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This tweeterview was between:
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The tweeterview as recorded:
| Q1: | "Today I am tweeterviewing Doug Savage (@savagechickens), the creator of the Savage Chickens cartoons." |
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More on Q1...
http://www.savagechickens.com
Thanks for joining me Doug.
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Thanks for suggesting the interview!
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More on Q1...
How long have you been drawing Savage Chickens for, to date?
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I started putting them online in January 2005. So almost 5 years! I started drawing them offline late in 2004.
| Q2: | "Do you know how many comics you have created over that time?" |
It's almost 1300 now, which kinda amazes me. But I guess it's 5 a week so they add up pretty fast
| Q3: | "I am sure this has been asked before - Are the comics drawn onto actual sticky notes?" |
Definitely. I draw them on sticky notes and then scan them in - sometimes I get it right the first time and sometimes it takes ..
..10 times!
It's a fun medium to draw on because it's so ubiquitous, but it's also an unforgiving one. Any little mistake and I get to redr..
..aw the whole cartoon again.
| Q4: | "Briefly, what is your creative process? Do you sketch the idea out before the final art?" |
Ya I scribble ideas down on whatever's handy - notebooks, napkins, whatever. Then I do a rough sketch on a sticky note...
..then I might try a few different layouts, and when I've got it right, I scan it and clean it up a little on the computer.
| Q5: | "What materials do you use to make the comics (besides the sticky notes) ?" |
I like to keep it pretty simple - usually it's just sticky notes and my Staedtler pigment liners.
And i use a small light table
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More on Q5...
Is the light table to trace the final sketch onto the stick note?
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Ya sometimes I'll draw a cartoon several times, and I'll like certain pieces of each version. The light table..
..lets me trace the bits i like onto the final sticky note.
Most of my rough drafts are all done on sticky notes too. I've got stacks of sticky notes everywhere here
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More on Q5...
I always picture your drawing studio as being a mass of yellow sticky notes .
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| Q6: | "Does the restricted size of the sticky note offer benefits or restrictions in your view?" |
It's a bit of both, but mostly benefits. Part of the fun is the challenge of condensing an idea into that small space...
..sometimes i have an idea that just won't work in a 3" x 3" square, but most of the time I like the challenge. ..
..it forces me to edit my dialogue, and try new layouts. It's part of the fun for me.
| Q7: | "Where do you find most of the inspiration for your comics. comes from?" |
It's a mix of stuff. Everyday life. Pop culture. Things that I see walking down the street. Inspiration is everywhere.
I see comic ideas everywhere i go now. But I definitely like movies, stuff about the miserable working world, psychology, poetr..
..y, music
| Q8: | "Do you find extra freedom in doing gag style comics, since you don't maintain ongoing storylines?" |
Yes - I do find it freeing not have to maintain storylines. Unlike most single panel cartoons, I do have recurring characters...
so i get the best of both worlds.
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More on Q8...
Your comics are kind of unique as all the characters are actually recurring, but they have no story to follow.
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Haha that's so true - i never thought about it that way before but i like that
| Q9: | "Is there a particular comic artist that you feel may have influenced your drawing style?" |
Hmmm it's hard to say. I've been drawing in this style since I was a little kid. Googly eyes and all. I read a lot of Peanuts e..
..arly on and later the Far Side of course.
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More on Q9...
Yes, I can see those influences in your work.
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| Q10: | "In July, you did a stop-motion music video for Phantom Mountain, by Laura Veirs - http://bit.ly/1yKSFZ . You als.." |
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More on Q10...
...also did Carrot Vs Stealth Bunny recently http://bit.ly/1jB6cW .
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More on Q10...
I also understand you are working on another music video as well. Is animation a field you want to move into?
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| Q11: | "Why did you choose stop-motion and claymation, rather than trying something in digital?" |
I guess for the same reason I draw on sticky notes. I like really simple hands-on stuff. I'd rather spend time working with my ..
..hands than working in a software program. But I'll probably try that someday too. I keep exploring.
| Q12: | "Ok, so when people meet you for the first time & ask "What do you do?", how do you answer?" |
Heheh well lately I've been saying "I'm a cartoonist". It definitely leads to more interesting conversations!
| Q13: | "When are the chickens going to break out of the boundaries of the sticky notes?" |
That's a good question. It's hard for me to imagine them in another medium, but I expect they'll find their way into an animate..
..d project or maybe even a longer work like a graphic novel
| Q14: | "Kind of related to that, what is the strangest place you have seen one of your comics?" |
I once saw somebody use them to decorate their bathroom. They had a cartoon cut out and stuck on each tile. Pretty cool.
| Q15: | "Have you had anyone imitate your comics or steal your idea to claim as their own?" |
No, thankfully. At least not that I'm aware of!
| Q16: | "Which webcomics are you following at the moment?" |
I haven't been reading very many lately to be honest. But I've been keeping up on fellow Canadians Kate Beaton of Hark A Vagran..
..t and Mike Bannon of Mordant Orange.
I've actually been reading a lot of graphic novels lately. I'm reading Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle now and it's fantastic.
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More on Q16...
I will have to look that one up, now that it has been recommended you :P
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| Q17: | "Ok, now the final four really hard questions......... " |
| Q18: | "If sticky notes did not exist, what medium do you think you would be working with?" |
Toast. I think I'd burn my cartoons onto bread.
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More on Q18...
That sounds cool! And tasty.....
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| Q19: | "Who would win in a fight - Christopher Walken or Kevin Bacon?" |
Christopher Walken would beat Kevin Bacon so bad that he would be six degrees away from himself!
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More on Q19...
ROFL!!
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| Q20: | "If you could be a Sci-fi hero/adventurer, who would it be?" |
I would be Obi Wan Kenobi - the older version. Just strolling leisurely through the universe except for the occasional lightsab..
..er duel.
| Q21: | "Lastly - does the office know you are taking sticky notes yet?" |
LOL! No I actually work at home so I buy all my sticky notes myself. Stolen ones would be more fun though!
| Q22: | "Thanks for your time Doug. For everyone out there Twitter - you can follow him at @savagechickens" |
| Q23: | "Also, be sure to check out the Savage Chickens site - http://www.savagechickens.com" |
Thanks this was a lot of fun!