TEXT: ART INSPIRED BY A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…
  VOLUME ONE
  ART & 
  INTERVIEWS
  Greg Hildebrandt
  Christian Waggoner 
  Ralph McQuarrie 
  Stephen Hayford 
  Roger Kastel 
  Iain McCaig
  
  Star Wars Identities
  Greg Hildebrandt
  Ralph McQuarrie
  Andy Fairhurst
  Cecilia Garcia
  Malcolm Tween
  Grant Gould
  Dave Dorman
  Christian Waggoner
  Doug Cowan
  Iain McCaig
  Jon Foster
  Justin Goby Fields
  Matt Busch
  Aaron McBride
  Tony Foti 
  Roger Kastel
  Sean Marino
  Stephen Hayford
  Terese Nielsen
  Terry Dodson
  Steve Argyle
  Alex Garner
  Terryl Whitlatch
  Stephen Chang
  Ashton Gallagher
  Ansel Hsiao
  Brandon Kenney
  Dave Seeley
  Dermot Power
  Alexandre Charleux
  Cat Staggs
  Simon Goinard
  Randy Martinez
  Andrew March
  Karen Hallion
  Daryl Mandryk
  Josh Viers
  Jan Urschel
  Furio Tedeschi
  Kai Carpenter
  Michael Pedro
  Izzy Medrano
  Bobby Pontillas
  Michael Peter
  Brent Woodside
  Guillaume Menuel
  Linzy Busch
  Mark Molnar
  Chris Trevas
  FEATURED ARTISTS
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  THE ART OF FILM : STAR WARS
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  Star Wars wasn’t only made on the cinema screen, 
  but off screen, in the hearts and minds of everyone 
  who watched it. The Star Wars legacy was etched 
  out over time on sweet wrappers and on book 
  covers, in the pages of comics and in video game 
  concepts… Star Wars was built by us, in our wider 
  lives. This special Star Wars issue, the ﬁrst in the 
  Art of Film series, celebrates the artists, ofﬁcial and 
  fans, who have had a part in building the Star Wars 
  legacy. Some of the featured artists have worked on 
  the ﬁlms, some have been inspired by them, all have 
  helped inspire us to continue to love the myths and 
  legends of this great space opera.
  Ian Dean, editor
  ian.dean@futurenet.com
  Welcome to a celebration of incredible  
  art inspired by a galaxy far, far away…
  THE ART OF FILM : STAR WARS
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  Discover the true characters, and find the secrets, 
  in these unique works in the touring exhibition
  STAR WARS 
  IDENTITIES
  hen the original 
  Star Wars movie 
  burst onto cinema 
  screens almost 40 
  years ago, nobody 
  could have realised 
  just what an impact it and its 
  sequels would have on the lives 
  of so many people. At the heart 
  of the story are characters we 
  all fell in love with – but who are 
  they really? This is the question 
  the touring exhibition Star Wars 
  Identities aims to discover – and 
  along the way you can discover 
  your own true self.
  The exhibition, currently on 
  show in Cologne in Germany, 
  brings together unique art and 
  media from the Star Wars archives. 
  Some of it is commissioned for the 
  show, some of it original narrative 
  art from the Lucasfilm archives. 
  There are over 200 original props, 
  costumes and artworks from all 
  six Star Wars films.
  “Lucasfilm wanted it to be 
  educational and so after a lot of 
  thinking we came up with the idea 
  of exploring the characters, and 
  that is how we ended up exploring 
  the notion of identity,” explains 
  communications director and 
  museum liaison at X3 Productions 
  Sophie Desbiens. “The exhibition 
  basically asks: what makes you, 
  you? We use – in parallel – the 
  evolution of Luke Skywalker and 
  Anakin (Darth Vader), who started 
  off with similar origins and ended 
  up quite differently.”
  The exhibition examines the 
  evolution of the personalities 
  of famous Star Wars characters 
  through their stories. With the help 
  of a scientific committee made up 
  of specialists from neuro-sciences, 
  psychology and genetics, the 
  show organisers defined ten 
  elements that compose someone’s 
  identity and applied this to the 
  characters of Star Wars. If you 
  visit, you get the same treatment 
  and have the opportunity to not 
  only look at what makes you who 
  you are but also to create your 
  own Star Wars identity.
  The centrepiece of the show 
  is a set of unique illustrations 
  commissioned on the theme of 
  Star Wars and identity. The 
  creators of these stunning pieces, 
  Jean-François LeBlanc, Sébastien 
  Maheux and Louis Hébert, all 
  work for the organisers’ ad 
  agency Bleublancrouge. “Let me 
  tell you,” confides Sophie, “the 
  entire agency’s staff fought over 
  who was going to get to work on 
  that project!”
  The idea of the exhibition is to 
  explore what makes people who 
  they are. The challenge for the 
  artists was to render that concept 
  visually. Each illustration explores 
  what makes the character who he/
  she/it is, in a manner reminiscent 
  of Arcimboldo’s famous portraits 
  composed of fruit and vegetables. 
  W
  Let me tell you, the 
  entire agency’s staff 
  fought over who was 
  going to get to work 
  on this project!
  There are 
  secrets in all 
  the illustrations. 
  The Millennium 
  Falcon is hidden 
  somewhere in 
  this Darth Vader 
  portrait. Can  
  you see it?
  The image of the 
  talkative C-3PO is 
  made up of his own 
  words meticulously 
  rendered in Aurebesh. 
  Darth Maul is made 
  up mainly of lots of 
  tiny Darth Mauls!
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  Take the Darth Vader illustration. 
  The ultimate master of evil, Vader 
  became a powerful Sith Lord 
  when he chose the Dark Side of 
  the Force. At the service of the 
  Emperor, he became an agent 
  of war intent on ruling the entire 
  galaxy. “His portrait illustrates this 
  by making him a literal black hole 
  of space in the galaxy, and his 
  likeness is made up of spaceships 
  with his ultimate weapon of 
  destruction – the Death Star – 
  as his brain,” explains Sophie.
  In the Yoda portrait, we can see 
  how the character’s story plays in 
  the illustration: on Dagobah, his 
  planet of exile, the Jedi master 
  has become one with the Force 
  after his physical existence ends. 
  “His absence is now a spiritual 
  presence in the environment. 
  This translates in the fact that 
  his portrait is made up of empty 
  space,” shares Sophie.
  The Stormtroopers are an 
  interesting subject, considering 
  that they are not distinct, singular 
  characters. “They have strength in 
  numbers, and so the power of one 
  Stormtrooper is represented here 
  by the multitude,” says Sophie. 
  “It’s all for one,” she explains, “and 
  their leader, Darth Vader, is at the 
  centre of it all. Literally. Try to find 
  Vader among the multitude in this 
  portrait. And as a bonus, try to 
  find the intruder, namely a little 
  droid called R2-D2.”
  In fact, all the illustrations 
  created for Star Wars Identities 
  feature hidden secrets. “The 
  C-3PO illustration is one of my 
  favourites because of its intense 
  geekness,” shares Sophie. “Built 
  by Anakin Skywalker, C-3PO is an 
  etiquette and protocol droid who 
  is also fluent in six million forms 
  of communication. Throughout 
  the saga, C-3PO has exhibited a 
  fairly nervous and worry-prone 
  personality and is also known to 
  talk incessantly. He is represented 
  here by his own quotations, taken 
  from all six movies and translated 
  into Aurebesh. Yes, all these 
  symbols are a fictional alphabet of 
  Basic language in the Star Wars 
  universe. How crazy is that? The 
  designers took the time to take 
  All images © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
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  Stormtroopers 
  have meaning 
  and identity 
  only in a mass of 
  Stormtroopers – 
  with their sinister 
  leader literally at 
  the centre
  In the Yoda 
  portrait, can you 
  find Luke, R2-D2 
  and Obi-Wan 
  Kenobi? There 
  are also a few 
  levitating rocks!
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  famous C-3PO quotations from all 
  six movies, translated them into 
  Aurebesh, and created his portrait 
  out of that. Nuts!”
  It’s a testament to the strength 
  of the characters created by 
  George Lucas that these heroes 
  and villains still inspire artists 
  today. Sophie believes it’s because 
  they are just like us. Star Wars is 
  about archetypes and (in Jungian 
  terms) the collective unconscious. 
  The story George Lucas set out to 
  tell is the story human beings have 
  been telling for ages. As Joseph 
  Campbell (who is known to have 
  influenced Lucas) explained in his 
  book The Hero with a Thousand 
  Faces, this story is based on a 
  fundamental structure, called the 
  monomyth of the hero: something 
  happens to a young ordinary 
  person which means he then has 
  to go on a quest. Along the way 
  he will meet friends, mentors 
  and obstacles, and he ends up 
  in a final fight with his nemesis 
  (representing Good vs Evil). 
  Through that adventure, he will 
  come of age and find himself. 
  “Basically, Star Wars is modern 
  mythology. And that is why 
  these characters are loved the 
  world over and are still relevant 
  today, almost 40 years after their 
  creation. It is amazing to see 
  that the love of Star Wars gets 
  transmitted from one generation 
  to the next – it is very powerful, 
  just like mythology. What I like 
  the most is that you can see in 
  people’s eyes the happiness it 
  brings them,” concludes Sophie, 
  before adding: “That always 
  impresses me. I really love it and 
  feel really lucky to work on such 
  an amazing project.”
  www.starwarsidentities.com
  A love of Star Wars 
  gets transmitted from 
  one generation to the 
  next. It’s very powerful, 
  just like mythology
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  You not only 
  recognise the 
  characters but 
  also recall the 
  themes and 
  incidents 
  represented by 
  the component 
  elements
  The exhibition is 
  in three sections, 
  which follow 
  the progression 
  of identity from 
  childhood to 
  adulthood: first 
  Origins, then 
  Influences, and 
  finally Choices
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  The legendary painter shares his new Star Wars art and reveals 
  how he and his brother Tim designed the original film poster
  GREG 
  HILDEBRANDT
  T
  ogether with his twin brother Tim, 
  Greg Hildebrandt was commissioned 
  in 1977 to paint the original Star Wars 
  film poster. The work was produced for 
  the Jon and Murray ad agency in New 
  York, and the two 38-year-old artists 
  were given just four days to paint the poster for a film 
  nobody had yet seen or heard of… 
  “They called us because of a Young Frankenstein 
  painting that we did for them, in 24 hours, back in 
  1974 for the Mel Brooks film, and the fame we’d gained 
  thanks to our Lord of the Rings art,” Greg recalls. 
  “We went in to the city and discussed the layout they 
  wanted. They gave us some 8x10 photos from the film 
  for reference. Then we went back to my studio and 
  painted non-stop for 36 hours to deliver the job.”
  Could anyone have anticipated then that Star Wars 
  would become so popular? “Of course not,” Greg 
  replies. “No one did.” What’s more, he adds: “The ad 
  agency that had the account had no idea what it was. 
  When I asked what the movie was about, they said 
  they had no idea, they had not seen it. They thought 
  Vader was something like The Man in the Iron Mask.”
  Now, almost 40 years since that poster and 20 years 
  since his last Star Wars illustration, Greg is painting 
  Star Wars again. He’s been commissioned by Marvel to 
  create three new paintings, one for each of the original 
  films, for Omnibus Editions of the original comics. 
  “When Marvel first contacted me, I was hesitant. I 
  had not painted Star Wars since 1995. Twenty years 
  is a long time. But as I began to work out sketches, it 
  felt right. I thoroughly enjoyed jumping back into the 
  Star Wars Universe. I tried to challenge myself with 
  each piece and hopefully I succeeded in creating three 
  paintings that the fans will like.
  “Each painting is its own challenge. I try for what 
  I hope is the best composition and the best lighting 
  setup I can come up with. Technical accuracy is 
  important most of the time, [but] especially if it’s a 
  subject like Star Wars. You have to make sure you 
  paint the costumes and the ships as the fans know 
  them, or else you look like an idiot. So of course I 
  went out and bought models of the characters and 
  the ships one more time. Thank God my son, Gregory, 
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  Greg Hildebrandt’s 
  new cover paintings 
  for the Omnibus 
  editions of Marvel’s 
  original Star Wars 
  comic series
  © Lucasfilm Ltd & Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
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  © Lucasfilm Ltd & Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
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  © Lucasfilm Ltd & Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
  Greg Hildebrandt’s first 
  Star Wars painting in 
  20 years hits all the 
  right notes
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  “When we delivered the painting 
  the droids weren’t in it. I told the art 
  director that the space was too open 
  and it needed something. I suggested 
  the big hairy guy, but they called 
  George Lucas and he said, ‘Good idea. 
  Tell them to paint the droids in it.’ We 
  ran to an art store in New York. There 
  wasn’t time to go back to my studio, 
  so we painted R2-D2 and C-3PO right 
  there at the agency”
  “We always shot models for lighting. 
  I got my wife to wear a nightgown, 
  put her in the pose and took black-
  and-white Polaroid photos. Then we 
  grabbed a friend and put him in an 
  old, torn terry cloth bathrobe for Luke 
  Skywalker. He was holding a hammer 
  – for the lightsaber. Since then I’ve 
  never been able to throw that robe 
  away. It’s become an iconic costume”
  “The gun went off the second we 
  got back to my studio. We posed 
  the figures, did the layout, then 
  painted like sons of bitches. I slept 
  a few hours while Tim painted, 
  then he slept a few hours while I 
  painted. We did this for the first 
  half of the 36 hours. The second 
  half we just stayed up and painted 
  together, side-by-side. There was no 
  other way we would finish in time”
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  is a giant Star Wars kid – at least I have someone to 
  leave all these things to!”
  This time Greg had more time for the paintings, so 
  the process was more enjoyable. “I wasn’t moving 
  like a house on fire,” he says. But now he had to work 
  without his brother, who passed away in 2006. “These 
  paintings were the first Star Wars pieces I was doing 
  on my own without my brother Tim, which made these 
  paintings unique for me and a new experience.”
  Now that he is revisiting Star Wars, Greg reflects 
  on how the series has stood test of time. “I am not 
  surprised because it has been consistent since 1977. 
  I am however amazed that it is stronger than ever. 
  George Lucas was able to combine all the archetypes 
  of mythology that have been here since the beginning, 
  into one world that touched each of us in its own way. 
  He created the ultimate sci-fi fantasy.
  “The entire universe that Lucas created inspires art. 
  It is filled with universal archetypes of good and evil 
  that transcend any particular moment and time. And 
  conflict is a universal theme in art since the beginning 
  of time.”
  Now his new Star Wars paintings are finished, Greg 
  is turning to other projects. He’s created new pin-up 
  paintings in his American Beauties series and finished 
  the third painting in his Kid Stuff series – paintings of 
  dolls: “These are dark, scary, very large paintings that  
  I have wanted to do for years, and I love them.”
  www.spiderwebart.com
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   MAKING HISTORY
  Greg reveals some of the secrets behind the iconic film poster
   We were told that George Lucas wanted the image to  
  be comic-book-like – not our genre at that time. We decided  
  the figures had to be of heroic proportions, which in reality  
  the actors were not, with intense colours.
   We were told not to make it look like the actors  
  because they were unknown – not for long, obviously!
   In those days artists weren’t usually credited on movie posters, 
  so we painted our name small. Murray said that George wanted 
  the signature large. So we painted it out and repainted it bigger.
   For the first time we used Dioxazine Purple instead of  
  black. We realised it’s actually a deeper black than black.  
  This was a revelation for us.
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  © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  From films to book covers to NASA, the iconic artist has 
  visualised many projects, but it all began with Star Wars…
  RALPH 
  McQUARRIE
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  ithout Ralph 
  McQuarrie there 
  would be no Star 
  Wars. In 1975 a 
  young George 
  Lucas was touting 
  his idea for a space extravaganza 
  around Hollywood. United Artists 
  turned it down. Universal couldn’t 
  grasp the idea. Men in suits used 
  to counting bottom lines failed 
  to connect with a universe of a 
  myriad boggle-eyed creatures, 
  rebellious galactic princesses and 
  space-knights wielding pseudo-
  religious doctrine. Lucas needed 
  someone to visualise his ideas…
  At the time Ralph was fresh 
  from California’s Art Center 
  College of Design and, after a 
  stint at CBS creating paintings 
  and animation for the Apollo 11 
  W
  moon landing, took a job with Hal 
  Barwood and Matthew Robbins 
  on a movie pitch called Galactic. 
  “There were furry blue aliens 
  with lights on their chests, robots 
  that climbed up the wall [and] 
  a big vehicle they explored this 
  planet with,” recalls Ralph when 
  ImagineFX spoke to him in one of 
  his last interviews before his death 
  in 2012. “I really enjoyed the work. I 
  felt like I was where I should be as 
  an artist with these illustrations.” 
  Although Galactic never reached 
  the big screen, Hal and Matthew 
  introduced Ralph to their friend 
  George Lucas, who was struggling 
  to get his intergalactic war film 
  made. “It sounded like a neat 
  idea, but I didn’t expect to ever 
  hear from him again,” says Ralph, 
  remembering his first, casual 
  Luke on Hoth. Ralph’s contribution in 
  visualising key scenes in the scripts 
  cannot be overestimated. As George 
  Lucas put it, “When words could not 
  convey my ideas, I could always point to 
  one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and 
  say, ‘Do it like this’.” He helped bring a 
  galaxy to life – and to a cinema near you
  All images copyright: © Lucasfilm Ltd.
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  When work on The Empire Strikes Back 
  began, Ralph moved to England and 
  spent time on set and at the studio, as 
  he had not done for the first film. Ralph 
  produced more artwork for The Empire 
  Strikes Back than for any of the other 
  Star Wars movies. As with A New Hope, 
  George would riff off Ralph’s paintings, 
  reworking the script to combine his 
  designs into the story – such as the 
  battle on Hoth
  meeting with the filmmaker.
  But soon George was back and 
  needed Ralph’s help with one last 
  pitch, to 20th Century Fox, to 
  create paintings that would enable 
  the executives to understand the 
  scope of the film George had in 
  mind. “While I was working on 
  these things, I thought, wouldn’t it 
  be great if some of these actually 
  made it into the movie!”
  While the pitch went smoothly 
  – Star Wars was up and running 
  – it was the result of a solid three 
  months’ hard work. Ralph had 
  been given reference material 
  edited together by George, from 
  which he would create his art. 
  Then the film-maker would come 
  by, indicate which pieces he liked 
  and which needed changes. 
  Of course, Ralph also had an 
  early draft of the script on his 
  desk. “I was captivated by it,” 
  says the artist as he remembers 
  the first time he read the script 
  for Star Wars. “The day I got the 
  script from George and Gary 
  [Kurtz], I started sketching right 
  away. I did some thumbnails of 
  the ships flying around the planet 
  being chased by rebel fighters. I 
  think I had it all wrong in terms of 
  what was finally filmed, but those 
  were the first illustrations I did for 
  Star Wars.”  
  By the time filming began, 
  George had hired an art team to 
  visualise his story. Although Ralph 
  worked from home, rarely visiting 
  the sets, his work on the pre-
  production designs influenced the 
  whole film, including those artists 
  who were hired. Like Ralph, new 
  storyboard artist Joe Johnston 
  and modeller Steve Gawley 
  had a similar industrial design 
  background. “While at Art Center, 
  Syd Mead was one that we all 
  looked up to,” recalls Ralph.
  Eventually even the script was 
  waylaid as Ralph’s imagination 
  took hold, with George preferring 
  to talk through ideas before 
  writing them down. This creative 
  approach led to many of the 
  film’s key designs, including Darth 
  Vader, R2-D2 and the Sandcrawler. 
  However, the most iconic design 
  was the Death Star.
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  Darth Vader went through many 
  changes, beginning as an elegant 
  Japanese-inspired warrior dressed 
  in silk. Ralph changed the design, 
  adding the now famous helmet and 
  suit based on a line in the script that 
  explained how Vader was cutting his 
  way into the Blockade Runner from 
  outside, in space. He’d need a helmet, 
  argued Ralph. In his early paintings 
  Vader was a ratty character, wiry and 
  evil. It was only when modellers in 
  the UK interpreted his paintings that 
  Vader became the imposing eight-
  foot-tall villain. 
  Ralph says he couldn’t imagine 
  how iconic Vader would become, 
  until the film had been on release 
  for a few months. “I was walking 
  down Hollywood Boulevard and a 
  piece of paper came blowing up the 
  street. I bent down to pick it up and 
  it was a bubble gum wrapper with a 
  picture of Darth Vader on it,” he says. 
  “I knew at that point I was part of 
  something very special.”
  Vader was something special. 
  The original concepts all showed 
  the Sith Lord with a narrow chin 
  and high, sharp cheekbones, set 
  under a wide-brimmed hat. Ralph’s 
  Vader had impact and his vision of 
  villains with skull-shaped helmets 
  permeated into the Stormtrooper 
  designs – although, as with his Vader, 
  practicality skewed the design as 
  they were drawn to be pilots. 
   DEFINING EVIL
  One of cinema’s most iconic 
  villains looked very different 
  before filming
  I picked up a bubble 
  gum wrapper with Darth 
  Vader on it. I knew then 
  I was part of something 
  very special
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  The rancor pit: Ralph 
  spent less time working 
  on Return of the Jedi 
  than the previous two 
  films, largely because 
  many of his designs 
  created for Star Wars 
  were edited out of the A 
  New Hope storyline and 
  incorporated into Jedi
   BOARD TO SCREEN
  Not all of Ralph’s concepts 
  made it to the big screen  
  as he intended…
  Many of Ralph’s Star Wars 
  paintings were used as inspiration 
  while never making it to the screen 
  in their exact form. The Tusken 
  Raiders are one such design. Ralph 
  points out how the Sand People 
  of Tatooine looked different 
  conceptually to those characters up 
  on screen. The characters featured 
  a gauze and metal mask similar 
  to his designs, but they were 
  more bug-eyed and cartoonish. 
  Ralph puts this down to modelling 
  techniques of the time, resulting in 
  caricatures of his designs, making 
  the eyes tubular and projected
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  “At the time, I imagine, many of 
  my illustrations would have been 
  considered ‘out there’,” says Ralph. 
  He explains how his design for 
  the Death Star would have looked 
  more like one of his favourite 
  photo enlargers he uses for 
  painting – focusing a gigantic laser 
  cannon. “George liked the sphere, 
  based on some science-fiction 
  illustrations he had seen by John 
  Berkey. I felt the sphere was such 
  a comfortable form, but I have to 
  say it worked well in the film.”
