First Impressions
A Batman crossword featured early in this US artist’s career…
Where did you grow up and how has this influenced your art?
My family moved around a lot, so my influences come from mostly observing people and their everyday lives. I arrived in the US as a refugee fleeing Vietnam by boat in the early 80s. I grew up in Columbus, Georgia until I was about 12, when I moved to southern California.
Coming from a rural southern area like Georgia to the heavily populated, more diverse part of California enabled me to observe a range of people and different lifestyles. This comes in handy when developing characters, behaviour and so on.
What, outside of art, has most influenced your artwork?
I’d say music, cinema and design. The works of Wong Kar-wai: the direction, pacing, storytelling, his characters, their subtle gestures and how they interact… all that. Before comics, I was a 3D mechanical designer, so my love of machinery and their uses follow me to this day.
Does one person stand out as being helpful during your early years?
The year I broke into comics was the year I learned the most, and mostly it was that I didn’t know the basics. I got to meet and work alongside Jerry Bingham (Batman: Son Of The Demon artist) at Stan Lee Media where I watched him paint in acrylics and learned a lot about style versus flaws, storytelling and just how to approach a painting. His advice to this day has kept me on the right path to being an artist and being able to make a living from it.
What was your first paid commission, and does it stand as a representation of your talent?
This was a Batman crossword puzzle art page for DC Comics! It was for a children’s magazine promoting milk, and I got to draw Batman, Robin and a bunch of other Gotham characters. I’m sure it represented the best I could do at the time ha ha, but being able to draw Batman as a first gig isn’t bad.
What’s the last piece you finished, and how do the two differ?
The most recent is a cover for my creator-owned comic book series with Jeff Lemire called Ascender. The two are different in almost every way: from materials, execution to the subject matter. One thing they both have in common is my love for them both, which is probably the most important part of any project.
What are your painting rituals?
I get the best results with headphones on, music blasting and late at night when the rest of the world is sleeping.
How is your art evolving?
Lately my projects have enabled me to be more reckless with my style, worrying less about making everything polished to perfection. Loose, energetic and full of nuances were things I’ve always admired in so many, but was never able to cut loose. I’m starting to relax more.
What does the future hold for you?
Hopefully the “one for me, one for them” plan for comics: continue to have my foot in both the mainstream comics world, but at the same time work on passion projects that drive my imagination while enabling me to keep moving forward and learning more. But definitely comics – it’s all I really want to do forever.
Dustin is a two-times Eisner Awardwinning US comic creator. You can explore his art at www.duss005.com.
I get the best results with headphones on, music blasting