STAR WARS became a part of our popular culture less than 30 years ago, but, whereas other properties in the various forms of entertainment and mediums affect a specific, if somewhat large group of people, STAR WARS has been a successful franchise in film, television, games, music, and more. The broad reach of the franchise has been successful for many reasons, and I am not going to choose just one. But the one that fascinates me most is the many visual expressions found in the art of Star Wars. Whether in comics, covers of books, film, and games, the artists of those images have helped make the myth and incumbant images real. This is an interview that happened over the course of time and many mailings, from a group of artists who while known for many things are famous within the world of Star Wars fans for their work on the property.
ALEX NESS: What is your goal as an artist working upon Star Wars properties? To depict a character to look as much as possible like the character or to place your own take upon it? What is your favorite single work that you have done upon a Star Wars property?
Tim Bradstreet: My goal is the same with Star Wars as any other job. There may be a different brand of enthusiasm that goes along with it that I would say is unique to the Star Wars property. It all goes back to that 10 year old kid sitting in awe in a darkened theater in Bloomington Illinois in 1977. Anyone who works on Star Wars has that same “obsessed over the material” baggage. As far as likeness’ go, yes, I want it to look as much like the actor or actress as possible but I always put my own stamp on the work, regardless of what the subject matter is. Since I work from photos as a base the challenge is to make it look close to my reference but also make it work as an illustration, as a piece of art not a photo. If I had to pick a favorite single work I’d have to say it would be the Mace Windu cover for Star Wars Tales. Not because Mace is my favorite character, but because I feel like I nailed the shot and it jelled with the background I created for the composition. They both blended seamlessly into the final illustration, it tells a story, and the colors were right on. That shot is very pleasing to my eye and I’m normally very critical of my own work. A very close second would be the Queen Amidala cover I did for the Episode 1 comics adaptation. Again, not because she is my favorite character, but because I love the composition of that piece. The marbling effect I did for the palace surfaces was a big experiment that turned out even better than I’d hoped. It hit on all cylinders.
JD: My goals working on Star Wars are simple--to tell a good story and to draw the likenesses of the characters as realistically as I can. Despite the realism, I think an artist can't help but give their own take to a character. I like to try to get into the characters heads--figure out how they gesture and move, sit, stand and think. For me, a character does not come alive until I figure them out like that. Darth Maul was particularly interesting to try to figure out. He had to have intensity and his heart had to burn with cold fire. He was very fun to draw. Others, like Quin and Aayla developed and changed over time. That was fun too--I would think I would know these characters and then they would surprise me. Anakin is another character who changed subtly over time. I think trying to capture him is a real challenge.
I don't really have one single favorite work. I enjoyed working on every project. I do have favorite panels here and there--stuff that just worked out extra fine.
Joe Corroney: I enjoy trying to recreate the look and feel of the Star Wars films with a cinematic approach in my own work. Since I love all of the films for me to labor over the likenesses of characters or other things like details of the ships, costumes and weapons in my artwork is rewarding and fulfilling to me from a personal standpoint as both a creator and a fan. It makes me feel that much more connected to the films that I love. And because I think most Star Wars fans instantly associate with the movies first it makes my style that much more accessible to them. So it works out nicely for me personally as an illustrator when my work satisfies my own desires and also appeals to the intended audience.
My favorite single work so far would have to be the "Epic Poster" I created for the Star Wars Celebration III event in Indianapolis just prior to the theatrical release of Revenge of the Sith. The poster was a collaboration with fellow Star Wars artist Jeff Carlisle and it was a fun project since I was able to illustrate so many characters in such a large format. It was really intense and there was a lot of p
Grant Gould: For me it's a combination of both. I want to stay true to their look and personalities, but I also want to draw them in my own style. I like to approach my Star Wars drawings as if I were in charge of designing the look of a new animated series.
I have a few favorite sketch cards that I drew for the Topps "Revenge of the Sith" set, but I don't know if I could narrow it down to one. That would be like trying to choose a favorite character, which I can't do either (though I can narrow it down to Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Artoo).
Chris Trevas: I usually work realistically so my goal is to achieve the best likenesses I can for the characters we all know so well. The creativity for me comes in depicting them in situations we've never seen them in before. I often get to make my own mark in the Star Wars universe by creating new characters, locations and hardware.
Even though I've been working in Star Wars for 10 years my favorite project was back in 1998 when I did a Little Golden Book titled Star Wars: Meltdown on Hoth. It's my favorite just because it was an honor to do one of the classic books with the cardboard cover and gold spine. Like many others I had grown up on the classic Golden titles like Pokey Little Puppy and on top of that the story takes place within The Empire Strikes Back, my favorite Star Wars film. It was early in my freelance career, just a couple years after college, and by pure coincidence the only other Star Wars Little Golden Book was painted by one of my college instructors.