  Ralph retired before digital art 
  took hold, yet his process is similar 
  to that of many concept artists 
  working today in Photoshop. He’d 
  start with a drawing the same size 
  as he was going to paint, which 
  for production paintings was 
  15x8.5 inches. Often Ralph would 
  use his image enlarger to blow 
  up a thumbnail drawing, before 
  refining the sketch on tissue. “I 
  might use several layers of tissue 
  representing different levels in the 
  painting,” says Ralph. He’d tape 
  off a piece of illustration board 
  the size of the painting and put a 
  coat of acrylic on it to get rid of 
  the white. “I would then put my 
  drawing down on the illustration 
  board and trace down what I 
  was going to paint. I’d paint my 
  way from the background to the 
  foreground, painting in silhouettes 
  for foreground objects, and then 
  trace down the details from 
  my original illustration into the 
  silhouette. I’d paint in the details 
  until I felt the piece was finished.”
  Ralph would regularly need to 
  refine his paintings as filming and 
  At the time, I 
  imagine, many 
  of my illustrations 
  would have been 
  considered 
  ‘out there’…
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  By the time Return 
  of the Jedi came 
  around, Ralph’s 
  designs were being 
  converted to screen 
  almost unchanged. 
  One of the best 
  examples is his 
  design for Jabba’s 
  sail barge, which 
  remained faithful 
  to his sketches
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  Ralph’s impact on the look of 
  the Star Wars trilogy was so 
  great that many scenes are 
  near identical in their setup. 
  Here’s Ralph’s painting of 
  the closing moments of The 
  Empire Strikes Back
  After Return of the Jedi 
  was completed Ralph was 
  asked to create a number 
  of new paintings to add to 
  a portfolio. This, he says, 
  is why some of the art 
  from Jedi features strong 
  likenesses of actors in the 
  film, like this image of the 
  speeder chase on Endor
  Many artists work 
  their entire lives 
  without recognition, 
  so I realise how 
  fortunate I am. I owe 
  it all to Star Wars
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  production developed. While he 
  painted concepts for the X-wing 
  and TIE fighter craft, the likes of 
  Joe Johnston and Colin Cantwell 
  would take them on and refine 
  them at the modelling stage. 
  Likewise, some of Ralph’s most 
  popular designs came about 
  by sheer luck. Like many of us, 
  Ralph had a tendency to doodle 
  in meetings. As George Lucas 
  led a meeting about The Empire 
  Strikes Back, Ralph etched out a 
  helmet design in his notes. “When 
  we were done, George looked at 
  it and said we should use that for 
  a bounty hunter,” Ralph says, and 
  that was how Boba Fett’s iconic 
  look came about. “It was just one 
  of many concepts I worked on for 
  the films,” says Ralph modestly. 
  Many of Ralph’s pre-production 
  paintings weren’t meant to make 
  it to the film, yet they were so 
  concise, fresh and dynamic that 
  George took them down to the 
  set to help him express how he 
  wanted Star Wars to look. 
  Years later Ralph returned to 
  his paintings in the 1995 book The 
  Illustrated Star Wars Universe, 
  revisiting some ideas from his 
  production paintings. “I was able 
  to complete additional paintings 
  of Dagobah, Cloud City and the 
  Imperial City that would finally 
  appear on-screen in the prequels,” 
  says Ralph. His original production 
  paintings were used again for the 
  very same purpose when work 
  began on Star Wars Episode I, 
  under the leadership of Doug 
  Chiang. Concepts and scenes that 
  went unused from the original 
  trilogy, including designs for the 
  Imperial City for Return of the 
  Jedi, eventually made it into the 
  prequels, which proved just how 
  timeless Ralph’s concepts were.
  From Star Wars, Ralph went 
  on to work on a number of 
  other films, including Battlestar 
  Galactica, ET and Cocoon – for 
  which he won the 1985 Academy 
  Award for Visual Effects. He 
  illustrated science-fiction book 
  covers and two volumes of Isaac 
  Asimov’s short stories on robots. 
  Over his 30-year career he 
  worked in film and TV, on projects 
  for NASA, video games and 
  advertising, as well as producing 
  many personal paintings. 
  “As a result of Star Wars, my 
  work has been seen by millions, 
  reproduced the world over and 
  collected in numerous art books,” 
  says Ralph, acknowledging the 
  impact that those first three 
  months in 1975 have had on his 
  life. “Many artists work their entire 
  lives without such recognition, so 
  I realise how fortunate I am. And I 
  owe it all to Star Wars.”
  www.ralphmcquarrie.com
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  Unusual compositions and symmetries make the 
  Welsh artist’s work stand out from the crowd
  ANDY  
  FAIRHURST
  fter being 
  commissioned 
  to create a 
  poster series for 
  Acme Archives 
  and Bottleneck 
  Gallery to coincide with Star Wars 
  Celebration, Welsh freelance 
  artist Andy Fairhurst struck on 
  the idea of painting three pivotal 
  characters from the original trilogy 
  in moments of reflection. “I like the 
  central symmetrical positioning 
  of them, and I tend to work that 
  way a lot,” says Andy, who has 
  been painting digitally for over 
  10 years. Recently he’s ventured 
  into alternative posters and movie 
  art prints.
  As for his love of Star Wars, he 
  says: “For me personally, it was the 
  start of everything regarding art. I 
  was five when I saw it and, when  
  I returned home from the cinema,  
  I drew a space battle scene. That is 
  my earliest memory of drawing. It 
  still inspires me now after all these 
  years… decades later! I don’t quite 
  know what it is but it has a strong 
  hold over a lot of people and is 
  responsible for the start of many 
  an artist’s career. It’s just magical.”
  And why does Andy enjoy 
  painting Boba Fett so much? “It is 
  as simple as: he just looks so cool. 
  He is Clint Eastwood in space. He’s 
  always been my favourite – well, 
  since Empire, anyway – and was 
  the inspiration behind countless 
  badass characters since.”
  www.andyfairhurstart.com
  A
  Andy’s painting of 
  Jango Fett is one of a 
  series of profile views of 
  key Star Wars characters 
  – Boba Fett is another
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  Posters © Lucasfilm Ltd & Acme Archives/Bottleneck. All Rights Reserved.
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  Andy’s three official 
  posters for Acme Archives 
  and Bottleneck Gallery 
  feature distinctive 
  symmetrical compositions
  A striking image of 
  X-Wing fighters based 
  on the recently released 
  Episode VII trailer
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
  [ 32 ] 
  alaga, on Spain’s 
  Costa Del Sol, 
  is renowned for 
  its year-round 
  sunshine. It’s 
  ironic, then, that 
  Malaga resident Cecilia Garcia, a 
  self-taught artist with a degree in 
  art history, is drawn to the Dark 
  Side and loves the rain. 
  Cecilia GF, as she signs herself, 
  is a freelance artist who aims to 
  work in the video games or film 
  industries. Inspired by the Dark 
  Side of the Force, she sought to 
  capture the impact of a character 
  within a brooding scene set in the 
  Expanded Universe’s Dromund 
  Kaas, capital of the Sith Empire.
  “Given the fact that I’m a lover 
  of the Dark Side of the Force and 
  I love the rain,” Cecilia explains, 
  “Dromund Kaas came to my mind. 
  I thought of Korriban too but I 
  wanted to see how the light of the 
  lightsaber looks in the rain, so this 
  planet would be perfect. Besides, 
  Living in sunny Spain, the artist is drawn 
  to a jungle world of permanent storms
  CECILIA 
  GARCIA
  Dromund Kaas seems to me a 
  special place that contains all of 
  that power of the Dark Side, with 
  ruins and fascinating creatures.”
  Cecilia loves to explore the Star 
  Wars universe in her personal 
  paintings. Its sheer immensity 
  means it leaves itself open to the 
  imaginations of artists to add 
  their personal visions, says Cecilia: 
  “It’s an exceptional sci-fi universe 
  where George Lucas created a 
  base, and from that, anyone can 
  make it grow without the need 
  to be ‘canonical’.
  “There are other universes that 
  are not free for interpretation, 
  but Star Wars is not like that,” 
  she elucidates. “The fan has total 
  freedom because there are no 
  restrictions – you can create cute 
  illustrations or a painting with 
  a dark theme. War scenes and 
  everything is okay, because Star 
  Wars contains all of them.”
  www.bit.ly/Cecilia-Garcia
  M
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  Cecilia GF takes advantage of the 
  scope of the Star Wars universe 
  to find the perfect setting for her 
  brooding Sith warrior: the Dark 
  Temple on Dromund Kaas
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  All images TM & © 2014 Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC. All rights reserved.
  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  Malcolm deftly 
  captures the essence 
  of the characters, 
  the tech and the 
  atmosphere of the 
  landmark film
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  From an illustration studio on the (relatively) sunny 
  south coast of England to a galaxy far, far away…
  MALCOLM 
  TWEEN
  ournemouth, on 
  the south coast 
  of the British 
  Isles, is a seaside 
  resort best known 
  for its proximity 
  to the Jurassic Coast. It is also 
  home to Digital Progression, an 
  independent UK production studio 
  specialising in 3D/CGI, creative 
  retouching and post production, 
  where Malcolm Tween has created 
  artwork for Lucasfilm among a 
  diverse group of other clients.
  What inspired your paintings?
  Usually trying to come up with 
  something that’s not been done 
  before, also something that’s not 
  seen directly in the films.
  Why does Star Wars keep driving 
  artists to create new work?
  There’s a huge amount of source 
  material. It also helps that there’s 
  some of the greatest, most iconic 
  production design ever created.
  Do you have a favourite Star Wars 
  artist who has inspired you?
  Well, there’s a lot of fantastic 
  Star Wars stuff but I always liked 
  Noriyoshi Ohrai, John Berkey and 
  of course Ralph McQuarrie. Phil 
  Noto’s work is always brilliant.
  Can you tell us a little of how you 
  work? What is your process?
  Usually it will start with a quick 
  Photoshop visual. For the final 
  image I’ll usually model a simple 
  version of any of the ships/
  hardware in 3DS Max and use 
  this for the basic perspective 
  and lighting, then the rest is 
  painted in Photoshop.
  Do you approach your personal 
  Star Wars work differently to 
  commissioned art?
  Even on the work for Lucasfilm 
  there’s quite a lot of freedom, but 
  with some of the Star Wars work 
  it’s largely the only time I get 
  completely free rein.
  What makes a great character like 
  Darth Vader or Luke work?
  Great design and characterisation, 
  but also the legacy of Star Wars 
  over the years has elevated 
  everything into something much 
  more iconic. Even if someone’s 
  never seen the films, they are still 
  aware of the characters and what 
  they represent.
  Are you a Star Wars fan?
  Absolutely! As a child in the 
  ’70s it was by far and away my 
  most important pop culture 
  influence! Don’t ask me about 
  the prequels, though…
  So, how excited are you about  
  the new film?
  Cautiously optimistic…
  www.digitalprogression.co.uk
  B
  Even if someone’s 
  never seen the films, 
  they are still aware 
  of the characters and 
  what they represent
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  Malcolm’s deep 
  affection for the 
  original trilogy 
  shines through 
  in his evocative 
  AT-AT and Hoth 
  Evacuation 
  Celebration prints
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  Desert Sands
  was offered as 
  an exclusive 
  print at Star Wars 
  Celebration 2015 
  Anaheim through 
  Dark Ink Art and 
  Acme Archives
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  The Legend of 
  Thrawn was 
  Grant’s limited-
  edition print for 
  Celebration 2015
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  The prolific artist of “many thousands” of 
  cards for Topps is still as big a fan as ever
  GRANT 
  GOULD
  hree years old 
  when the first 
  movie came 
  out, Grant still 
  remembers his 
  dad taking him to 
  see each movie on opening day, 
  and his parents would buy him the 
  action figures. “It was a massive 
  part of my childhood,” he recalls, 
  “and I’ve been a fan ever since. I’ve 
  been doing freelance Star Wars 
  work for both Topps and Lucasfilm 
  now for over ten years, everything 
  from cards to kids’ books to 
  comics, and I still to this day have 
  to occasionally pinch myself. I’m 
  living my childhood dream! Star 
  Wars still stirs something inside of 
  me. It’s my childhood mythology. 
  It’s a huge part of who I am.”
  Star Wars has also been a large 
  part of Grant’s working life. “My 
  very first professional illustration 
  job was a sketch card gig in 2005,” 
  he explains, “drawing 1,000 sketch 
  cards for the Topps Star Wars: 
  Revenge of the Sith set. I was 
  probably in way over my head, 
  but it ended up being a crazy, 
  great jumpstart for my freelance 
  illustration career. It led to other, 
  bigger jobs, so the sleepless nights 
  were worth it. 
  “In the years following, I did 
  many more card sets, and many, 
  many more sketch cards,” Grant 
  continues. “I had a blast working 
  on the Clone Wars web-comics 
  for StarWars.com a few years 
  back, and I loved working on the 
  kids’ books Draw Clone Wars and 
  Draw Rebels for Klutz. I’ve been 
  so lucky in that I’ve worked on 
  several amazing Star Wars related 
  projects. Luckily, the Star Wars 
  universe has such a huge cast of 
  characters, it’s almost impossible 
  to run out of things to draw!”
  Grant’s latest Celebration poster 
  features some core characters. 
  “I’ve always been a huge fan of 
  Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy,” 
  the artist reveals. “When those 
  books came out in the early ’90s, 
  it marked the end of a Star Wars 
  dry spell. All my childhood heroes 
  were back – Luke and R2-D2 and 
  everyone else! It was momentous, 
  and of course Thrawn himself is 
  just the coolest villain. He was so 
  calm and intelligent and thoughtful 
  – very much the opposite of Vader. 
  So I thought it’d be cool to pay 
  tribute to those books, as well as 
  the graphic novel adaptations of 
  those books, which I also loved. 
  It’s essentially my love letter to 
  that series. The title The Legend of 
  Thrawn,” he concludes, “is sort of 
  a wink at the fact that now those 
  books are called ‘Legends’ – that 
  is, no longer canon.”
  Grant is eloquent about his own 
  emotional attachment to all the 
  original characters. “I think for a lot 
  T
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  Grant drew 50 
  full-colour sketch 
  cards for the Star 
  Wars Masterwork 
  set for Topps
  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
  [ 40 ] 
  of kids, Han Solo was the first true 
  rebel or scoundrel that they got 
  to know, the bad boy who lived by 
  his own rules. Me, I was always a 
  Luke Skywalker kid. I loved Luke. I 
  felt a connection to Luke. He was 
  sorta the dorky farm boy in the 
  beginning, dreaming of bigger 
  things, and I was a nerd in school 
  who dreamt of bigger things. 
  And then I grew with Luke over 
  the course of the movies. We saw 
  real change and development in 
  those characters, and that’s what 
  really gives you that emotional 
  connection and investment.”
  As an artist, Grant was inspired 
  by some of the X-Men artists of 
  the ’80s, such as Arthur Adams 
  and Marc Silvestri, plus Wendy and 
  Richard Pini’s ElfQuest series, and 
  also the artwork of the Dungeons 
  & Dragons RPG. His own standard 
  process for the past ten years, he 
  reveals, has been to draw each 
  piece by hand using pencil and 
  marker (“Faber-Castell PITT brush 
  pens are my favourites”), then 
  scan the drawing in and colour it 
  digitally in Photoshop. 
  “I’m actually kind of a dinosaur,” 
  Grant laughs, “because up until 
  January of this year I still coloured 
  everything with a mouse. I finally 
  joined the 21st century and got a 
  Cintiq a few months ago, so I’ve 
  been teaching myself how to use 
  it. It’s still tricky for me getting 
  used to actually drawing digitally 
  instead of using pencil and pen, 
  but I’m enjoying it quite a bit. As 
  for sketch cards, which I used to 
  draw a lot of earlier in my career 
  but not so much in recent years, 
  I would colour those by hand 
  using Prismacolor or Faber-Castell 
  colour markers.”
  Unsurprisingly for such a fan, 
  Grant is looking forward to the 
  new film. Actually, he says, “I’m 
  beyond excited for the new film. 
  The idea of a new trilogy that 
  continues the stories of Luke and 
  Han and Leia – man, that’s just 
  amazing. I always had a sneaking 
  suspicion the new trilogy would 
  happen. I hoped it would happen. 
  I’m just excited about the whole 
  thing. And, yes,” he concludes, 
  “I have no doubt that the new 
  characters will be awesome and 
  grab our imaginations and inspire 
  artists new and old. It’s a fantastic 
  time to be a Star Wars fan!”
  www.grantgould.blogspot.com
  © Topps & Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  mazingly, this 
  striking Star Wars 
  artwork may have 
  prevented Eisner 
  award winning 
  illustrator Dave 
  Dorman from working on the films.
  Although Dave loves working 
  on Star Wars stories and is rightly 
  proud of the work he’s produced, 
  you can’t help but sense a hint 
  of regret. You’d think an artist 
  as talented as Dave would have 
  been a great candidate to work on 
  Lucas’s productions as a concept 
  artist, but he’s never really been 
  considered for the job. 
  “One of the unfortunate 
  drawbacks in doing so much 
  licensed work is that I was 
  branded a commercial artist,” he 
  explains. “No matter how hard I 
  A
  DAVE 
  DORMAN
  The acclaimed artist, whose work hangs 
  on George Lucas’s wall, still has regrets
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  tried to bridge myself over to the 
  creative side – the filmmaking side 
  – of Lucasfilm, I found my way 
  blocked by how I was seen within 
  the organisation, based on the 
  work I had done for them.
  “Now I’m not saying I was 
  unhappy with the licensed work – 
  far from it. I loved and still love the 
  Star Wars work I do, but it was a 
  bit disappointing not to be seen 
  as someone who could contribute 
  creatively to the world of the 
  filmed Star Wars epic.”
  This hasn’t prevented the artist 
  from pursuing his love of Star 
  Wars, with commissions from Dark 
  Horse comics and a popular book 
  collection of his art, Star Wars: The 
  Art of Dave Dorman.
  www.davedorman.com
  For the 20th anniversary of 
  the first Star Wars film, Dave 
  created three widescreen 
  paintings commemorating the 
  first three movies. The original 
  of this image is now in George 
  Lucas’s private collection
  All images © 1994-2009 Dave Dorman. Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  “The whole image is 
  rendered in pencil, giving me 
  all the information I need to 
  paint. It’s then transferred 
  to my gessoed illustration 
  board for painting,” Dave 
  says of his preliminary work
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  One of Dave’s favourite 
  Star Wars pieces was for 
  a limited edition print for 
  Star Wars Celebration 4
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  The artist talks about his unique perspective on 
  character portraits that reflect memorable scenes
  CHRISTIAN 
  WAGGONER 
  hristian Waggoner has earned a 
  reputation for his incredible portraits of 
  the most famous Star Wars characters 
  in unique compositions, but how do 
  they come about? “The way I decide 
  on composition and concept for a Star 
  Wars painting is by the character,” he explains. “What 
  kind of features do they have? How big are the eyes? 
  Do I need to zoom in or zoom out on the piece?”
  Christian’s process begins with a concept, which is 
  then submitted to Lucasfilm for approval. “The most 
  challenging Star Wars piece I’ve painted is Greedo,” he 
  adds, “just for all the scales and the intricacies of his 
  face. But the funnest painting would be R2D2 – it just 
  came together so fast, so easy… effortless!” 
  So what does Christian believe makes a good 
  character design? “What I think makes a good 
  space character design is movement in the mask, 
  the intricate play of light and darkness,” he says. “Or 
  sometimes it’s the ruggedness of someone like the 
  Boba Fett character – sometimes it’s how cool the 
  character is that makes your design even better.”
  Christian’s relationship with Lucasfilm began in 
  2007 at the New York Art Expo, where he was named 
  one of the emerging trend-setting artists of the show. 
  “People from Lucasfilm approached me and asked me 
  if I would like to do a 30th anniversary piece of Darth 
  Vader,” explains the artist. “I was more than excited, as 
  it came on my 36th birthday. When I did the first piece 
  I thought it was a one-shot deal, but the Vader piece 
  went over so well they asked me to do another one, 
  then another one and another one.”
  Christian says he believes the Star Wars universe is 
  still so popular because “all ages can relate: good and 
  bad… Good overcomes evil…”
  With the new movie coming, Christian is prepping 
  to create new Star Wars paintings. “J.J. Abrams made 
  all the characters better and even brought new ones 
  in,” says Christian. “I love seeing how the helmets will 
  evolve through time, so I can basically redo all my 
  characters and have a second calendar come out. 
  Old meets new.”
  www.christianwaggonerartist.com
  C
  “Vader was the first painting I did for 
  Lucasfilm. I didn’t know it was going 
  to change the rest of my life”
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  “Boba is a piece that 
  basically put me on 
  the map. This was my 
  second piece and I 
  couldn’t have picked a 
  better character”
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  All images © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  A painter of landscapes and 
  cards brings the two together
  DOUG 
  COWAN
  hen the opportunity came to do a 
  new Star Wars painting, Doug Cowan 
  reveals, “I knew immediately that I 
  wanted to do an image that was new 
  but still familiar. I recalled Frank Tenney 
  Johnson’s nocturnal paintings of the 
  American West, and I felt that his depiction of life on 
  the frontier shared a mood that I was searching for. 
  Those paintings, along with Remington’s later works, 
  portrayed many qualities that could be transposed 
  successfully into the world of Star Wars. I depicted my 
  own version of a rider on horseback, but this time as a 
  Stormtrooper deployed on the edge of the universe.”
  What is it about Star Wars that inspires artists to 
  keep creating new work?
  Star Wars is a captivating story, and the world it 
  takes place in is varied and elaborate. There are many 
  characters, stories, and settings to explore in what 
  seems like an infinite number of ways. Each artist 
  is able to approach these things from their unique 
  perspective. Behind all of this is a lot of great artwork 
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  and design done during the creation of it that also 
  captures your imagination. 
  Do you have a favourite Star Wars artist or poster 
  artist who has inspired you?
  It’s difficult to select an individual because there have 
  been so many good artists who have worked on Star 
  Wars. They come from diverse backgrounds too – 
  comics, illustration, preproduction, fine art, among 
  many others. Kazuhiko Sano’s poster artwork for 
  Return of the Jedi has appealed to me since I was 
  very young and may be the earliest memory I have 
  of Star Wars art.
  Can you tell us a little about how you work? What is 
  your process?
  I paint oil on linen or panel, depending on the needs 
  of each picture. I often do a small series of sketches in 
  ink or watercolour until I have a refined idea of what 
  I want to pursue. For my Outpost painting, I also did 
  a scaled-down study in oil to address the colour and 
  work out any details that I was still debating. When 
  the time came to do the larger, final artwork, I blocked 
  in the main elements of the composition with loose 
  brushwork. When I felt everything was in place, I 
  began painting in a very direct manner. I like to start 
  with a portrait or critical area to guide me and give me 
  confidence throughout the rest of the painting.
  Do you approach your personal Star Wars work 
  differently to commissioned art?
  I approach all my paintings the same now, be it Star 
  Wars or not, because I feel that this will allow me to do 
  my best work and to employ the traits unique to me. 
  If there is a difference between my Star Wars art and 
  my other work, it will be during the sketching phase. 
