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New Document SCOTT NEELY
Springfield’s Own & Professional Artist For Scooby-Doo & More Talks About Art, His Induction Into The SHS Arts Hall of Fame, And His New Drawing Videos.
By Jennifer Faith Stiefel

For years, I bet you have been enjoying Delaware County Magazine’s comic strip feature The Adventures of Alfie. The signature of artist S. Neely is neatly displayed on the artwork. Did you know that Scott, a Springfield High School graduate, is also a licensing artist for Scooby-Doo! Last November was the 10th anniversary of Scott drawing the curious canine. He has also worked on other licensed properties such as Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, Winnie the Pooh, Pokemon, Strawberry Shortcake, Shrek, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and many others. His client list includes Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, and Disney! He is currently doing art work for MegaMind, which is a new film from Dreamworks coming out this fall.
Since 2006 he has been the visual creator and production designer for the Hollywood Hal & Rhinestone Al live-action TV and stage show. It is a project that he co-created with Scott Innes (the voice of Shaggy, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo) and musician Jim Hogg. To learn more about Hollywood Hal & Rhinestone Al, visit www.halandal.com. Check out Scott’s website at www.scottneely.com to see more of his work, listen to his podcasts, read his blog, and watch videos of Scott in action drawing! The site is jam packed with great info! His online store is up and running as well and he sells original art, comics and other things he’s worked on.
Scott has also been the editor, head designer and writer for NMA Magazines, Inc., which includes Delaware County Magazine!

DCM: Do you have any steps that you take, or are there any rituals that you do, before starting to draw?

Scott Neely: I usually take a sheet of paper and draw ovals, circles, triangles and cones and try to do a line of them across the page while making sure that they all stay the exact same size. It's a good warm up to do. I can tell if the rhythm is there for the day and if it will be a productive day or a day of a lot of erasing. There are some days I can't hold a pencil right so I just pack it in and take the day off unless there is a deadline looming.

DCM: As with any career I’m sure there is one thing you might not love….when drawing Scooby-Doo, are there any scenes that you hate to draw?

Neely: The Mystery Machine with all five members of the gang in it. Zoinks! It's time consuming sometimes... and inking it is hard since you have to make sure all the lines are perfect and sharp, especially on the tires. Sometimes it's just a complicated image that has a lot going on in it and you have to design it well. I usually leave those to draw last.

DCM: Did you attend a formal art school?

Neely: I'm self-taught. I learned everything at Springfield High School from two years of mechanical drawing and two years of graphic design. That was all I needed really. Never got less than an A+ and I had a teacher, Mr. Robert Preston, who pushed me. I think watching movies and reading comics helped greatly in shaping my artistic eye towards design as well. I did go to a local community college in 2001 to learn the digital end of art by taking Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark classes.

DCM: Did either of your parents draw?

Neely: Nope. My grandfather (my father's father) had his own business and he was a machinist who had his own shop out in back of his house and made parts for machines his whole life. He'd do the work and deliver it and worked when he wanted. He was good at intricate work and math and I think I got a lot of his thought process through genetics. He also told great dirty jokes. My father also has a good mechanical mind. He can rip something apart and rebuild it without the instruction book.

DCM: Who has been the most supportive of your art?

Neely: Three people: Me, Myself and I. No one was really on my side when I set out to do it. It was like telling your parents that you wanted to be an actor or something. Once I made it, then everyone was on the Scott Neely Train... but there was like seven or eight years that I alienated everyone just chasing the dream. At a point it was like being in a rock band and you knew that you were going to hit it big. You just knew it, and I can't explain it anymore than that. I felt strong about it and just stuck it out and worked a part time job to sustain me. Most don't make it unless they are driven to then make a point of it. I wanted to prove people wrong and I did.

DCM: What teacher at Springfield pushed you to succeed?

