As we all know, Japan is a manga powerhouse, and its animation industry has an annual turnover of more than 9 billion US dollars, becoming the third largest industrial pillar of the national economy. In this atmosphere, Japan has spawned countless manga artists, evolved more manga and animation works, and carried out the most extensive and effective cultural export.
China's animation industry is booming, inspiring the birth of many cartoonists and animation companies, and enhancing the combination of traditional culture and modern animation art. But in China 2,000 years ago, when "stable work" and "iron rice bowl" were advocated, becoming a cartoonist seemed to be a strange thing in the eyes of others, a "dangerous person" who was not even sure of the future.
In fact, among these so-called "dangerous people", there are many successful people who pursue their inner dreams, work hard and hard, and finally realize their dreams, and have the power of financial freedom. The cartoonist introduced to you today has been on the rich list of Chinese comic writers for many years, earning 18.3 million yuan in 5 years, and he is Zhou Hongbin, a well-known Chinese cartoonist.
1
Zhou Hongbin, born in 1979 in An ordinary family in Tianjin, his parents are ordinary workers, and the standard of living brought to him is not good. Like many young boys, Zhou Hongbin has been quick thinking since he was a child, has a strong hands-on ability, and is keen on fantasy and thinking.
In the second grade of elementary school, Zhou Hongbin followed his father to the local bookstore, and he picked out a comic called "Dragon Ball" and read it with relish. This look fascinated Zhou Hongbin, the original comic content is so funny, can be so funny and bloody.
The father saw that his son liked to read cartoons, and did not think much about it, so he bought him a copy, which turned out to be an important help for his son to embark on the road of cartoonists.
After buying the manga home, Zhou Hongbin became more and more interested in reading it, and was completely brought into the world of manga, so he watched classic Japanese manga such as "Robot Cat" and "Detective Conan".
The content of the comic was very delicate and complex at the same time, and Zhou Hongbin thought it was drawn by a computer at the time. Later, when he went to junior high school, he learned that everything in the comic was drawn by people, so he had a deep admiration for the cartoonist.
When he was a child, Zhou Hongbin's idea was simple, he admired those cartoonists because they drew such a rich world with their hands and pens, so he decided to make "cartoonists" a future career pursuit after finishing junior high school.
Zhou Hongbin did not attend high school, but chose to be admitted to the Fashion Technical School, learning fashion design while improving his basic skills in painting. The reason why Zhou Hongbin gave up high school is very simple, that is, he thinks that after reading high school, he will not have time to draw comics.
School time is happy, there is a group of like-minded comic book lovers, Zhou Hongbin often shares his love of comics with them. In fact, in those days, Zhou Hongbin had already begun to create his own comics, but only for his own enjoyment with friends.
Suddenly, one day, Zhou Hongbin thought to himself: Since I have liked comics for so long, it is time to submit a few manuscripts to try!
So he began to submit frequent articles to "Shonen Comics", and constantly conveyed some of his feelings about comics. I never thought that in a certain issue of "Shonen Comics", although Zhou Hongbin's comics were not published, his own experience was published as a letter from a reader.
Watching his words being published in the magazine, Zhou Hongbin's heart was greatly satisfied, and he decided to continue to draw comics and continue to submit articles until one day the comics were published.
Zhou Hongbin spent nearly a year studying and finally made his comic debut published. The first time I got the manuscript fee is not much, 1 piece can earn 100 yuan, when Zhou Hongbin sent a total of 8 pieces, got 800 yuan of manuscript fees, the heart is happy.
However, he later found out that the top original cartoonists in China at that time could steadily earn more than 3,000 yuan a month. Zhou Hongbin thought that he had spent a year of hard work before he took 800 yuan, and suddenly realized in his heart: "Cartoonists are not good at this job!" ”
Later, at the end of the year, Zhou Hongbin successfully published 8 comics, but this time he only received 400 yuan, so the return of the comic industry at that time was indeed unstable, and there was no fixed remuneration standard.
2
In order to go further in the comic industry, after graduating from technical school, Zhou Hongbin chose to enter a junior college and enroll in a professional class in comics. In the comics professional class, Zhou Hongbin met a group of senior cartoonists such as Zhu Linlin and Cao Kaixiang, from whom he learned the traditional method of creating humorous comics, laying the foundation for his future independent comic style.
