Vince Matthews on Digital Disney: An Interview with Deane Taylor
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LP: Is there any one particular character that you identify with In The Nightmare Before Christmas? I guess what we’re asking is there a Deane Taylor character in the movie or the new games?
DT: In the movie, in one of the Halloween Town wide shots there is a small Dr. Death character off to one side in the shadows. Basically, we had a hole to fill to imply more crowd - and no puppets to do it with. He's a bit of old sack draped over a plastic coffee cup holding a sad looking scythe. This is the guy I identify with the most. I don't know why...I do appear as a doodle on the Police officers pad, when things go to bits at the end of the film, but this is thanks to an art department in-joke. As far as the game goes...not that I know of.
LP: Any tips for aspiring Art Director’s or video game developers out there?
DT: The most important thing about your growth as an artist is to respect the talents of those you work with, and to have the confidence in your own work. Allow yourself the ability to stretch creatively. This is what is most important when it comes to being able to get under an idea and push it to a new height. Without this process of inspiration and challenge your work can only ever be ordinary. These are the things my association with Nightmare has given me, and continues to give me on a daily basis. I would urge any artist to look for the ways to be fresh and inspired, and to take full advantage of this incredible medium we have available to us.
LP: Awesome stuff Deane, thanks for your time.
Game players can check out Deane’s latest work in The Nightmare Before Christmas Oogie’s Revenge for Xbox and PS2 as well as The Nightmare Before Christmas The Pumpkin King, for Game Boy Advance both of which are in stores now. For his next theatrical appearance, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming feature film Happily N/Ever After, in which Deane is currently working as the Art Director for. The movie which releases in 2006, is a twisted re-telling of the Grimm Fairytales, the film stars Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr..
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-- Vince Matthews
-- Posted November 1, 2005