You could either buy the August 2009 issue of Animation Magazine (it got Sponge Bob on the cover!), get it free at San Diego Comic Con (it got Ponyo on the cover!--but that's too late now) or
check it out on the web.
http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/10350Go on, do it now. They quote me a couple times and I sound kinda smart.
Anyway, the interview was more like an e-mail questionnaire and I thought you might like to read my complete answers to that questionnaire.
Questions by Tom McLean.
Is there a difference in your mind between webcomics and print comics?There are more similarities than differences. At least with the sort of webcomics that I do. I design them anticipating print. Its more a kin to the differences between watching your favorite movie in the theater vs. DVD vs. airing on TV vs. downloaded illegally.
Much of it is based on the way its delivered. I can read a print comic and enjoy it on a comfortable couch or at a peaceful park or wherever. Most people read webcomics on a computer, most likely, sitting on an uncomfortable office chair, in a cubicle, fearing the boss might see them goof off. You have different expectations from a computer than from a book. The computer is interactive and engaging. You expect it to play video, have animated graphics, talk to your friends, multi-task.
This is why the most successful webcomics are in a daily strip format. If the content isn't interactive then people want it short. True, they have the option of looking in the archives and spending an entire day reading 10 years worth of Sinfest.net, but that's an option.
Now this is something that might change as screen culture and technology changes. We might have mobile devices that we could read on a comfortable couch. And the expectations of those mobile devices might not put us in a multi-task mode.
Another difference with a webcomic is the use of hyperlinks. My current project,
God(tm) uses
hyperlinks to something I'm making a reference of. For example, the one I just gave you, a character is singing a song, and comics being a visual medium, songs don't translate well. But the hyperlinks are of three different performances of the same song.
There's also
page 13 of God(tm) which speaks for itself. (its a roll-over image) And the use of
Infinite Canvas Do you approach creating a comic for the web differently than one you do for print, i.e., does the story affect your decision to do it on the web vs. in print or vice versa?To a degree. My past work was just putting a print comic on the web (Speak No Evil is like this). But my current work, I'm considering the short attention span that people have in front of a screen. I like doing long stories and those don't fair as well as 4 panel daily strips. I try to make up for that by making the pacing faster. There's a staccatto rhythm to my current work. The story is constantly interrupted like a Monty Python skit (plus the humor is sort of Monty Python too).
Last night I was just re-planning a page because the pacing wasn't fast enough. Though earlier drafts of the page may work in a printed comic, it wont work for this particular webcomic.
Also, since a certain look and feel is expected from a print comic, a history and subculure that goes back to the 1930's, I think I'm being more experimental with the look than I would if I did a print comic.
As for how I approach a print comic, when you read a page, you are aware of two pages, the one your attention is at and the one next to it. If you want to surprise the reader or reveal something, it can only be on an even numbered page. In web, you can have more surprises with a click of the mouse. Every page, potentially, can show a shocking and unexpected revelation.
Do you have a formal process for creating webcomics, i.e, a script, pencils, inks, colors, etc.? What tools do you use?My creative process in general:
1)I draw a little comic in my sketchbook, my first draft. I find it a waste of time to start out with a script because I can draw faster than I could describe with words. I write the dialogue as I go. I figure out the composition.
2) I take the sketchy comic and translate that into a script. Its easier to edit dialogue this way or work with a scene that's more dependent on words than pictures.
3) I make another sketchy comic based on steps one and two. If I'm not happy with the sketchy comic, I go back to step two and might go back and forth between script and drawing until I have a good sketchy comic.
4) I take those sketches of pages, they're maybe 4x6 inches, scan them, figure out word balloon composition in photoshop, put in guide rules for perspective and print it out in non-photo blue.
5) In blue pencil I draw in details and ink.
6) Scan, color, maybe some dialogue changes and put it up online.
Web comics vary quite a bit in their presentation, so how do you decide the best way to present your story?I'm not exactly sure what you're asking and you might end up sending me a follow-up email on this subject, but here I go:
One thing I do (also, a subtle difference between web vs print) is have different backgrounds or wallpapers for each part of the story. If the page is about anger, then you'll see
red. If it takes place in Heaven or on an airplane, you'll see the
sky.
There's
one section in God(tm) where I give a back story. But the designs of the artwork tells a the history of visual mass media. I take advantage of the wallpapers to further emphasize this theme.
How much thought do you give to making your web comics "print ready" should a publishing opportunity arise?I always take it into consideration because it has always been my goal to be a print comic book artist (I find it strange that I actually have to type the word "print" in order to make myself clear). Since everyone's monitor is not created equal, I anticipate for smaller monitors. A print comic page doesn't fit well on a small monitor.You have to scroll. But half a print page does.
When I design a comic page for the web, I'm actually designing two pages. One stacked on the other makes a print page. And I have to consider not only the composition of the webcomic page, but the overall composition of a print page.
Do you ever consider incorporating animation, movement or sound of any type into your webcomics?Yes. This subject was part of my senior thesis in art school and I ended up working very hard on something I wasn't happy with and there wasn't much of it.
Such bells and whistles need to be important to the story. I have worked professionally in traditional animation. I know how much work goes into it and I'd rather put that energy into making ten pages than 6 seconds. So far, I haven't found it necessary to put music or animation in a comic. I am planning to, though, when my current story gets more surreal. But if I did it where I'm at right now, it would just be busy work and unnecessary.
Do you know what kind of audience has your work has found on the web? Do you see a lot of crossover between webcomics readers and fans of print comics?Its sort of hazy who is a fan of my work. I've found links to my site on atheist and buddhist forums, mainly because religious and philosphical themes are important on my work that's online. There was one podcast about print comics and superheroes that did a review of one of my comics. I even found a link on a site that features gay porn
(the best guess I could make about this is that I was poking fun at Mormons and with prop8, they like making fun of Mormons too.... but maybe my main male character is kinda cute). I'd like to think I'm attracting people who like good story and like good art, even if they have or haven't read a comic book in their life.
With my work, I want to attract people who don't usually read superhero comics or pop manga. The Wednesday comic shop junky can easily become a fan of my work. And I welcome them because I used to be one. But since I'm on the web and I'm basically giving it away for free, I might as well go for anyone that'll care. It might just be five people but I'll do the type of work that interests me...
Labels: animation, comics, Eisner Awards, Speak No Evil
