A steampunk Savage Worlds adventure in webcomic form! Shawn Gaston discusses creating Clockworks!
1. For the poor souls not already reading, please give a brief synopsis of your comic.
Clockworks is a steampunk fantasy adventure, following a group of Private Constables in Clorencia City as they deal with anarchists, masked villains, government agents, a mage with a clockwork arm and an army of robots, a mysterious black steel device, and more. It's also a Role-Playing Game setting, due out as a Savage Worlds setting in 2013.
2. What materials and/or software do you use?
All the line art starts by hand, using mostly Sharpie markers and pens on sketch pads, then I scan it in and color everything, create all the backgrounds, and do all of the lettering in Photoshop.
3. Are there any books, movies, toys, artists, or authors that have inspired or continue to inspire your comic?
Thousands. Everything I've ever enjoyed or everything that's ever struck me in some way. Major influences on Clockworks include Fritz Lang's Metropolis, old Final Fantasy games, most everything Neil Gaiman has ever done, and so on and so forth.
4. Are any of your characters based on real people in your life?
No, yes, sort of. Clockworks is a sometimes loose retelling of our tabletop RPG campaign, so the events are all based characters my friends created and things that happened while we played the game. So there's some of my friends' personalities in each of the main characters. Additionally, I've drawn some Clockworks fans or friends in as cameos or background characters from time to time.
5. Are there any actors you know you would want to play or voice certain characters in a movie of your comic?
I've never really thought about it.
6. What songs would you like in a soundtrack of your comic?
Why, I'm actually working on a soundtrack for the Clockworks tabletop RPG. It will be released for free via Creative Commons and it's entirely created of tracks built by remixing songs by musicians who have released their music via Creative Commons. So it will end up being a mix of Nine Inch Nails, Unwoman, Beats Antique, Ad·ver·sary.
7. What is your overall goal for your comic?
To tell the best adventure story that's ever been told, to create the greatest anything ever. I probably won't hit that, but I like to aim high.
8. How has managing a comic impacted your life?
It's been a lot of work, but it's also brought my art and this world to the attention of a lot of people who wouldn't have otherwise seen it. I can safely say that Clockworks has brought me paid gigs and opportunities that I never would have had otherwise.
9. What do you do to advertise your work?
I run Project Wonderful ads, I'm a member of Rampage Network, I have a Facebook fan page, I sometimes answer interviews from random yetis. The usual.
10. Web comics can be very time consuming and sometimes expensive to keep up. Often there is little reward in regards to money and sometimes public attention. Why do you do it?
Sheer bullheaded determination? A desire to tell this story and share this world with people? A love of adoration and ego stroking fans? Being too stupid to know better? A burning need for some sort of creative output? Most likely some combination of all of the above.
11. Got any other projects we should know about?
First and foremost, the Clockworks RPG setting. My plan is to write the entire manuscript before I launch the Kickstarter for it, so people don't have to wait on me writing it. The Kickstarter will pay for more art, editing, layout, maybe some additional writing, and of course printing and publishing. I'm hoping to launch it in late January or February. The entire thing will be open via Creative Commons, and I'm writing it in public. You can view the entire in progress manuscript on Google Drive, and give feedback/join in the progress on Facebook.
I was also the sole illustrator for the recently published RPG setting Streets of Bedlam, by Jason Blair and Fun Sized Games. It's an ultraviolent neo noir setting for Savage Worlds (noting a trend here?) and I'm extremely proud of it.
12. What advice would you give to aspiring creators?
Just keep making stuff. Go out there and write and draw and don't stop. Keep pushing yourself to be better, not in terms of sales numbers or page views, but just in how well you do the thing you do.
Thanks Shawn! Looks like you're keeping very busy. I love the idea of being able to role play a webcomic!
If you dig Clockworks you can show your love by up-voting the submission for this interview at Reddit Webcomics. Up-voting keeps Clockworks on the front page of the webcomic category longer which means more people get to see it!
Thanks everyone for reading. Let us know what you think with a comment below. Then begin your adventure over at Clockworks!
