Greatest Disney Pin Ever Made

One of my prop assists, Robin, went to Disneyland last weekend and brought back a Disney pin he thought I might like...

Halloween and Star Wars and Disney combined? Well played Robin, well played. You've gained your boss's favor... for now.

Creative Inspiration: Battery Recharge

Watching an old TV special from my youth featuring behind the scenes film "magic" always recharges the creative batteries. Below, in four parts, is not only the first "Making of Star Wars" TV special that I remember seeing, but I'm pretty sure was the first ever made about the galaxy far, far away.

The Making of Star Wars (1/4) - 1977 by La_Guerre_des_Etoiles

The Making of Star Wars (2/4) - 1977 by La_Guerre_des_Etoiles
The Making of Star Wars (3/4) - 1977 by La_Guerre_des_Etoiles
The Making of Star Wars (4/4) - 1977 by La_Guerre_des_Etoiles

May The 4th Be With You!

Leia's World, inspired by Andrew Wyeth made in honor of Star Wars day.

Sketchbook: The Empire Strikes Back #5

And so with this sketch of reptilian bounty hunter Bossk, my Empire Strikes Back 30th anniversary celebration ends. I mentioned in my first Empire post that John Rozum had inspired my blog theme this month, but there were many other like minded Star Wars fans participating in the fun as well. Be sure to visit Neato Coolville, Wonderful Wonderblog, My Two Yen Worth, Monsters and More, Dartman's World of Wonder and of course the official Lucasfilm Empire page at Star Wars.com.

There will certainly be a similar celebration in 3 years for Return of the Jedi's 30th. Oh, what the force...I think I'll just make May a Star Wars themed month every year.

POST NON-REFERENCE SKETCHING SELF CRITIQUE:
I've inadvertently turned this once renowned Trandoshan into a bloated toad-man. What's up with the weird overhanging top lip I gave him? If that's what it is? I sketched this and I'm not sure. It could also be a cute little smile. Oh well...it's the bounty hunter I drew, toad-man warts and all.

Cleaning the Empire: Episode II

It didn't take 30 years to do after all...

Okay, for all the purists out there, I know... the imperial shuttle should be with my Return of the Jedi toys, but in my defense, it was added later by Lucas into the "special edition" version of The Empire Strikes Back. Besides, this shelf was the only one with enough height clearance to display it on.

Sketchbook: The Empire Strikes Back #4

POST NON-REFERENCE SKETCHING SELF CRITIQUE:
Not bad for drawing from memory. I think I've got all the iconic Boba Fett elements here...

• His unique blaster with 6-shooter detail (as the prop guys used in making the actual one)? Check!
• Rotating targeting device in up position? Check!
• Helmet dent? Check!
• Jet pack with ready to fire rocket? Check!
• Posed mysteriously behind a wall as his poncho blows dramatically in the wind because I was too lazy to draw the whole costume? Check!

Cartoons in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Today is an unofficial, official Star Wars day being the 25th of May. This date in 1977 changed the lives of many when the original film was released. While I'm still sketching characters and cleaning my toy shelf in celebration of Empire's 30th anniversary this month, I thought I'd mark this day with overall trilogy silliness posting some past Star Wars themed cartoons from Para Abnormal...

Cleaning The Empire

Today is the actual 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back arriving in our galaxy. I decided to take a break from my character sketching celebrating the movie this month and mark this day by cleaning up my much neglected Empire action figure toy shelf.

Check back later, this may take 30 years to do...

Sketchbook: The Empire Strikes Back #3

IG-88 is one of my favorite bounty hunters in the saga, even though he was on screen for only a second or so and did absolutely nothing. It's the low tech bandoleer he wears and standard issue blasters he holds in contrast to his robotic-ness, that does it for me. There's a unique uneasy feeling and mysterious menace in that.

POST NON-REFERENCE SKETCHING SELF CRITIQUE:
My love of recycling junk into props unconsciously took hold while drawing this one. I don't think IG-88's bandoleer held used D-batteries. I know for sure his joints were not Radio Flyer wheels or giant buttons or whatever the heck I drew.

Sketchbook: The Empire Strikes Back #2

 

Doodling this one, I tried to keep the Yoda from the second trilogy out of my head. Light saber wielding Yoda was very cool, but I still prefer the poke ya with his cane, old curmudgeon that was in Empire.

Sketchbook: The Empire Strikes Back

This month marks the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Comic writer, fellow Halloween decorator and Internet friend, John Rozum, is celebrating daily on his blog. Inspired by and sort of liking Star Wars myself, I thought I'd get in on the fun sketching some of my favorite characters from Episode V and share once in awhile through the rest of May.

I'm not going for movie accurate versions here, nor any intentional "re-imagining". I'm just gonna have fun drawing and see what spills out in the sketchbook. Not to sound too arty, but they'll be nerdy impressionistic interpretations. To challenge myself, I'm not using any reference at all. Not even taking a quick glace up at my action figure shelves. 

First up today, Hoth's very own yeti, the Wampa...

POST NON-REFERENCE SKETCHING SELF CRITIQUE:
Well, it seems my mind's eye morphed a Wampa, the Bumble from Rudolph and Ludo from Labrinth...

My Vote For Re-Election Is Secured

Photo via Star Wars Blog via Newsweek

Labor Day Project: The Windex Strikes Back

The Star Wars toy display cleaning went well. If there is a neat and tidy center to the universe, these shelves were the farthest from.

Before...and this is after I had already removed many of the toys.
Progress..."Dune Sea" barren for a nice fresh start.

After...did you know you can vacuum a Bantha? Well, you can.

