SFist Interviews Scott Campbell

How long have you been doing art? How has it evolved over the years?
I suppose i've been an artist since i was a small child drawing fighting potatoe dudes. I used to have drawing contests with my brother and the neighbor kid. We used to draw comics a lot and adventures. I went to school to do comics and children's books. I ended up designing for video games and doing comics on the side. I used to want to be an amazing draftsmen in school, painting super realistic figures. I still like that, but i think i like to draw stuff that makes me laugh way more. And makes others laugh. I like drawing funny little scenes and situations for characters to get into. I still draw many of the things i drew as a kid because i like happy good feelings stuff. I also really enjoy kid's drawings because they love them so much. They love telling little stories with their drawings. That influences me, finding that same excitement in my stuff.

Tell us about your influences/inspiration.
I have many comic artists, whose work i enjoy. It's always changing and growing as i an introduced to more people's work. It's very exciting. I get addicted to looking at art blogs and links to more blogs. Right now i am really into this poster designer Tyler Stout and this other comic artist Tom Gauld. We were in a book together called "beasts" from fantagraphics and theirs were my favorite. I also really enjoy animated things. I really like "purple and brown" on nickelodeon and Pokoyo. I also watch many movies. And i buy books with pictures in them. Whenever i enter a book shop. I cant not. It's my one addiction that might be bad because i rarely look at them a heck of a lot after i buy them. They just stack up. Oh, recently though, i've bought some old magazines and books with fifties style drawings and animations in them. I've got this cookbook from better homes and gardens from the fifties that has bitchin little drawings in it.

If you could be any famous artist from the past, who would it be?
Jim flora. I'll bet he had an awesome time drawing with all those jazz dudes.

Do you have any ideas/projects/goals you hope to pursue in the near future?
I want to put some books out. Some comic novels and children's books. Also i want to make movies some day.

Tell us about Hickee and Double Fine.
We've been doing hickee for about 6 years. Friends of mine from when i was at lucas. We started putting them out to make each other laugh and just kept doing it. It gives us a good reason to hang out and go on trips together. Those are the funniest guys ever... Raz, graham, joe, and bagel. Hickee is a collection of our comics that we put out once a year with Alternative Comics. They are funny. We're also doing a show in Montreal together. Travelling with those dudes are the best.

Double Fine, i have been with for about 6 years. Since the beginning. I joined Tim Schafer, the head dude, when he left lucas arts. We spent about 4 1/2 years on a game called Psychonauts, which got a lot of really great acclaim from the game critics, as i hear. It is a crazy game about a psychic kid adventuring through the minds of insane people. It had this strange cartoony stylized look, that is hard to describe. But i dig it. I was in charge of the look, so i am pretty biased i suppose.

Name
Scott campbell

Introduce yourself in one sentence
Hi, i'm scott and i am a super clever dude.

Age and Occupation
33. art director for Double Fine Productions (video games)

Home Town
San Jose

How long have you lived in the Bay Area and Where (city, neighborhood etc.) and WHY?
I moved to san francisco in 1992 to go to art school and have lived here ever since. I guess that is 15 years. I've lived in the inner richmond and upper haight, eureka valley, and now in the polk gulch area, as it is officially called on documents.

Favorite place to spend time online (website/blog/RSS feeds)
Blogger, theonion, fecalface, youtube, channel101, and doublefine.

Favorite local business
Little otsu on valencia

What I'm currently Reading
The golden compass by philip pullman

Best Deal in San Francisco
Musee Mecanique. Awesome museum with old carnival machines and arcade games. Used to be at the cliff house and was free. I think it's in fishermen's wharf now and still it is free... Maybe. It is really the best place ever.

Favorite mode of transportation
Walking.

Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area
Nate denver's neck

Favorite Bay Area Stereotype, and whether or not you buy into it
Chilled out. Yes, i buy into it.

Favorite local hangout
Revolution cafe. But man, that place is getting super crowded these days. Maybe i will look for a new place.

SF has the BEST
Hills.

You've never lived in SF until
You've been in a car chase up and down the streets of san francisco. I still havent lived this.

Favorite Bay area politician of past or present
I'm not a huge follower of politics. I'm sorry.

Now that Mayor Gavin is single, who are you going to set him up with?
Robin williams. He's hilarious.

You can tell someone is a local here IF
They walk fast and dont look around as much. And have a backpack or
suitcase.

SF would be soooo much better if only
It was sunny much more often.

Best Burrito
Serrano's pizza (haha. Get it? I just wanted to plug serrano's pizza, which is the best.)

Best Restaurant
Oh, i guess i could plug it here, but it's not really a sit down place. But it's not a burrito either.

Best movie scene filmed in or about SF
Opening scene of the birds when the girl is walking through union
square. It's like 5 seconds.

Favorite artist to come out of the bay area
i'm not so good at favorites. I like kim cogan's paintings very much. And jason jaegel. And steve weisman's comics.

Favorite author to come out of the bay area
i wish ray bradbury was from here because he is my favorite ever. I will say dave egger's though because i've liked that dude since he did the smarter feller comic in the sf weekly.

Place you always tell visitors to check out
Golden gate park

Favorite Bridge in the area
Golden gate

I have found/sold/bought the following on craigslist
Found a parking garage space. Haven't sold anything.

I want all the SFists out there to know
My place is a little messy right now, but after these shows, i am totally going to clean it up like crazy.

Tell us a San Francisco Story
The lady at presidio and fulton. About 7 or 8 years ago we started seeing a lady standing at 14th st and fulton in the inner richmond. All the time. Just standing there looking down 14th st. Every time i went by there in the trees, she'd be standing there wearing her same clothes. Whether i went by there at 10 in the morning or 11 at night, she'd be standing there. Always. For about 4 years. And then one day i started not seeing her anymore. She might have been homeless, but i couldnt tell. I never tried talking to her. I heard others had tried and failed.

Question you'd ask if you were doing this interview
Do you like swimming? Answer: Sure, let's go!