Dash Shaw

Shaw credits his father as an inspiration, saying they made comics together before he could read. His father wrote the text and Dash did the illustrations.{{Cite news | author= Young, Robert| date=January–February 2007 |title=An Interview with Dash Shaw|url=https://zinewiki.com/wiki/An_Interview_with_Dash_Shaw |access-date=2024-09-15 |work=Punk Planet #77}} During high school, Shaw was the lead illustrator for the Richmond Times-Dispatch's teen section.{{Cite news | author= Curran, Colleen| date=2021-02-25 |title=Richmond husband-wife team's animated feature 'Cryptozoo' snapped up by Magnolia Pictures at Sundance |url=

https://richmond.com/entertainment/richmond-husband-wife-team-s-animated-feature-cryptozoo-snapped-up-by-magnolia-pictures-at-sundance/article_e79638cb-1615-535f-93ae-4a4cbcf1fe47.html |access-date=2024-09-15 |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch}} After they discontinued that section of the newspaper, Shaw started self-publishing mini-comics. He printed the first issue of Love Eats Brains! during his freshman year of college.{{Cite news |date=2003-06-23 |title=Big Things: Dash Shaw |url=https://ninthart.org/display.php?article=596 |access-date=2024-09-15 |work=Ninth Art |language=en-GB}} Shaw studied at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan,Judith Salavetz and Spencer Drate. Creating Comics!, 2010, Rockport Publishers, pages 128-130 graduating with a BFA in Illustration in 2005.[http://www.sva.edu/events/events-exhibitions/my-entire-high-school-sinking-into-the-sea-screening-with-director-dash-shaw "'My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea'" Screening with Director Dash Shaw,"] SVA Calendar of Events for Thursday, March 16, 2017. Accessed Dec. 2, 2019.

Throughout college and since, Shaw has published sequential art short stories in a variety of publications in the United States and abroad, plus numerous magazine illustrations.[https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/shaw_dash.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia]

Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button was published by Fantagraphics in June 2008.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/fantagraphics/sets/72157604678460262 Bottomless Belly Button] at Fantagraphics His BodyWorld webcomic was bought by Pantheon Books and published in a single printed volume in April 2010.[http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6588704.html?nid=2789 Dash Shaw, Pantheon Ink Deal], Publishers Weekly, August 19, 2008

Bottomless, an exhibition of Shaw's original drawings, storyboards, color background overlays and a new video animation, was on display at Duke University's John Hope Franklin Center from September 25 through October 31, 2008.{{cite press release|title=Graphic novelist Dash Shaw to exhibit Bottomless at the Franklin Center Gallery on the Duke campus|first=Rob|last=Sikorski|publisher=Duke University Center for International Studies|date=2008-08-22}}

In the years following Bottomless Belly Button, Shaw published numerous short stories in comics form, and serialized the science-fiction story BodyWorld on dashshaw.com. It received an Eisner Award nomination for Best Digital Comic in 2009.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/2009-eisner-award-nominees-announced/|publisher=CBR.com|language=en-US| title=2009 Eisner Award Nominees Announced | date=7 April 2009 }}

Late 2009 saw the release by Fantagraphics of The Unclothed Man In the 35th Century A.D., a collection of short stories that Shaw had previously published in MOME,{{cite web |url= http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/an-interview-with-dash-shaw/|title= The clothed cartoonist in the 21st century: An interview with Dash Shaw|author= Chris Mautner|date= November 27, 2009|publisher=CBR.com|access-date=2009-11-28|archive-date=November 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129014801/http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/an-interview-with-dash-shaw/}} along with several pages of storyboards and other ephemera from his animated shorts for IFC.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/ifc-com-announces-animated-web-series-based-on-new-dash-shaw-graphic-novel/|title=IFC.com Announces Animated Web Series Based on new Dash Shaw Graphic Novel|publisher=CBR.com|language=en-US|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317160309/https://www.cbr.com/ifc-com-announces-animated-web-series-based-on-new-dash-shaw-graphic-novel/}}

In 2010, Pantheon Books released the collected chapters of BodyWorld in the form of a graphic novel,

