You may have never heard the name Scott Campbell. But if you’ve played Double Fine’s Psychonauts or been paying any attention to the still-in-development Brutal Legend, you know what he’s done. Scott Campbell is the art director over there at Double Fine, in addition to being a graphic artist and comic book writer/artist. His work has been published in Hickee and Flight. In addition, Mr. C. is the man behind the alternate DVD cover for the Documentary King of Kong. Scott was nice enough to answer some questions for me about… things.

MG: Thanks for doing the interview! I hope the questions don’t put you to sleep. And if they do you can always just punch them instead of answering them. Always a good alternative.

SC: Man, that’s an awesome reaction. Punching them. I’ll probably just hug them though.

MG: What got you into doing what you do now? Or have you always wanted to be an art director for a video game studio/comic book writer/artist?

SC: Well, I went to art school to study children’s book and comic illustration. I never planned on getting into games, but after school you sometimes end up where you end up.. and I ended up at Lucas painting backgrounds for Star Wars kids games at a company called Lucas Learning. Because that was such a small company, I was able to do a lot of stuff, like concept, paint and everything across the board. So I started Art Leading projects there and met Tim Schafer at that time. When he left Lucas to start Double Fine, I came on to help as Art Director. And that is that awesome story. Alongside all of this I like to keep busy with extra curricular things.. to keep well rounded and exposed to all types of mediums. Hickee Comics is something we started back at Lucas and that has held us together and involved with the comics scene ever since. I used to be part of an art collective that threw shows in San Francisco, but painting for galleries only started full force a few years ago. But I enjoy it very much. So yeah, I didn’t totally expect this path, but I have super enjoyed this awesome path.

MG: What comic book writers and books do you enjoy reading, indie or otherwise?

SC: I used to collect comics as a kid so I have grown up with John Byrne, Mark Silvestri, Jim Lee, and Neal Adams and those guys that did X-men. But now I’ve gotten more of the indie sorts of books by Grahm Annable, Souther Salazar, Chris Ware, James Kochalka, Sam Henderson, Jeffery Brown, Jaime Hernandez, and all those dudes. And I do very much love Mike Mignola. Oh, and I love French artists like Lewis Trondhiem. And just recently, I’ve gotten super excited about Geegar.

MG: Three favorite books? Movies? Musicians?

SC: Oh, man. these sorts of questions are hard. I am glad you gave me three. Books: Martian Chronicles, Harry Potter, Shogun. Movies: Fistful of dollars, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars. Musicians: Daftpunk, Bjork, David Bowie.

MG: What project that you’ve been involved with have you been the most proud of?

SC: Psychonauts was the most work I’ve put into anything and the project that I have been most excited to speak of. It was the first big project that I completely cared about in it’s entirety. Tim and the whole double fine team is so talented and fun to work with. Together we have been enjoying the warm reception of that little dude. Psychonauts. Or maybe it is a female game. I don’t know. bad for me to assume.

MG: How is development of Brutal Legend coming along? Is it being you guys’ second project together making things more difficult or less so?

SC: More difficult in some ways because it is a next generation title and we have to relearn all these new techniques for making it look and work smash hittingly. But easier in other ways because our team is so solid and work together so nicely. We went through some rocky roads and intense times with Psychonauts and we have definitely learned from that. and most everyone is still together so I think that is a good testament to how things are going. P.S. the game looks beautiful. I freak out every day.

MG: Your art is often nauseatingly cute. (in a good way!) Is this a style you’ve always preferred to draw, or did you grow into it later?

SC: I actually went to school to learn how to be a solid draftsman. I wanted to draw and paint ultra realistic. But as I neared the end of my tenure at school, I realized that I enjoyed painting and drawing things that made people laugh and enjoy themselves and get happy at shows. I like to see people spend a lot of time into front of my stuff and point at it and get excited. That for me is more enjoyable to see than a finger to the chin and a furrowed yet impressed brow. But also, I will say that perhaps my art compliments what I do at work. Brütal Legend is intense! Thus my outside paintings are quite adorable. So I can hug them.

MG: If you could choose the subject of Double Fine’s next game, what would it be?

SC: Oh, that is totally top secret.

MG: Is the Nucleus Gallery ever going to do another run on those ninja shirts you designed? Those sold out ridiculously fast. I hope you’re raking in tons of cash from that one.

SC: Thanks, for noticing. They actually just put up new versions! They are red like blood. You should get one! And then I will rake whatever cash is there on the ground.

MG: This is kind of a standard interview question and for that I apologize, but what’s on the horizon for you? What new projects are you working on and what’s coming up that you’re excited about?

SC: Brütal Legend of course and future Double Fine projects. And book publishing.. graphic novels and children’s books. Some projects are on the horizon, but I can’t discuss them just yet. I love top secret things.

MG: Lastly, and obviously most importantly, what is your favorite type of sandwich? LEAST favorite type of sandwich?

SC: Best: club. Worst: dirt sandwich.

MG: Thanks for your time, Scott! Greatest of luck with your comics, art directing, and sandwiching.

SC: Ok, thanks! see you!

Check out Scott’s blog
Buy Scott C. art prints at the Nucleus Gallery
Scott’s comic at Double Fine
Scott’s Myspace