  I begin many of my other paintings without many or 
  I depicted my own version of a 
  frontier rider on horseback with 
  the mood of the American West
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  any sketches, but because most of my Star Wars art 
  will be used by a client it is often necessary to convey 
  an idea beforehand. 
  What makes great characters like Darth Vader or the 
  Stormtroopers work?
  I think it begins with how they are portrayed and fit 
  into the story. These characters have lasted so long 
  probably due to them being fascinating on several 
  different levels. Darth Vader holds your attention 
  and curiosity as a character, but also his appearance, 
  sound, and even his musical themes contribute to his 
  lasting legacy. Visually, he is a bold character to put 
  into your artwork and has been the focus of many 
  great works. This is true for many of the characters 
  in Star Wars.
  Are you a Star Wars fan?
  I am a Star Wars fan and there has never been a 
  time without it, having grown up after Return of the 
  Jedi. I think being a fan has benefited me in that I 
  can approach Star Wars subjects from an informed 
  perspective, aware of the history and many subtleties 
  found in the characters and locales. 
  Is it difficult painting imagined characters and 
  scenes? How to you give them believability?
  Every painting will have its own challenges whether 
  you’re working from life or imagination. I like to gather 
  reference for as much as I can, even if it is not directly 
  used. The more knowledge or understanding that I 
  can acquire of the subject or setting will help me to 
  make better choices. With Star Wars, I don’t really 
  have access to models or props, so the most difficult 
  part is usually piecing all these elements from different 
  sources together in what seems like a seamless image.
  Do you have any future projects you can reveal?
  There are several upcoming trading card projects 
  that I will likely contribute new artwork to, as well as 
  an opportunity to create some limited-edition prints 
  for both Star Wars and other properties. There is also 
  another Star Wars Celebration on the horizon. I am 
  busy continually painting on my own as well.
  Finally, how excited are you about the new film?
  I’m eager to see where this new and unknown story 
  will take us, and how it will involve our beloved 
  characters since we last saw them in Episode VI. The 
  all-new worlds, costumes, ships will be a thrill to see.  
  It is a very exciting time to be an admirer of Star Wars.
  www.dougcowan.net
  The more understanding I can 
  acquire of a subject or setting will 
  help me make better choices
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  Bounty Hunter 
  was created in 
  oils on panel for 
  Acme Archives
  “Topps asked 
  me to reimagine 
  the classic 
  film poster art 
  for Star Wars 
  Illustrated: 
  The Empire 
  Strikes Back”
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  The senior concept artist of Episodes I, 
  II and III designed the iconic Darth Maul
  IAIN 
  McCAIG
  oncept artist Iain McCaig’s work 
  includes the landmark designs for 
  Queen Amidala and Darth Maul, as well 
  as work on Terminator 2, Harry Potter 
  and the Goblet of Fire, and much more.
  Iain considers Darth Vader’s design “a 
  work of genius”. However, the prequel universe had 
  to have a different design sensibility: a hand-made 
  universe that would soon be destroyed by the 
  machine-like Empire. So while Darth Vader’s look 
  inspired Iain’s work on The Phantom Menace, it wasn’t 
  a direct influence as the artist sought to find a new 
  look for the prequels. “I think George was surprised 
  by the new look,” says Iain. “Mid-way through The 
  Phantom Menace I remember him looking at all the 
  designs and exclaiming: ‘My God, I’m making a 
  costume drama!’” Read how Iain created Darth Maul…
  What did George Lucas ask you to do in Darth Maul?
  Darth Maul was a four-year project. In the beginning 
  all George said was that he was a new Sith Lord, and 
  I spent frustrating years trying to out-helmet Darth 
  Vader. Eventually, I took the helmet off and started 
  turning members of the Star Wars art department into 
  Sith lords, carving up the face of our photographer, 
  putting a light inside his head, embedding a circuit 
  board on the face of our head of animatics, and so on.
  When the script finally showed up, George 
  described Darth Maul as a “vision from your worst 
  nightmare”. Suddenly I knew what to draw: a dead-
  looking face pressed against the rain-spattered 
  window of my third floor studio on a rainy night, 
  its eyes glittering as it waits to eat my soul.
  How did George Lucas respond to that?
  George shivered, handed it back to me and asked me 
  for my second-worst nightmare. That’s when I realised 
  that I had drawn my worst real-life nightmare, but Star 
  Wars isn’t real life – it’s mythology. So I drew my worst 
  mythological nightmare: a clown. Of course, there are 
  other elements in the design: the markings are stylised 
  muscle patterns, the black and red colours a danger 
  sign in the animal world, and originally he had black 
  feathers. All this was deliberately devilish. But beneath 
  it all, Darth Maul is really just my Bozo the Clown.
  How much did your design change?
  The only real change to the design was the horns, 
  which were meant to be stiffened black feathers. 
  Thankfully, special effects make-up maestro Nick 
  Dudman interpreted the feathers as horns, which 
  helped emphasise the mythological icon of the devil. 
  What were the facial tattoos based on?
  I spent a pleasant day splattering ink on folded bits of 
  paper, and elements of those Rorschach patterns were 
  useful in the final design. The markings are also meant 
  to be reminiscent of what you’d see if you flayed the 
  flesh from a face to reveal the muscle patterns below.
  www.iainmccaig.blogspot.com
  In the script, George Lucas 
  described Darth Maul as a ‘vision 
  from your worst nightmare’ 
  C
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  All images copyright © Lucasfilm Ltd .
  “George Lucas asked me to create a new Sith Lord for The Phantom 
  Menace. I spent a year trying to out-helmet Darth Vader, and when 
  I finally realised no one was ever going to top Ralph McQuarrie’s 
  icon of evil, I took the helmet off and started working on the face 
  instead. Ta da! Darth Maul was born, his tattoos a mixture of muscle 
  patterns, ink blots and face painting (and clowns, who still pop up 
  in my worst nightmares). I realised that other artists might get lost 
  trying to follow my maze of markings, so I made a simple instruction 
  sheet and handed it out to the rest of the crew.”
   MAKING DARTH MAUL
  How do you top Darth Vader’s design? Iain McCaig explains…
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  The Star Wars 
  Darkside covers 
  are popular 
  with fans of 
  the Star Wars: 
  Darkness series, 
  celebrating all 
  that’s evil in 
  the Star Wars 
  universe
  Jon’s cover for issue 
  3 of The Hunt for 
  Aurra Sing, from a 
  four-issue special set
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  reating cover 
  art for the Star 
  Wars books came 
  easily to an artist 
  with Jon’s eye 
  for the dark side. 
  The majority of Jon’s comic cover 
  work has been for a number of 
  Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars 
  series. The darker elements and 
  muted colour palette of his early 
  years seem to have suited books 
  that tended towards the dark 
  side of the Force.
  JON  
  FOSTER
  The Dark Horse cover artist with a taste 
  for the Dark Side sheds a little light
  “I enjoyed them because the 
  art direction went through pretty 
  painlessly. I had done some 
  paperback book covers for Star 
  Wars before and they seemed 
  to be much more difficult than 
  the comic books. At the time, 
  the people I was working with 
  made it very enjoyable. I felt like 
  I could do what felt right and 
  was important, and they were 
  okay with that.” 
  www.jonfoster.com
  All images copyright: © 2002 Dark Horse Comics and Lucas Licensing
  C
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  The front cover Jon painted 
  for the first issue of The 
  Hunt for Aurra Sing, a mini-
  series which was part of the 
  Star Wars: Republic series
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  For the concept artist, relocating Hutt Palace is a 
  great way to get some practice and have some fun
  JUSTIN  
  GOBY FIELDS
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  ith over 20 film projects on his CV, 
  concept artist Justin Goby Fields works 
  in the film industry. His professional 
  work includes projects for the Aaron 
  Sims Company and Imaginary Forces, 
  and movies include recent VFX-heavy 
  features such as Jupiter Ascending, Maleficent and 
  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. 
  “I wanted to practise some matte painting 
  techniques,” says Justin about his personal Star Wars 
  inspired painting, called Hutt Palace on Hoth, which 
  imagines the smuggler’s hideout relocated to the snowy 
  mountain wastes of The Empire Strikes Back’s Hoth. 
  “I enjoy learning new skills that speed up my 
  workflow while practising the foundations,” says  
  Justin, who uses his downtime to work on personal 
  projects and paintings such as Hutt Palace on Hoth  
  to hone his core art skills.
  Discover more of Justin’s work at the link below, 
  including his Jedi tribute to artist Jack Bosson.
  www.justinfields.com
  Hutt Palace on Hoth is a 
  personal digital concept 
  image that reimagines the 
  smuggler’s den on Hoth
  W
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  The talented artist shares his love of Star 
  Wars and passion for unique illustration
  MATT 
  BUSCH
  att Busch is famed 
  for his Star Wars 
  art, including the 
  cover of NY Times 
  bestseller Tales 
  from the Empire 
  and nearly 400 pieces for the You 
  Can Draw Star Wars book from 
  Lucasfilm and DK Publishing.
  What inspired Encounter on 
  Panna Prime?
  It’s based on the first appearance 
  of Boba Fett, in the Star Wars 
  Holiday Special on TV in 1978. It’s 
  all pretty hard to watch (and was 
  then), but the cartoon portion that 
  included him was pretty cool, even 
  by today’s standards. So I thought 
  it would be fun to take an iconic 
  scene from that and bring it to life, 
  the way it might have looked if it 
  was filmed live-action.
  It was only a cartoon, which 
  presented many challenges. There 
  was no photo reference of a Panna 
  Dragon whatsoever, let alone Fett 
  riding one, or a Y-Wing Fighter 
  floating in the water. This meant 
  working with models and even 
  sculpting my own Panna Dragon 
  to get the lighting just right.
  What is it about Star Wars that 
  drives artists to create new work?
  In my opinion, it’s the imagination 
  of it all. It’s so vast in its worlds, 
  from incredible locations, all kinds 
  of characters and alien creatures, 
  to the tech, vehicles, starships and 
  weapons, there truly is nothing like 
  it. Star Wars has inspired so many 
  artists working today. I think part 
  of the inspiration comes from how 
  big the universe, or ‘playground’ 
  as I call it, is. There are no limits to 
  the fantastical visuals.
  Who has inspired you?
  For a long time it was Drew 
  Struzan, who is most famous for 
  the iconic movie posters. But that 
  inspiration was mostly due to his 
  textured technique, which still 
  inspires me today. However, as I 
  get older, and moving into more 
  concept art with my own creative 
  endeavours, I’m finding so much 
  inspiration in Ralph McQuarrie 
  and Joe Johnston, who were the 
  primary illustrators who designed 
  the look of Star Wars and all of  
  the characters, vehicles, and tech. 
  They are the ones who really  
  made Star Wars what it was and 
  the visual candy we all draw  
  from today.
  Tell us a bit about how you work…
  I usually begin with an idea, and 
  sometimes it’s not even my own 
  if Lucasfilm or one of the licensed 
  companies has something specific 
  in mind. I take that idea and begin 
  to doodle it out visually, usually in 
  a sketchbook. I like doing all of my 
  prelim sketches and scribbles in a 
  sketchbook to collect them all, 
  M
  All images © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  Matt’s favourite 
  Star Wars art is 
  his poster for the 
  20th anniversary 
  of Dark Empire  
  from Dark Horse
  Star Wars has 
  inspired so many artists 
  because its universe is 
  so vast, there are no 
  limits to the visuals 
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  otherwise on random scraps of 
  paper they often get thrown away. 
  A sketchbook keeps it all together, 
  and it’s fun to flip through and 
  revisit the idea process later. I’ll do 
  several thumbnails trying to work 
  out the best composition I can to 
  make it dynamic and tell the story 
  I want the image to convey.
  From there, it’s a hunt for 
  photographic reference. My art 
  is stylised and not completely 
  photo-realistic, but it’s realistic 
  enough that any photos I can use 
  for reference will help me with 
  likeness, lighting, continuity, and 
  just making it all look real – or at 
  the very least, believable. This 
  usually means digging through my 
  collection of Star Wars books and 
  reference files, but also searching 
  online for something I might not 
  already have. In some cases I’ll use 
  spaceship models and take my 
  own reference to get the angles I 
  need, and have friends come over 
  to dress them up as characters 
  and model certain poses for me.
  Once I have the reference I need, 
  I can finally begin on the actual 
  art. I usually begin with pencil on 
  illustration board. I often paint 
  white acrylic gesso on it first to 
  give it a textured look that stays 
  through the entire process. I prefer 
  to draw with a lead holder (2B 
  leads) so that the pencil never 
  whittles down to a stump when 
  sharpening. Basically I’m drawing 
  exactly what I had in my chosen 
  thumbnail sketch, but now am 
  using the reference to make it 
  more accurate and detailed. 
  Once it’s completed, this step 
  usually goes to the editors for 
  approval. The approval process 
  can take anywhere from days to 
  weeks, so once I get the green 
  light I’m pretty excited to finally 
  move in to paint and bring the 
  vision to life. My technique would 
  appear to be traditional acrylics, 
  but more and more the final result 
  ends up being nearly half digital. 
  I begin the painting process with 
  actual paint. I start with acrylic 
  washes – just acrylics watered 
  down to a watercolour-like 
  consistency. Sometimes I’ll break 
  out an airbrush if I have large soft 
  gradations in the sky or a glowing 
  lightsaber. I then use opaque 
  acrylics, which are the same 
  ones only not watered down, for 
  highlights or any edges that need 
  to sharpen back up. Lastly, I’ll use 
  colour pencils to refine any details 
  I wasn’t able to get with the paint.
  When the physical painting is 
  complete, it’s time to bring out 
  the digital guns. To get it there, I 
  either scan the painting in (usually 
  in pieces and stitch together) or 
  take a high-res photo. Adobe 
  Photoshop is my weapon of 
  choice. While I find it difficult to 
  produce art from scratch digitally, 
  I absolutely love taking something 
  I’ve done by hand and running it 
  I find it difficult to 
  produce art digitally 
  from scratch but I love 
  running things through 
  the digital mill
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  Matt recreates 
  some classic 
  scenes, including 
  these for the Star 
  Wars Illustrated 
  card series
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  Matt brings the 
  notorious 1978 Star 
  Wars Holiday Special 
  to life in Encounter 
  on Panna Prime
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  through the digital mill to play 
  with and steer to the place I want 
  it to be. Here I can fix mistakes 
  pretty easily, but also test overall 
  colour and contrast to really get 
  the painting into the aesthetic 
  atmosphere I originally intended. 
  If the client demands any changes, 
  these are done digitally as well.
  Do you approach personal work 
  differently to commissioned art?
  I do! Anything I do for Lucasfilm 
  or one of the licensees, I’m always 
  trying to work with what exactly 
  the client has in mind. They are the 
  ones paying my bills, so I need to 
  deliver. I may not always agree 
  with the angle they’re taking, but I 
  let the ego go and try to give 
  them the best I can.
  In situations like the Star Wars 
  Celebration Limited Edition Art 
  Prints, I not only get to show my 
  artsy side, but get to dive deep 
  into the Star Wars lore and show 
  an interpretation that the licensees 
  might not have wanted to risk. I 
  enjoy these opportunities because, 
  for the most part, I get to run free.
  What makes a great character like 
  Darth Vader or Luke work?
  There are so many reasons why 
  Star Wars characters work, but 
  since this is a visual magazine 
  (and not a writing or philosophy 
  one) I’ll stick with that. Many of the 
  iconic Star Wars characters are 
  faceless, like Darth Vader as you 
  mentioned, or Boba Fett, or even 
  Artoo Detoo. There’s an intriguing 
  mystery there that keeps the 
  audience on their toes. It’s one 
  of the reasons why I believe the 
  prequels weren’t as strong: they 
  revealed who were behind these 
  masks. That immediately takes the 
  mystery away.
  That said, the polar opposite of 
  that would be Luke, who you also 
  mentioned. Visually, especially in 
  the first film, he appears to be the 
  boy next door. He lives a bland life, 
  but he’s a dreamer. He’s someone 
  we all can relate to, and that’s key. 
  You want the audience to identify 
  with your protagonist.
  Are you a Star Wars fan?
  I’m a huge Star Wars fan! The first 
  movie came out when I was four, 
  the perfect age for it to really 
  explode my imagination, and the 
  saga has evolved through the rest 
  of my lifetime. One of the reasons I 
  enjoy working on Star Wars 
  material so much is because it 
  really brings me back to that 
  magical place of being a kid. That 
  sense of wonderment is often lost 
  with adults. Pablo Picasso once 
  said that “The child is the true 
  artist. The difficulty is figuring out 
  how to stay an artist when 
  growing up.” I firmly believe that.
  Do you have a favourite Star Wars 
  painting you’ve done, and why?
  At the moment, I’d say the poster I 
  illustrated for the 20th Anniversary 
  of the Dark Empire graphic novel 
  is my favourite. For one, I really 
  enjoyed that series as a fan, and 
  it was really what kicked my butt 
  into gear when I was trying to 
  break in as a professional artist. 
  But I’m also really proud of the 
  composition and the colours. I 
  feel it represents the tone of that 
  comic series well.
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  One reason I enjoy 
  Star Wars material so 
  much is that it brings 
  me back to the magical 
  place of being a kid
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  Do you have any future projects 
  you can reveal?
  The big project I immerse myself 
  in whenever I get the chance is 
  my magnum opus: Aladdin 3477. 
  It’s a live action film based on the 
  story of Aladdin but set 1,500 
  years in the future. I wrote the 
  screenplay and I’m directing it 
  currently. It’s been a passion 
  project of mine in the works for 
  over 20 years, but it’s really been 
  moving forward in production in 
  the last couple of years. It’s 
  coming out fantastic, but we have 
  another year’s worth of shooting, 
  with a hopeful 2016 release.
  In addition to writing and 
  directing, I’m putting all of my 
  skills to the test, so all of the 
  concept art is mine, and I’m 
  storyboarding each and every 
  shot in the film. I’m designing 
  everything about it, so for better 
  or worse, the final product will be 
  a look into my head! To be able to 
  begin with concept paintings of 
  how I want things to look and then 
  see them come to life on camera, 
  it’s been such a thrill.
  It’s funny, working freelance 
  for Lucasfilm, many people have 
  suggested over the years why 
  don’t I just work at Lucasfilm for 
  George Lucas? While working on 
  Star Wars has been a dream come 
  true, my overall goal was never 
  just to work for George Lucas, it 
  was to become George Lucas! I 
  wanted to make my own Star 
  Wars, so to speak. So the ability to 
  work with friends and collaborate 
  with other professionals to bring 
  this vision to the screen... I’m 
  having the time of my life!
  How excited are you about the 
  new film?
  Excited isn’t even the word! Ever 
  since I was 10 when Return of the 
  Jedi came out, I’ve always wanted 
  to see the continuing adventures 
  of Luke, Han and Leia. I’ll finally 
  get to see it! Even better, I’ll get 
  to be a part of it doing art for the 
  books, trading cards, posters and 
  more. If this is a dream, please 
  don’t wake me up!
  www.mattbusch.com
  My goal was never 
  just to work for George 
  Lucas, it was to become 
  George Lucas, to make 
  my own Star Wars
  © Topps & Lucasfilm Ltd
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  Matt shared his vision of 
  the Mos Eisley Cantina in 
  this trading card from Topps’ 
  Star Wars Galaxy 5 series
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  StarWars.com asked 
  Matt to reimagine Star 
  Wars with zombies. He 
  did it six times over…
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  AARON  
  McBRIDE
  The visual effects director and concept 
  artist reveals his design for a sentry droid
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  rt director Aaron McBride has worked 
  on many recent blockbuster films, 
  including The Avengers, Iron Man 
  and Pirates of the Caribbean. He also 
  created art for the Star Wars prequels. 
  “The first thing you always try to do 
  when designing for a film is to familiarise yourself with 
  the director’s vision, so you can come up with an idea 
  that’s faithful to the story they’re telling,” he reveals. 
  Star Wars Sentry Droid was commissioned work 
  for ImagineFX to demonstrate Aaron’s workflow. 
  “I regularly use 3D tools to block in rough model 
  geometry and lighting when creating concept designs. 
  It helps to keep you honest about the forms you’re 
  indicating in your artwork,” explains Aaron. “I designed 
  a droid that serves as a large sentry – somewhere 
  between a Stormtrooper and an AT-ST walker. It’s a 
  mobile heavy artillery platform that would support the 
  Empire’s equivalent of the Navy Seals or an Imperial 
  ‘black ops’ team when they go on military incursions.”
  www.aaronmcbridestudio.com
  A
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  rtist Tony Foti has a longstanding 
  working relationship with Star Wars: 
  his most recent project involved 
  designing some of the figures for 
  Fantasy Flight’s new board game Star 
  Wars: Assault. But it’s the design of the 
  original trilogy that has influenced his painting more 
  generally. “I often wonder how much of the inspiration 
  for Hoth (and making everything fairly white in and 
  around Echo Base) in Empire Strikes Back was just 
  so they could have Vader tear through it in that black 
  armour,” he says, referencing his own art (above). 
  In contrast to Vader, Luke Skywalker is surrounded 
  by life in Tony’s painting (top). “It wasn’t until the 
  colour study that I realised just how much green was 
  going to be in this illustration,” Tony notes, “at which 
  point it sort of became the theme.”
  In Jedi Shadow (left) Tony’s love of designing 
  lightsabers shines: “I like to make sure every Jedi has  
  a unique and interesting one!”
  www.tonyfotiart.com
  TONY  
  FOTI
  A
  Taking influence from the  
  old to create the new
  All images © Fantasy Flight Games & Lucasfilm Ltd
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  ike so many artists, Roger Kastel was 
  interested in art as a young child. His 
  parents took him to museums, which 
  fascinated him, but his primary interest 
  was comic books. “Our neighbour 
  Tom Hickey was a comic book artist 
  and I always thought it was a wonderful job,” he says.
  The industry has, however, changed over the years. 
  “When I started illustrating,” Roger says, “there were 
  many different artists and many different styles of 
  illustration. I found this very exciting. When new 
  paperbacks came out I always looked forward to seeing 
  all the different artists and covers they painted. Now 
  the computer art basically looks the same to me. The 
  computer has changed everything in illustration.
  “When I’m at conventions signing prints, people tell 
  me they like the painted posters and wonder if movie 
  companies will ever go back to illustrated posters. Many 
  younger people are fascinated that I actually painted 
  them as opposed to doing them on a computer.”
  Was Jaws a landmark for you? Did you realise how 
  iconic it would become?
  Jaws started out as just another paperback book cover 
  for Bantam Books. Then Universal Studios asked to use 
  it as the poster for the movie, after trying other ideas. 
  Bantam Books did tell me that it would be a bestseller 
  and they wanted a great cover.
  After 40 years I’m still amazed at the continued 
  reaction to this painting.
  How did the Empire poster come about?