If I was to pick a favorite piece of art I've done it would have to be my limited edition print for Star Wars Celebration III. It's my largest and most complex work and I put my all into it. It was a great chance to tie into both trilogies using the quote "The Circle is Now Complete".
Cynthia Cummens: For me it’s always important to capture the eyes of character (creature or human), and the feeling behind them whether it’s sadness or joy or fear, whatever. So much expression, mood, the spirit of the character, is conveyed through the eyes. There are times when I’ll place my own take on a character, when I’m feeling a need to express something within me that I’m feeling or thinking or believing. But I tend to do that more if it’s something I’m working on for myself.
I thoroughly enjoyed creating my Celebration III print. It was a chance for me to express the sheer joy I felt as a kid watching the original trilogy. And it was very rewarding to have so many other Star Wars fans see the print and recognize themselves as that kid sitting in the theater in complete awe watching Star Wars. At CIII, people would look at the print, their faces would light up and they’d say, “That’s me when I was a kid!” To know I was able to connect with so many people by illustrating what Star Wars felt like for me as a kid was just so cool, I can’t explain it.
AN: With the saga complete what character became your favorite to illustrate? What character in the movies did you like but who did not rise to the occasion as far as importance to the saga?
TB: I've always loved Luke and Han but my favorite stuff to draw was always the more dark characters. Boba Fet, Tusken Raiders, and Imperial Stormtroopers are my favorites to draw. Over the years I've drawn a large amount of the characters for one project or another and I gotta keep going back to those three. I was disappointed that Qui-Gon Jinn was such a short lived character. Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor, along with Ray Park (Darth Maul) were the best things about Episode 1, and 2 of those 3 characters didn't survive the first movie. They gave the film a credibility that was so hard to find with the other characters. They were the characters that made the new trilogy "feel" like Star Wars to me. I'm sure Lucas had good reason to bring about their demise but at the end of the<
JD: It's funny, but every time I think I have a favorite character to draw, I realize that I like drawing all of them way too much to choose. I guess if I absolutely had to choose, I would pick two--Aayla Secura and Quinlan Vos, who I worked with John Ostrander to create for the Dark Horse Star Wars Republic comics. I would have loved to see more of Aayla in the films and though Quin was mentioned by Obi-Wan we never saw him. That would have been fun.
I think if there was any character who was totally film related that I would have liked to have seen more of it would have been Darth Maul. Always a favorite. More Grievous too.
JC: Darth Vader is one of my favorite Star Wars characters to draw since he's so dynamic looking and his dark costume appeals to me with my graphic style. So one of my other favorite projects was illustrating a Darth Vader story in issue #31 of Star Wars: Empire. That was just an amazing experience for me. Vader is just so layered and developed and detailed, he's really fun to work with. Boba Fett comes in at a very close second because he's so mysterious and his costume is detailed and tricked out too. I love drawing the bad guys!
As far as other characters in the saga I like but aren't as well- revered I'd say Lando is one of my favorites who seems to get the short end of the stick. His character arc is similar to Han's which is interesting and he's just as much a scoundrel if not more so. He has such a colorful backstory and some really great adventures in the Expanded Universe so he's kind of overlooked by mainstream fans I think.
I'd also say I'm a big Qui-Gon Jinn fan. At first glance he doesn't seem as important to the overall saga since he only appears in one movie but he was the Jedi who got the story rolling and without him finding Anakin there wouldn't be a Darth Vader. Besides, before Qui-Gon in Episode One the only Jedi we had really seen on the screen were old Obi-Wan, past his prime, and Luke Skywalker just coming into his own in Episode Six. Qui-Gon was the real deal, a Jedi who followed the Force but his own code too and kicked a lot of butt. Ewan MacGregor as young Obi-Wan almost steals the show over the course of the other two Prequels but Liam Neeson will always be my favorite I think.
GG:Again, it's tough to pick one favorite. Several months ago I probably would have said Obi-Wan, but now it would be between Yoda, Grievous, and the Episode III Clonetroopers. All three of them are great to illustrate. As far as not as important, General Grievous. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed him in the movie. But I was expecting much more. In the "Clone Wars" cartoon and the "Labyrinth of Evil" novel, he was built up to be so menacing and powerful, and then when we saw him in the movie, it felt a little anti-climactic. I loved the fight between him and Obi-Wan, but Grievous should not have gone down so easily. I wanted a villain that would make Maul look like a baby.
CT: It's very hard for me to pick a favorite character because I enjoy them all for different reasons. I like the classic trio of Luke, Han and Leia best. If I had to pick a favorite of them it would have to be Luke with Han a close second. I really like painting C-3PO though, ever since I did him so many times for the Golden Book he's been a breeze to paint. The shiny metal and reflections are fun and I enjoy robots in general. My favorite alien to paint is Greedo. He's such a classic "little green man" type alien.
I would have liked to have seen more Qui-Gon in the prequels. His importance is established in the prequel trilogy, but it could have been reinforced with some blue ghost appearances.
