Interview with Artist and Illustrator Scott. C

IMAGE OF SCOTT IN STUDIO

Scott C. is a Los Angeles-based artist and illustrator best known for his long-running series The Great Showdowns, as well as his work in video games, animation, and children’s books. His playful, character-driven style has appeared in gallery shows around the world and continues to resonate with fans of all ages.

In this exclusive interview, he reflects on his creative journey and gives a preview of his upcoming exhibition Big Show: A Retrospective opening on June 7, 2025 at Spoke Art in New York City!

Learn more about the exhibition here and check out the artist’s website here.

1. Were there any particular artists, comics, films, or books that inspired you early on?

One of the biggest influences on my work were the happily busy illustrations of Richard Scarry, but also the not-so-happily busy paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. I enjoyed big scenes with lots of little moments that I could lose myself in. I also enjoyed that final party in the tree spread in Go Dog Go! I was very into X-Men comics and Frank Frazetta and wanted to draw and paint like that, but eventually became inspired by the comics of Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware and painters like Paul Klee switching gears a bit. Star Wars catapulted me into the love of movies and all kinds of adventure at a young age.

2. Can you tell us about the moment or experience that first inspired you to pursue art and illustration?

I’ve been into drawing and painting since before I could remember anything. My Mother was very creative and cultivated a world in which I could flourish in art. I always attributed my seriousness about art as a career to a big trophy I won for an Easter bunny coloring contest at the local mall when I was six years old. 

3. How did your background in game design and animation inform your approach to storytelling in illustration?

Before working in concept design for games, I had little interest in backgrounds and color. I had put all of my energies into perfecting the human form and expected to pencil for X-Men comics, so it came as a surprise to me that I found myself designing Star Wars game backgrounds for my first job at Lucas Learning. It wasn’t until I joined Tim Schafer at Double Fine Productions as art director for his new game Psychonauts that I fell in love with the backstories that could be told with backgrounds and every aspect of experiencing a scene. 

4. Do you keep a sketchbook or daily practice routine to stay creative? What does a day in your life look like?

I used to keep many sketchbooks and take them wherever I went, but somewhere in the past 10 or 15 years, I drifted from that, partly out of laziness and partly because I found the pressure of keeping sketchbooks limiting as far as my creativity process was concerned. Now I draw on stacks of smooth copy paper every morning at the local coffee shop because they are disposable. I doodle ideas and thoughts all over them when I need to brainstorm things.  I rarely just relax and sketch for fun these days.  Some day I will get back into that again. My golden time to riff on ideas is the early morning after I drop off the kids, read my book for a bit and have a coffee. Things flow well in the morning for me.

5. How do you go about developing your characters and what does your process look like from idea to finished piece?

Character design process depends on what the job is, but most of the time I start by gathering reference before I draw anything.  I am addicted to gathering reference because I think anything in there could inspire ideas and shapes.  I regularly collect images from artists I enjoy for inspiration. Anything, to help keep my mind fresh. I am also very into lists.  I list out thoughts about the character and objects and directions that I could take before I draw anything. Sometimes, I even write dialog to help me understand a character. You never know where a thread of ideas will lead you! I like to follow them as far as I can. I doodle on disposable sheets of paper because I don’t have to worry about anything being good. I scan all these doodles and organize them in photoshop, adding shading where needed to get the points across.  I number and label the images and add notes and thoughts when submitting to places like Double Fine when I am presenting ideas. I am not precious with the drawings though and I rarely make them too tight.  They are almost gestural to tell the story. I like to have many variations to compare rather than just a few finished designs. Later, we can decide which designs could be brought to a more finished state.

6. Your body of work spans books, gallery shows, games, and animation — how do you decide where a new idea belongs?

Well, most of the books and game stuff are designed specifically for those projects.  I may reuse gags across the disciplines, but they usually present themselves in ways that help me place them. Gallery Shows usually have themes that I could riff on, much like games and books. When I am working on a project, that is usually my focus with my ideas. Gags might come to me at various times during the day, so I will just jot them down and check them out later.  Sometimes I even write down jokes.  Maybe I will do some stand up with those someday.  I should mention that I have taken many improv classes years in San Francisco, New York, and LA and those have really helped me loosen up and generate ideas and “find the game” in stories. Works great for books like Cabin Head and Tree Head.