  Lucasfilm called me and asked if I would be interested 
  in doing a painting for the next Star Wars movie poster. 
  Of course, I was thrilled to get this assignment.
  What influenced the Empire poster?
  My first thought was to have a very dark and dramatic 
  ROGER 
  KASTEL
  painting of Luke Skywalker on the Taun Taun with Darth 
  Vader dominating the background sky. When I went to 
  the first meeting at the agency with the art director, he 
  explained that George Lucas wanted a romantic feeling 
  to the poster.
  When you painted the Empire poster, had you seen 
  the film? How did the process work?
  The process was quite involved, as the movie was still 
  being filmed. There were a lot of challenges because 
  of this. I had seen the first movie and knew the main 
  characters. I was told the basic premise of The Empire 
  Strikes Back. The ideas that I had were derived from 
  the movie stills that were sent to me as well as my 
  imagination. With the Jaws painting, I was given 
  complete artistic licence. This was in contrast to the 
  way most movie posters were created.
  What are the golden rules of composition when 
  creating a poster image?
  My thoughts have always been to make it interesting 
  and as dramatic as possible, so that people would want 
  to see the movie.
  What has been an influence on you and why?
  I’ve already mentioned Tom Hickey and wanting to be 
  a comic book artist. Once I started at the Art Students 
  League in NYC, I had several teachers, but once I could 
  get into Frank J. Reilly’s class, he had the greatest 
  influence on me. He taught me everything I needed for 
  drawing, painting and picture making. Once I learned 
  this, there was no going back to comic books, even 
  though I think today’s comic book artists are great. I 
  also learned (and I am still learning) from museums, 
  my contemporaries, and the many illustrators that 
  preceded me.
  www.rogerkastel.com
  The painter of the iconic Jaws and Empire 
  Strikes Back posters reveals his influences
  L
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  Roger’s pencil drawing of 
  Luke Skywalker has the same 
  haunting presence as his 
  unforgettable movie posters
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  Sean’s expertise in 
  rendering weaponry for 
  games certainly shows in 
  this Scout Speeder from 
  Return of the Jedi
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  ean is currently 
  vehicle artist at 
  Sledgehammer 
  Games (Activision) 
  in San Francisco. 
  He worked on 
  his amazingly realistic speeder 
  bike render for two hours each 
  day for around two months. 
  He used Maya and ZBrush for 
  modelling, Substance Painter to 
  texture, Marmoset to render and 
  Photoshop for compositing and 
  post work. 
  “This was the first time in a long 
  time I had created anything in the 
  Star Wars universe, and that made 
  me very happy all by itself,” Sean 
  says. “I had immersed myself in 
  Star Wars (books, shows, films, 
  games, etc) during the creation 
  of this asset, and it just brought 
  back so many good memories, 
  especially any time I’d watch 
  the scene in Return of the Jedi 
  featuring these speeder bikes.” 
  www.marino.artstation.com
  SEAN  
  MARINO
  In the hands of a specialist artist, the 
  unforgettable speeder bike leaps to life
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  Why simply paint or draw a scene when 
  you can genuinely re-create it… to scale?
  STEPHEN 
  HAYFORD
  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  any artists enjoyed 
  Star Wars figures 
  in their youth, and 
  some still use them 
  for reference. But 
  not many use them 
  in their artwork in quite the way 
  that Stephen Hayford does… 
  Is your art based on a childhood 
  love of Star Wars figures?
  Yes, without a doubt. In 1978, 
  when I first had Star Wars figures 
  in my grubby little mitts, I was 
  inspired to re-create the scenes I 
  had seen on the big screen. This 
  hadn’t happened with me with 
  other toys. And it soon turned 
  into creating stories based on 
  those characters, based on 
  their personalities, grounded in 
  environments that were plausible 
  in their galaxy. So, at six years 
  old, I was unwittingly creating 
  fan fiction in my playtime. 
  That fascination with visual 
  storytelling stuck with me. And 
  in my teens, when it ran into 
  my sense of idealism, my love 
  of photojournalism was born. 
  In my journalism career I covered 
  many dark stories, from murder 
  to horrible accidents to parents 
  losing their children to illness. I 
  turned back to my childhood love 
  of Star Wars action figures as 
  an escape at the end of the day. 
  Creating new figures, customising 
  existing figures into characters 
  that hadn’t been made, was my 
  catharsis. That quickly evolved into 
  creating dioramas of full scenes 
  (starting with the cantina).
  With my experience in 
  photojournalism, it made sense 
  for me to photograph my 
  creations. I posted them online 
  through www.rebelscum.com, and 
  it suddenly found a following.
  So, my art is not just an 
  extension of my childhood love 
  of Star Wars figures, it’s a direct 
  full-circle swing to my visual 
  storytelling roots.
  Where do you get the figures you 
  use? Are they handmade or actual 
  old toys?
  It all depends on what I’m working 
  on. Generally, when I work on 
  M
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  Labor Day, Endor 
  depicts Stormtroopers 
  as you’ve probably 
  never seen them
  In journalism I covered 
  many dark stories. I turned 
  to action figures as an 
  escape and catharsis
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  Stephen loves using 
  faceless figures – pose 
  and body language 
  have to say it all
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  licensed properties, I use the 
  action figures that exist for that 
  movie. I usually use Star Wars 
  figures right out of the package. 
  If it’s a property that doesn’t have 
  action figures in my preferred 
  scale of 3.75-inches (for example, 
  The Big Lebowski), I will customise 
  figures like I do for my personal 
  work. When I create personal 
  work, like my Florida-themed 
  satire, I mix parts of several action 
  figures, re-sculpt clothing and 
  facial features, and re-paint them 
  to look more like everyday people.
  What’s your general process? Is it 
  always the same for every work?
  My process always starts with 
  visual reference material. I 
  examine lots of film stills or 
  behind-the-scenes photos. I 
  take lots of photos of objects I 
  want to re-create. Then it’s on to 
  design of props and structures. 
  That happens both in sketches 
  and on computer. My final 
  compositions are largely worked 
  out in this design stage. My ideas 
  for the composition usually guide 
  the design.
  Design leads to the cutting of 
  pieces, by hand or by laser cutter. 
  Then comes construction, followed 
  by shaping to make the parts 
  come together seamlessly. There 
  are also lots of other applications 
  that take place based on the 
  environment I’m creating. It could 
  involve plaster, wood shavings, 
  baking soda, sand, etc.
  Painting is always the last step 
  of the physical creations. But there 
  are many applications of paint: 
  primer, base coat, tone, detail 
  and weathering. Many colours 
  and techniques are involved.
  Then the actual staging of 
  characters and set pieces takes 
  place for the photography. 
  Photography generally lasts a 
  few hours, with many different 
  light treatments at different focal 
  points. Then finally, those images 
  come together in post-production.
  Which characters lend themselves 
  best to these scenes?
  I love finding ways to work with 
  all characters. But I will admit 
  that I find the most humour in 
  the expressionless sculpts of 
  characters with masks or helmets. 
  For example, I love working with 
  Stormtroopers because of the 
  challenge of expressing their 
  feelings with body language 
  instead of facial gestures.
  Have you experimented with 
  3D printing at all?
  I have used 3D printing and prefer 
  other methods. Even good quality 
  3D printers leave striations in the 
  sculpt because of the layering 
  of the medium. That requires me 
  I love working with 
  Stormtroopers because 
  of the challenge of 
  expressing feelings 
  with body language
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  Model work demands 
  careful lighting and close 
  attention to every detail
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  to do a tremendous amount of 
  finishing work (sanding, filling, 
  and so on) which costs me more 
  time. It’s much easier for me to 
  assemble the pieces I want or 
  sculpt from scratch.
   
  How long would one scene take 
  to set up, light and photograph? 
  What I do can’t be done without 
  a truckload of patience. From 
  the fragility of construction to 
  the painstaking task of setup, 
  patience is required most of all. 
  Setting up the figures and props 
  on the scene takes more than hour 
  in most cases. It’s not as simple 
  as setting up the items so they 
  look good together, you have to 
  constantly get behind the camera 
  to see how the lens sees the 
  items. Everything looks different 
  through the compression of a 
  lens. So, all characters have to be 
  arranged to look good through 
  the lens without competition from 
  background elements or oddly 
  placed lines, etc.
  And then when you have 
  everything set perfectly, one of 
  your actors (the action figure) 
  decides to fall over. Or worse, he 
  decides to fall over and take out 
  everyone else at the same time. 
  (The Domino Effect.) It can be 
  very frustrating.
  Lighting a set takes just as much 
  patience because when you shoot 
  at a small scale, movement of a 
  light five millimeters can make a 
  gigantic difference.
  But it’s a frustration I wouldn’t 
  trade for anything in the world. 
  You can’t beat making a living 
  playing with toys!
   
  Do you have a favourite Star Wars 
  artwork you’ve created and why?
  That’s always a difficult question 
  to answer. I almost always love 
  the last piece I created. But then I 
  also have images that I’m fond of 
  forever. And there are others that 
  I love most because of the story 
  behind the image. For example, 
  my recent Hoth image for a 
  Hasbro / Toys R Us poster utilised 
  a large 8-foot by 8-foot diorama 
  with 70 pounds of baking soda. I 
  also used a fog machine to create 
  background atmospherics while 
  using a fan to blow baking soda 
  into snow flurries. I photographed 
  this monstrous set in my mother’s 
  garage. At the end of several 
  takes, there was a huge cloud of 
  fog and baking soda in the air. 
  I opened the garage door and 
  this cloud billowed out into the 
  driveway. It looked like a Cheech 
  and Chong movie. I couldn’t help 
  but wonder what the neighbours 
  were thinking of the grandmother 
  next door!
  www.lifeinplastics.com
  What I do can’t be 
  done without a load of 
  patience but you can’t 
  beat making a living 
  playing with toys!
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  TERESE  
  NIELSEN
  TERRY  
  DODSON
  Luke is one of three packaging 
  illustrations done for the Star 
  Wars miniatures line Legacy of the 
  Force by illustrator Terese Nielsen. 
  “Unlike many representations of 
  Luke Skywalker,” explains Terese, 
  “this was designed to show him 
  in battle armour – aggressive 
  and edgy.”
  www.tnielsen.com
  Copyright © 2009 Random House, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd.
  Terry Dodson has 22 years’ 
  experience working in the comic 
  book industry, creating stunning 
  pin-up inspired artwork for The 
  X-Men, Wonder Woman and 
  Spider-Man, to name a few.
  Pictured opposite is Terry’s art 
  for the cover of the first issue of 
  Star Wars: Princess Leia, the Star 
  Wars book he drew for Marvel, 
  released in March 2015.
  “I’m a huge fan of pin-up work, 
  Gil Elvgren first and foremost but 
  also Vargas and Petty,” says the 
  fan-favourite comic artist.
  www.terrydodsonart.com
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  The popular Magic The Gathering card 
  artist is deeply into Star Wars too…
  STEVE 
  ARGYLE
  teve Argyle, who 
  has created art 
  for the Knights of 
  the Old Republic 
  Campaign Guide 
  and the Star 
  Wars Galaxies trading card game, 
  admits to being “a bit of a details 
  freak. So keeping everything 
  in-canon and accurate has never 
  been a bother or an issue. When 
  I was asked to paint Darth Vader 
  the first time, after getting the 
  description, I asked ‘Well, which 
  S
  “You’re rolling some 
  pretty dangerous 
  dice when you not 
  only poach in Boba 
  Fett’s territory, but 
  impersonate him as 
  well, Mr. Jodo Kast”
  version are you looking for? It’s 
  not like Vader has had just one 
  outfit.’ They replied ‘I think we’ll 
  like working with you’.”
  Do you have a favourite painting?
  I don’t know if I could pick a 
  favourite. For me, each piece 
  is its own little story of failures, 
  successes, and lessons learned. 
   
  Tell us a little about how you work.
  I’ve never really settled into a 
  “groove” of working any particular 
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  All images © Lucasfilm Ltd & TM. Sony Online Entertainment. Star Wars Galaxies TCG. All Rights Reserved.
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  way. I approach each piece 
  differently. I find that keeps me 
  challenged, and learning.
  Why does Star Wars keep driving 
  artists to create new work?
  I think for many folks around 
  my age, Star Wars is a bit of 
  modern mythology. From the 
  very beginning, the universe felt 
  deep, expansive and intriguing. It 
  calls to your sense of exploration. 
  You want to know more – about 
  everything and everyone in the 
  Star Wars worlds.
  Do you find it easy to paint 
  imagined characters?
  It’s more difficult in many ways, 
  but also incredibly rewarding. 
  I quite enjoy creating new 
  characters. 
   
  What do you think makes a great 
  Star Wars character?
  A great character has what we all 
  have – needs, wants, strengths, 
  weaknesses. We are to be able to 
  understand – even if we disagree 
  with – their feelings, perspectives, 
  I wanted to give 3PO a 
  bit more of a mythological, 
  dignified look. He’s so 
  often portrayed as a 
  frumpy old coward, but 
  he showed courage  
  when it counted
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  “I always liked the soft 
  side of Yoda – fun-loving, 
  caring, humble, welcoming 
  you into his home…”
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  “A couple of 
  generations after 
  Vader, the Sith reform 
  the order. Instead 
  of a master and an 
  apprentice, the Sith 
  operate as parts of 
  a whole. Talon is the 
  hand, and deadly 
  effective in her role”
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  and the choices they make. Then 
  we can invest ourselves in them. 
  Then we care if they climb or fall.
  Would you describe yourself as 
  a Star Wars fan?
  You’re kidding. I am a fan like 
  space is “sort of biggish”. 
  Any future projects? Will you be 
  painting the new Star Wars villain?
  I only wish! Mr. Abrams, call me!
  Finally, how excited are you about 
  the new film?
  More than the birth of my first 
  child. I think, anyway. When I have 
  a kid, I’ll let you know how they 
  compare. But I really think Star 
  Wars is going to win.
  www.steveargyle.com
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  The famed Marvel comic artist turned his attention 
  to Prince Leia for a special commission
  ALEX 
  GARNER
  hen ImagineFX 
  magazine asked 
  Alex Garner 
  to create an 
  illustration of 
  Princess Leia for 
  a cover, based on A New Hope, 
  his response was mixed. “To many 
  it might seem like the dream 
  commission, but I definitely felt 
  some trepidation.”
  Alex is shy about his skill, 
  saying, “I’m not great at capturing 
  likenesses and I wasn’t absolutely 
  sure I could pull it off. But in 
  the end, the lure to work on 
  the famous franchise that had 
  influenced me and so many artists 
  of my generation was just too 
  tempting. I was determined to 
  make it work. Besides, it’s always 
  good to challenge yourself.” 
  W
  Alex began the task of painting 
  the illustration by sifting through 
  online photos of A New Hope, 
  looking for a film scene or screen 
  that might inspire a strong mental 
  image for a magazine cover. 
  “I found myself drawn to the 
  classic opening sequence of 
  the film, particularly the hallway 
  scene in which Leia transfers the 
  secret Death Star plans to R2-D2,” 
  The lure to work on 
  the franchise that had 
  influenced so many 
  artists of my generation 
  was just too tempting
  says Alex. “I felt the lighting and 
  dark values of the hallway might 
  harmonise well with some similarly 
  lit vignettes of Darth Vader and 
  perhaps two spaceships battling 
  above Tatooine.” 
  For the composition Alex had 
  to be aware of the magazine’s title 
  and text placements, “a typical 
  consideration when illustrating for 
  comics and magazines,” reflects 
  the artist, who usually paints 
  for Marvel and DC. “But I enjoy 
  working through these limitations, 
  searching for the ideal layout as 
  if it were a puzzle to be solved. 
  A good composition can make a 
  cover work. But a great one can 
  make it sing. And I started out 
  hoping to achieve just that...”  
  www.alexgarner.com
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  Alex applied subtle noise 
  to interest and engage 
  the eye, and to ensure 
  the art doesn’t look flat
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  The character artist on Star Wars Episode I gives us  
  an insight into what goes into creature design
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  [ 92 ] 
  TERRYL 
  WHITLATCH 
  erryl Whitlatch trained as a scientific 
  illustrator before a lucky meeting led 
  her to work on George Lucas’s game 
  The Dig, and one thing led to another. 
  “As a paleo-reconstructionist, which is 
  my training and speciality, working on 
  the Star Wars prequels was a perfect fit because I had 
  to design imaginary creatures that were biologically 
  believable,” she explains. “Designing creatures for 
  the Star Wars films and universe – including the 
  famous and lovable Jar Jar Binks – was a unique and 
  rewarding experience. Working directly with George 
  Lucas in the pre-production art department for the 
  prequels was a true roller-coaster in terms of the 
  excitement and pure creative energy generated.
  “We were running as fast as we could, artistically 
  speaking,” Terryl reveals. “We had deadlines when we 
  met with George every week, usually on a Friday, but 
  T
  Taking a year-and-a-
  half to develop, Jar Jar 
  Binks is the highest-
  profile character Terryl 
  Whitlatch created for 
  The Phantom Menace. 
  His anatomy was based 
  on elements from 
  duck-billed dinosaurs, 
  emu and parrot fish
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  All images © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Resverved.
  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  Designing creatures 
  for the Star Wars films 
  – including the 
  famous and lovable 
  Jar Jar Binks – was a 
  unique and rewarding 
  experience, and a true 
  roller-coaster
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  sometimes more than that. He gave us an awful lot 
  of freedom and blue sky, which was wise, I think, 
  because he got a lot out of us and ended up with 
  more designs than he would have if we’d just stuck 
  to a rigid description of creatures and vehicles.
  “I had to design creatures that had never been 
  seen anywhere before, yet had a familiar connection 
  with the look and feel already established in the 
  original trilogy. My approach was to take what’s 
  familiar to us on Earth and tweak it a little. This 
  methodology is characteristic of George’s outlook 
  and direction for the invention of Star Wars critters.”
  For the pod racers in Episode I, however, there 
  were some specific requirements. “There should be 
  a lot of physical variety, the racers needed to be 
  realistic, and they had to be small enough to drive 
  the pods, just like lightweight jockeys for racehorses. 
  And they needed to provide comic relief.
  “With the pod racers, I was able to draw from 
  my memory bank and visual references, and take 
  inspiration from actual animals. In the case of the 
  pod racer Teemto Pagalies – whose personality 
  “The more realistic 
  the skeleton and 
  muscular system, 
  the more easily the 
  rigger will be able to 
  design the vectoral 
  rig skeleton and 
  muscles underlying 
  the CG model”
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  I had to design 
  creatures that had 
  never been seen before 
  yet fitted with the look 
  and feel of the original 
  trilogy. My approach 
  was to take what’s 
  familiar to us on Earth 
  and tweak it a little
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  Initially George 
  Lucas tends to work 
  with personality 
  rather than what the 
  creature eventually 
  looks like
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  is somewhat similar to Bullwinkle the Moose – I was 
  inspired by hoofed mammals (ungulates), specifically 
  hartebeests, moose for their sloping eye-to-horn profile 
  and camels for their hind limbs. I also sifted in some 
  Celebes macaque monkey into the face, and of course 
  there’s a bit of human anatomy adapted into the upper 
  torso, specifically arms with hands – all the better to 
  steer with! The whole animal needed to be functional 
  for its film role, rather than either a human in an animal 
  costume or a chimera, which is the stitching together 
  of recognisable animal species, such as in a mermaid, 
  griffin or centaur.”
  Initially, however, Terryl adds, “George tends to 
  work with personality rather than what the creature 
  eventually looks like.” This can mean starting from 
  character rather than anatomy. In the case of Sebulba, 
  his nasty character was based on a camel: “I saw him 
  as a very aloof, irritable dromedary.
  “For this narrative illustration [left] I drew a scene 
  where three of the pod racers – the antelope-like Clegg 
  Holdfast, the Pipefish-seahorse-inspired Adar Beedo 
  and moose-macaque-like Teemto Pagalies – are having 
  a nice spot of tea together after a successful race 
  (successful meaning they all survived).”
  Sometimes more practical considerations come into 
  play, too. “The interesting thing about Jabba,” Terryl 
  says, “is that although at that time he was described 
  as a slug, which is an invertebrate animal, I went on 
  to create a vertebrate skeleton for him. This was 
  important to design both for the reality of the film and 
  for the benefit of the production riggers. Since he also 
  has non-scaly skin, albeit lumpy and bumpy, Jabba is 
  much closer to an amphibian and I suppose his closest 
  Earthly relative would be the hellbender or Japanese 
  giant salamander – a large and magnificently ugly beast.”
  www.talesofamalthea.com
  The orthographic 
  sketches for pod 
  racer character 
  Sebulba, ready to 
  be sculpted in 3D
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  The artist has a love of flying vehicles 
  but shares some wider concept work
  STEPHEN 
  CHANG
  ormerly senior 
  concept artist 
  at LucasArts in 
  San Francisco, 
  Stephen Chang 
  worked on a 
  number of games including Star 
  Wars: First Assault and Star Wars: 
  The Force Unleashed. Some 
  examples of his concept designs 
  are on these pages. His biggest 
  love, though, is future flying 
  vehicle designs. “Right now I’m 
  also working with a producer at 
  CNN to create new future vehicles 
  of flight, which is my biggest 
  passion in design,” he reveals. “I 
  recently went on a trip to NASA’s 
  Armstrong Flight Research Center 
  to tour the facilities and take a 
  peek at what is to come for the 
  future of flight.” 
  It doesn’t take a giant leap 
  from this interest to sci-fi film art. 
  “Without a doubt! I’m the biggest 
  fan of all the vehicle designs from 
  the original trilogy,” he says.
  Doug Chiang started it all 
  off for Stephen with his vehicle 
  designs, in particular his book The 
  Essential Guide to Vehicles and 
  Vessels. But Stephen has settled 
  on his own process since then. 
  “One of my favourite techniques 
  I like to use is to roughly model 
  my vehicles in Modo first, which 
  gives you a great base to start 
  off with. Then I’ll composite the 
  F
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  Some designs from Star Wars: 
  The Force Unleashed II (this 
  page and opposite page, top) 
  and The Force Unleashed 
  (opposite page, bottom)
  All images © LucasArts & Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  More concept art from 
  The Force Unleashed, 
  and a personal piece 
  depicting a young Jedi 
  besting a giant Rancor
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  3D render and photos or paint in 
  Photoshop. Compositing photos 
  and making them work to create 
  something completely different is 
  very satisfying for me.”
  Stephen is proud of the fact 
  that one of his spacecraft designs, 
  the sinister Rogue Shadow from 
  The Force Unleashed, has been 
  made into a stunning 13-inch-
  long, 482-piece Lego model kit, 
  complete with minifigures of 
  Imperial officer and pilot Juno 
  Eclipse, a battle-damaged Darth 
  Vader and Vader’s Apprentice.
