Meet Tyree Dillihay—director on “Bob’s Burgers” and creator of the popular web comic “SN’EADS.”
How did you get your start in the animation industry?
While finishing up my undergrad in English at CSUN, I took animation electives and produced a student film called “HIPHOPOLIS” that was distributed that summer online on Atomfilms.com. Meanwhile, I was studying for the LSAT exam to go to grad school to become a lawyer. A month after I graduated from CSUN, I got a call from Walt Disney Television saying they saw my cartoon on Atomfilms and had an animated project in development with Family Matters star, Jaleel White, that could use my style. I chose animation. The rest is history.
What’s the best thing about being a director on “Bob’s Burgers?”
The best part is being able to make the characters come to life.
What’s the most challenging thing about your job as an animation director?
Making lateral adjustments instead of forward improvements.
How do you juggle a full-time job as a director, create new comics for “SN’EADS,” do freelance side gigs, and keep up with your Instagram feed and respond to tweets?
Ummmm… A.D.D.?
LOL. Seriously, doing ART is like BREATHING to me. I’m not one of those artist who works and then turns off the art button when I get home. ART is LIFE to me. So, my hand hurts a lot because I’m always sketching or doing something art related.
Where (or from whom) do you find your artistic inspiration?
Just from living and being VERY observant. There are moments to be reflected to art all the time. You just have to be keen enough to catch them. It’s like being a photographer…but without a camera. All I need is my memory and a pen.
If you could go back in time to when you were a young budding artist, is there anything you would want to do differently at the start of your career?
I would have learned how to animate sooner and I would have learned how to paint with paint brushes sooner. Anything I’d do differently would just be to do it sooner.
Who would you invite to be a guest voice on “Bob’s Burgers” if you had the choice, and what would their character be?
Dave Chappelle. I have no idea who his character would be but something/somebody to give it a different energy.
You are a man of many talents. What is one skill or talent you don’t possess but wish you did—and why?
I wish I could play piano or guitar. In my opinion, music is the strongest of all the arts because song is more interactive and can travel further than visual art can. I love music. A LOT… Almost as much as I love painting and drawing.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for a pair of sneakers?
Spend way too much money and/or camp out for them LOL. Those days are long gone though. I still spend money on shoes but the wealth is spread a lot more.
Thanks for talking with us, Tyree!
Check out Tyree’s blog here.
Follow Tyree on Twitter and Instagram: @sneadsbyree
Photos by: Joel Kuwahara
Post by: BentoBoxEnt