Neely: Mr. Preston was mostly it. He was my graphic arts teacher in 11th and 12th grade. He didn’t push as much that you would notice it or be bothered by it. I think my own desire made me push as much as he gave. I would walk in and he’d hand me the new assignment and it’d be like “Well, this is what they’re working on and this is what you’re working on.” Now, I’d look over and it’d be the same thing as everybody else, but the inference that I got was that Yoda wanted me to lift four rocks with the Force when everyone else only had to lift two. I never got less than an A+. It got to a point in my mind where I couldn’t get less so I had to make it good.
      He also got me a job working in the graphics room during the summer before my senior year after I did great at “Celebration of the Arts”. I think winning several ribbons in competitions showed that I had the chops or work ethic so he asked me if I wanted to work there that summer. It sure beat washing dishes or some other lame job so I took it. I did all kinds of design work and printed stuff up for the local schools. There were like 3 or 4 students who worked there and we did stuff like letterheads, notepads, calendars, etc. Whatever forms or materials that the school needed to use during the year we made. They always get the students to produce that kind of work instead of sending it out to be done. It’s a true “in-house” department.

DCM: Was it Delaware Community College where you learned how to do the digital end of art?

Neely: I went to DCCC for one year back in late 2000 to about the end of 2001 to learn the digital end of art. Then in 2007 they gave me a ‘Rising Star’ award! Another kind of cool moment since I only went to college for a year and I got an award. I took Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Quark. Back then it was all about Quark and now it’s Adobe InDesign. I worked with a designer in New York City at that time and her name was Monicka Clio Sakki. I worked with her a lot and she kept after me to learn the digital end. She always kept saying, “I’m telling you, once you learn it, you’ll never go back.” She was right, so I have to credit her with that. We worked so much together that people thought we were dating as well. I do pretty much all my stuff digitally nowadays, as that’s what the industry requires in most cases. She also gave me the best piece of advice I ever got… but that’s another story.

DCM: Do you remember what your very first art project was in high school and do you still have it?

Neely: Amazingly, you ask this question… I still have the binder with all my graphic design work from 1988-1989. Never threw it out, though the heat and where it was kept, has hurt some pieces in it. I still have all my first place ribbons in mint condition from “Celebration of the Arts” from that time too. They were the first real awards I was ever given, or rather, earned. I guess they were special to me in a kind of subconscious way and I kept them safe. Now this was graphic design and not art per se, but my mother has saved a bunch of my old art from when I was little. I don’t remember much about the work I did in art class in high school since I kind of screwed around and didn’t take it too seriously, but I think I did okay there. I never saved any of it and comic or cartoon work back then was kind of put down by teachers in general as not being ‘real’ art.

DCM: When you first found out you were being inducted into Springfield High School’s Arts Hall of Fame, how did you react?

Neely: When I got the envelope, which I kept as well, I got it on February 27th. It sat in front of me as I worked on the computer and I didn’t touch it for hours. It sat there with some other junk mail and I thought maybe it was a donation envelope or something since my mother is part of the Springfield Historical Society, and I thought the school was hitting me up to donate! Ha! When I finally did open and read it I thought it was nice. It was a pretty big deal once I found out more details about it and how out of 75 years of the school being there, I was one out of 14 former students who were chosen to be inducted. There were 7 people who were faculty or teachers that were also chosen. So you had 75 years and thousands of students and only 21 people who I guess made something of their careers and then gave something back that made the final cut. So that alone made it a bigger deal. It was kind of like an ‘American Idol’ type of ratio. There was a lot of scrutinizing that also went on with each inductee and they had to be defended as to why they should be there from the people who had put forth their names. There were only two people who were inducted from the graphics section and I was one of them. So it was cool.

DCM: Before the ceremony, had you been back to the school since you graduated?

Neely: Quite a few times actually. I was a judge for about two years at “Celebration of the Arts” and then I also spoke numerous times for the students in the graphics section over the years. About every two years or so, I’d go in and do a talk. If Preston called and asked me to come in, I did it for him. Plus, I spoke at other schools, libraries, etc.

DCM: Have you ever taught your craft?

Neely: I have taught many classes of all ages in cartooning, drawing, or animation of some sort over the years. It was extra filler for my resume and it looks good to have it. I enjoyed doing it, but then I do get burned out on it and need to take a break from it for a couple years and recharge. I do a lot of speaking engagements for schools and libraries and that has been nice for promotional reasons as well as soup for the soul.

DCM: What was your very first paid artist position? And do you remember how you found the position?

Neely: This is hard to remember. I think it was around 1991. It couldn’t have been very important to me so I guess that’s why I don’t recall it as well. I did some drawings for an air-conditioning unit turned into a cartoon character. I think that was the start of initially trying to get work. I can’t remember that stuff as well, since I was looking towards the future. When it really started to happen in 1993 for me, that’s the stuff I remember like it was yesterday.