  Does he approach personal 
  Star Wars projects differently to 
  commissioned art? “Yes! I end up 
  drawing Jedi slicing things in half 
  such as giant Rancors!”
  www.stevoskit.com
  Compositing 3D 
  renders and photos, 
  and making them 
  work to create 
  something completely 
  different, is very 
  satisfying for me
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  Original artwork © Ashton Galllagher
  Star Wars Goes 3D plays on the 
  film series’ popcorn cinema appeal 
  and its legacy in helping create the 
  summer blockbuster. 
  “Vader is the only collegiate 
  piece in my portfolio,” explains 
  artist Ashton Gallagher. “It’s 
  difficult to describe why but this 
  piece sticks with people unlike my 
  other pieces.”
  In 2006, Star Wars Goes 3D 
  was selected for the Society of 
  Illustrators Annual Scholarship 
  Competition and displayed in 
  New York, where it won new fans 
  and acclaim for the artist.
  Since that time, Ashton has 
  developed a portfolio of stunning 
  and original art, including new 
  Star Wars pieces. But his aim is 
  to tell stories with his paintings, 
  to ask “what is happening in this 
  scene” and to discover what will 
  happen next to the characters. 
  This image brilliantly raises both 
  questions, and plenty more… 
  www.ashtongallagher.com
  ASHTON 
  GALLAGHER
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  There’s nothing 
  more daunting than a 
  giant empty starship 
  that needs to be 
  covered with detail 
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  How the vehicles of Star Wars 
  have been reimagined
  ANSEL 
  HSIAO
  he spaceship models of Ansel Hsiao 
  are epic, detailed and enthralling.  
  Your eye can’t fail to be drawn to 
  every angle and detail. And likely  
  you’ll recognise the major influence  
  on Ansel’s creations. 
  “Not surprisingly, it was from Star Wars,” he says 
  without a trace of hesitation when asked what was 
  the first spaceship that inspired him. “When the 
  Star Destroyer flew overhead for the first time, I was 
  hooked on making cool spaceships. I don’t see that 
  going away in the near future.”
  It’s a long, slow-building shot that caused a stir 
  in 1977 and still does. It really needs to be seen on 
  a cinema screen to appreciate the impact, as your 
  entire view is slowly blocked by a sweeping majestic 
  Star Destroyer designed by Ralph McQuarrie. No 
  wonder Ansel has been so inspired to create his 
  collection of grand models.
  “I had some grand ambitions when starting out: 
  Darth Vader’s Executor from The Empire Strikes Back. 
  Looking back on it I barely had a non-primitive object 
  in that model, but I learned tons by doing it,” explains 
  Ansel, who reveals that his current models use more 
  “real” details to evoke scale, such as pipes, fixtures, 
  and “things that are based off of things that work, 
  rather than just being boxes to break up outlines of 
  basic shapes.”
  Ansel’s core method for assembling his models – 
  keeping assets modular and available for other uses 
  T
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  Ansel’s incredible 
  collection of 
  spaceship models 
  are inspired by his 
  love of Star Wars
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  It’s not just about 
  variations of iconic 
  shapes, but capturing 
  an entire design ethos
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  – dates back to that first attempt to create the 
  Executor model. Explaining the process, Ansel says 
  his first step begins with visualisation, “collecting lots 
  of reference material and deciding what elements 
  from existing ships to use in the design of the new 
  one. This involves a lot of simple modelling to get 
  the feel of the project. The vast majority of the models 
  I’ve abandoned get shelved at this stage, because 
  something just doesn’t feel right.”
  The next step is to search through his old models 
  for detail elements to repurpose. Once they’re chosen, 
  Ansel clears zones on his model to detail: “There’s 
  nothing more daunting than a giant empty starship 
  that needs to be covered with detail, and it helps to 
  be able to focus on a series of small areas,” he says. 
  When the ship is detailed, Ansel will then clone or 
  reference symmetrical areas of the ship, collapse 
  modifier stacks and generally clean up the files. “I try 
  to build fairly clean as I go – vertex clean-up at the end 
  can be a nightmare for a multi-million polygon ship.”
  When working, Ansel draws inspiration from real-life 
  machinery and vehicles. As his models have developed 
  he’s sought to ensure that the detailing is as realistic 
  as possible; to sell the idea of a grand starship you first 
  need to convince viewers it can work.
  “I’ve caught myself staring at things while travelling 
  and thinking ‘that would make for a great piece of 
  greeble’,” Ansel says when considering his influences.
  Of course, the big influence is Star Wars itself: “A lot 
  of ideas come from the original sources. That means 
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  Even classic ideas can 
  be given a facelift. 
  Merging curved 
  base shapes into an 
  otherwise angular 
  design or vice versa is a 
  simple trick for adding 
  some spice to a model 
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  either the studio models themselves, or the model kits 
  that the original models were scratch-built from.
  “Partially it’s my first love in sci-fi, and partially I 
  really like the ‘used’ aesthetic of the designs. It looks 
  like it could all work, but offers literally a galaxy’s 
  scope to come up with cool new variations. Plus, 
  being able to see how my models can tie together 
  thematically is really cool.”
  Ansel has a clear idea of what makes a good 
  starship design: “I think internal consistency within 
  a setting is more important than believability when it 
  comes to design,” he explains. “Everything else can 
  be based on the universe that’s built around the story, 
  and it’s up to the exposition to make things obvious.
  “But beyond that, the design should follow some 
  basic physical principles that are intuitive: something 
  that is supposed to be a battleship should not look 
  flimsy, and rocket engines should look like they would 
  be able to push a ship forward, rather than just into 
  an endless spin. If you place elements within your 
  design that are familiar to, yet different from, things 
  in real life, that can make for some compelling sci-fi 
  design,” he continues. 
  I think internal consistency 
  within a setting is more important 
  than believability in a design 
  GETTING IT SHIP SHAPE   
  Define the basic shapes of the ship. 
  Here there’s a lot of playing with basic 
  primitives and getting a feel for the 
  scale and style of the project. It’s helpful 
  to model some basic cues for size in 
  some detail, so you have a good idea 
  of what it’ll look like at the end.
  SETTING OUT THE DETAILS     
  Inset details are a great way to fill space 
  and add scale and complexity. They don’t 
  always need to be unique. Also, ships 
  don’t need to be evenly detailed to the 
  highest level: the camera and the eye 
  will focus naturally on certain areas, and 
  these are the ones to work more on.
  MIX AND MATCH DETAILS
  Mix up the types of detail as you go. 
  Mechanical detail can help a swoopy 
  ship seem functional. Remember, real 
  vehicles aren’t carved from a single 
  piece of material, so adding individual 
  elements like plates or bits of machinery 
  can make a design look realistic.
  MANAGING THE MODEL    
  Move on to discrete regions of the ship, 
  one at a time so the project is broken 
  down into manageable parts. Try to keep 
  individual pieces of detail separate, so 
  they can be re-purposed throughout the 
  rest of the project. Always work in layers 
  to keep viewport performance high.
  PLAN FOR THE CAMERA
  Figure out where the camera might 
  linger on your model, and don’t be 
  afraid to spend polys heavily to make it 
  extra interesting to the eye. These are 
  good places to layer greebles on top 
  of each other in order to create more 
  interesting details.
  USE INDUSTRIAL DETAILING 
  Certain kinds of detail – like pipe and 
  cable runs, rivets and small cut-outs – 
  are disproportionately good at adding 
  complexity given their poly count. Such 
  detail is also useful for either breaking 
  up or enhancing the outline of the basic 
  masses that form the core of the model.
  DETAIL LARGE SURFACES
  Break up surfaces with shallow details 
  (or do this in texturing). Discontinuity in 
  level of detail is grating – a well detailed 
  ship can be let down by empty areas. 
  Add some access ports, panel lines and 
  surface cable runs. The surface of a ship 
  doesn’t have to look like a tile floor!
  THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE   
  When everything has been set up, 
  remember to do some large renders 
  to check for major mistakes. It can be 
  frustrating to render over and over, but 
  this is the best way to make sure all the 
  obvious issues are ironed out. Plus, you 
  get to enjoy the result!
   MODELLING A STARSHIP
  Ansel Hsiao takes us through the process of piecing 
  together an epic Star Wars-inspired spaceship
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  A single ship model can take Ansel anywhere from 
  a week to a month to create. A more simple ship or 
  vehicle that doesn’t require a lot of editing can be 
  completed in a matter of days, however, and Ansel 
  points to his now extensive  collection of pre-modelled 
  assets that can be used to quickly detail any given 
  ship or vehicle. 
  “The limiting step really is setting the basic shape 
  and style of a project,” says Ansel, explaining that time 
  invested in the planning stages can avoid problems 
  later: “I spend tons of time early on making sure the 
  basic shapes and proportions are where I want them. 
  Detailing is easy once that’s done.”
  With a growing collection of Star Wars models in 
  his portfolio, the tease of a new movie in December 
  means Ansel won’t be short of inspiration. 
  “Any foray into my favourite fictional universe is 
  great to see,” he enthuses. “From a visual standpoint, 
  I’m really interested in seeing how they accommodate 
  the older design cues in whatever new designs they 
  come up with.”
  www.fractalsponge.net
  I spend tons of time on the basic 
  shapes and proportions. Detailing 
  is easy once that’s done 
   WHAT MAKES A  
  GREAT SHIP DESIGN?
  Firstly, how well defined is it? Are the 
  key elements of the design memorable 
  but clear enough that someone would 
  really remember it? 
  Secondly, the detail complexity. Are 
  there enough elements and enough 
  layers of elements to make it interesting 
  at different scales? This really sells the 
  intended size of a ship and gives you 
  the chance to make impressive areas of 
  deep detail. 
  Thirdly, how relatable is it? Are there 
  parts that are instinctively familiar even 
  though they may look fantastical in 
  actual form? That’s where how well you 
  integrate your references into the design 
  comes into play. Combine all of that, and 
  I think you’ll have a spaceship design 
  that’s going to stand the test of time.
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  Adding only a few layers can make a 
  large ship seem enormous. The trick is to have a 
  smaller detail section present when a viewer’s eye 
  focuses on one part of the model, making the whole 
  thing seem  extremely richly detailed. A few extra 
  greebles can make a huge difference in perception
  Ansel enjoys taking 
  old designs from 
  old games and 
  refreshing them 
  with an unlimited 
  polygon budget
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  The artist takes us from a love of  
  sketch cards to full-scale paintings
  BRANDON  
  KENNEY
  randon Kenney grew up surrounded 
  by art. He describes his mother as 
  an incredible wildlife artist, and his 
  grandmother used to tour the country 
  creating pastel portraits for a living. 
  Both of his parents encouraged him 
  and his sisters to express themselves through art, 
  and he never felt that pursuing art as a career was a 
  negative thing in any way. He says he knew what he 
  wanted to do for a living at the age of five.
  Brandon enrolled in the Art Institute of California, 
  where he studied traditional hand-drawn animation. 
  After graduation he was uncertain what direction 
  to follow. Knowing that the animation industry was 
  geared toward CGI, he tried his hand at 3D animation 
  and Flash but couldn’t find the same inspiration and 
  joy he got from putting pencil to paper. 
  Shortly after graduation he was introduced to 
  sketch cards – small pieces of original artwork that are 
  often placed randomly into official sets of cards. Their 
  size and collectability drew his interest and he began 
  to try his hand at a few of them, “mostly just to keep 
  from getting rusty as I figured out what to do next with 
  my career,” he laughs. After a few months he started 
  to work on official sketch card sets from licences like 
  Marvel, DC Comics and Star Wars. “These cards proved 
  to be a great way to experiment with mediums I was 
  previously unfamiliar with,” he says. “I tried markers, 
  coloured pencils, acrylics, watercolours, and eventually 
  I began painting them in oil. The size allowed me to try 
  new ideas or techniques and quickly see the results.
  “In 2014,” he continues, “I started painting larger in 
  an effort to move from simply recreating scenes to 
  re-imagining them and concepting new ideas. 
  “Currently I’m pushing my comfort limits and 
  continuing to experiment with techniques both digital 
  and traditional,” Brandon concludes. “I have found so 
  “A few of the 50 oil painted cards I 
  did for the Star Wars Galaxy 7 set 
  from Topps. This was one of the last 
  sets I worked on before I decided to 
  change the direction of my art. Each 
  card is oil painted 2.5x3.5 inches”
  I have found so much joy and 
  excitement from conceptualising 
  scenes in the Star Wars universe
  B
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  “One of my first pieces larger than 
  a sketch card – 11x14 inches in 
  charcoal and acrylic on bristol board. 
  I was so happy that I was able to 
  accurately bring my original vision 
  to life, and it fed my confidence to 
  continue to paint larger”
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  “I was terrified to paint a large 
  oil painting like this for a long 
  time because of the time and 
  commitment. I remember struggling 
  a lot with Padme’s face and losing 
  the likeness several times before I 
  was able to get it back”
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  “An acrylic card I 
  airbrushed for the 
  Return of the Jedi 
  Widevision set 
  released by Topps”
  much joy and excitement from conceptualising scenes 
  based in the Star Wars universe recently and I have so 
  many ideas I want to bring to life!”
  When did you do your first Star Wars painting? 
  I drew so much Star Wars as a child, it would be 
  difficult to remember the first painting, but the first 
  licensed artwork I created was for the Topps trading 
  card set Star Wars Galaxies 5. I remember choosing 
  to airbrush acrylic on those cards because I wanted to 
  try something new and memorable. Working on that 
  set was like a dream to me, and I had so much fun.
  Do you have a favourite character to sketch and why? 
  I have a few personal favourites, but if I had to choose 
  one character it would be Darth Maul. His makeup 
  and grimy teeth, the texture in his horns and just the 
  general badass feel of the character – I love it.
  Which is the hardest character to get right? 
  For me there are certain actors with a likeness that 
  is very difficult to capture. Harrison Ford is one of 
  them. He’s so easy to get wrong that whenever I do 
  a Han Solo piece I take into account the extra time it 
  will take to make sure the likeness is accurate. Mark 
  Hamill is another one. All it takes is a small shift in the 
  placement of the eye, or for the nose to be a bit too 
  large or small and suddenly he no longer looks like 
  Luke Skywalker.
  Can you tell us a little about your process? 
  My process usually changes for each piece I do. There 
  is never a precise formula that I can follow, I just have 
  to be open to do whatever the piece needs to make it 
  stronger. Generally, I start on paper with several very 
  rough thumbnails. From there I’ll choose one or two, 
  enlarge them, and refine digitally or on paper. It’s at 
  this point that I try to establish a colour palette that I 
  can easily refer to as the work progresses. 
  The steps that follow vary greatly depending on the  
  medium I’m using and what I’m trying to achieve. If I’m 
  working in acrylics I’ll try to refine the underdrawing 
  because I want it to show through to the final piece. If 
  I’m doing oil or digital painting then I’ll focus more on 
  gradually building shapes and forms through colour 
  because I know that the final details won’t be realised 
  until the very end.
  Who inspires you? 
  I find inspiration everywhere! There is so much 
  amazing talent out there that I am constantly finding 
  new art that really drives me to try something 
  different. Names that have made a significant impact 
  in my career growing up would include the classical 
  work of Michelangelo and Da Vinci – as a child I 
  thought I would one day have the same understanding 
  of the human form. In school I was introduced to 
  animators that made me realize how much I didn’t 
  know – Milt Kahl’s work and knowledge of movement 
  was a huge inspiration to me as I studied. Once I 
  started doing illustrative work I found the work of 
  More oil painted 
  sketch cards from 
  the Galaxy 7 set
  For me Harrison Ford’s likeness 
  is very difficult to capture. I always 
  add extra time when I paint him
  All images © Topps & Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  Drew Struzan and N.C. Wyeth would constantly 
  influence some of my own tastes and aspirations.
  Do you have a favourite film or scene in the series?
  I think the one thing Episode 1 did to near perfection 
  was the final confrontation between Darth Maul 
  and the two Jedi. The tempo of the action and the 
  incredible Duel of the Fates score really resonated 
  with me. There are a ton of scenes from Star Wars that 
  I absolutely adore, but that scene is my favourite.
   
  Have the new trailers inspired you? 
  Absolutely! I’m working on my first Force Awakens 
  piece right now! The difficulty is that I don’t know the 
  context of the scenes from the trailer. It’s hard to figure 
  out what to paint and get a feel for the characters 
  when you don’t know the story behind the images. I’m 
  excited for what’s to come, not only as an artist but as 
  a fan because we’re on the cusp of a whole new series 
  of movies, stories and ideas! It’s an electric feeling!
  www.brandonkenney.com
   SUITING UP
  How the Celebration print evolved
  From my very first rough sketch I knew 
  I wanted to do Luke getting ready for 
  his first flight as a member of the Rebel 
  Alliance. Most of the details were clear 
  in my head from the beginning, so I 
  didn’t need to thumbnail a lot of ideas.
   
  Once I’m happy with the idea I scan 
  the sketch and redraw it in Photoshop 
  roughly so I can move things around or 
  redraw elements on different layers. This 
  is my first thoughts on a colour palette.
  After I’m happy with the general layout 
  and have some thoughts on colour I 
  need to shoot some reference for the 
  pose. I’ll use anything I have available 
  to shoot a reference shot. It doesn’t 
  have to be perfect, it’s just a source to 
  figure out lighting and the way certain 
  materials cast shadows, bend and fold.
  At this point I use all the elements I’ve 
  been working on to create a tight pencil 
  drawing. I knew I wanted the hand-
  drawn elements to show through the 
  final piece.
  Once I started digitally painting the 
  sketch I realised I needed a lot more 
  drawings, and I needed things changed. 
  Rather than trying to mimic a pencil line 
  on my Wacom tablet, I find it easier just 
  to draw the elements on paper and scan 
  them into the computer.
  All the elements scanned and painted. 
  The final artwork changed quite 
  dramatically from the original sketch 
  but I hope it stayed true to my original 
  vision. It’s important that I don’t lose 
  that initial feeling I wanted when the 
  idea was first conceived.
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  “A recent painting that was 
  experimental from the first 
  steps. I wanted this to be 
  the first in a series of Jedi 
  portraits but really didn’t 
  know if the techniques I was 
  using would translate. It’s 
  16x24 inches, charcoal and 
  acrylic on MDF board”
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  © Del Rey & Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  Rogue Leader – given a 
  blank canvas and the entire 
  Star Wars universe, Dave 
  chose to capture a Luke 
  Skywalker moment of glory
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  ifelong Star Wars 
  fan Dave Seeley 
  can still vividly 
  remember the 
  moment that 
  the film series 
  impacted on his life. “I can still 
  feel that guttural rumble from 
  back in 1977, when that glorious 
  Star Destroyer cruised into view, 
  leaving a profound impression 
  on my teenage brain,” he tells 
  us. “I’d never seen anything to 
  compare, and I was instantly 
  hooked. The worlds, the pace, 
  the characters, the drama – all 
  seared into my psyche. Star Wars 
  was the first time I’d been able to 
  immerse myself in a science fiction 
  paradigm and take it entirely 
  seriously. No nod and a wink, no 
  farce, no suspension of disbelief. 
  Star Wars shaped my interest and 
  defined an aesthetic direction for 
  my work.”
  It’s fitting that Dave has built a 
  career creating immaculate book 
  covers for the Star Wars extended 
  universe, commissioned by Dave 
  Stevenson at Del Rey Books. Dave 
  Seeley cold-called the art director, 
  who as it happened was a fan, and 
  the work followed. As Dave Seeley 
  tells it: “I picked up the phone and 
  left Dave a message about coming 
  in to see him. A short while later 
  he phoned back: ‘Sure, come on in, 
  I’ve got a job for you.’ Wow. And 
  that was the start of my work on 
  Star Wars.”
  Dave’s first book jacket was for 
  the novel Rebel Dream by Aaron 
  Allston, featuring Wedge Antilles 
  in the cockpit of his X-wing fighter. 
  The artist began researching the 
  characters and vehicles but, at the 
  time, neither had a clearly defined, 
  consistent look (with few images 
  of actor Denis Lawson, who 
  played eventual cult-hero Wedge). 
  “The character appeared in 
  relatively few frames in the film 
  and was usually helmeted. The 
  X-wing exterior was featured 
  heavily in the film, but views 
  within the cockpit were most 
  always front-on. So what did it 
  look like off to one side? I was 
  able to invent some aspects of 
  the control panels, and I also used 
  Department of Defense photos 
  of real fighter plane cockpits for 
  ideas of what to show. It seemed 
  important to expand on what we 
  already knew about Wedge and 
  his X-wing, and I was eager to add 
  to the Star Wars canon. 
  “When I was commissioned to 
  create the cover for the second 
  book in Aaron’s duology, titled 
  Rebel Stand, I chose to create a 
  view from inside the Falcon that 
  we hadn’t seen in the films. At 
  this time, 3D software was still in 
  a fledgling state and not yet the 
  tool that I’d choose for this kind 
  L
  The favourite book cover illustrator talks 
  about his love of the Star Wars universe
  DAVE 
  SEELEY
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  [ 117 ]  
  Star Wars: Jedi 
  Healer – most of 
  Dave’s work for the 
  Star Wars franchise 
  has been for the 
  Expanded Universe
  © Del Rey & Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  of thing. Instead, I worked with a 
  plastic model kit of the Falcon and 
  invented my own crazy interior 
  perspective, with a view out to the 
  ship’s nose. That was a view that 
  we hadn’t ever seen in the films.”
  Moving forward, Dave has 
  become a regular artist for Star 
  Wars and its conventions. When 
  he was invited to Celebration IV 
  in Los Angeles, to mark the 30th 
  anniversary of Star Wars Episode 
  IV: A New Hope, he knew which 
  character he would paint for the 
  show: Luke Skywalker.
  “For me, the coolest aspect 
  of Luke in the movies was his 
  incarnation as an ace fighter pilot. 
  I decided to show Luke in the 
  period following the conclusion 
  of Return of the Jedi, when he and 
  his Rogue Squadron of X-wing 
  fighters take on the job of rooting 
  out the entrenched Empire from 
  the galaxy. Prior to the convention, 
  I emailed the finished image, called 
  Rogue Leader, to Dave Stevenson, 
  thinking that he should have first 
  crack at using it, given that he 
  was the reason I was working in 
  the Star Wars universe in the first 
  place. Dave immediately emailed 
  me back saying he thought he 
  might have the perfect book for 
  it, which turned out to be Luke 
  Skywalker and the Shadows of 
  Mindor. 
  “When Lucasfilm announced it 
  as the cover image, fans on the 
  message boards seemed pretty 
  stoked, except for those who were 
  disappointed that the villain of the 
  book, Lord Shadowspawn, wasn’t 
  on the cover. I picked up the 
  phone and gave Dave another call. 
