East Dragon, West Dragon: The Scott C. Interview!
Apr 11, 2012    posted by: Mark

Can you talk about your interest in dragons? What about their lore and mythology do you find most appealing and what have you appropriated for East Dragon, West Dragon?

I've been a huge fan of Dragons since first grade, partly because the mascot for my elementary school was the Dragon. But also I really like fantastical monsters like trolls and dragons.  I was a huge huge fan of dinosaurs and dragons were the next level of dinosaur, breathing fire and fighting dudes. They're the ultimate monster for my little mind.



How did you go about conceiving the other eight dragons? Were they based off any other ideas?  

I wanted each dragon to have certain interests and hobbies.  Those hobbies would determine their look and shape. They all got along splendidly with the citizens, so I felt that there should be something for every citizen to bond with.  Kids could hang with their favorite dragon.  If they liked cooking, they could hang with the cooking dragon, if they liked battling, they could hang with the warrior dragon, and so forth. 





Any advice for two people who are afraid to befriend each other because each suspect the other to actually be a fierce dragon?

We always fill in the unknown blanks about people in our own ways.   We really don't know too much about someone until we meet and spend some time with them.  Sometime shy people can come off as mean and cold, but most of the time they are good people ready for amazing friendships.

Can you talk about your experience working on East Dragon, West Dragon? How has this experience differed from your previous work on your children's book, Zombie in Love? 

Well, I actually started on this story prior to the Zombie book.  Simon & Schuster had Robin's story already and matched me up with it because I draw a lot of dragons and knights, so it was a good match.  We paused on it to do the Zombie In Love book and then came back to finish it up!  I worked with Namrata Tripathi and Sonia Chaghatzbanian on both books! These illustrations were way busier than Zombie In Love, so it took much longer, but there were so many gags I could sneak in.

Do you plan on working on any more children's books? Perhaps write and illustrate a children's book?

Yes!  I am working on more books now with Simon & Schuster! Some that I will be writing and illustrating!

Are there any others upcoming projects you can tell us about?

Well, aside from these two books that I don't think I can discuss yet, I am working with Double Fine on their new Adventure Game project!  Did you see that on Kickstarter?  It's going to be a real fun time!