Thread "Round 8 - Hunchdebunch interviews Gillespie of Bacon Strips!" in forum "Interviews"

Posted at 1:08AM, Aug. 3, 2009

This interview is of Gillespie, whose comic is Bacon Strips!
(interview conducted by Hunchdebunch!)

1. So to start things off, your comic, Bacon Strips, is crazy, wacky, inventive, and very funny. How did this all start? When did you decide "I'm going to make this comic"?

First off, thanks for that. During school, my agenda was filled to the brim with doodles. I enjoyed doing them, they made me laugh, they were an escape from reality, and best of all, people understood them and even found them funny. I started a group with some friends on Facebook called Doodle Club to show more people on January, and I just continued to love to draw. I enjoyed them so much, that I researched for a good place to showcase to an even larger audience. Drunk Duck was the place for me without a doubt. As you know, I began the webcomic on March and it's been great ever since.

2. Your style is quite simple, is there a particular reason for that, or did you just decide to work that way?

That appears to be my current style of drawing. I've always drawn cartoony and unrealistic things, and who said a cartoon had to be the same as reality? Looney Tunes have taught me that. I prefer drawing like that. It works and I've certainly improved!

3. What is the process for making each comic? Do you fully plan the stories out or do some of them sort of 'write themselves'?

I keep lots of idea books around the house and on my person. If I think of something good, I write down the basic idea and any other details I can think up of. I usually start drawing it out and the plot's details start unveiling itself. I do it on the fly quite often. That's probably how it's pretty random.

4. What do you use to draw and colour Bacon Strips?

I use Macromedia Flash MX 2004 for the black lines for the people and the hand-written words. I have a Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet which makes it much better to work on. I'd go crazy with a mouse. I used to make animations and I'll tell you, tablets show much more personality in your work than a mouse could ever dream of. After I have it inked out, I save it as a .PNG file and take it to Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 (came with the tablet) and start colouring on different layers. That takes a VERY long time to do, but it pays off very nicely. I'm much more familiar with digital art, which is probably why I do pretty bad with more traditional materials haha

5. One of your strips involves the sun accidently burning himself by reflecting it's own rays in a mirror. How did you get the idea for that? I mean, it's pretty random.

I have a doodle that I drew with my non-dominant hand (like the guys at Left Handed Toons do. I was inspired at the time lol) of the sun comitting suicide by holding a mirror to itself. I eventually came up with it using a handmirror in the comic you mentioned, as I imagined "What if Will Ferrel was the Sun?". Hilarity ensues, I hope. THAT idea came after watching Semi-Pro. I've been known to come up with some crazy random stuff. My mind is a weird place. beetlejuicebeetlejuicebeetlejuice

6. Another one of your strips is about The Magic School Bus. Do you/ did you ever like the magic school bus? I know I did lol

Of course I did! :D
I remember watching it as a child and it was one of the few shows that actually taught you stuff that actually mattered. My 11th grade biology teacher played an episode for us on YouTube. I know right? That day inspired that comic, as that show is corny as a hell with hillbillies in it, and some of the characters are quite repetitive…*cough*Mrs. Frizzle*cough*.

7. I don't like the number 7. Loads of people say its lucky, but I don't think it is. What do you think? Is this question too random?

Not random enough. I don't really give 7 the special treatment like a lot of people do.

8. Danger Man is a recurring character in your strips. Who is he exactly, and where did he come from? And why is he such a coward?

You mean Run Away From Danger Man. He's a "superhero" that appears to be well liked by the readers, and it's an interesting story as to how I came up with him. A friend said the name, but I didn't know he was quoting Colin Mochire from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" when they were doing impressions of useless superheroes. I had no idea, I swear! I first gave him credit for the character, but he was cool enough to give the rights to me. Why is he a coward? He fears for his safety, and he's a damn good runner. That's why! If you're interested, comic 150 of Bacon Strips shows some backstory to RAFDM. A lot of people have been wanting to know his origins for some reason.

9. Where did you get the idea for Babysaurus? Is that firsthand experience, or was it just made up?

Yes. it was completely random! A parody of King Kong in kiddie mode, if you will. I was building Lego's one day and there was a commercial of the gorilla on the Empire State Building, and the idea clicked.

10. How long have you been making comics for?

I've been drawing for years. I used to really like Garfield for some god awful reason. Maybe it was because he was a cat, but he's dull and largely unfunny! Anyway, I made my first comics around grade 6, and I drew various things and topics, but I once drew a comic series of these two teenagers living in a fictional town in British Columbia. I loved that series. I would love to bring them back, but they need a serious fix-up before I bring them to the public eye. I also made stick figure animations, but I didn't have the time for them anymore, so I stopped doing that. Fast forward about 5 years!

11. You started Bacon Strips back in March. How do you feel it has progressed since then? Do you feel it has changed or improved?

If you look at page 1, and then page 150, there is a great change. Actual panels, no stick figures, colored backgrounds, it's been gaining readership and climbing the ranks, except I update DAILY, and I make super sized comics, which means I don't always get to update until a few or so hours before Midnight, which makes it tough sometimes, but I prefer daily updates with a story that isn't ongoing. Why? So that the reader doesn't have to read a bunch of other pages to understand what's going on. They can just jump in and have a laugh.

12. And lastly, I can't believe I didn't already ask this: Why is your comic called Bacon Strips? Is there a special reason, or did you just like it?

Lots of people, along with myself, LOVE bacon! And each day you get a tasty serving of ROFL-goodness, hence the name. Thanks for interviewing me and making a dream come true!

Posted at 5:08PM, Aug. 4, 2009

I knew there were some members on DD who are pretty quiet, but MAAAAAAAAAN. I do know that people read it, according to my page views ha.
The interview was fun to do though. I enjoyed it. :)

Posted at 1:08AM, Aug. 5, 2009

Yeah, I'm not really sure why more people don't leave replies :[ It makes the interviews look kinda lonely. I wish our forum at least showed how many times a thread has been looked at.

But I'm glad people who checked out the interview went on to look at the comic! That's better, really :]

Posted at 3:08AM, Aug. 5, 2009

I don't remember where I first saw this, or even when… but I happened upon it again, and I thought "Oh my god! A promotional image for Gillespie!"

Posted at 10:08AM, Aug. 5, 2009

Oh man!!! I used to doodle in my school agendas too! My seventh grade school agenda is full of them. :D That's so cool.

Posted at 3:08AM, Aug. 6, 2009

That was a pretty bad ass interview.