  What if we flipped our point of 
  view 180 degrees when we flipped 
  the book over, and saw what 
  Luke saw: Lord Shadowspawn, 
  an instant before their sabers 
  collided? Dave loved the idea and 
  commissioned the painting… 
  “I found it particularly satisfying 
  to flesh out this spectacular villain. 
  Shadowspawn was a character 
  who had not yet been seen in 
  any detail, so I was able to design 
  him with some degree of latitude. 
  I went for a Revolutionary War 
  general/pirate/ninja combination, 
  but the finishing touch was Dave 
  Stevenson’s suggestion to add his 
  white facial tattoo.”
  The Star Wars universe has 
  continued to be a source of 
  inspiration to Dave. “It defined 
  my early aesthetic vision for 
  science fiction,” he says, adding: 
  “What’s more, the prequel trilogy 
  was neatly aimed at my son’s 
  generation, so I was able to live 
  those movies and relive the 
  original movies through his eyes 
  during the creation of my Star 
  Wars illustrations. While I’m very 
  glad I’ve been able to enjoy a wide 
  variety of projects in my career, 
  I’m thrilled to have been a part of 
  creating the Star Wars universe.”
  This universe, says Dave, tapped 
  into a common interest in sci-fi 
  and fantasy, representing the 
  genre in away anyone can access. 
  “Lucasfilm then assembled a 
  raft of talent that expanded the 
  universe in a truly compelling 
  visual way. So much of the genre 
  owes so much to Star Wars. The 
  design work was original rather 
  than referential, so it still has a 
  freshness almost 40 years later.”
  Dave continues to work on new 
  Star Wars projects. A book titled 
  The Art of Dave Seeley is due for 
  release in September 2015 and 
  features a chapter on his Star 
  Wars work. Plus, there’s always his 
  Star Wars: Episode VII artwork to 
  look forward to: “I did do a bunch 
  of images related to the new film, 
  but as far as revealing them is 
  concerned… ‘I could tell ya, but I’d 
  have to kill ya!’”
  www.daveseeley.com
  So much of the genre owes 
  so much to Star Wars. It still has a 
  freshness almost 40 years later
  Dave’s stunning 
  piece called 
  Galactic Conquest 
  captures the epic 
  scale of the films
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  DERMOT  
  POWER
  Concept artist Dermot Power’s 
  work on Star Wars Episode II 
  wasn’t exactly a trial by fire, but 
  the sheer number of costume 
  designs involved, plus the sanctity 
  of the “brand,” certainly made for 
  an interesting process. 
  “There are the earlier movies 
  to go from, of course, but also 
  George Lucas doesn’t like his 
  designers to just make stuff up,” 
  explains Dermot. “He likes to see 
  history in the designs even if it is 
  for a fictional world.”
  Thus, for research purposes, 
  Dermot and the team pored over 
  copies of National Geographic and 
  books by Taschen on indigenous 
  cultures, as well as editions of 
  Vogue from the 1920s and 30s. 
  “Iain McCaig was fantastic at 
  that, and I learned a lot from him, 
  particularly the habit of lateral 
  thinking,” Dermot adds. “Seeing 
  a beaded necklace on a Masai 
  tribeswoman and using it for a 
  Coruscant dweller’s coat, that  
  type of thing.”
  One technique the art team 
  used was to take a book, flip 
  through its pages, and grant 
  themselves mere seven seconds 
  a page to study it before 
  making sketches from the brief 
  information. “It’s a great way of 
  loading your brain with lines and 
  shapes,” he explains, “though it 
  was exhausting keeping up with 
  Iain because he can actually get  
  a lot down in seven seconds!”
  www.dermotpower.com
  All images © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
  Shaakti, a Jedi master 
  for Star Wars: Episode 
  II. Dermot’s drawing 
  includes a credit to art 
  director Iain McCaig
  Space Jockey, a generic 
  spaceman design for 
  Star Wars: Episode II
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  With a passion brewing following the announcement 
  of the new Star Wars episodes, graphic artist 
  Alexandre Charleux decided to treat himself to some 
  free time to create artwork inspired by the movies. 
  “I wanted to draw a character that I believe is the 
  essence of Star Wars – the iconic figure of a Sith,” he 
  explains. “I think the Star Wars identity lies much more 
  in the dramatic writing and building of the characters 
  than the visual effects or the (great) environments.”
  Unbelievably, Alexandre put this striking piece 
  together in under an hour. “I didn’t look at the  
  concept artworks of the many Star Wars movies  
  and games that have been made much, but I’ve  
  always enjoyed Ryan Church and Feng Zhu’s 
  environment designs,” he comments. “Still, one artist 
  that always inspires me in regards to the identity 
  he gave to many cult movies throughout his career, 
  including Star Wars, is Drew Struzan. While my work 
  is not a literal translation of his, I find inspiration in his 
  mastery of composition, lighting and dramatic figures. 
  In many cases he didn’t do a poster of a movie: the 
  poster is the movie.”
  For his own piece, Alexandre went with his  
  instincts. “I wanted to be quick, to keep the  
  dynamism and energy of the original intention,” he 
  says. “So I looked into the pictures of a photo shoot 
  I did a couple of years ago with a model for another 
  project and started to explore the design, painting 
  on top of a sketch I made from those. I kept a very 
  undefined silhouette as long as possible in the  
  process to let me reinterpret it at will, using the  
  strong contrast to let the shadows only suggest the 
  things I want out of focus, but still feel there. The 
  process was very instinctive.”
  Following his creative instincts and staying relaxed 
  works well for the artist. “I usually approach any 
  personal work with a different attitude than any 
  studio-related or client work,” he explains. “The 
  workflow is the same, but I find myself much more 
  laid back when I’m my only client, and it allows me 
  to experiment a bit more and feel more efficient. Still, 
  with personal work I tend to end up in my comfort 
  zone, while each new client work is a challenge  
  I need and embrace to work outside of my skill set.”
  www.eyellusive.com
  ALEXANDRE 
  CHARLEUX
  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  The comics artist talks about her 
  series of propaganda posters
  CAT 
  STAGGS
  robably best 
  known for her art 
  for DC Comics 
  and on Star Trek 
  for IDW, Cat has 
  also created Star 
  Wars cards for Lucasfilm since 
  2004 and a series of distinctive 
  Celebrations posters (six so far) in 
  the style of wartime posters. “I am 
  a big fan of propaganda art from 
  the ’40s,” she explains. “I thought 
  it would be fun to combine them 
  with the war aspect of the Star 
  Wars films. Playing with the 
  juxtaposition of the vintage with 
  the future was a very appealing 
  challenge for me.”
  Why does Star Wars keep driving 
  artists to create new work?
  I can’t answer for anyone but 
  myself. For me, there are so many 
  worlds, people and creatures to 
  play with, it almost feels like an 
  endless playground of inspiration. 
  40 years’ worth of material, and 
  now we are adding new elements. 
  It is incredibly exciting.
  Do you have a favourite poster 
  artist who has inspired you?
  I’m a big fan of design and 
  layout, and the movie posters 
  of the ’50s-’70s are some of my 
  favourites. Artist like Bob Peak 
  and Robert McGinnis were 
  standouts for me, as well as 
  illustrators from the ’30s-’40s-
  ’50s like Rockwell, Leyendecker, 
  Maguire, and so many more from 
  that era. 
  Can you tell us a little of how you 
  work? What is your process?
  It tend to be very research 
  intensive before I even put 
  pencil to paper, especially for 
  these propaganda pieces. I want 
  to make sure they convey the 
  emotion of the moment as well 
  as the vintage feel of the era. I 
  am also a fan of injecting a little 
  humour if I can. I can spend 
  weeks working out the piece in 
  my head before I ever get started 
  on the illustration.
  Is it hard to find a unique take on 
  such familiar characters?
  No. Because the world of Star 
  Wars is so vast and so developed 
  but we have seen only so much, 
  it leaves the door wide open, to a 
  degree, for taking the characters 
  to the unseen moments. 
  What makes a great character like 
  those in Star Wars work?
  They are incredibly relatable 
  and not so far removed that the 
  audience cannot connect with 
  them. Even a two-ton space slug 
  had our attention!
  Are you a Star Wars fan?
  From the moment that Star 
  Destroyer flew over my head 
  in 1977.
  Do you have a favourite Star Wars 
  poster or image that you’ve done?
  That is a hard question. I like them 
  all for various reasons. Do I look 
  back on older pieces and wish the 
  execution was better? Sure, but I 
  still like what was created. I will say 
  though that the propaganda series 
  has been the most fun, and I look 
  forward to working on new pieces.
  Do you have any future projects 
  you can reveal – any new posters 
  or clothing designs? 
  Nothing I can talk about just yet.
  Finally, how excited are you about 
  the new film?
  Extremely!
  www.catstaggs.com
  P
  I want to convey 
  the emotion of the 
  moment as well as a 
  vintage feel and inject a 
  little humour if I can
  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  Above: the prelim for the 
  third in Cat’s propaganda 
  poster series (opposite)
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  A display of Cat’s versatility, 
  from a convention badge 
  in the style of a pulp novel 
  cover to her Obi-Wan Kenobi 
  Clone Wars trading card 
  artwork for Topps, plus 
  (top left) a study sketch
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  Spirit of ’77 was the first 
  of Cat’s propaganda poster 
  series. Top right is the 
  prelim, then anti-clockwise 
  some progress shots of the 
  final marker rendering, and 
  at right the final poster
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  SIMON 
  GOINARD
  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  Even with clients ranging from Disney to 
  Aston Martin, Simon paints a pitch piece
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  F
  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  rench-born concept artist and 
  production illustrator Simon Goinard 
  has always loved Ralph McQuarrie’s 
  work on the original Star Wars trilogy, 
  “not only because it’s beautiful and 
  inventive, but because it helped a lot 
  to sell the concept of the first film too.” For him, he 
  says, “it’s the perfect example of what pitch design 
  should be, so I just wanted to bring back that feel with 
  a piece, trying to cross a Star Wars pitch piece with a 
  bit of McQuarrie and a bit of my moody style.”
  Did you try anything new on this painting?
  Technically speaking no, it’s just my usual approach 
  to personal pieces. I just kind of paint and think at the 
  same time. I knew the feel I wanted in the end, but still 
  a lot of things evolved – the Jedi became a Sith; the 
  scene focus changed too, with more protagonists, etc.
  What was the aim or mood you were looking for in 
  the image?
  It was designed to be a pitch piece, so it had to be 
  dynamic and represent the essence of the films –
  galactic wars and the fight between good and bad, 
  pretty clear intents. And then I tried to bring in that 
  Greek tragedy feeling too, with the [character’s] robes 
  for example, or the fact that the main character seems 
  to be breaking the fourth wall and looking at us like 
  we’re an audience in a theatre.
  What is it about Star Wars that inspired this?
  I’m a huge fan of the mid 70s, I must say. The sci-fi 
  feel in society, the music, the design was pretty 
  awesome. Star Wars is part of that too – that’s what 
  I like about it: all these ideas are combined in this 
  cultural phenomenon that is the movie.
  It feels like this is a very romanticised vision of 
  Star Wars. Was this intentional?
  Yes, totally. Again like a Greek myth, Star Wars is 
  pretty romanticised itself, and as I intended the piece 
  to be pitch work it had to be too!
  www.simongoinard.com
  Simon titled this 
  striking piece 
  “Apprentice” but 
  it clearly reflects 
  his expertise as 
  an illustrator and 
  concept artist
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  All images © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
  Darth Maul 
  actor Ray Park 
  actually posed 
  for Sith Rocks
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  First noticed for his humorous work, the 
  artist revels in the scope of Star Wars…
  RANDY 
  MARTINEZ
  hen asked what it 
  is that inspires his 
  interpretations of 
  Star Wars, Randy 
  Martinez replies 
  “My memories. I 
  was three when Star Wars came 
  out in 1977. I remember going, but 
  not a whole lot of the film, nothing 
  clear anyway. But the imagery 
  stuck with me. I was fascinated. 
  With my Star Wars art, I try to 
  bring that same excitement and 
  magic that I felt when I was a kid. 
  As adults we become a lot more 
  cynical because life just tends to 
  do that to you. But as children, life 
  is just fun and all about wonder 
  and imagination. So when I paint, 
  I want to relive those feelings over 
  and over again. Hopefully, the 
  finished product gives the viewer 
  the same experience.
  Why does Star Wars keep driving 
  artists to create new work?
  You mean besides a paycheck? 
  You know every artist would give 
  you a different answer, and that’s 
  kind of what makes Star Wars so 
  special. There’s so much room to 
  be creative and apply your style 
  or ideas to the art. Star Wars has 
  action, adventure, romance, 
  fantasy and just about every 
  other genre there is, even Greek 
  mythology. So, in Star Wars 
  there seems to be something for 
  everyone. I like to believe most 
  artists create from within, and they 
  create what they are connected to. 
  Star Wars is a huge part of our 
  culture, and most fans, no matter 
  what age, have grown up with Star 
  Wars in their lives in some way. So, 
  it is very easy to feel connected to 
  Star Wars in some way.
  W
  What comes first, a character or a 
  concept (Darth Maul rockin’ out)?
  For me, the concept definitely 
  comes first. I like to tell stories or 
  make statements with my art. It’s 
  not enough for me to just draw 
  Boba Fett just standing there 
  with his gun. That is really boring. 
  I want to say something and 
  provide an emotion. 
  There are limitless ways to do 
  that, and I’m always coming up 
  with things to say, jokes to tell, 
  or ideas to share. So say with Sith 
  Rocks with Darth Maul rocking 
  out, I actually came up with the 
  idea to do an homage to one of 
  my favourite Star Wars illustrations 
  ever, Star Wars Rocks by Hugh 
  Flemming. I am a musician as well, 
  so I loved this piece, and I always 
  wanted to do something in the 
  same mashup idea of Star Wars 
  and rock-’n’-roll. However, I wanted 
  to put my own spin to it and put in 
  a lot of jokes and gags. I am huge 
  Mad magazine fan from way back, 
  so I am often inspired by the likes 
  of Jack Davis, Mort Drucker and 
  Sergio Aragonez. I knew I wanted 
  There’s so much 
  room to be creative and 
  add your ideas. In Star 
  Wars there’s something 
  for everyone
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  to do something exciting, so I 
  thought of the Kiss rock shows, 
  and I automatically thought, 
  wow, “Kiss” sounds like “Sith”. 
  From there it was just a matter of 
  putting the right personality with 
  the right instrument. Darth Maul 
  would totally be a lead guitarist. 
  It helped that I am friends with 
  Darth Maul actor Ray Park, so he 
  was kind enough to pose for me!
  Tell us a bit about how you work.
  I don’t really have a set process. 
  Every piece of art is different, 
  depending on what the art will 
  be used for. I use just about every 
  medium there is, depending on 
  the job, and that is a large factor 
  in how I will approach the art. 
  I sketch, I work in the computer, 
  I sketch more, then get to the 
  painting, but sometimes I start 
  prepping while I’m sketching. I’m 
  all over the place.
  How does Lucas react to some of 
  your humour paintings?
  They love it. Doing Star Wars 
  humour is how I got started 
  making official Star Wars art, 16 
  years ago, so they are very used 
  to my style of humour. Lucasfilm 
  knows I can paint them a super 
  tight illustration or do something 
  funny, which has been good for 
  me. Steve Sansweet once called 
  me “The swiss army knife of Star 
  Wars artists,” and that title has 
  kind of stayed with me.
  I love when Lucasfilm lets me 
  be funny with Star Wars because 
  there is so much to be funny with. 
  Star Wars is an endless supply of 
  jokes and gags!
  How are the Legacy paintings 
  created? Do you have a favourite?
  The Legacy is very dear to my 
  heart because it was kind of a 
  turning point in my career. I had 
  reached a point where I was bored 
  with just drawing and painting. 
  So I started to collage real 
  comic books, and then I started 
  painting over that. I really liked the 
  newsprint and the comic book ink 
  as my backdrop. It’s a lot more 
  than just cutting up old comics 
  and placing them anywhere – I 
  really take my time to not only 
  build a solid colour composition, 
  but also to sort of tell a story or 
  create a mood.
  I have created about 25 of these 
  pieces of Marvel, DC, and Star 
  Wars characters. Right now, only 
  the Marvel pieces are available 
  as prints: Spider-Man, Iron Man 
  and Captain America. It’s hard to 
  pick a favourite; they all have a 
  different experience for me.
  Are you a Star Wars fan?
  Absolutely, I’m an Original fan. 
  I saw all three movies in the 
  theatres when they came out. I’ve 
  collected Star Wars toys, cards, 
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  Randy is a great 
  fan of mixed 
  media – yes, 
  that background 
  behind Leia really 
  is some old comic 
  book pages
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  What made creating this piece 
  so special was that my girlfriend 
  (Star Wars artist Denise Vasquez) 
  and my Mom helped me create 
  this piece. I love collaborative 
  art, and it was fun sharing this 
  experience with my family. 
  Which is the hardest character to 
  get “just right”?
  None. I don’t mean that in an 
  arrogant way at all. Nothing in this 
  world is hard to create because 
  of the hard work I have put in on 
  my fundamentals. I’ve had great 
  instructors and mentors in art, and 
  they have helped me understand 
  how to paint and draw anything 
  in this world or that I can imagine. 
  The truth is anybody can learn to 
  draw or paint anything, but you 
  have to be willing to put in the 
  time and the work. Art is a lifelong 
  journey that you can never master. 
  It is not about getting something 
  “just right” in terms of there being  
  right or wrong, it’s about getting 
  it just the way you want to paint 
  it or draw it as an artist. It’s taken 
  me 41 years to get where I am in 
  my journey. The challenges come 
  from deadlines. Can you create 
  quality art in the time you are 
  given? Sometimes I get jobs where 
  I only have a few days to complete 
  it. That’s tough, because I have 
  to create art in a short time that 
  looks just as good as a piece I’ve 
  had months to work on.
  Have the new trailers inspired 
  you? Can we expect a “Chewie, 
  we’re home” illustration?
  You know, I have seen the trailers, 
  and they are very exciting. But 
  the latest and most exciting 
  trailer came out at Star Wars 
  Celebration, where I was running 
  my booth. There has been so 
  much going on selling art, making 
  contacts and doing interviews that 
  I have not really had time to let it 
  all sink in. 
  With that said, I have some 
  ideas, but I want to first get to 
  know some of the new characters 
  better and formulate something I 
  want to say or express through the 
  art. At the same time, I also just 
  want to enjoy it as a fan. Because 
  that’s where it all starts!
  www.randymartinez.net
  art, everything. And while I don’t 
  collect anything anymore, I still 
  love to look at and play with Star 
  Wars toys.
  It’s been a dream come true 
  to actually be part of Star Wars, 
  doing official art for Lucasfilm 
  for 16 years. It’s still a wow for me, 
  even just saying that. I’m very 
  fortunate to have the opportunity 
  to make my living creating art of 
  one of my favourite things ever. 
  I’m honoured and it’s the greatest 
  experience I’ve ever had.
  Do you have a favourite Star Wars 
  painting or project you’ve done?
  No favourites. Every piece is 
  a different experience. I put 
  everything into each painting – 
  where I am in life, how I feel, and 
  what is inspiring me at the time.  
  Each piece is like my own little 
  time capsule. Lucasfilm has given 
  me so many opportunities to 
  create big, very important pieces 
  of art, it would be impossible to 
  pick just one as my favourite. But, 
  I will tell you that one of the most 
  special pieces I created was the 
  key art for Star Wars Celebration 
  Europe in 2007, better known 
  as Sgt. Lucas. It’s one of the few 
  3D sculptures I have ever done, 
  so it was a challenge. Two of my 
  favourite things in life is Star Wars 
  and the Beatles, so to be able to 
  mash the two up was pure joy! 
  Anybody can learn to 
  draw or paint anything, 
  but you have to be 
  willing to put in the 
  time and the work
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  Randy has 
  depicted 
  probably every 
  Episode and 
  beyond, but the 
  original trilogy 
  remains his 
  favourite
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  You don’t suppose his surname explains 
  Andrew’s aptitude for walkers, do you…?
  ANDREW 
  MARCH
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  ndrew March is 
  a professional 
  artist who works 
  in both 3D and 
  2D software, 
  and although he 
  describes himself as a hobbyist, 
  he has freelanced for some 
  lighting and animation projects 
  – experience that came the fore 
  when he was creating his inspired 
  scene of AT-AT Walkers.
  “I remember seeing them in 
  the cinema when Empire Strikes 
  Back was first released and just 
  thinking how intimidating they 
  were. I wanted to try and recreate 
  that feeling,” says Andrew, who 
  goes on to reveal that the image 
  had its challenges: “I guess it’s 
  creating a sense that you are 
  looking at a lumbering metal giant 
  – portraying that sense of scale 
  and weight can be difficult.”
  Andrew’s image began as 2D 
  sketches, then he took these ideas 
  into Lightwave 3D for surfacing, 
  lighting, landscaping, and setting 
  up the models… “and it’s at this 
  point that the original sketch goes 
  out the window and the 3D scene 
  takes on a life of its own,” he 
  laughs. “Then it’s rendering, and 
  finally it’s Photoshop for a little 
  post work. Ha, sounds easy when 
  I say it like that!”
  www.andrewmarch.artstation.com
  A
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  Karen’s Celebration poster 
  features all three of her 
  favourite characters – Amidala, 
  Leia and (subtly) R2-D2
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  elf-confessed 
  “pretty geeky 
  artist” Karen 
  Hallion reveals that 
  it wasn’t until she 
  was 16 and saw 
  the movie The Little Mermaid that 
  she became interested in being an 
  artist. “I walked out of the theatre 
  and thought ‘I want to do that’,” 
  she recalls. “I went to Ringling 
  School of Art and Design in 
  Sarasota, Florida, and graduated 
  with a BFA in Illustration. I spent 
  years trying get an art-related job 
  or freelance, and failed miserably. 
  One thing led to another and I 
  wound up as an art teacher for 
  two elementary schools, teaching 
  grades Kindergarten to Fifth. I 
  loved it – it was fantastic. Lots of 
  glitter and watercolours and pipe 
  cleaners. But I lost my job in 2009 
  and decided to give an art career 
  another shot. It was kind of a sink 
  or swim moment for me… and I am 
  still swimming. Knock on wood!”
  Where did the idea come from to 
  mix Star Wars and Mucha?
  I had a print of La Dame Aux 
  Camélias by Mucha hanging 
  over my desk for years. I love 
  Alphonse Mucha – I am in awe 
  of his linework. This particular 
  print always reminded me of Leia, 
  and I thought it would be fun to 
  do an homage to it with a Star 
  Wars twist. Leia is such a strong 
  character, always in the front and 
  in charge. I wanted to show her 
  in a more quiet, pensive moment. 
  Also, combining Art Nouveau and 
  pop culture can be so much fun 
  – there are so many ways to hide 
  little details in the illustrations.