In Zhou Hongbin's eyes, Tianjin is a fertile soil for the comic industry, because Tianjin people like humor, so the comic market is still very good. After graduating from junior college in 2001, 22-year-old Zhou Hongbin, on the recommendation of his teacher, went to a magazine to practice drawing and illustration.
The job is still stable, and he can get four or five hundred yuan of internship fees every month, but after buying breakfast and lunch, Zhou Hongbin has little money left in his pocket, and often can't even afford to drink a bottle of drink.
Zhou Hongbin felt the crisis, he thought he could not go on like this, he must make up his mind to change. So after his internship, he decided to concentrate on comics and support himself as a "cartoonist".
However, the reality is always not so satisfactory, and Zhou Hongbin, who often encounters returns to the submission of papers everywhere, gradually feels that the future is confused. After wandering between dreams and reality for a long time, Zhou Hongbin gave himself an ultimatum: work hard for another year, and if not, go to an illustration company or comic book company to work with peace of mind.
One day, Zhou Hongbin found that the magazine had a simple "four-panel comic", which was to use the four-screen style to tell a simple little story. Zhou Hongbin was overjoyed: This may be a new opportunity!
In the days that followed, he actively collected magazines printed with "four-panel comics", recording the names and contact details of the editors. Zhou Hongbin said that he would send them some works at that time, and the other party would contact him if they were interested, and through mutual communication, the other party would tell him about his content needs, and he would paint as required.
A month after the business was carried out, Zhou Hongbin was pleasantly surprised to find that the total fee he received was close to 4,000 yuan, and his earning power was greatly improved, even higher than the monthly income of cartoonists serialized in comic journals at that time.
3
In order to survive, Zhou Hongbin read magazines extensively, and when he saw something suitable for him to play, he tried it, often drawing some here and drawing a little there. Until the launch of "Comic Party", Zhou Hongbin fought with his girlfriend, submitting serial comics to the magazine and drawing illustrations to increase his income.
The business gradually increased, and Zhou Hongbin and his girlfriend were too busy to start trying to hire assistants, so they set up a studio called "Submarine". Zhou Hongbin once said: "The reason why the studio is called 'submarine' is because I like the island spirit in One Piece, and the submarine symbolizes low-key..."
When the studio developed, Zhou Hongbin could serialize 11 works a month at the same time, which was a well-known writer in the comic industry at that time. However, due to the low domestic writing fee at that time, coupled with the studio rent and a group of brothers to support, his personal income was still very small.
In 2006, Zhou Hongbin ushered in the Bole in his career - Li Jing, the founder of "Zhiyin Comic", and his life began to be different from this moment. And "Zhiyin Comic" is a full-color printed comic life magazine, with "story first, hilarious priority, public awareness, and the original taste of life" as the elements, attracting many young readers.
In fact, Li Jing noticed Zhou Hongbin very early, and after its inception, he went to Tianjin to visit this personality boy who loved comics. When Li Jing walked into the "submarine studio", he later recalled: the simple dormitory environment, empty a few computers, the table with original drawing paper, the cement floor of the room, several four-legged low benches around a square table the size of a Go board, on which there are several large bowls, and there is leftover instant noodle soup in the pot next to it...
Of course, this did not prevent them from "seeing the same thing", and the two talked about the style and positioning of the manga, and soon signed a relevant cooperation agreement. Two months later, Zhiyin Comics began serializing a new comic, Fire Street Ball, written by Zhou Hongbin himself.
Li Jing was very generous to Zhou Hongbin, gave the other party a very attractive manuscript fee, stimulated the creative passion of Zhou Hongbin's team, and laid an economic foundation for more excellent comics in the future.
4
Seeking innovation in cooperation, this is a good relationship between Li Jing and Zhou Hongbin, the two thought together and summarized, and finally launched a new comic masterpiece "Stealing Stars in September Day" in 2007.
"Stealing Stars in September Day" tells the adventure story of the thief September who stole the Ziwei Star Gem of the protagonist Liu Xing's family, thus triggering disputes with the ancient country of a thousand years and various mysterious organizations, in which the fog and suspense are repeated one after another, but there is no lack of thinking about the theme of "love and dreams".
After the manga was serialized, it quickly gained the love of a large number of readers in the market, and then long occupied the champion of the popular manga of "Zhiyin Comics".