7. Looking back, are there specific projects or periods in your career that felt like turning points or creative leaps?

Well, Psychonauts and Double Fine’s second game, the heavy metal epic Brutal Legend were huge leaps in inspiration, technique, and idea generation for me. I had a variety of art shows during that time with perhaps my biggest inspiration for a show the HOME SLICE exhibition at Gallery Nucleus in 2009 where I painted numerous cutaway houses with various residents enjoying themselves inside. I was also attending 8-10 comic book conventions a year during that time, bringing my mini comics to sell. I do not know how I found the time for all of those things. 

8. There is a distinct sense of joy, nostalgia, and gentleness across your work. What draws you to these themes?

Just after college, I struggled with creativity and finding the reasons why I should make art. I had lost the joy or it. I found myself most inspired by children’s creative process. I wanted to loosen up and enjoy the process much like I had when I was a child. I found that I enjoyed painting busy scenes with lots of characters and many little gags that people could discover and enjoy. I loved living in these worlds much like I enjoyed living in those Richard Scarry worlds. I think that joy may come forth in my work because of that.  I was fortunate to not have any tormented personal stories to tell and realized that what I could give to the world was joy and discovery. My dream is to create joyful worlds like those of Jim Henson, one of my greatest idols.

9. Much of your work seems to take place in beautifully imagined worlds — do you see yourself as a storyteller as much as an artist?

I would love to think of myself as a storyteller!  I am looking forward to the opportunity to spend time exploring the world of the Heads in my upcoming Cabin Head and Tree Head graphic novel series. I hope to encourage viewers to create their own stories about what might be happening in these worlds. 

10. Do any of your characters or series feel especially personal or reflective of your own life experiences?

Any opportunity I could give myself to paint scenes of people swimming and dancing and BBQing on warm summer days will be my favorite moments to depict. Such paintings as Hedgehog Waterpark, Dinosaur Beach, or Axo Roller Party are places I would like to spend all my time.

11. How does it feel to look back over your career and see your work collected in a single show?

I remember what was going on in my life when I painted every one of these pieces, so in a way, it is a timeline of my life. I remember what movies and podcasts and books I was listening to when I painted each of these works.  It feels good though!  I am reminded that I have accomplished some things when I see all of this together.

12. What do you hope people feel or take away when they see your work in any context?

I hope that people can lose themselves in these paintings and discover new things the closer they investigate.  I want them to laugh and enjoy themselves and just feel good!  They can feel nostalgic for some of the pop culture inspired moments and comfort and joy from the creature party gatherings! I hope they create their own stories and interpretations!

13. Are there directions or mediums you are excited to explore that you have not yet?

I’ve always wanted to work with collage, but mostly I would like to get some of these images moving in some way.  I would love to create little movies and cartoons when time permits or anyone wants to help me with that.

14. What continues to inspire you today — either visually, culturally or personally?

My friends, family, and my kids are huge inspirations for me.  The kids are three and four years old and are nonstop fun to watch and listen to. I take LOTS of notes. I watch plenty of TV and movies and find inspiration from those. I am also quite fortunate to work out of a studio here in Los Angles with incredibly inspiring studio buddies! It is a lively place with incredibly talented and delightful friends who make cartoons, movies, games, documentaries, VR and visual effects experiences! It is truly a wonderful place to be. I love all of them very much.

15. Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you are especially excited about and can hint at?

I am very excited for the first book in the children’s Cabin Head and Tree Head graphic novel series from Tundra to be released this September 2025 with the next book coming in 2026. I have also been working with Double Fine on Tim’s new game, so I am happy to see where that goes!  I am deep in the production on Cabin Head and Tree Head book two, so hopefully I will have more time for projects after that.  And of course, I will always be making new Great Showdown paintings!