials, like the Kickstarter rewards!

What was your highlight during the process?

Probably reading the script for the second half for the first time and getting to see how it ends and begin visualising in my head how I’m going to get it across in image form.

What was the biggest challenge for you?

I’m a huge perfectionist, so if a drawing isn’t coming out just right I have the bad habit of redrawing it over and over until it does, which can end up cutting into time I should be spending, say, eating, for example. This happens quite a lot, so I’d say that was the biggest challenge; overcoming those perfectionist moments and realizing that what I think is imperfect probably looks fine to just about everyone who isn’t me.

What do you hope readers will take away from Samurai Chef?

I hope it gives them some laughs, mainly, and that the characters will stick in readers’ minds for a while. I really think the characters are one of the strongest points of the book. I love them all.

Who is your favourite character in the book and why?

Probably Jimi; I love how passionate he is about what he does. Kamu is a close runner-up. He’s just so serious about beating this monkey! It really seems to offend him that the Samurai Chef is a monkey for some reason.

Who has been your most inspiring illustrator?

Bill Watterson; I often find myself using techniques I learned at the age of 8, looking at Calvin & Hobbes strips, and it’s probably my biggest inspiration when it comes to having that life and visceral quality in my drawings.

Samurai Chef Volume 2 Coming Soon

mayamada February 28, 2014 No Comments

We announced a week ago that work has begun on the second and concluding volume of Samurai Chef, and we’re getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the new book in March.

Before it launches, we’ll be putting up some great character artwork by the Samurai Chef illustrator Pinali.  Take a look at some of the characters making an appearance in the next chapter of the story.

First up is the Samurai Chef.  The toughest food critics around, the Samurai Chef is the main protagonist of the Samurai Chef story and in volume 2 he’ll be up against tougher dishes as the show continues to escalate.

SamuraiChef1-0003

You can see more of his back story in the free Samurai Chef Origins comic.

Samurai Chef Indiegogo Update #6

In case you missed the comic preview over Christmas, you can still check it out right here:https://www.mayamada.com/samurai-chef-preview

And if you liked the first few pages, please take a moment to thank our artist Pinali on Twitter (@Pinalinet) for her amazing work on the Samurai Chef comic.

This week will be of special interest to backers of the Just Desserts perk as we can now reveal the New Samurai Chef t-shirt design made specially for the project.

 

Samurai Chef Indiegogo T-Shirt Closeup

 

The design features the, err…watchful…face of the Samurai Chef alongside the bold lettering “Samurai Chef” in Japanese.

It’ll be available in both men and women fits and be on your way along with the book itself.  Expect an email in your inboxes soon asking for preferred sizes before we make the print run next week.

 

 

Samurai Chef Indiegogo T-Shirt

 

For those that didn’t select this perk but are wishing they did, we’ll be making a limited run of the t-shirt and will have some left for purchase.

We’ll let you know the details of how to get them in the coming weeks, but you will have to be quick! Once it’s gone it will be gone forever.

We’re very close to the end now we can taste it…no pun intended!

 

See you again soon with more updates ahead of the book’s release.

Mayamada Manga: Hot Lunch Part 1

Nigel October 28, 2011 No Comments

If you saw our first manga page for the Samurai Chef and wanted more, you’re in luck!  We’ve got another series of pages just for you.

This time we’re turning our attention to Hot Lunch – the show about a slick team of food thieves lead by Taishi.  With the help of his team he’s on a mission to bring down the infamous chef cartel: The Circle of Flavour.

Over the next few weeks you’ll get to see what lead to Taishi’s quest to take on the Circle.  Check out the first two pages below.

Hot Lunch: Taishi’s Story Page 1


Hot Lunch: Taishi’s Story Page 2


All our pages are being done in collaboration with artist Pinali.  Be sure to visit her site too.

We’ll have more of the Hot Lunch story to come very soon…stay tuned!

Mayamada Manga: Samurai Chef

Nigel October 8, 2011 1 Comment

Here is something new for fans of mayamada and manga.  We’ve been continuing our work with Pinali – a great artist helping us bring mayamada to life.

Together we’re turning the shows on the mayamada network into pages of manga.

The first show to get the treatment is the Samurai Chef.  Enjoy ^_^

Tell us what you think of the manga treatment in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

If you plan on going to MCM this month, stop by our stall and say hi.  We’ll be including printouts of this and other pages in every t-shirt package.

Before that, you’ll be able to check out more manga pages from our other shows over the next week…Stay tuned!

Out to Lunch: Part 1

Nigel July 6, 2011 3 Comments

Work continues for the upcoming release of a new t-shirt design later this month for our show Hot Lunch: about a slick crew of sushi thieves pulling heists in the name of revenge.

We’re continuing our collaboration with Pinali, who is doing amazing work to help us bring the mayamada world to life.

We’ll be profiling the three stars of the show, one a week until the t-shirt is released at the end of the month.

Hot Lunch centers around an aspiring chef and part-time thief. Humiliated after he is dumped out of Japan’s most prestigious cooking institution, he assembles a crew of top thieves with a plan to hijack food from best graduating chefs of the same institution.

So without further delay, allow me to introduce you to….

Taishi

 

 

 

Taishi means “ambition” in Japanese and is the main protagonist of Hot Lunch. A petty thief turned criminal mastermind with a passion for sushi, the charismatic leader is out for revenge and will not let anything get in his way.

His usually cool temperament is only ruffled when there been a mistake on a job, or in the kitchen!

Look out for details on the next member of the team next week…