( CNN ) -- While an art student at Dumlupinar University , Turkish illustrator Murat Palta watched `` Star Wars '' . As with the generations of fans that preceded him , he was struck by the film 's epic quality . Though the movie is set in the future , Palta was reminded of the colorful Ottoman miniatures that illustrated Turkish literature from the 16th century . Gallery : Cult classics reimagined as Ottoman miniatures . `` I kept on trying to imagine what 'Star Wars ' would look like if it was placed in the Ottoman era , so I decided it would be good to illustrate it , '' he recalls . Palta soon got hooked on reimagining Western cult classics in the Eastern tradition . For his graduation project , he expanded his portfolio to include antique-style versions of several cult classics , including `` A Clockwork Orange , '' `` Inception '' and an array of Scorsese and Tarantino movies . `` I guess I just really like movies , '' he admits . `` I just wanted to make fun of them , but not in a mean way . '' There is an underlying playfulness throughout his illustrations . Each took a full day or two to complete using a combination of handmade stencils , watercolors and Photoshop . In his rendition of `` Scarface , '' Al Pacino shoots down his foes while wearing a fez . His `` Goodfellas '' gangsters drive horse and buggies instead of cars and in `` The Shining , '' Danny rides a bicycle made of wood . `` The first time I mentioned my project to my teachers , they did n't understand it , '' Palta admits . `` They said , 'why do n't you illustrate Turkish movies ? ' I told them there 's no point . I wanted to combine not just the two cultures -- Western and Eastern -- but the two styles : modern and traditional . '' They were impressed when they saw the finished product , however , and Palta , since graduated , has moved on to display his work ( he 's gearing up for an exhibition in Florence , Italy at the Vaia Balekis Contemporary Art Gallery ) . The project is also far from over . `` I 'm still working on it , '' he admits . `` I think next I 'll illustrate 'Lord of the Rings ' and '2001 : A Space Odyssey , ' or maybe 'Pan 's Labyrinth . ' '' Gallery : Iranian epic Shahnahmeh , remade for the digital age . Interactive : Press freedom in the Middle East .
As an art student , Murat Palta wondered what Star Wars would look like as Ottoman art . He was inspired by the work of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to create a series of paintings that depicted scenes from The Empire Strikes Back in vivid colors. He is hoping to add more movies to the mix , including Lord of the Rings .