Visit The Dreamland Chronicles today, and see Mr. Sava's work!

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Manga Punk: First off, let's hear a bit about The Dreamland Chronicles for the sake of uninitiated surfers. What inspired you to make this story? Was its production a one-man show, or were there other people aside from yourself involved in the conception of Dreamland?

Scott Sava: I’d always been interested in dreams. As a kid growing up…I’d had a very active imagination. So dreams were a big part of my life. When I was in college…we were studying the history of illustration (I was an illustration major) and I learned about a comic strip from the turn of the century (that’s the 20th century) called Little Nemo in Slumberland. It was about a boy who would go to Slumberland every night. He had a playmate who was the princess of Slumberland. I wondered what happened to Nemo when he grew up. Did he still dream? Did he and the princess fall in love?

I guess that’s where Dreamland was born.

I tried several attempts to paint the story…but it never fit.

After I did Spider-Man in 2002…I really wanted to push the comic telling medium with the CGI. So…I decided to give Dreamland it’s look using the computer.

I brought in some artists to work on it. Karen Krajenbrink did the character designs, Stefano Tsai did the environments, just to name a couple. There were maybe 10-20 artists total.

I’ve been working on it for 4 years now. It’s a labor of love.

MP: Why CGI?

SS: After doing Spidey…I really thought I could push it. Spider-Man was a trial by fire. I really had to learn as I go. If you look from issue to issue… it improves dramatically by the fourth issue.

Doing Dreamland using CGI is partly a way of FORCING me to improve in this… and partly because I’d just made the decision and I’m sticking to it.

It’s not easy in any respect. And it’s SURE not cheap. But it’s a challenge. So I’m going to stick to it all the way through.

MP: Your webcomic recently acquired a fan-following totalling over 1,000,000 readers (myself and Rachel Nabors, our webmistress, included)--how does it feel? Has the popularity of TDC come as a surprise to you, or did you know from the get-go that you had a winner on your hands?

SS: Well I guess a little of both. I always HOPE that Dreamland will be well received… but you can never count on it. No matter HOW much you like what you’re doing… you can never tell what the public will like.

1,000,000 readers all over the world is pretty incredible (thanks for being among them).

Putting it online has been such a great experience. So much nicer than doing the comic books. I get to interact with the fans every day. I get daily feedback on my storytelling, art, and writing. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

MP: What programs were involved in the creation of TDC? How long, on average, would you say it took you to create a single page of CGI sequentials?

SS: We use 3D Studio Max for the 3D modeling and posing. I use a software called Brazil for rendering. Then everything is brought into Photoshop for clean up and effects. I also put all the frames together there.

It takes months to get all of the parts together before I can start making pages. So it’s kind of hard to figure out how fast it goes.

Once I DO have the parts though…the characters, environments, props, etc…I can do about 3 pages a day.

MP: Have you ever made (or would you ever consider making) comics the traditional way: drawing board, pencils, pens, tones, the works? In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of using tools intended for animation for making sequential art?

SS: I’ve done it before. I did Star Trek comics, and I did some fill in work for Marvel.

I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again though. I never really enjoyed doing sequential art using painting.

I think making CGI comics is great… but not very cost effective. I’ve invested… well let’s say TENS of thousands of dollars to have the world of Dreamland built. I doubt I’ll EVER make that money back.

Whereas if I would have DRAWN it, I would only be out the time (and maybe the cost of pencils and paper).

Still… would Dreamland be as popular if it was drawn? Maybe… but I doubt it. I think it’s a gimmick. I’m cool with that.

MP: How long have you been into comics? Is it an industry you've always wanted to break into or was the idea of making your own comic something that occured to you later in life?

SS: Since I was about 8 I wanted to be the artist on Spider-Man. 5 years ago I got that job. It was the coolest thing EVER.

Up until then, though, I got to be a video game designer, a character animator for movies, tv writer, commercial animator, and so much more. So sometimes the journey is just as fun.

I never thought you could make your OWN comics though. I didn’t realize that until I met Mike Kunkel. He showed me that you don’t need to get a job with Marvel or DC to make comics. Just have fun and do it.

MP: Have you ever received any negative reviews or criticisms of your work during this stage of your career? If so, did they bother you at all? What's your philosophy on how to deal with critics?

SS: Oh HECK yeah! I just got another one yesterday for Dreamland. There’s no way EVERYONE’S going to like your work.

But funny thing is (and this is human nature I guess) …no matter HOW many GOOD reviews you get. It only takes one person to not like your work for you to be upset.

I’m doing about 90-95% on my positive review ratio here…ha ha. But I remember every one of the bad reviews.

I think it’s good to see what people didn’t like… and keep it mind for the future.

But some reviews…there’s nothing you can do about it. Some people just hate CGI. Or they hate Fantasy. Or All Ages material. Whatever their beef. Sometimes reviews are just peoples personal pet peeves getting in the way of enjoying anything fun. You need to blow it off. You can’t please EVERYONE.

MP: Mike Kunkel recently mentioned in his blog that you and he once worked together on an animated short aired on Nickelodeon. Which short was he referring to? What other animation projects have you been involved in throughout your career?

SS: Emperor! Mike and I sold a show to Nickelodeon a couple of years ago. It was supposed to air by now… but hasn’t.

You can see the pilot here… just look for the picture of the Penguin.

Mike and I co-wrote and directed it. I also animated it with my studio. It was a great experience.

I’ve also worked on Casper, Alien vs. Predator, X-files, Nascar Racers, Digimon, Power Rangers, and so much more in my career. It’s been a good life so far.

MP: What advice would you like to offer people (teens in particular) who are seriously considering a career in cartooning, whether it be comics or animation? What specific things should these seperate species of cartoonists keep in mind pertaining to their specific elements?

SS: Whether you’re going to do CGI or not…learn how to draw. Nothing beats an understanding of the human form and the ability to OBSERVE.

Drawing makes you look at the world around you and study things. I never took a single class in animation. My first job on a movie was for Casper… and I learned as I went.

I was able to do so because I had a good foundation of figure drawing and anatomy. It sounds crazy…but just the fact that I could draw gave me a better understanding of how they move.

So keep a sketchbook at all times and draw every day.

MP: Is there anything in particular we should be looking forward to once that last page TDC is posted online? Any diabolical plots for an animated series you'd like to divulge?

SS: I wish. The Dreamland Chronicles is slated for 6 books at 300 pages each. This means…I’m going to be doing Dreamland for another few years.

That being said…if the right studio came to me wanting to do Dreamland as a feature… I’d love to talk.

But nothing planned right now.

MP: Thank you, Scott, for sharing all of the above with us here at MangaPunk.com. We all thank you for your amazing art and wish you luck on all your future projects!

SS: Thank you very much. I really appreciate it…and thanks for reading Dreamland.

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-Joamette Gil

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