-Mat
evanyeti.com
If you would like to be interviewed about your web-comic send an email to evanyeti@yahoo.com titled "interview" with a link to your comic.
Clockworks is a steampunk fantasy adventure, following a group of Private Constables in Clorencia City as they deal with anarchists, masked villains, government agents, a mage with a clockwork arm and an army of robots, a mysterious black steel device, and more. It's also a Role-Playing Game setting, due out as a Savage Worlds setting in 2013.
2. What materials and/or software do you use?
All the line art starts by hand, using mostly Sharpie markers and pens on sketch pads, then I scan it in and color everything, create all the backgrounds, and do all of the lettering in Photoshop.
3. Are there any books, movies, toys, artists, or authors that have inspired or continue to inspire your comic?
Thousands. Everything I've ever enjoyed or everything that's ever struck me in some way. Major influences on Clockworks include Fritz Lang's Metropolis, old Final Fantasy games, most everything Neil Gaiman has ever done, and so on and so forth.
4. Are any of your characters based on real people in your life?
No, yes, sort of. Clockworks is a sometimes loose retelling of our tabletop RPG campaign, so the events are all based characters my friends created and things that happened while we played the game. So there's some of my friends' personalities in each of the main characters. Additionally, I've drawn some Clockworks fans or friends in as cameos or background characters from time to time.
5. Are there any actors you know you would want to play or voice certain characters in a movie of your comic?
I've never really thought about it.
6. What songs would you like in a soundtrack of your comic?
Why, I'm actually working on a soundtrack for the Clockworks tabletop RPG. It will be released for free via Creative Commons and it's entirely created of tracks built by remixing songs by musicians who have released their music via Creative Commons. So it will end up being a mix of Nine Inch Nails, Unwoman, Beats Antique, Ad·ver·sary.
7. What is your overall goal for your comic?
To tell the best adventure story that's ever been told, to create the greatest anything ever. I probably won't hit that, but I like to aim high.
8. How has managing a comic impacted your life?
It's been a lot of work, but it's also brought my art and this world to the attention of a lot of people who wouldn't have otherwise seen it. I can safely say that Clockworks has brought me paid gigs and opportunities that I never would have had otherwise.
9. What do you do to advertise your work?
I run Project Wonderful ads, I'm a member of Rampage Network, I have a Facebook fan page, I sometimes answer interviews from random yetis. The usual.
10. Web comics can be very time consuming and sometimes expensive to keep up. Often there is little reward in regards to money and sometimes public attention. Why do you do it?
Sheer bullheaded determination? A desire to tell this story and share this world with people? A love of adoration and ego stroking fans? Being too stupid to know better? A burning need for some sort of creative output? Most likely some combination of all of the above.
11. Got any other projects we should know about?
First and foremost, the Clockworks RPG setting. My plan is to write the entire manuscript before I launch the Kickstarter for it, so people don't have to wait on me writing it. The Kickstarter will pay for more art, editing, layout, maybe some additional writing, and of course printing and publishing. I'm hoping to launch it in late January or February. The entire thing will be open via Creative Commons, and I'm writing it in public. You can view the entire in progress manuscript on Google Drive, and give feedback/join in the progress on Facebook.
I was also the sole illustrator for the recently published RPG setting Streets of Bedlam, by Jason Blair and Fun Sized Games. It's an ultraviolent neo noir setting for Savage Worlds (noting a trend here?) and I'm extremely proud of it.
12. What advice would you give to aspiring creators?
Just keep making stuff. Go out there and write and draw and don't stop. Keep pushing yourself to be better, not in terms of sales numbers or page views, but just in how well you do the thing you do.
Thanks Shawn! Looks like you're keeping very busy. I love the idea of being able to role play a webcomic!
If you dig Clockworks you can show your love by up-voting the submission for this interview at Reddit Webcomics. Up-voting keeps Clockworks on the front page of the webcomic category longer which means more people get to see it!
Thanks everyone for reading. Let us know what you think with a comment below. Then begin your adventure over at Clockworks!
-Mat
evanyeti.com
If you would like to be interviewed about your web-comic send an email to evanyeti@yahoo.com titled "interview" with a link to your comic.
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