At the studio.
Some people went to get in touch with their contacts in Japan.
Meanwhile, the remaining people were giving advice and suggestions to Zhang Ye. They were discussing the necessary tools required for making comics. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one, so they held a brainstorming session together.
Ha Qiqi said, “They use fountain pens, right?”
Someone said, “I think it should be drawn with pencils.”
Zhang Ye shook his head. “It cannot be pencils.”
Little Zhou suddenly said, “I know, I’ve heard someone say that they draw withdip pens 1 . That’s what they use specifically in Japan to draw comics. I think there are even many types that are used too.”
Zhang Ye’s eyes lit up. “Yes, yes, there’s such a thing! There’s such a thing! I’ve heard of it before. Good one, Little Zhou! Dip pens! Quickly, make a note to procure them.”
Little Wang was sitting next to him and taking minutes in all seriousness.
Zhang Zuo said, “We need A4 paper too.”
Zhang Ye smacked his thigh and said, “That’s right, that’s needed as well.”
Wu Yi said, “A ruler, don’t forget a ruler.”
“Right, a ruler.” Zhang Ye nodded.
Little Wang raised her head and asked, “What if you make a mistake while drawing? What will you do about that? You surely need some whiteout too!”
Zhang Ye pointed at her. “Look at how meticulous Little Wang is. Right, we need whiteout too!”
Little Wang was very happy to get praised. “It’s all because of Director Zhang’s good leadership!”
A bunch of laymen were enthusiastically conversing and the list of items to be procured kept growing longer.
At a desk in the corner of the studio, a rookie who had just joined the studio was dumbfounded. He looked at Zhang Ye, Ha Qiqi, and the others in a daze as countless grass mud horses rampaged across his heart! Many of the words that were coming out from their mouths had seemingly brought him back to his childhood!
Ruler?
A4 paper?
And even whiteout?!
The fuck? What year are those antiques from!
Why the fucking hell was whiteout even mentioned?
Why don’t you use artist tape 2 instead if you make an error while drawing!
Little Sun was hesitant to speak, but he slowly raised his hand. “Director Zhang, about that…”
Everyone looked over at him.
Ha Qiqi asked, “What’s the matter, Little Sun?”
Little Sun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “The way they draw comics in Japan these days don’t require those tools anymore. They’ve long since switched to using computers and specialized professional drawing software.”
Zhang Ye said, “Huh?”
Ha Qiqi said, “Uh?”
Zhang Zuo said, “Damn, is that so?”
Little Sun wiped off his sweat. “What you all just mentioned were drawing tools from many years ago. They don’t use them anymore these days. I have a relative who settled in Japan, so I’m pretty familiar with the scene over there. Besides, I occasionally draw comics as well, so I’ve come across these things too. There’s really no need for something like whiteout!”
The few upper management staff of the studio reddened in embarrassment.
Zhang Ye immediately said, “Look at you guys, always blindly suggesting ideas like that. Little Sun is a professional at drawing, so we should listen to his professional opinion on this matter!”
Us? Blindly suggesting ideas?
You were the one who agreed with everything we just said!
Everyone rolled their eyes.
Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Alright, Little Sun, I’ll let you handle this matter. Just let Little Wang know what kind of equipment and software we need and she’ll get it set up.”
Little Sun immediately received the order. “I’ll ensure that the task gets complete!”
…
On that same night.
The equipment, tools, and even specialized tables and chairs were set up.
Zhang Ye had requested two sets, one to be placed at home in the villa, and another to be placed in the studio.
The computer was the latest touchscreen model from this world’s leading tech company. He could operate and draw right on screen. It did not require any other external input. The software could be downloaded from the Internet, and there were all kinds of them for him to choose from. There wasn’t anything unusual about this anymore.
Back at home.
A call from Wu Zeqing came in.
“You’re home already?”
“Ah, I had something to deal with.”
“Do you want to go to my parents’ place for dinner tonight?”
“No, you guys can go ahead.”
“Then I’ll go back and prepare dinner for you.”
“Aiya, there’s no need. I can just order takeout.”
“What’s going on at home?”
“Oh, I’m setting up a drawing studio, so there’s a lot of moving to get done. Isn’t that small study of yours hardly used? I’ll be converting it into a drawing studio, OK?”