DCM: What would you tell our current art students within the Delaware County School Districts if you could reach out and give them advice?

Neely: Stick with it and if you want to do it that badly, nothing that I say will change your mind. You have to be happy in life and if you don’t enjoy your job, what’s the point? You will find your niche eventually and what you do well. You either can make it happen or you don't. It's all on you whether or not you win or lose.

DCM: Do you feel that talent or passion is more important in drawing?

Neely: Talent is a key in a lot of areas, though the passion to do it can push you to the top. There are a lot of talented artists that are lazy and don't produce. Meeting deadlines is crucial too and it can be a career killer to a lot. Passionate people can make things happen. Also, many artists are shy introverts. You have to get over that quick and learn to talk and sell yourself so people know you exist and what you do, otherwise you won’t get hired.

DCM: Who is your favorite artist?

Neely: John Romita. There's a long list but John Romita is king of the hill since it was his version of Spider-Man and the Marvel Universe that I grew up seeing on a lot of comics, toys and advertising. He had the perfect sensibility in creating a commercialized look to a character and everything he did had a lot of appeal to it! He had a great sense of design as well to all his cover illustrations. Neal Adams is number two and his work was all over the place too when I was growing up and he did the best version of Batman out of anyone.

DCM: Out of all of the characters you have illustrated, which one do you wish could jump off the page and actually come to life?

Neely: Hmmm… a naked Daphne and Velma would be interesting. Most male artists I’m sure would like a sexy naked woman drawing to leap off the page at them. It’s a movie scenario for sure. I don’t know. I never really thought about it. If I did, it would definitely be something that I own and not something that someone else owns like Scooby or Yogi. It would probably be my cartoon character of Moochy Munk who’s a monkey character I created for a story I wrote and drew that was in a Hanna-Barbera style. I’d say my cartoon version of my dog but he is based on my real dog, and even Hollywood Hal & Rhinestone Al whom I designed became real in the end when the full costumes were made. So I’ve already had it happen!

DCM: Do you keep a sketchbook?

Neely: No. I have always had a mental block when it came to sketchbooks. When you have a brand new hardcover sketchbook which is really well made, and then you have three or four really nice drawings in it on the first couple pages, and then you get paranoid about doing a bad one because you can't get the bad pages out. You could trim them out but you can still see that a trim was made. So I just sketch on loose paper and keep them in a nice pile in a folder. If it's really bad, I throw it out; if it's nice I usually save it in a portfolio.

DCM: Do you do your coloring by hand or on the computer?

Neely: I threw out mostly all my markers. The others sit in an art case and collect dust. Any professional job I do requires digital coloring. I used to use markers for coloring art commissions but gave that up after I ran around one day and hit three art stores looking for a brown magic marker that was as close to a Scooby brown as I could find and wasn't successful. In the end, I had to mix two markers together to get it close. So it's now all Photoshop, Sketchbook Pro 2010, or Art Rage where I can use exact colors.

DCM: Do you feel that the Internet has helped and been a blessing or has hurt and been a curse?

Neely: It's a blessing since I got rid of my old artist morgue of reference that I had collected for over ten years starting in 1990. Now with Google, you can find anything that you need to reference. I needed a snowmaker for a Scooby project since the mystery took place on the ski slopes, and I found a company online that made snowmakers and they had big pictures that were great for using as reference since I had no idea what one looked like. In the old days, I would have had to make one up out of my head since I was sure the local library had no books on snowmakers for ski slopes. Also, you can reach a wider audience so it's easier to get work and I get hits and emails from all over the world off my art blog! Who knew that Ed, Edd n Eddy and Power Rangers were big in Russia?!

DCM: What was your favorite comic as a child?

Neely: I read a lot of comics growing up, back when they were pretty much all safe to read. My favorite comic series is Spidey Super Stories since that was how I learned to read and basically moved onto Marvel Tales, which reprinted Amazing Spider-Man stories. I also read a lot of other comics as well but it depended on my mood. When the first Superman movie came out, I read a lot of Superman for a bit. So I go through my moods. Spider-Man and Batman were huge. The Batman TV show was a huge influence as well in terms of my love of comics and superheroes.