In 2013, releases from Shaw included the zine-style mini-comic New Jobs (Uncivilized Books), the comic-book length shorts collection 3 New Stories (Fantagraphics), and Shaw's next graphic novel, New School (Fantagraphics). New School takes place on an island preparing for an influx of English-speaking tourists upon the completion of a massive theme park depicting periods throughout history. It follows two brothers, one who has taken a job teaching English to island locals and another who has come to retrieve his sibling. In the course of the book, both brothers experience alienation from their surroundings and conflicts with the locals. NPR called New School "striking and enigmatic," while Publishers Weekly described the book as "an unusual combination of bildungsroman, travelogue, and intellectual thriller."{{Cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2013/07/04/195178394/a-tale-of-the-estranged-and-the-just-plain-strange-in-new-school | title=A Tale of the Estranged and the Just Plain Strange in 'New School' | website=NPR | date=4 July 2013 | last1=Weldon | first1=Glen }}{{Cite web | url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-60699-644-7 | title=Comics Book Review: New School by Dash Shaw | date=July 2013 }}

Shaw produced the three-part miniseries Clue: Candlestick for IDW comics in 2019.

Shaw employs a combination of hand drawing, animation techniques and Photoshop to produce his artwork. Shaw started working on acetate sheets while studying at the School of Visual Arts. Pointing to pre-Photoshop comics that were colored via clear celluloid containing the black line art, under which would be placed a board with the painted colors, Shaw explains that he took this process and combined it with animation-style use of celluloid, where the backs of the acetate are painted with gouache and laid over a painted background, in addition to color separations where black line art is used to mark the different colors. In addition to using hand-drawing media such as crow quill pens, colored pencils, and markers, Shaw incorporates collage, Photoshop, and painting directly over photocopies, though he does not work with a separate line art layer, preferring to treat black as simply another color, and not a separate or more important element. On BodyWorld, for example, Shaw did the color separations by hand, used the paint bucket tool in Photoshop to color the shapes, and then printed it out and painted over the photocopy, before scanning it again and making final adjustments in Photoshop to achieve the final art.

Shaw explains that his key motive is combining what he likes about hand drawing with the processes available in Photoshop. He has stated that he does not own a drawing tablet, and that his actual knowledge of Photoshop is limited, compared to most mainstream colorists who rely on it exclusively, explaining, "that coloring leaves me cold."

His animation influences include Winsor McCay, Osamu Tezuka (in particular his work on Astroboy), and other 60s anime shows like Speed Racer,[https://theplaylist.net/dash-shaw-cryptozoo-interview-sundance-20210204/ Dash Shaw Talks 'Cryptozoo,' Animation influences and Dream Politics (Sundance Interview) - The Playlist] the 1973 cult films Belladonna of Sadness and Fantastic Planet, limited animation (including A Charlie Brown Christmas),[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4505-out-of-this-world-dash-shaw-on-fantastic-planet Out of This World: Dash Shaw on Fantastic Planet|Current|The Criterion Collection][https://archive.kpcc.org/programs/the-frame/2017/04/12/56144/dash-shaw-s-animated-feature-is-a-mash-up-of-art-f/ The Frame|Audio: Dash Shaw's animated feature is a mash-up of art film and disaster flick|89.3 KPCC] Ralph Bakshi[https://www.artforum.com/print/201503/dash-shaw-50265 Artfourm International] and Suzan Pitt.[https://filmmakermagazine.com/112146-spreadsheets-are-the-best-things-in-the-world-dash-shaw-and-jane-samborski-on-animatingcryptozoo/#.YjNj7eHMK70 "Spreadsheets Are the Best Things in the World": Dash Shaw and Jane Samborski on Animating Cryptozoo|Filmmaker Magazine]

Shaw's first animated feature film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea[https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/animator-dash-shaw-on-expanding-how-you-do-what-you-do/ Cartoonist and animator Dash Shaw on expanding how you do what you do — The Creative Independent] had its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2016 and was also shown at the New York Film Festival (NYFF). It features the voices of Jason Schwartzman, Lena Dunham, Reggie Watts, Maya Rudolph and Susan Sarandon.{{cite news |url= http://www.comicsbeat.com/dash-shaws-animated-film-about-high-school-to-be-shown-at-two-acclaimed-film-festivals/|title= Dash Shaw's animated film about high school to be shown at two acclaimed film festivals|author= Heidi Macdonald|date= August 9, 2016|newspaper=The Beat |access-date=2016-08-12}}