  How long does a piece like La 
  Dauphine Aux Alderaan take?
  Well, that one was back when I 
  didn’t have a tablet. I had a laptop 
  with a touchpad and very basic 
  Photoshop skills. I drew it out on 
  paper with pencil, scanned it in, 
  then did the lines and colour in 
  Photoshop. Took me forever. 
  40-50 hours, maybe? Now I have 
  a Cintiq, and my Photoshop skills 
  are better. Something like that 
  would take me more like 20-25 
  hours these days – partly because 
  of the Cintiq making work move 
  more swiftly, partly because I 
  know my way around Photoshop 
  now, and mostly because I’ve been 
  drawing so much the last five 
  years, it comes a lot more naturally 
  these days. Sometimes, someone 
  will say to me “You make it look 
  so easy!” But it was 20 years of 
  struggle and stubbornness to get 
  there, and there are still days when 
  a drawing just won’t cooperate. 
  Can you tell us a little about your 
  workflow and creative process?
  KAREN 
  HALLION
  Her website describes her as “artist, 
  illustrator, and part-time Jedi…”
  S
  Usually I start with a very 
  rough, flowy, loose sketch with 
  a blue coloured pencil brush in 
  Photoshop. Then I reduce the 
  opacity, add another layer and 
  sketch again, fixing issues with 
  proportion, adding little bits of 
  detail but skill keeping it pretty 
  rough. Then, reduce opacity, add 
  another layer, and keep doing 
  that for a while until I’m happy 
  with how it looks. Next, I “ink” it 
  digitally. I usually go over all the 
  lines first with about the same 
  line weight. Then I go back and 
  Combining Art Nouveau with 
  pop culture is fun, and there are so 
  many ways to hide little details
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  Karen’s Art 
  Nouveau Leia 
  poster brought 
  her to notice 
  and remains one 
  of her personal 
  favourites
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  add a heavier line around the big 
  basic shapes, a very Alphonse 
  Mucha type thing to do. Then I 
  really zoom in and add subtle 
  line weight, some curves where 
  two lines might meet, smoothing 
  things out. I spend a lot of time 
  on the line, really. Then I start 
  laying in big basic colour, keeping 
  everything on different layers 
  so they are easy to play around 
  with and find the right colour 
  combinations. And finally, I add 
  shading, highlights, etc. Trying to 
  figure out when and if it’s actually 
  done is always the hardest part, 
  knowing when to stop!
  What have been the biggest 
  influences on your art?
  Definitely Disney, in particular 
  Glen Keane. The flow of his art, 
  the movement, what he is able to 
  express in just a few gestures – 
  it’s inspiring. Obviously Alphonse 
  Mucha for his line and beautiful 
  Art Nouveau backgrounds. I love 
  Charles Dana Gibson, also for his 
  linework. I am a big ol’ pop-culture 
  geek, and I draw what I love. So, 
  what I read, watch or listen to 
  usually makes its way into my 
  work. A lot of the more popular 
  things like Star Wars or Doctor 
  Who, but also I love doing a little 
  more obscure designs. I recently 
  did an illustration of Dottie from 
  In general, I struggle with drawing 
  men. I don’t know why, but drawing 
  women comes much easier to me
  Karen’s painting 
  Leia’s Corruptible 
  Mortal State riffs 
  off the Disney 
  Haunted Mansion 
  Tightrope Girl
  League of their Own, and it was 
  such fun to have so many fans 
  get excited about that and start 
  posting quotes on my page. 
  Actually, I have a quote from 
  that movie hanging over my 
  desk, because I feel like it is so 
  fitting for art: “It’s supposed to 
  be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone 
  would do it. The hard is what 
  makes it great.”
  Do you have a favourite Star Wars 
  character and why?
  My favorite character to draw 
  would be Queen Amidala. Her 
  wardrobe, hairstyles, her face… It’s 
  just so fascinating and detailed 
  and gorgeous. I could draw her 
  over and over again and never 
  get bored. But Leia is and always 
  will be my favourite character. 
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  The Haunted 
  Galaxy series 
  is a mashup of 
  iconic Star Wars 
  characters with 
  Haunted Mansion
  Her strength, leadership, bravery 
  and intelligence make her a great 
  role model for women and girls. 
  And I am a sucker for all her witty 
  banter with Han. 
  Who’s the hardest character to  
  get “just right”?
  In general, I struggle with drawing 
  men. I don’t know why, but drawing 
  women comes much easier to me. 
  So, whenever I have to draw a male 
  character, stress levels rise. For me, 
  Han Solo has to be the trickiest. 
  He’s attractive, but not in any sort 
  of traditional way. Getting that 
  smirk just right can be challenging. 
  R2-D2 turns up quite often in your 
  work. Is he a favourite of yours?
  After Leia, he would be my 
  favourite, yes. It’s amazing to me 
  that with just a series of beeps and 
  little noises, he has such a distinct 
  personality. I used him to tie together 
  the background in my Celebration 
  piece, because he was important to 
  both Amidala and Leia. When I was 
  at MegaCon [in Orlando, Florida, in 
  April 2015], R2 came by my table 
  to visit, courtesy of the R2 Builders 
  club. I was thrilled – I wanted to take 
  him home with me. 
  Did you have a good time at Star 
  Wars Celebration 2015?
  I had an amazing show. I’ve been 
  doing conventions for a few years 
  now, and have been lucky enough 
  to do great shows like SDCC, NYCC, 
  Emerald City, C2E2, etc. But there 
  was just something in the air at 
  Celebration, this excitement and 
  energy, especially on that first day 
  after everyone saw the new teaser 
  trailer. And to be included with 
  such an insanely talented and 
  skilled group of artists was an 
  immense honour. It is a big goal 
  of mine now to continue to push 
  myself improve my work and get 
  included in Star Wars Celebration 
  shows for as long as I can. 
  Have you started painting and 
  drawing any of the new  
  characters from Episode VII?
  I have done a few quick little 
  sketches of BB-8. In fact I taught 
  a drawing class for kids at Celebration 
  and he was one of the lessons we 
  did. He’s so fun! But I have plans to 
  do a Rey sketch soon. Can’t wait to 
  find out more about her!
  www.karenhallion.tumblr.com
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  DARYL  
  MANDRYK
  Best known for his work in the games industry, the 
  prolific illustrator visits the Extended Universe…
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  his striking 
  illustration of 
  a lightsaber-
  wielding Mara 
  Jade Skywalker 
  was created by 
  artist Daryl Mandryk for the Star 
  Wars novel Choices of One by 
  Timothy Zahn. “The brief asked for 
  Mara Jade leading a contingent 
  of Stormtroopers, so I had quite 
  a lot of wiggle room with how to 
  portray that,” Daryl explains. “I 
  created a few thumbnails, and an 
  image of Jade in front of a line of 
  troopers stuck out. It felt iconic 
  and made her larger than life. The 
  image took about five days to 
  complete, and the Star Destroyer 
  in the background I added in on a 
  whim at the last moment. I felt it 
  really needed some of that massive 
  scale that is just so Star Wars.”
  To bring Luke’s wife to life here, 
  Daryl followed his normal process. 
  “I do all of my work in Photoshop, 
  from start to finish,” he says. 
  “There are many painting apps 
  out there, but I use Photoshop 
  for its flexibility and speed. First 
  come the thumbnails to show the 
  art director, followed by some 
  revisions and then a colour rough. 
  This sets up the final image and 
  gives the AD a good idea of  
  where things will land. Next it’s  
  on to painting the image out, 
  and just spending lots of time 
  rendering things and getting 
  things to look right. 
  “If I find I’m having trouble 
  painting something, I have no 
  problem pulling reference images 
  from the web to help things along. 
  Also, at this stage, there may be 
  elements that I mock up in 3D 
  to make my life easier – the Star 
  Destroyer is a good example. With 
  just a few simple primitives you 
  can save yourself hours of painting 
  time. Then it all becomes about 
  polish – making tiny adjustments 
  here and there that add up to 
  large improvements.”
  Daryl is a big Star Wars fan. “It’s 
  a huge, cool universe that has 
  inspired so many artists, probably 
  since they were kids,” he says. 
  “There’s so much to the universe 
  – the characters, the locations, 
  the vehicles… everything in Star 
  Wars makes you want to pick up a 
  pencil and draw. It’s fun to imagine 
  yourself in that universe, so, in that 
  sense, it’s an easy sell.”
  It’s the creators that inspire him 
  the most. “There are so many 
  It’s a huge, cool universe. The characters, the 
  locations, the vehicles… everything in Star Wars 
  makes you want to pick up a pencil and draw
  T
  incredible artists who’ve worked 
  on Star Wars it’s impossible to 
  pick a favourite, but I will say 
  Ralph McQuarrie has been a big 
  influence on my concept work. His 
  work is so crisp, confident, vibrant, 
  and to-the-point. I feel he’s a 
  master visual storyteller.”
  But it’s the Star Wars characters 
  that really strike a chord with 
  Daryl. “I think the main reason 
  they work so well is that they 
  actually have character,” he says. 
  “They have clear motivations, 
  personalities and emotional cores 
  that the audience can relate to. 
  Within a few minutes of meeting 
  Luke, the audience understands 
  he’s a dreamer, adventurous and 
  a little naive. You feel empathy for 
  him. The characters (at least in the 
  original trilogy) are also based on 
  easily understandable archetypes: 
  the princess in distress, the rogue, 
  the sage and so on. These are 
  timeless ideas that people are 
  already familiar with.”
  www.mandrykart.com
  A horde of 
  Stormtroopers, 
  a looming Star 
  Destroyer, and 
  Mara Jade still 
  dominates
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  © Lucasbooks & Lucasfilm Ltd .
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  An evocative 
  piece titled “Dead 
  Man Walking”
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  The art director shares his personal 
  projects inspired by Star Wars
  JOSH 
  VIERS
  W
  hile studying at 
  the University 
  of Cincinnati 
  Josh had the 
  opportunity to 
  design toys for 
  Hasbro, shoes for Adidas and 
  consumer electronics for Samsung 
  and Acer. After graduating with 
  a BS in Industrial Design in 2001, 
  Josh worked as an art assistant 
  in the Industrial Light and Magic 
  art department, “which was a 
  fantastic experience that allowed 
  me to make some good friends,” 
  he says. 
  After ILM Josh had the great 
  opportunity to work for Doug 
  Chiang (at Pexart/Iceblink 
  Studios/ImageMovers Digital), 
  “who was the person to promote 
  me to the position of concept 
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  I took a scene with 
  its brilliant framing and 
  repurposed it, which is 
  kind of what George 
  Lucas originally did 
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  In a painting inspired by Once 
  Upon a Time in the West, a 
  desperate Empire once again 
  bargains with bounty hunters
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  artist for a feature film. The first 
  movie I created concept work for 
  was Spielberg’s adaptation of H.G. 
  Wells’ War of the Worlds.
  “I worked on several films under 
  Doug’s direction for the next five 
  years including The Polar Express, 
  Monster House, Beowulf and A 
  Christmas Carol. While working 
  for Doug our small art department 
  of approximately 15 people 
  changed hands (and names) a 
  couple of times until it officially 
  became a Disney company called 
  ImageMovers Digital.”
  While working for Doug, 
  Josh was approached by The 
  Orphanage for the position 
  of lead concept artist on 
  Frank Miller’s adaptation of 
  Will Eisner’s The Spirit, which 
  he enthusiastically accepted. 
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  I’m a digital hoarder. 
  Each piece has one key 
  reference that informs 
  my space and one the 
  mood and colour 
   
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  Like many of Josh’s 
  pieces, “Jedi Ronin” 
  hints at a rich backstory
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  “After that contract I moved 
  to EA’s Visceral Games to work 
  as a senior concept artist on 
  several unannounced titles,” Josh 
  continues. “I eventually returned 
  to Industrial Light and Magic as 
  a senior concept artist where I 
  worked on Super 8, Cowboys and 
  Aliens and Redtails,” explains Josh.
  Since leaving ILM Josh has 
  served as an art director and artist 
  for several mobile game titles and 
  unannounced projects based out 
  of Los Angeles. He has created 
  concepts for films by Steven 
  Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Robert 
  Zemeckis and Jon Favreau.
  Here we showcase some of 
  Josh’s personal concept work 
  inspired by Star Wars.
  www.conceptbyjosh.com
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  ince the first 
  film back in 1977, 
  Star Wars has 
  become a cultural 
  phenomenon and 
  sparked a variety 
  of merchandise including apparel, 
  toys and video games. Freelance 
  art director Jan Urschel worked 
  on the third of these in 2011, at the 
  now defunct LucasArts studio in 
  Singapore. It was here that Jan 
  created this incredible artwork for 
  the Star Wars 1313 video game. 
  “My colleagues and I worked on a 
  lot of different areas of the game 
  but these particular pieces were 
  done for the marketing campaign 
  for the 2012 E3,” he says. 
  “Some pieces for 1313 had a 
  strong Blade Runner vibe, set in 
  the Star Wars universe,” he adds. 
  S
  JAN 
  URSCHEL
  The video game art director gives us 
  a glimpse into what might have been…
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  All images © LucasArts & Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  “Those are two of my favourite 
  worlds, so bringing them together 
  was a really fun thing to do. 
  From a technical point of view 
  this is a 3D base model that we 
  touched up in terms of lighting, 
  atmosphere, detail, materials and 
  characters. Since it had to hold up 
  for print, these images got a bit 
  more attention than usual.”
  Adapting to a project’s specific 
  needs is something Jan has 
  become very accustomed to. 
  “Working in production for AAA 
  games and movies really allows 
  only for one kind of process: 
  whatever works – figuring out 
  the best way to deliver the best 
  work within in the deadline,” he 
  explains. “Sometimes that doesn’t 
  allow for a whole lot of exploration 
  but it keeps you on your toes and 
  forces you not to dwell too long 
  on one image, trying to perfect 
  every single thing.”
  Jan drew inspiration from 
  none other than concept artist 
  and illustrator Ralph McQuarrie. 
  “You can’t talk about Star Wars 
  without mentioning the genius 
  of McQuarrie, one of the original 
  Illustrators on the first trilogy 
  back in the 1970s,” he says. 
  “When working on any Star 
  Wars property he is the ultimate 
  reference point. He inspires with 
  his very high level of execution, 
  the ability to create alien worlds 
  that feel alive, and his design that 
  removes everything unnecessary 
  and arrives at the simplest and 
  visually strongest solution.”
  Jan also believes great 
  character design in the films 
  has a massive role to play in 
  inspiring artists all over the 
  world. “The design for someone 
  like Darth Vader plays a huge 
  role – looking scary, intimidating 
  and also mysterious,” he says. 
  “Overall, though, it’s how well 
  we as the audience can relate 
  to the characters themselves. 
  Who as a kid didn’t want to be 
  Luke Skywalker?” That said, it’s a 
  different character that he can’t 
  wait to see now. “I’m looking 
  forward to the new film after the 
  latest trailer took, visually, very 
  much after the original trilogy, 
  with more of that old school 
  Star Wars look – more saturated 
  colours, nostalgic locations… and 
  of course Han Solo.”
  www.hendrix-design.com
  Star Wars 1313 was 
  put on hold when 
  in-house game 
  development at 
  LucasArts ended
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  FURIO 
  TEDESCHI
  Blend equal parts technical expertise and 
  passion, and you get fan-favourite portraits
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  hen Star Wars fan, 
  character artist, 
  3D sculptor and 
  concept artist 
  Furio Tedeschi 
  came across a 
  small Facebook group challenge 
  to create a version of Darth Vader, 
  he simply couldn’t resist. “I’ve 
  always loved Vader and wanted to 
  create my own version of him,” he 
  says. Furio started his illustration 
  using 3D software to sculpt the 
  character before moving into 
  Photoshop to complete the 
  composition. “I generally like 
  to sketch loose ideas out in 3D 
  (either 3ds Max or Zbrush),” he 
  explains, “and from there I usually 
  refine the sculpt to a point where 
  I can then take a variety of render 
  passes. The passes usually consist 
  of base colours pass, reflection, AO, 
  metal and plastic passes, I then use 
  Photoshop to compile the image 
  and add post effects.”
  Like many Star Wars fans, Furio 
  became hooked from a young 
  age. “There were many new visual 
  techniques invented to bring it 
  to life. For me, as a kid, it was 
  incredibly believable,” he says. 
  “From the rich universe it’s based in, 
  to the amount of arts and creatives 
  on the project, it’s a constant source 
  of inspiration for many artists and 
  set the visual benchmark for its 
  time. I’m referring mainly to the first 
  three episodes of Star Wars – for 
  me they are still the best ones.”
  A passionate artist, Furio looked 
  to original Star Wars artists to get 
  his creative juices flowing. “I think 
  Star Wars was the product of a lot 
  Star Wars was the 
  product of a lot of 
  passion from everyone 
  that worked on it, and 
  it really shows
  of passion, from everyone that 
  worked on it… and it really shows,” 
  he comments. “Ralph McQuarrie 
  is a big inspiration.” But he finds 
  it difficult to envision future films 
  being quite as good. “For me it 
  will be hard to top the original 
  three,” he says, “but I have my 
  fingers crossed.”
  www.smokeflames.blogspot.co.uk
  W
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  Furio’s evocative 
  visions of Vader (this 
  page) and Sith Lord 
  Rokaan (opposite) 
  are fan favourites
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  K
  KAI 
  CARPENTER
  Crafting a dramatic scene in 
  the Clone Wars continuity…
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  ai created this 
  striking image as 
  part of a Clone 
  Wars competition. 
  “I wanted to do 
  a truly dramatic 
  image – not just compositionally 
  but thematically dramatic. In the 
  first portion of the show, Ahsoka’s 
  skill puts her in danger constantly.”
  For Kai, “the thing that pops 
  about Star Wars is the operatic, 
  grand scale of the drama. Lucas 
  went to such lengths to fit the 
  story to a mythological model, and 
  his work paid off! The story is pure 
  mythology, and that’s a powerful 
  draw on people all over the world.”
  Kai is hugely inspired by a man 
  many other artists admire: “Ralph 
  McQuarrie breathed such life into 
  Lucas’s concept, and his designs 
  were worthy of such a grand 
  vision. The first, and the best!”
  Though he prefers traditional 
  techniques, Kai turned to his PC 
  for this piece. “I don’t actually 
  work digitally anymore and, even 
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  then, this was a little unusual in my 
  choice to do it on the computer,” 
  he says. “But my techniques are 
  much the same in both mediums. 
  I start with a coloured ground, 
  generally either a sienna or ochre. 
  Then I usually sit and look at 
  the blank canvas for an hour or 
  two, envisioning the whole piece 
  and making notes. When I start 
  to paint, I paint thinly at first 
  and thicken the brush strokes 
  as I go. Rather than creating an 
  underpainting and working up 
  gradually all over, I tend to prefer 
  to establish different parts of 
  the composition and link them 
  together to form the finish – I think 
  probably because I’m impatient to 
  get to what I saw during that two 
  hours at the beginning!
  “It’s got to start with a story. 
  That’s really what pulls me 
  through the whole thing. And 
  as I go from there, the details 
  fill in – Ahsoka having snatched 
  Anakin’s lightsaber from him to 
  defend them, for instance. I liked 
  the idea of getting the cold, misty 
  environment involved by having 
  the lightsabers issuing steam as 
  they move through the air.”
  Kai is excited about the new 
  film. “It really looks like it’s got 
  something that the original 
  three had,” he says, “particularly 
  the physicality of the effects, 
  simplicity of design and grandness 
  of vision. I can’t wait to see more 
  of that ruined post-war universe!”
  www.kaicarpenter.deviantart.com
  “Ahsoka’s Trial” 
  abounds with telling 
  details that point the 
  viewer towards a 
  compelling story
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  Recognisable even 
  in silhouette, Darth 
  Vader stands on 
  the path of evil
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  rtist Michael 
  Pedro created this 
  beautiful Path of 
  Evil illustration 
  for the Star Wars 
  Galaxies trading 
  card game. “The concept of this 
  image was to really convey Darth 
  Vader as a figure of temptation,” 
  Michael explains. “I painted him 
  standing on a volcanic rock 
  formation on the planet Mustafar; 
  the formations vaguely resemble 
  the claws of a hand, a hand 
  beckoning the viewer. Ultimately, 
  I wanted to find a unique way 
  of suggesting the allure of the 
  Dark Side.
  “Darth Vader, terrifyingly 
  mysterious, was a tragic figure 
  who rose to power and fell from 
  grace; essentially, Luke has no 
  choice but to live the risk of 
  following in Vader’s footsteps. 
  Mystical trappings aside, it’s 
  such a human story that virtually 
  anyone can identify with. Plus, 
  there’s the idea of being ‘the 
  underdog’ who’s ultimately called 
  to live out an important destiny. 
  Luke went on an adventure that 
  left him a hero – what’s not to like 
  about that story?”
  Michael began the piece as a 
  series of black-and-white sketches, 
  to outline the possibility of where 
  the image could go. “Once I have 
  a particular composition in mind, 
  I’ll block in some loose, basic 
  lighting, and then begin applying 
  colour to really start building up 
  the layers of the painting,” he says. 
  “From there, it’s a simple matter 
  of applying photo textures to 
  quickly attain my desired level of 
  detail, and then using digital paint 
  to ‘push’ the photo elements back 
  and merge them into the rest of 
  the image.”
  Michael’s decision to become 
  an artist in the first place was 
  based on Star Wars artwork he 
  discovered during college. “I was 
  still in college when the prequel 
  films’ art books were gaining 
  popularity, and it was the designs 
  and paintings of Ryan Church – 
  the concept design supervisor on 
  Attack of the Clones – that really 
  made me sit back and say ‘Yeah, I 
  want to be a concept artist’.” 
  And his love for the franchise 
  continues. “I think it ultimately 
  comes down to the idea of Star 
  Wars being the ultimate sandbox. 
  Between the six released films, an 
  entire galaxy has been established 
  with scores of worlds, characters, 
  and stories that can now, in turn, 
  serve as inspiration to other 
  creators. It’s a galaxy of seemingly 
  endless possibilities, really. 
  “Watching the trailers for The 
  Force Awakens, I’m reminded 
  that no matter how much we all 
  think we ‘know’ Star Wars, there’s 
  always another episode or series 
  or novel right around the corner 
  that adds to the universe in ways 
  we never imagined.”
  Michael has high hopes for 
  the next installment. “I’m super-
  excited!” he says. “I’m a huge fan 
  of J.J. Abrams’ more practical 
  approach to set construction and 
  special effects, so I’m eager to see 
  a new Star Wars that feels more 
  immersive and real. That, and the 
  updated Stormtrooper designs 
  are absolutely terrific!”
  www.michaelpedro.com
  A
  © Sony Online Entertainment & Lucasfilm Ltd .
