Another fascinating job emerging from the anime boom is anime model sculpting. Artists and craftsmen create detailed figures of beloved anime characters, which are highly sought after by collectors and fans. This craft requires immense skill and an eye for detail, transforming simple materials into stunning replicas.
Anime figures and collectibles are available everywhere these days from social media platforms to standalone websites. Take Jazyl Homavazir for example, he is an award-winning animator and anime artist who launched India’s first web manga on his website after creating artwork from popular anime like Dragon Ball, Naruto and One Piece. He won a Comic-Con Award for Best Webcomic Series and a Delhi CD Award for an experimental short film.
Many such success stories have popped up around India. We talked to graphics designer Ashley Survarna from Maharashtra, who quit his job to become a freelance graphic designer two years ago. He told us that his affinity for painting and illustration ultimately led him to pursue a career in graphic design. While he mostly works with gouache and acrylic media, he has noticed an increased demand for work from anime fans.
He said, “There is a growing popularity for anime in art circles. Earlier it was restricted to Dragonball and Naruto characters, but now I see a whole slew of art emerging from both mainstream and non-mainstream shows like Jujutsu Kaisen and Fullmetal Alchemist. As a longtime fan of the anime genre, I’m just glad that being able to draw and paint anime characters or use certain anime-based references in my artworks quickly finds an audience who understands and appreciates it. I often get requests for commissioned artwork based on popular anime.
He thinks that the best part about the anime boom in this country is how deeply it has penetrated into local entertainment channels. Today, when a major anime movie releases, he can enjoy it at a nearby cinema hall, surrounded by a surprisingly large number of fans. He added, “It’s not exactly rare for me to see young men and women wearing Naruto or Jujutsu Kaisen t-shirts in a mall or a college campus. Anime culture is slated to get even more popular in the next decade.”
He revealed that artists who work on commissions can make anything between INR 25,000 to INR 100,000 a month if they have an active flow of clients. He revealed that “artists who are active on platforms like Fiverr and have an international clientele are earning over $2,000 a month working from India. Most clients who want anime artwork are typically anime fans who want artwork for personal use or gifting.”
Suvarna charges INR 2,500 to 5,000 for each commission depending on the effort needed with a 48-hour turnaround time and he claims that his peers charge around the same. After browsing through hundreds of listings by Indian artists on Fiverr, we found that the average price of a digital piece of anime art costs anything between INR 1,500 and INR 8,000 depending on the project with the average hovering close to the INR 2,000 mark with 2-3 day turnaround time.
Manga Sellers are also cashing in on the popularity of anime in India. The popularity of anime has naturally led to a rise in demand for manga, comics and graphic novels that often inspire anime series. Manga sellers and artists are finding new audiences eager for their work. Local bookstores and online platforms have seen a surge in manga sales, creating a lucrative market for both sellers and creators. It is difficult to gauge what the manga market in India looks like due to how common are in the country.
According to Grand View Research, the official manga market in India is projected to grow by , while estimating the global market size to be $13.7 Billion in 2023. This surge is fueled by a rising interest in Japanese culture, driven by the proliferation of anime music and the availability of various anime titles on multiple OTT platforms in India. The numbers are similar to those of other countries in the Asia-Pacific based on the report, which means that India’s manga craze is just as high as other countries in the region.
The report states that in 2023, the Asia Pacific region dominated the manga market, holding the largest revenue share at 86.0%. The robust growth of the manga industry in Japan, popular among both domestic and international consumers, has significantly contributed to the regional market’s expansion.