How popular was "Stealing the Stars september days" at that time? According to Zhou Hongbin's later recollection: "When "Stealing Stars in September Day" was signed in Wuhan, some parents came with their children and told me that they agreed with their children on how many points to buy for him, and the result was that the children did well in the exam and jumped successfully, so I must sign a name for the child, say a word, and take a photo. ”
At this time, Zhou Hongbin realized that his comics are not only entertainment, but also promote the formation of personalities and values of children of some ages, so he wants to add more positive content as much as possible.
For the success of this comic, Zhou Hongbin believes that he is all unintentional, because from the planning to the beginning of the serial, it took only one week, and it was through the rapid development of "Zhiyin Comic" that "Stealing Stars september day" could become so smooth and popular.
In addition, Zhou Hongbin always warned himself: "Comics are actually a commodity, and someone must consume it." My comics sell well, which is related to my starting point, mainly I have to live on this, I think I must sell well. This may be a bit similar to Guo Degang's crosstalk, it is all the beginning of life embarrassment, you have to make money every day, grab your audience, readers are food and clothing parents, you have to serve readers. ”
5
This is a simple, kind and tenacious man, he loves the world very much, has a unique sensitivity and creative desire for fashion, which is the "Zhou Hongbin" in the eyes of friends.
Zhou Hongbin has been in the comic book business for many years, and after several tribulations, he found his own life value and created his own comic style. From the early pure humor and funny works "Anti-Fighting Files" and "Fire Football", to the blockbuster comic "Stealing Stars September Day", he finally stepped into a deep story behind the funny, so that humorous fun and value ideas have a balance.
In the 5 years after the serialization of "Stealing Stars in September Days", he was successfully cultivated into a "cash cow", which brought huge benefits to Zhou Hongbin and laid the foundation for him to become a "tens of millions" comic tycoon.
In 2011, Zhou Hongbin earned 10.848 million yuan in royalties from "Stealing Stars in September Days", plus the previous serial royalty income, with a total income of 18.3 million yuan, and was included in the third place in the "Rich List of Chinese Comic Writers". What is amazing is that from an entrepreneurial white who only has enough to maintain his life to a multi-millionaire, Zhou Hongbin has spent a total of 5 years.
In 2012, Zhou Hongbin became the champion of the "Rich List of Chinese Comic Writers", and thus won the first place for three consecutive years. Nowadays, Zhou Hongbin's studio is getting better and better, and his main job is to make stories and draw storyboard sketches.
Zhou Hongbin always believes that "the key to comics lies in the storyline, and a good story is easier to attract readers!" ”。 Therefore, when he creates comics, he attaches great importance to the expression of the plot, and at the same time mobilizes the reader's emotions, reduces the difficulty of understanding the content, and enhances the entertainment and humor of reading.
The refinement of the manga business and the consideration of the reader's reading experience are all learned from the Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama. Zhou Hongbin loves "Dragon Ball" very much, because it has not only given himself happiness, but also brought enough emotion, which should be the most important vitality of comic stories!
6
Relevant information shows that the output value of Japanese comics and books in 2010 was as high as 42.4 billion yuan, while the consumption of animation and extension products driven by it exceeded 828 billion yuan, even higher than the Japanese steel industry in that year.
For cartoonists, the income from the release of single books is much higher than that of serials, but in those years, Chinese cartoonists had difficulties in publishing single books. For Zhou Hongbin, he is a very fortunate cartoonist, because he has a cooperation with Zhiyin Comics, so he has the ability to release his own comic book.
Zhou Hongbin once proudly told the audience: "Stealing Stars in September Day" has cooperated with "Zhiyin Comics" so far, and extended products such as stationery, school bags and keychains are in operation, but he still retains the original intention of cartoonists and does his own creation in a down-to-earth manner. And 80% of his income comes from the sale of single books, and only 20% is the royalties and peripheral product licensing of magazine serial comics.
It can be seen that China's comic industry still needs to develop, gradually improve the industry system, create more diversified product lines for the market, and promote the output of the entire "soft culture".
From the first time he saw Akira Toriyama's "Dragon Ball", Zhou Hongbin planted the seed of "cartoonist" in his heart, and also planted the worship of cartoonists. As a world manga master, Akira Toriyama's works have swept the world, and in recent years, he has achieved hundreds of millions of tax revenues every year, and the economic benefits he has created with manga stories have surpassed countless large enterprises.
So if you ask Zhou Hongbin if he has money, why do you continue to struggle in the comic book industry? I'm sure he'll get back to you like this:
I have a wish to become a world-class master like Akira Toriyama and one day let Chinese comics occupy the global market!