SP talked to Kate Schneider (Headland), who recently launched a Patreon campaign for a project called Cave of Seeds.
š£ļøCan you share anything about the format of this project? Is it Cave of Seeds a graphic novel, an illustrated story, something else?Ā
š±I hesitate to use the term āgraphic novelā because often there is this trick. Most graphic novels, the cover will be lushly painted, maybe multi-media, and the insideā¦ is pen and ink! Itās like, they know that is what you will reach for, but they donāt think it will be a letdown when you open it? But to be fair, I wasn't raised in the world of comics, I was raised with children's picture books. With childrenās books, 99% of the time what you see on the cover is what you will see in the book, and I like that. We all want and need to play and we want worlds of play to immerse ourselves in. Some of the wisest, most deeply imaginative books Iāve read are picture books, most of them geared toward children. So Iām calling this a picture book!Ā
I am making a book calledĀ Cave of Seeds. In it, we are 80,000 years into the future and in an ice age. All of humanity has gone extinct. It is a story about a seedling who wakes up in the snow between two caves. The good cave is full of seeds, and a bad cave is full of nuclear waste.Ā I was diagnosed last year with brain cancer and I can already see the parallels in my life. I think if I give it space, it will weave its way into the story on its own.
š£ļøOn the CoS Patreon you say āI will only be using materials that I either already have, can borrow, or thrift.ā Does that include drawing materials and paper?
š±If I already have it, yes. Otherwise I use free groups, recycling, trash, ask friends, or if I have to buy then Iāll thrift it.
Iām not being punishingly strict about it. If I need more twinkle lights and there are none in the thrift store, I will buy more twinkle lights. But it has been neat so far, restriction breeds creativity, etcā¦ Otherwise I wouldn't have thought about using a folded-up piece of foil for the interior chamber of the radioactive nuclear waste plant!
š£ļøWhoās that sculpted character? Will we see more of them in the book?
š±Yep! He is the main seedling in the story.Ā
š£ļøAre you working from a story outline, or will you determine the story as you keep working on it?
Probably the latter! I feel like I always work this way. But join myĀ PatreonĀ to follow behind the scenes.Ā Hee hee.
š£ļøYour IG posts suggest this story was originally planned as a stop-motion animation, whatās behind switching it to a book project? Do you think youāll still make an animation to go with it?
š±I had some creative momentum with building it and I wanted independence to follow that.Ā It might still become a movie depending on how things go!Ā
š£ļøYour work tends to include images and settings from the natural world, plants especially. Whatās the appeal of that for you?
š±I think Nature is God. Iām becoming increasingly spiritual.Ā
Join the Patreon: Patreon.com/kateschneider