Q&A with Scott Kurtz (Part Two of Four)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 8:13AM This is the second of a four-part Q&A session with Scott Kurtz.
Q) When you're writing strips that are part of a storyline, how do you balance keeping the storyline moving forward with keeping the strip accessible to a newcomer? How do you keep the jokes from falling flat unless you know the backstory?
Q) As a creative, how was your ramp-up into becoming a businessperson? Was it as hard and as intimidating as it looks to some of us other creatives?
Q) I find a poorly designed site is enough for me to be turned off to a webcomic, no matter how good it is. Do you have any tips on how to design a site that compliments one's webcomic?
Q) I would love to hear you expound on the importance of branding. You talked about it in an early Webcomics Weekly and since then have extended your brand to several podcasts, Blamimations, more frequent UStreaming, and even hosting award ceremonies. These are in addition to PVP, convention appearances, and your out-spokenness on forums where Ted Rall happens to be. Are all of your various creative outlets simply interconnected parts of the Scott Kurtz Brand, or are they in support of PVP? What's ultimately more important to you, your brand or your comic?
Q) You and Ted -- who started it?
Q) I'm really interested in the technical part of your work and I have a few questions. What size do you work at (inches or pixels)? What is the ppi of your original size? What size do you scale the final size to (inches and ppi)? When you set your copy, what type size/leadding are you working at? What sizes are the brushes you're working with in Photoshop? And did you create any special brushes to work with in Photoshop?
Q) I know you've been tempted at various times throughout your career to "go blue," but have maintained PvP's self-imposed PG-13 rating diligently. I think that's wise, but I do wonder what your opinion is of webcomics that specifically cater to the adult audience beyond dropping occasional F-bombs. I'm thinking of comics that incorporate sex, either depicted or implied with detail, as a major plot point. This covers everything from comics that talk frankly about the subject but don't usually show it, to something that gets more explicit like “Menage a 3,” and on to all-out porn comics like those collected at Slipshine. Do they work? Is it a cheap pop? Can they ever be taken seriously when compared to more mainstream works? Does the traditional webcomics business model still apply?
Q) As much as I'd like to be successful at this webcomics game someday. As an artist, I can't get over the idea that multitudes of people will look at my drawings. How do you deal with putting up artwork that you aren't necessarily happy with?
Q) Since you transitioned from black-and-white to color over the course of a year, I was wondering what you plan to do for the print version of that year. Will it all be on the same color-ready paper, but the older strips will still be b&w (and then grayscale)? What would you recommend to other people who might make the same art upgrade?
Q) How do you work on pacing the storyline across your updates to walk the line between belaboring the point/joke/action and not missing opportunities to express things by covering them up with "two hours later" or talking head exposition.
Q) I am wondering how you typically balance your work week: How many hours a day you spend on the comic, and how is that broken down between the various tasks for it. Do you just write one day, then art the next or what?