He was also responsible for the "comic book" scenes in John Cameron Mitchell's 2010 film Rabbit Hole and the animated dream sequence on an episode of the controversial Netflix series 13 Reasons Why alongside Jane Samborski.[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/13-reasons-why-season-2-animated-scene-episode-7-dream-sequence/ 13 Reasons Why season 2: we need to talk about episode 7's unique opening scene - Radio Times][https://variety.com/2011/film/awards/artist-helps-fill-the-hole-in-rabbit-1118032314/#! Artist helps fill the hole in 'Rabbit' - Variety]

{{see also|Cryptozoo}}

His next feature Cryptozoo, about 1960s San Francisco zookeepers trying to capture a mysterious creature,[https://i-d.co/article/10-exciting-arthouse-movies-coming-in-2021/ 10 exciting arthouse movies coming in 2021 - i-D] was released in early 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Innovator Award.[https://www.indiewire.com/2021/07/cryptozoo-trailer-dash-shaw-1234650476/ Cryptozoo Trailer: Dash Shaw's Animated Sundance Winner for Adults|IndieWire] It was also nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the 37th Independent Spirit Awards.[https://mubi.com/films/cryptozoo Cryptozoo (2021)|MUBI]{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/indie-spirit-awards-2022-nominations-full-list-1235132931/ |title=Indie Spirit Awards 2022: Full List of Nominations |first1=Brent |first2=Jazz |last1=Long |last2=Tangcay |work=Variety |date=December 14, 2021 |access-date=December 14, 2021}}

• Bottomless Belly Button (Fantagraphics, 2008)
• BodyWorld (Pantheon Books, 2009)
• New School (Fantagraphics, 2013)
• Doctors (Fantagraphics, 2014)
• Cosplayers (Fantagraphics, 2016)
• Clue: Candlestick (IDW Comics, 2019)
• Discipline (New York Review Comics, 2021)
• Blurry (New York Review Comics, 2024)

• GardenHead (Meathaus, 2002)
• Love Eats Brains! A Zombie Romance (Odd God Press, 2004)
• GoddessHead (Hidden Agenda Press, 2005)
• The Mother's Mouth (Alternative Comics, 2006)
• Virginia (Ça et Là, 2009)
• The Unclothed Man In the 35th Century A.D. (Fantagraphics, 2009)
• "Dr. Strange vs. Nightmare" story in Strange Tales #1 (Marvel, 2009)
• Spider-man story in Strange Tales II #1 (Marvel, 2010)
• New Jobs (Uncivilized Books, 2013)
• 3 New Stories (Fantagraphics, 2013)
• A Cosplayers Christmas (Fantagraphics, 2016)
• Structures 57-66 (Uncivilized Books, 2019)
• Courier (Bomb Magazine, 2024)

• Go-Bots #1 Cover C (IDW Comics, 2018)
• Go-Bots #2 Cover B (IDW Comics, 2018)
• Go-Bots #3 Cover B (IDW Comics, 2018)

• The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. (IFC.com animated series, 2009)
• Blind Date 4 (2011)
• Wheel of Fortune (2012)
• Seraph (Sigur Rós music video, cowritten with John Cameron Mitchell, 2012)

• My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea (2016)
• Cryptozoo (2021)

• Ant Dodger (poems by Bill Knott; self-published, 2024)
• Windy but Nice (poems by Tomaz Salamun; co-published with Black Ocean, 2022)
• The Seasons (poems by Michael Robins; co-published with Robbins, 2021)
• My Beautiful Despair: The Philosophy of Kim Kierkegaardashian (Gallery Books, 2018)

• Arthouse animation
• Art horror
• Alternative comics
• Independent animation

{{Reflist}}

• New Realities: The Comics of Dash Shaw, by Greg Hunter (Critical Cartoons, 2023)

• {{official website|http://www.dashshaw.net}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILJoDp8tKRA Dash Shaw interview about his Sundance winner Cryptozoo]
• [https://deadline.com/2018/09/uta-signs-comic-writer-and-animator-dash-shaw-my-entire-high-school-sinking-into-the-sea-creator-1202458792/ Deadline article about Shaw signing with UTA]

{{Dash Shaw}}

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Category:People from Hollywood, Los Angeles

Category:School of Visual Arts alumni

Category:Alternative cartoonists

Category:Living people

Category:Sundance Film Festival award winners

Category:American collage artists

Category:American animators

Category:Collage filmmakers

Category:1983 births