Backstage Pass October: Bree Paulson

Psst! Here's Your Backstage Pass. Here, I'll Lift The Curtain 

Come Meet

Bree Paulsen

So Bree, what are your main projects?

Patrik the Vampire
patrikthevampire.tumblr.com & tapastic.com/series/patrik-the-vampire

The money from Patreon helps pay for the drawing.

Other Favorite Hobbies And Obsessions? 

Knitting/crochet, collecting kitschy vampire/Halloween knick knacks, drinking tea.

So, tell me about your early experience. How did you fall in love with telling stories in pictures? 

I’ve always loved visual storytelling, even before I knew it was called visual storytelling. The idea of creating a webcomic excited me a lot after high school, had so many ideas, but nothing held my attention long enough until Patrik came along in college.

I love and want to see more domestic/mundane comedic stories about monsters. Also, I just got fed up with the same-ness of most modern vampire stories.

What media and programs do you work in to produce your project?

I draw and paint everything in Photoshop.

Can you tell me about your typical day or strip-creation session? How does your work process flow from idea to finished page?

I pull up my script, grab the dialogue I need and paste it into the comic page file. I then start roughly sketching/thumbnailing the panels and compositions before refining, inking, and coloring.

The whole process takes 6-12 hours, depending on the complexity of the page.

What’s the most difficult part of your work?

I struggle with anxiety and depression so sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to work, especially when I am struggling with a page. I usually just have to take a break from it and come back later. The fact that a lot of my readers a patient helps relieve the stress of getting a page done on time. I really appreciate them for that.

Can you tell me about your storytelling process? Do you prefer to script your stories, fly by the seat of your pants, or somewhere in between?

I have 2 big outlines: one is everything from Patrik’s birth to his life in modern day in chronological order, the other is the order of all the chapters/event in the comic. They are both pretty loose with key plot points locked down including the end of the comic. I then write scripts for each individual chapter.

You've done some wonderful research to get your details right in this work. Can you tell us about that? 

I try to be as accurate as I can be. It’s usually specific things I research like what houses and looked like in 13th century Transylvania. What did people wear in that region during that time? How does embalming work? I often have to double check if a word or idiom existed in the late 1920s- early 30s.
If I can manage to finish a page the day before it’s posted, it’s a good day. Usually I’m finishing pages and immediately posting them.

If you could send a note back to yourself when you began working on your skillset, what would you say?

Don’t worry too much, you’re going to make mistakes and want to redo pages but you just gotta learn and move on so that you can keep going and improving.

What message do you hope readers take away from your work?

Life is tough but you’re not alone. Learn to enjoy the simple things like the company of your friends and loved ones. And it’s okay if you mess up, just learn from your mistakes and strive to do better.

What keeps you devoted to telling the story you’re telling?

The readers, the fans, my love for the characters, and…. I really want to get to the end of this story and make everyone cry XD

Thanks for being spooky and awesome, Bree! We love your stuff!