ECCC 2019: Sean Dillon Talks Sweetie, Part 2
by Tito W. James
As a fallow up to our initial conversation about Sweetie, Sean Dillon discusses his sources of inspiration.
Tito W. James: You have a very unique art style. There’s this blend of cubism but with a sense of dynamism. It’s a comic that’s not so cute that it would turn off adult readers but not so graphic that it would be inappropriate for children.
Sean Dillon: That was really my goal was to create a comic where there’s action and fighting but could be read by a kid and shared with a parent or vice versa. My vision when creating this comic was to make something that could be enjoyed by all ages. There’s isn’t any graphic violence or coarse language.
Here’s where the book gets a little more meta, Maggie gets her love of comics from her father. Their relationship at the beginning of the story is a little shaky due to recent events but we get glimpses of Maggie as a kid and her dad enjoying these comics together.
TWJ: The comic does look like street art in motion. What are some of your artistic influences?
SD: I was late to the game getting into “Comics” comics. I was more into Scott Pilgrim, memoir, slice of life, and Japanese manga. I’m more heavily influenced by animation. I grew up in the 90s with the Batman Animated Series and all those American cartoons. I also really like Pop art. I like playing with fonts. The letters become a painting in and of themselves. I’m not the biggest city person but I do like looking at graffiti.
TWJ: What advice to you have to aspiring artists in regards to style?
SD: I think the biggest step for me was when I decided that whatever style I had at the time I would be ok with it. Even if is was just lanky characters with lines for eyes and no nose; I decided that I was going to work with this and tell a story with it. From there, artistically, it’s just experimenting with other people’s styles and then drawing from life. Any cartoon is based on people from real life.
I’d like to thank Sean Dillon for this extensive interview. Sweetie is available now from Action Lab Danger Zone.