“Hur hur, sure.”
“Alright then.”
This was the good thing about Old Wu. She didn’t mind whatever Zhang Ye wanted to do.
Since Old Wu was going to stay over at her parents’ house tonight, Zhang Ye planned on drawing a little and making a decision on the series. As a result, he ordered some takeout and ate it for dinner. When the workers finished setting up the studio, he finished eating. After they left, he soaked in a hot bath for half an hour to sort out his thoughts before getting ready to start work.
…
8:30 AM.
In the drawing studio.
Zhang Ye went over to sit on his new ergonomic chair and immediately got into the zone.
He powered on his computer, then clicked on the professional drawing software, and began trying his hand at drawing. It wasn’t supposed to be serious, but he ended up getting shocked!
Fish?
Birds?
Houses?
Cars?
As long as it was something that he could imagine, he could replicate it in its most intact form. There was nothing stopping him, and the feeling was beyond amazing. Based on his form, he wouldn’t have any trouble drawing any of the comics that he had read in his previous world. The only thing that he wasn’t too familiar with was the software. So Zhang Ye spent an hour exploring and familiarizing himself on how to operate it, such as filling in the colors, making alterations, or saving the files.
An hour later.
He was all set.
He didn’t have any problems with his drawing techniques either.
All that was missing now was a series?
Zhang Ye opened up the game ring’s interface and immediately clicked into the merchant shop where he crazily bought a lot of Memory Search Capsules. He ate them one by one and then closed his eyes. Immediately, he started recalling all of the comics that he had ever read in his previous world. He carved every single detail of every chapter from the different comics deep into his mind. In his previous world, Zhang Ye was also a comics and animation fan. He watched cartoons when he was young but started reading comics as he grew older. Although he was not a fanatical comic fan and did not come across many of the other works, he still had the pleasure of reading some of the most famous Japanese comics.
Which one should he choose?
Which series should he use first?
Zhang Ye pondered it and could not make a decision. That one? That one was quite good! How about this one? This one is not bad either! Which one should he use to fire the first shot? However, after much hesitation, Zhang Ye broke out into laughter. Damn, wouldn’t any of them be the same? The comics that he had in mind did not exist in this world, so whichever one he brought out would impress no matter what!
Alright then, let’s try it out with “that” one first!
With a decision in mind, Zhang Ye immediately got down to drawing!
…
One Piece
Chapter 1: Romance Dawn
Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates, had achieved it all. Wealth, fame, and power had all been his. His last words before he died inspired people all across the world to head for the seas: “You want my treasure? It’s yours if you can find it! I left everything in the world there. You just have to find it!”
The world…
…is about to witness a great age of piracy!
…
Swish, swish, swish.
Swish, swish, swish.
There was only the sound of the stylus brushing against the screen in the drawing studio.
An hour.
Three hours.
Five hours.
He spent the entire night drawing.
From the unfamiliarity at the beginning, he slowly got the hang of it and got faster at drawing!
Zhang Ye lost track of time as he became engrossed. When he got down to work, it was always like this. He did not care about eating, drinking, or sleeping. No one could stop him until he was satisfied or until he was unable to move.
One chapter.
Two chapters.
When dawn broke, he managed to finish drawing two full chapters!
After Zhang Ye filled in the background of the second chapter’s last panel with black, he took a look at the hard work that he had put in all night. He was shocked with himself. Isn’t this speed way too fast? He had finished drawing two chapters in just one night of work? He heard before that some of those cartoonists living the miserable life would either publish their work weekly or monthly. That would mean that the fastest they needed to submit their work was once per week, and it was only one chapter each time? And they would have to tire themselves out just to reach this target?
But why do I not feel tired?
This bro is not exhausted at all!
Only then did Zhang Ye put down the stylus and head out in high spirits for breakfast.
He wasn’t tired at all. He did draw very quickly, but that’s because his mind was already filled with the final product of other people’s work. He didn’t even a need to come up with a draft, or a plot, or character designs. All he had to do was draw them as he knew it! Coupled with all those Fruits of Agility and Fruits of Stamina—
How the fuck could he not be quick!