DCM: What was your favorite comic strip?

Neely: Calvin and Hobbes, Zits!, Sherman's Lagoon, and Get Fuzzy. I liked Peanuts but wasn't big on it since it was never funny. I preferred the Peanuts cartoons to the actual strips in the paper.

DCM: What was your favorite book as a child and do you still own a copy of it?

Neely: Probably the four Star Wars Activity Books from Random House in 1979. I also loved the Spider-Man: A Book of Colors and Days of the Week from 1977. The art and story had a very Spidey Super Stories feel to it so that's why I still love it. I still have them all. I did have to buy a new set of unused activity books since I had done them all when I was a kid. I also have a bunch of coloring books as well that I found unused and bought them off eBay. I can see certain book covers online and instantly remember them and then I try to see if I can buy them in hopes to rekindle part of my childhood. A personal highlight was that I did the last Little Golden Book that was produced back in 2001 before Golden Books got taken over by Random House. It was a Scooby-Doo one, so that was a happy moment.

DCM: What’s on your iPod?

Neely: My iPod is filled with close to 120GB of music and audio dramas. I have a speaker system I can plug it into if I don't feel like wearing headphones. I've been collecting Old Time Radio shows since 1986 and have around 34,000 shows in my collection now. I usually listen to the Opie and Anthony or Kidd Chris radio shows every day and then listen to whatever interests me. I usually download them and I'm always a day behind with the day’s events. Also as of late, I've been going through the Doctor Who adventures from Big Finish Productions.

DCM: Have you ever thought of getting into animation?

Neely: It’s amazing how many people think we still animate in this country. Pixar and Dreamworks still do it here. Everything else is shipped out to Korea or some other place overseas. We do pre- and post-production over here and that’s it. We get it up and running and they do all the real work over there, and then it gets shipped back and we tweak it, and fix the pacing and tighten it up, and then air the shows. It’s been that way since the mid-70s when they started sending it out since it used to be way cheaper than paying an American to do it. All the WB, Cartoon Network and Nick shows that are on right now are all shipped out. Some stuff is done in Flash and kept over here, but very few exceptions. I’ve thought of doing pre-production, pre-visual or conceptual design work but the economy has a lot of talented folks out of work right now, so I’ll bide my time and stay in licensing…unless another opportunity arises. You can’t predict where life will take you.

DCM: You’ve also posted videos of you drawing Scooby-Doo and Ed, Edd ‘n Eddy on your website. What were these done for?

Neely: I had just bought the new HD Slide Flip Camera and thought it was a simple way to get some other promotion for myself. So I built a rig that hangs over my light table and I can record myself drawing when I feel like it. It’s more pressure to do good drawings when there’s a film crew over you waiting, so this makes it easier to just hit play when I feel in the mood. I’ve recorded some stuff at 2am so it’s nice to do it on my schedule. There’s really no editing at all since I’m still learning the software for cutting the files. It’s all in real time and not sped up. A lot of drawing clips on YouTube are sped up and you don’t get a lot out of them other than seeing someone draw really fast and if I want to see someone create something, I want it in real time to see the way they do it. There’s not any audio lessons though on mine since it’s hard to talk and draw at the same time, but it’s always neat to see an artist create something on a blank piece of paper. I may record some audio and insert it overtop of the videos where I explain what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. It’s gotten a lot of hit on Vimeo.com so I’ll be doing more. Some will be more educational as well.

DCM: How did you meet Alfie and how long have you had him?

Neely: Alfie 1 died in 2000. He was 17 years old and his body failed him. He was a great dog who had a long life. I waited for a few years since the work load was huge for me and then in 2002 my mother was the one who instigated getting another dog. I got a new Yorkie on April 13, 2002 from a breeder in Delaware. He came up to me and never left me alone when all the other Yorkies were doing their own thing so I knew he was the one. I was going to call him Scrappy since it fit him and his attitude, but I called him Alfie whenever he did something and it just kept slipping out, so I said the hell with it and he became Alfie 2. He will be 8 years this year.

DCM: Finish this sentence: When you are busy illustrating, Alfie can be found…

Neely: …lying next to me or chewing on his bones and waiting till his next walk.

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