  MICHAEL  
  PEDRO
  The concept artist gives us an insight 
  into creating a stunning environment
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  oncept artist and illustrator Izzy 
  Medrano is a story-first kind of guy, 
  which goes some way towards 
  explaining his love of Star Wars. “I 
  love a good narrative,” he says. This 
  is something that he clearly applied 
  to his show-stopping illustration The Tyranny of 
  Lady Vex (right). “Lady Vex was born of a need 
  to create a good villain for my other character, 
  Granny Claymore, an old alcoholic hermit that had 
  lost her connection with the Force,” Izzy explains. 
  “She made up for it with a huge claymore-esque 
  lightsaber. I figured that with a strong punkish 
  personality like hers she’d need a decent foe. 
  Enter Lady Vex.” 
  Izzy came up with the idea for his villainous 
  character during an impromptu sketching session. 
  “I imagined Vex as being completely insane,” 
  he says. “She is driven by a sense of psychotic 
  justice, dealing in absolutes.” While doing so, he 
  had iconic Star Wars design at the forefront of his 
  mind. “The original Star Wars concept artists and 
  C
  IZZY 
  MEDRANO
  In a universe of archetypal characters, 
  Izzy finds room for one more psycho…
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  [The Star Wars 
  universe has] strong 
  archetypal characters. 
  Iconic design makes 
  them work 
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  Izzy’s character Granny 
  Claymore is an old alcoholic 
  hermit who has lost her 
  connection with the Force
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  model makers are, of course, huge influences,” he 
  comments. “In the new films, the work of illustrator 
  and conceptual designer Iain McCaig blew my mind.”
  But just what is it about Star Wars that keeps 
  driving artists to create new work? “It’s the universe 
  and strong archetypal characters,” Izzy argues. 
  “Iconic design makes them work. From acting to 
  costume, story to voices, they are complete and 
  clear characters, who aren’t muddied in ambiguity.”
  A fan of the epic space story, Izzy is cautiously 
  looking forward to the forthcoming new film. “I’m 
  remaining optimistically reserved,” he comments.
  www.cannibalcandy.com
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  “Your number one 
  tool in all things art is 
  contrast,” insists Izzy
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  Stormtroopers don’t get 
  many breaks… in any 
  sense of that phrase!
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  aving seen the Star 
  Wars films only last 
  December, Disney 
  character artist 
  Bobby Pontillas is 
  a little late to this 
  particular party. But, now a die-
  hard fan, he was so inspired that 
  he immediately started creating 
  his own fan art. “I can’t tell you 
  how many people I’ve talked to in 
  the animation industry who’ve said 
  that Star Wars is the reason they 
  are artists today,” he comments. 
  “I just think the characters and 
  the world they inhabit fired the 
  imaginations of everyone. They 
  want to be there and live in those 
  worlds, and in your career as an 
  artist you hope to inspire the 
  younger generation in that same 
  way and bring more of these kinds 
  H
  BOBBY 
  PONTILLAS
  Classic characters seen through fresh 
  eyes and depicted in a different style…
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  Bobby captures the 
  relationship between 
  Luke and Yoda in just 
  a few deft strokes
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  “Only a few decades 
  late,” Bobby brings 
  a new perspective to 
  familiar characters
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  Star Wars universe has in spades. 
  I wanted to convey how cool I 
  thought these characters are and 
  the relationships they share.”
  Bobby loves all the Star Wars 
  characters but does admit to 
  having some favourites. “I had a 
  great time doing Yoda and Luke 
  because those are my all-time 
  favourite scenes in all of the films.” 
  Now a true Star Wars fan, Bobby 
  is looking forward to the next 
  installment, which he definitely 
  won’t be late for. “I have faith that 
  these films are going to knock 
  everyone’s socks off. Just by the 
  looks of the trailers, the reveals 
  of the characters. I think J.J. is 
  too smart a filmmaker to bring 
  anything less than astonishing!”
  bobbypontillas.blogspot.com
  I wanted to convey how cool I 
  thought these characters are and 
  the relationships they share
  Bobby’s charming artwork 
  brings you even closer to 
  characters you feel you 
  already know well
  of worlds and characters to life.”
  In creating his eye-catching 
  character illustrations, Bobby 
  was heavily inspired by the work 
  of movie poster artists Drew 
  Struzan and Olly Moss. “Olly’s Star 
  Wars set is pure genius,” Bobby 
  comments. With his own ideas 
  set, he doesn’t mess about when 
  it comes to creating artwork. “My 
  process is somewhat light on its 
  feet,” he says. “It’s a simple style 
  and I like to work fast and loose,” 
  he explains. “What I try to get 
  across in my work is just a strong 
  sense of character, which the 
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  A
  MICHAEL 
  PETER
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  s lead texture artist, VFX, on the new 
  Fantastic Four film and senior texture 
  artist on Guardians of the Galaxy, 
  Michael Peter clearly loves his sci-fi. He 
  says he became a fanboy when he was 
  four years old and saw Return of the 
  Jedi in the cinema. “Afterwards I turned to my dad and 
  told him, ‘When I grow up, this is what I want to do.’ 
  This is still as true today as it was then. I still feel as 
  spellbound by that magic feeling of watching Star 
  Wars as I was then. I collected loads of action figures, 
  studied art books and was fascinated with ILM. 
  “When I turned 12 I started to draw. The books 
  Cartoon Animation and Film Cartoons by Preston 
  Blair helped a lot in those early days. I had a Super-8 
  camera and made a couple of stop motion-films in 
  my room. I was so excited by this that I got more 
  and more interested in the technical side of films. 
  Then I got obsessed with computer animation. It 
  was a dream come true when I was able to work on 
  Germany’s very first computer animated feature film 
  Back to Gaya. I worked on more international projects 
  for Lucasfilm and MPC in the last couple of years.” 
  Why choose R2-D2?
  Well, if you have a look around my home office, it is 
  very clear why I chose this project. It looks like a kid’s 
  room rather than an office. There are the old action 
  figures and spaceships everywhere. My biggest pride 
  and joy is a poster of Return of the Jedi with about 
  20 cast members’ autographs. Also, R2-D2 and C-3PO 
  are my favourite characters. It seems it was inevitable 
  that one of them would turn out to be my first big 
  private project. 
  What was your biggest challenge in creating R2-D2?
  The research. There is just so much material to choose 
  from as reference. First I captured every scene that 
  featured R2-D2 in the first trilogy. Then I worked my 
  way through pictures, blueprints and building 
  instructions that exist on the internet. There is so 
  much stuff there that is not accurate at all, when 
  compared to the original. I had to go back and redo 
  parts of the model over and over again. I really wish 
  I could get access to the archives at Lucasfilm to 
  take pictures of R2-D2 for references – to measure 
  everything, document the textures and shades. I 
  would probably start all over again with the project! 
  Can you share your general workflow?
  I work mainly with Maya, Mari, ZBrush, Arnold and 
  Photoshop. Usually I spent the first hours – or 
  How an image grew out of love for the 
  character and deep expertise in texture
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  sometimes days – by looking for reference material. By 
  simple blocking in Maya I can determine very quickly 
  which details I need. I prefer to do a few first textures 
  and lookdev early on. Then I decide which maps I 
  need, if the UV layout is sufficient to achieve the 
  degree of details that I want. Each project has its own 
  challenges and requirements. That’s what makes it so 
  exciting. I enjoy discovering and developing new ways 
  of working. After 20 years I am still learning with each 
  project and I am constantly refining my workflow. 
  Why do you think Star Wars is so popular?
  I think there are many good reasons why Star Wars 
  was such a big success and remains so to this day. 
  The story is just brilliant. What captures me is the 
  degree of fantasy of the film makers. It seems 
  absolutely infinite. There is so much detail to all those 
  images. Plus the peek you get into those far-away 
  worlds and galaxies. 
  What other Star Wars images do you have planned?
  On the side, I have already begun to work on an image 
  of C-3PO. I am sure I will combine the two droids in 
  a few stills at some point. But before that happens, 
  I would like to do a few more things with R2-D2. In 
  particular the image on Dagobah is still on my list. 
  I want to throw a bit more mud onto it. I am also 
  thinking about the Millennium Falcon, but all the 
  details are a little intimidating. So I have been putting 
  that off again and again. Thank God I will never be 
  short of material when it comes to the Star Wars 
  universe with all its characters and spaceships! 
  Are you amazed that character designs from the 
  1970s are still so fresh and appealing?
  Not really. All the worlds, spaceships and locations 
  always had a sort of lived-in feeling about them. Yes, it 
  is science fiction, but all the slightly battered designs 
  made those worlds very real. Maybe that was one of 
  the problems with the second trilogy: compared to the 
  original, the designs where just a little too flawless and 
  smooth. The same holds true for the characters.
  www.anillusion.de
  Michael says his 
  evocative image 
  of R2-D2 on 
  Dagobah is still a 
  work in progress
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  As well as illustrating for everything from children’s 
  books to movie merchandising, Brent is a true fan
  BRENT 
  WOODSIDE
  razy, stupid 
  excited,” is how 
  Brent describes 
  his anticipation 
  for the new Star 
  Wars film. “I plan 
  to attend the opening in my Han 
  Solo costume.”
  A fan, then! And Brent is well 
  aware of the part that the fans 
  play in the ongoing success of 
  the franchise. “Star Wars fans 
  are some of the nicest people I 
  have ever met,” he says. “They 
  are devoted to, and invested in, 
  the mythology of the Star Wars 
  universe. I count myself a Star 
  Wars devotee. I listen to Star 
  Wars audiobooks while I paint 
  (Karen Travis is my favourite Star 
  Wars author), I read the comics 
  and play the games.” 
  Brent is not only a fan. He’s 
  also an honorary member of the 
  Star Wars costuming guild The 
  Mandalorian Mercs.
  Brent has a huge respect for 
  all his fellow artists, but it’s the 
  artwork of Iain McCaig, Doug 
  Chiang and Ryan Church that 
  lingers in his imagination. When it 
  comes to his art, he’s constantly 
  busy with commissioned work 
  but finds that ideas come to 
  him, and it doesn’t take long. 
  “Typically I try to let the concept 
  come to me while I’m doing 
  something else. I find exercise 
  clears my mind,” he tells us. 
  “Something comes. I thumbnail it 
  out. I work out lighting and colour. 
  I look up reference or shoot it. I 
  photomontage up a version of 
  it. Then I work up line art, be it 
  pencils on paper or digital on 
  the Wacom. Then paint, be it 
  traditional or digital.” His own 
  favourite piece is Su Cuy’Gar 
  (opposite). “If you look really close, 
  I even a hid a Jango Fett face in 
  the clouds looking down on Boba.”
  But it’s not all Star Wars for 
  Brent. “I am currently working on 
  a Zombie illustrated text novel 
  where the reader can influence 
  the story by choosing between 
  options at certain branch points.” 
  Inevitably there is a Star Wars 
  connection: “I’m working on it 
  with fellow Star Wars artists Grant 
  Gould and Kayla Woodside.”
  www.brentwoodside.com
  C
  I count myself a 
  Star Wars devotee. I 
  listen to Star Wars 
  audiobooks while I 
  paint, I read the comics 
  and play the games
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  “‘Su Cuy’Gar’ is the title of 
  the Boba Fett piece and is also 
  Mandalorian for ‘hello’, although 
  it literally translates to ‘So you 
  are still alive’ in the Mandalorian 
  language. The title was inspired 
  by the rumours of one of the Star 
  Wars Anthology films being about 
  Boba. This piece has a acrylic 
  underpainting on board and was 
  completed in Photoshop”
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  “The title of this piece is 
  Torment. I like the idea that 
  Vader lives on a fuel of hate 
  but occasionally something 
  stirs inside him and sparks 
  memories from another life. 
  Flashes that nearly break him. 
  Memories of love and loss that 
  are so powerful they steal his 
  fury and bring him low. This 
  piece is acrylics on canvas 
  with digital clean-up at the 
  end for printing”
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  “With A Show of Force I wanted 
  to show the might of the Imperial 
  forces. This piece I did entirely in 
  Photoshop on a Wacom 21ux”
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  “I am above all a character designer, so 
  I had fun doing this Mandalorian desert 
  bounty hunter. She’s a wanderer hunting 
  in the most dry, inhospitable places. I 
  tried to keep the rusty tech feeling that 
  gives such charm to Star Wars designs”
  “This is a scout trooper who’s become 
  really mad about Ewoks. So he’s hunting 
  them, and wearing some trophies when 
  he gets one! I love the scout troopers 
  characters – their design really is my 
  favourite in the troopers category”
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  Guillaume kind of went crazy when the first Star Wars 
  Episode VII trailer was released last year. “I was just 
  way too much caught up in the hype – I had to do all 
  this fan art. It poured out of me!”
  The thing that caught the artist’s attention (besides 
  the fact that it was a new Star Wars film!) was the 
  characters. Though the trailer gave little detail away, it 
  was the mystery of them that hooked him: “The rebel 
  sign on Finn’s arm was my guess that he may be some 
  kind of dissident Stormtrooper,” he says. Like so many 
  fans, he watched the trailer multiple times and started 
  counting down the clock until he could compare his 
  guesses to J.J. Abrams’ vision.
  Guillaume says he’s “not very original” in his 
  favourite Star Wars artists: he’s worshipped Ralph 
  McQuarrie, Doug Chiang and Roger Kastel for years. 
  “I devoured their books when I was in high school 
  and they really made me fall in love with concept art.” 
  He’s now a concept artist at Ubisoft Montreal, and it’s 
  character design he loves most, he says.
  Although the art books certainly inspired him, he’s 
  still not really sure he has a precise art process. “But I 
  really enjoy working with lines first, having a good and 
  precise drawing done. Then I add my black-and-white 
  shading and then colour. I finally merge everything 
  on a single layer to push my rendering... I have quite a 
  traditional approach. I don’t use Photoshop at its full 
  potential, that is for sure!”
  www.artstation.com/artist/grizz
  GUILLAUME 
  MENUEL
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  With the paint splatter being the main directional 
  element, Linzy then tried the character in several 
  poses before this won out. “A lot of the muses 
  used in the Art Nouveau style always had a 
  certain confident air about them. I really wanted 
  to capture that in Sabine’s expression” 
  “I’m a huge fan of the Star Wars: 
  Rebels cartoons,” says Linzy. 
  “So I knew right off the bat I 
  wanted to incorporate them 
  into my piece here. I tried a few 
  sketches with multiple characters 
  and I just wasn’t feeling it. Then 
  as I was flipping through my 
  Alphonse Mucha art book to get 
  some inspiration, I had an idea to 
  paint the artist Sabine in the Art 
  Nouveau style and I ran with it.”
  You can probably see a little of 
  the legendary Drew Struzan in 
  Linzy’s poster art too, but she’s 
  also a fan of fellow licensed Star 
  Wars artists like Matt Busch, Adam 
  Hughes, Russell Walks and Tsuneo 
  Sanda. “It’s a whole universe of 
  imagination! There isn’t just one or 
  two story arcs here, we’re talking 
  tons and tons of characters and 
  storylines. Any artist can bond 
  and feel a relationship with a lot 
  of these characters.”
  Not that Linzy always knew 
  the glories of Star Wars. “I was 
  late to the party, I’m not gonna lie,” 
  she says. “My older sister growing 
  up was a huge fan and at first I 
  didn’t really get that into it. Then I 
  remember early on when I was in 
  college, re-watching the original 
  trilogy and thinking, ‘Okay, sis, 
  you did know what was up!’ Since 
  then I’ve watched them too many 
  times to count, and they just keep 
  getting better.” 
  And the new Episode VII? 
  “Every time I see the trailer I tear 
  up like Matthew McConaughey,” 
  Linzy confesses. “It literally gives 
  me chills! I wasn’t around when 
  the original trilogy came out, so 
  in some ways I feel like the next 
  part of the journey will be even 
  more epic to me because I’ll truly 
  be able to appreciate it when it’s 
  being viewed around the world for 
  the first time. 
  “I’m so ready to be involved and 
  explore a new chapter!”
  www.lin-zy.com
  LINZY 
  BUSCH
  © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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  ith all the 
  mysteriousness 
  of a Jedi, Mark 
  Molnar believes 
  “the most inspiring 
  parts of Star Wars 
  are the things we haven’t seen 
  yet.” What keeps Mark inspired is 
  such things as the overall setting, 
  as well as imagining characters, 
  creatures and planets that can fit 
  into the Star Wars universe. All the 
  movies “created a really rich world 
  that still has a lot of unexplored 
  corners,” he says. “It is like having 
  a frame and you can fill in what is 
  inside, and that is really exciting 
  and challenging for an artist.”
  Mark says he’s still “in love” 
  with the original works of Ralph 
  McQuarrie, and also psyched 
  about the visions of Chris Evans 
  W
  What do you do as a break from painting 
  official Star Wars art? More Star Wars art!
  MARK 
  MOLNAR
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  and Mike Pangrazio created from 
  the original trilogy. Mark is also 
  fully aware that those artists would 
  have been restricted, to a degree. 
  “I always have more freedom in 
  my personal works – usually there 
  are lot of stylistic restrictions when 
  I do commissioned Star Wars art,” 
  he says, “simply because it is an 
  intellectual property with really 
  well defined design language.”
  Yet that visual language is so 
  rooted in fundamental themes, it’ll 
  never get old. “Their roots go back 
  to the essence and symbolism of 
  storytelling, and they are using a 
  really simple and understandable 
  shape and design language in their 
  outfits,” he says. “They are easy to 
  recognise in any environment and 
  easy to remember. Their strength 
  is in their simplicity,” says Mark.
  As a concept artist and 
  illustrator specialising in visual 
  development and pre-production 
  design for the entertainment 
  industry, creating artwork for 
  international film, game and 
  animation companies, Mark’s 
  website showcases his wide range 
  of artwork for Star Wars RPG 
  (role-playing games) and card 
  games. He is currently working on 
  multiple Star Wars related projects 
  for the tabletop and card game 
  lines, but that’s all he can say – 
  and even those aren’t announced 
  yet. “I am also working on a sci-fi 
  movie pitch project that is not 
  directly related to Star Wars but  
  I think it will attract the same  
  fan base.”
  www.markmolnar.com
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  Guardian 
  Towers: a non-
  commissioned 
  piece depicting 
  planet shield 
  generators on 
  the peaceful 
  planet of Nubia
  Sith Witch is 
  another personal 
  piece, asking the 
  question: what if 
  Leia had turned 
  into a Sith lord 
  instead of Luke 
  becoming a Jedi?
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  Chris’s photo-real 
  scene looks as if 
  it’s leapt straight 
  off the screen
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  ongtime Star Wars 
  fan Chris Trevas 
  spent many an 
  afternoon playing 
  the intergalactic 
  hero with action 
  figures. “Did you know that a 
  plastic Chewbacca will turn green 
  after spending a winter lost in the 
  Michigan snow?” he says. 
  Chris has since created artwork 
  for cards, covers, miniatures 
  and even blueprints, but it’s the 
  unknown that appeals: “The best 
  thing about this new trilogy is, 
  we’re finally back to unknown 
  territory. No matter how you feel 
  about the prequels, there were 
  certain aspects of them that we 
  knew from the very beginning,” 
  he notes. “We knew Anakin 
  Skywalker’s fate. We never feared 
  for Obi-Wan’s life. We already 
  knew the fate of most of the 
  important characters and I think 
  that dulled the experience, at 
  least for us older fans. I’m looking 
  forward to seeing our classic 
  heroes and being surprised at 
  what comes next.”
  The artist has some fun capturing unseen moments 
  that may or may not have happened off-screen…
  CHRIS 
  TREVAS
  L
  Looking at Chris’s art, you’ll be 
  struck by the realism. In fact, he 
  starts each painting in the same 
  way, in a process that harks back 
  to childhood. “Sometimes I’ll pose 
  action figures to figure out camera 
  angles and basic lighting before 
  I shoot live models,” he says. “I 
  compose a piece using reference 
  photos, sketches, 3D models, 
  whatever it takes to lay out the 
  scene. I rough in colour with the 
  basic Photoshop paint brushes, 
  usually under a drawing layer, but 
  sometimes I’ll set the brush to 
  Color or Hard Light when working 
  over bits of reference. Once I’m 
  happy with the overall colour and 
  composition, I start painting detail 
  on new layers section by section.”
  With a signed Ralph McQuarrie 
  print of Luke on his desk, Chris is 
  currently working on a couple of 
  new Star Wars books that are yet 
  to be announced. “I’m also doing 
  some technical-style packaging 
  artwork for Hasbro that will start 
  coming out this fall,” he says.
  www.christrevas.com
  In the prequels we 
  knew some things 
  from the beginning, 
  which dulled the 
  experience. I’m 
  looking forward to 
  being surprised at 
  what comes next
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  THE ART OF FILM: STAR WARS
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  His Vision Returns (above): Han Solo comes out of 
  the deep freeze in Return of the Jedi temporarily 
  blinded. The “vision” in the title refers both to 
  his eyesight and the woman who loves him and 
  came back to rescue him. It’s only back in the 
  Falcon that he first sees Leia’s slave costume
  The Folly of TK-421 (right): “I always 
  wondered what happened on board 
  the Falcon when our heroes ambushed 
  the Imperial scanning crew and the 
  pair of Stormtroopers. It was fun to 
  imagine how the scene unfolded”
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  Execution Order (above): “Vader has always held  
  a grudge against his step-brother’s family, and 
  finding that they’re also sympathetic to the 
  Rebellion, he decides to wipe out this reminder  
  of his past. I like the idea that there’s more behind 
  the death of Luke’s aunt and uncle than we saw”
  The Hunter and his Prey: (right) 
  “Cloud City was a setup all along. I 
  really liked the idea of Boba Fett 
  figuring out our heroes’ destination 
  and beating them there. He was 
  watching them the whole time”
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  EDITORIAL 
  IAN DEAN EDITOR 
  ian.dean@futurenet.com
  DARREN PHILLIPS ART EDITOR
  ALVIN WEETMAN DUPUTY ART EDITOR
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  CONTRIBUTORS
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  BEREN NEALE writer
  MANAGEMENT 
  DAN OLIVER group editor-in-chief 
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  THE ART OF FILM
  VOLUME TWO COMING SOON
  PRINTERS 
  Text and cover by William Gibbons & Sons Ltd
  Distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd    
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  The Art of Film is a special edition of ImagineFX 
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  ImagineFX is the registered trademark of  
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  Celebrate Star Wars through the eyes of the world’s finest artists.  
  From the legacy of those who worked on the original 1977 film  
  to today’s digital artists, Star Wars has never looked better.
  Christian Waggoner
  Chris Trevas
  Dave Seeley
  Brandon Kenney
  Matt Busch
  Greg Hildebrandt
  Cover art: © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Kid Friendly/2. Kid Inspiration & Fun RPG-related Crafts & Activities/Kid Inspiration & Art Books/The Art of Film - Star Wars.pdf