Love Laid Bare has a lot of these big sound effects that are just kind of splashed across the page. These are a particular challenge! English uses more characters than Japanese, so how do I achieve that big punctuation without covering too much? It's like a big jigsaw puzzle.

Also, all of my sound effect lettering is drawn by hand. I think this is getting more common, and using fonts is a great way to go for a lot of works, but I love having the control and customizability of handwriting. Sometimes it can look clunky, but I think that's part of the charm

I really like the way Ouchi Kaeru uses sound effects that blend into the tones in the background, too, so I mimicked that style to come up with similar compositions while prioritizing legibility. This is the page where that shows up the most.

When lettering, there's a constant balancing act of punctuating big emotional beats without overtaking the artwork, mimicking the Japanese, and making it all easy to read with the space I'm given. Ouchi Kaeru combines chunky moji with thin wispy ones, and I wanted to capture that

Love Laid Bare is a wonderfully romantic book by Ouchi Kaeru. Every chapter has an ebb and flow, slowly and quietly building up to explosively emotional love scenes. As a letterer, it's my job to guide the reader's eye along and communicate that same flow with the text.

I think most can agree that even something as simple as a font can affect a reader's experience. For this work, I thought the cute, round, clean Samaritan Tall (with Sara Linsley's Pancake Pen for laughing or giggling) suited the feel of this book best.

Lately I've been putting more thought into small things to communicate the tone from the moment it's pulled off the shelf. This starts with cover design. My editor and I worked to incorporate the Japanese obi seamlessly into the design for a premium feel.

Hello!

There are a few weeks left to vote in the #AmericanMangaAwards, and since I don't often talk about my process here, I'd like to make a thread about my lettering work on Love Laid Bare by Ouchi Kaeru for @fakku.net to consider for Best Lettering. 🙏

animenyc.com/american-man...

🧵

I'm so (pleasantly) surprised and honored to be nominated for best lettering with Love Laid Bare! It was a challenging book, but I'm happy with how it came out.
It never could've made it on the list without my awesome editor @ziggyvoss.bsky.social and everyone on the @fakku.net production team!

Merry Christmas! @ichikawado.bsky.social
presents "The Summer that Santa Came to Town!" now on @fakku.bsky.social!

Santa Claus crashes into Santa superfan Fujiwara's life! And once Fujiwara gets a glimpse of Santa's package, he just can't help himself!

Read it here: bit.ly/SummerWithSa...

It's the return of @noda-gaku.bsky.social with "The Tsubura Brothers and Old Man Kenbishi!"

After years of globetrotting, Tadashi reunites with his beefy old master to teach him the way of a NEW kind of sword!

💪Read the official English release on @fakku.bsky.social here: bit.ly/TsuburaKenbi...

New manga from @ichikawado.bsky.social!

With Kuroda acting a little strange lately, Love Detective Negishi is on the case! What could Kuroda be hiding?! Find out in "I Made My Fuzzy-Faced P.E. Teacher My Wife: Pulse-Pounding Lavatory Love!"

Read here: www.fakku.net/hentai/i-mad...

New manga release from Mizuki Gai!

Takeshi's finally got his dream job, delivering top-quality customer service to big celebs aboard a private jet. Let's hope he's up to the task.

Read it here: https://www.fakku.net/hentai/catch-alive-english

New Ichikawa Kazuhide release!

After witnessing Sudou and Negishi's lovemaking, Kuroda's training so he won't lose in a battle of booty!

Enjoy this side story from the "Fuzzy-Faced P.E. Teacher" series below!

https://www.fakku.net/hentai/kuroda-senseis-top-secret-special-training-english

Oh, and a general tip, if you don't want to see adult content or you want to have the option of a warning before opening anything with adult content, use the Moderation panel in the left sidebar!