This time Bored Panda reached out to Dylan with some new questions! First, we asked the artist if he has any upcoming series of works we should be looking forward to.
"That’s a great question because I have a lot of series ideas but nothing that has really come to fruition. A couple years back, I created a side comic series called 'Davey In Space' (@daveyinspace) where a storyline was born and explored using word prompts from Inktober and those like it. It grew quite popular and the plot kept people intrigued and wanting more. Unfortunately, life started getting busy and progress slowed down quite a bit. I’d love to get back into it though and continue the story without any help from outside word prompts. I have a general idea of where I want to go with it so now it’s just a matter of getting there!"
We also wanted to know if the artist had a comic he was proud of, and we thought it was only fair if he'd share his thoughts with us!
"My favorite funny comic is probably the one about the eyeballs catching on fire from putting a contact lens in that wasn’t quite done disinfecting. Everyone who wears contacts knows how painful this can be and it really did well with both those people who can relate and those that seemed to simply enjoy the absurdity of a fiery eyeball running around in agony, haha. But my more serious favorite comic has to be the black and white 10-panel sequence about my mom and her progression into illness and death. It still moves me and many others to this day, no matter how much I repost it."
Artists go through a few art phases trying to find the art style they could call their own, and the same goes for Dylan too.
"I always feel like I should try and do a super simple comic sometimes, like really strip things down to barely any detail at all just so I can get the idea out quickly and post as much as possible. Finding time to do really detailed comics can be tough so I have landed myself somewhere in the middle most times. As a kid, I used to draw in the style of Disney and Garfield all the time and it’s safe to say it’s those styles that really got me into drawing.
I do love superhero comic book style art a lot with all the dynamic poses, line work, panel placement, etc. so I’d love to be able to get more into that with a series or something. In fact, I have a comic I’ve been working on involving a certain 'food' character that experiments a bit with a 'superhero' style comic. I just have to finish it!"
Starting out with comics (or art in general) isn't easy, so we asked the artist if he had any tips to share.
"Oh man, just keep drawing. Do a comic every day and post it, no matter what. It could be discouraging at first to only see a handful of likes and comments but in time, with enough consistency and determination, you can really grow your comic into something people look forward to and, hopefully love and can relate to. Always try and pull ideas from your daily experiences…because, really, everything has been done in some form or another - but if you try and pull material from your own life, it can really help set you apart. And even if you don’t post to share and want to do it on your own for pure enjoyment, that is okay too! I’d just advise, no matter the path, stay true to doing it because you love it, not just for the likes or comments. Those will come as a result of your love for it."
For some people, art is not only a hobby, but something way more, and the artist certainly has his own goals he wants to accomplish when it comes to his comics.
"Up until now, my comics have primarily focused on silly puns, 'It’s National [ Fill in the blank ] Day!' comics, and, of course, the bringing to life of inanimate objects material. I hope to continue this, of course, but I’d also love to add a more concrete narrative to 'The Daily Dunc' brand, featuring, at times, a running storyline and reoccurring characters. I think that would be really fun and keep people interested in a plot line or specific arc. 'Davey In Space' does that actually, so like I said before, I really hope to get back into working on that comic. I know a lot of people who want me to as well!"
We also asked the artist if there was something that he would like for people to take away when looking at his work.
"The one thing that always gets me right in the chest is when I hear from someone out there that says a comic they read of mine really made their day. I’ve had lots of people say that my humor has helped make them smile or feel better in a particular situation; people who have said they can truly relate to some of the material I post - especially the more emotional stuff. (i.e. my mom comic). So I’d say if I wanted people to take anything away from my comics, it’s to just feel happy and good…even if it’s for a split moment."
Dylan has been making comics for quite sometime therefore we were wondering if he had a particular moment that had stood out to him over the years.
"There have been a few stand-out comments that have actually sparked a long-standing joke with my fans. It wasn’t even a good comment that did it! Someone said something along the lines of 'thus comic is s#!t' but they misspelled 'this'. So I kind of ran with that and poked fun right back and did this whole series of story images involving switching out the word “this” for “thus” with popular culture imagery. For example, 'Thus is Us' (Tv Show), 'Analyze Thus' (movie), etc. It became so popular that to this (sorry - THUS) day, I have people correcting me when I post something with the word 'this'. They change it to 'thus' as if that’s the correct word now, of course just carrying on the joke with me. It’s so funny to me how something negative was able to transform into something that made people laugh and continue to have fun with."
Lastly, we asked Dylan if making art helped him with something in his life, and here's what he told us, "So, to get kind of deep here, I actually have a rare genetic disease that I inherited from my mom, who died when we were teenagers. Hence the emotional mom 'comic' I mentioned before. So I live with the physical and emotional effects of the illness which can sometimes be discouraging but thanks to science and modern medicine, things are in a much better place and I believe I’m going to be just fine.
Like I mentioned before, I tend to transform negative things into more positive or beautiful moments that help not only me but others as well, I find. So whether it’s intentional or subconscious, making art has helped me to communicate certain anxieties, fears, past traumas, etc. by way of something visual or musical (I play guitar and write songs as well), and I think it’s been a great journey being able to share that part of myself with people. It’s truly amazing, too, when I hear from people that say my art resonates with them on a deeper level or makes them feel better."