Why was this a whole Labor Day weekend project? Each one of those figures, vehicles, light sabers, blasters, stands, etc. were hand washed, dried and of course, had to be posed just right. All the while looking over my shoulder every 5 minutes making sure none of my neighbors can see what I dork I'm being. I still have a few more characters to add plus numerous accessories to distribute correctly. I applaud Hasbro's attention to detail, but curse them as I go cross-eyed examining blue light saber hilts to sort out which is Obi Wan's and which is Luke's.

Regrettably coming soon, still two more movie toy shelves to tackle on another wall in the collection cleaning trilogy.

May The Fridge Be With You

From my "making something real quick because you're curious while waiting for paint to dry on something else but ends up sucking you in and spending too much time on" file.

For fun, inspired by Vickie Howell's kid friendly photo magnet project on her blog, I made my own Star Wars action figure "knock off" fridge magnets with the clay ball mold making trick I posted about (scroll down or click here). Which is basically mushing a ball of polymer clay onto the toy and peeling away carefully to create a mold, then using Fix-it-All to make to cast a copy. Not only did this give me reason to finally use some craft store magnets that have been in the stash for awhile, but more important...another example why collecting toys has purpose.


This started simply enough. I've always thought TIE fighter windows were an iconic design from the saga and decided one would make a cool fridge magnet. After that, love 'em or hate 'em, a cute Ewok was a must and so on. I realized this could get out of control quickly and stopped at just the four. I think Jabba turned out best but my favorite is the Wampa. He ended up more goofy looking than menacing, staring at me from the freezer door as if asking...

"Hey there buddy, getting some ice for that drink?"

Painting them was nostalgic. I used some old Tamiya Color acrylic I had. It took me back to when I got hooked on painting miniatures and building resin "garage" kits for awhile in the early '90s.

Goodbye STARLOG Magazine

It's old news, but I just found out STARLOG has published it's final issue. Although I 've not read an issue in 20 something years, it makes me a bit sad. I truly loved that magazine. For a kid like me in the late '70s and early '80s, it was the only source I had for sci fi fan news. I'm especially nostalgic because of this "Fanboy Tale of Old"...

A long, long, long, long time ago, I made my usual 2-3 times a month trek to downtown Scarsdale, NY and visited a favorite little corner grocery/everything store seeking my regular comics and dorky magazines.

I had learned a valuable skill in those days. I could scan the numerous racks of layered magazines and single out my favorites by just a visible hint of their cover logos. On this day, very high up, I could see a new issue of STARLOG! Reaching for it, I then read the small teaser banner across it's top...


I was startled. I pulled my hand away scared that what I was reading would not be real. Empire?! Photo section?! Excitement took hold. I was living for this movie in those days. It was still a few weeks away. I had yet to see any images from it. I reached for the new issue again. I wondered if the cover picture could be from the movie. That thought actually made me a bit shy and awkward, kind of "star struck".

I took hold of the magazine by just two fingers. I pulled it from behind the others, very slowly, letting the image become visible much like the opening scroll in Star Wars. I saw Vader begin to appear...


Every image, still frame, set, prop and location from the first Star Wars was burned into my memory. I could tell by the small portion revealed, Darth was not standing in the Death Star or anywhere seen before! In a flash, I took the magazine down and held it in both hands, like a holy relic. I stood staring at it with a huge grin on my face. This was it! My first glimpse of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK! It was real! I was hypnotized by the cover...


I took in every detail...those feet...on the ground! Who is it? Luke? Han? My brain was about to pop out of my head. I wanted to enjoy what other surprises there might be at home. So I bought it without peeking inside. I rushed out the door and started to speed away on my bicycle.

I only got 10 feet before I had to stop, I couldn't wait. I found a nice big rock to sit on, in a shady spot, along the nearby Bronx river close to the train station and started reading! One of the best spring afternoons I can remember.

A Star Wars Christmas Morning

I was going through old photos today and found the picture above. It's me Christmas morning in 1978 or '79 with my new Star Wars Electronic Battle Command Game. I was waiting for Aunts, Uncles and Cousins to arrive and begin the day's festivities. I remember never really figuring out how to play it well but it was hours of fun trying.

A wretched hive of scum and....PRYOR?

Just when I thought I've seen every odd, off beat Stars Wars TV moment ever aired I discover this...

Boba Fett versus Wookie.

This is a watercolor I started in 1996 and never finished.

Like many, I thought Boba Fett was the coolest character in Star Wars universe when he was introduced in The Empire Strikes Back. He was dangerous and mysterious. Since then, he has become an incredibly popular and beloved "anti hero". Everything you've ever wondered about him is known. I liked him better with no back story.

It was said the braids hanging from his armor were from scalped Wookies he hunted for sport. I've now heard the braids are from Jedi's he has hunted in revenge for the killing of his Father.

A long time ago in my basement far, far away...

I was drawing the Star Wars comic I posted last month.

I daydreamed back then of showing it to people at Lucasfilm. Well 28 years later I discover they've seen it. I got a unexpected and nice "shout out" today from the official Star Wars website news blog. Click here to read it.

Also, congratulations to Mike Headley. He correctly picked which panel in chapters 3 & 4 was inspired by a Ralph McQuarrie painting.

STAR WARS Friday: The Final Chapter!

Here is the FINAL CHAPTER of my 1980 comic book version of what I thought RETURN OF THE JEDI might be when I was 14 years old. If you need to catch up...

Chapter 1 is here
Chapter 2 is here
Chapters 3 & 4 are here
Chapter 5 is here
Chapter 6 is here
Chapter 7 is here
Chapter 8 is here.

UPDATE! The contest guessing what Ralph McQuarrie painting inspired a panel from from chapters 3 & 4 is closed. Congratulations Mike Headley, you get bragging rights (I wish it was more)! For the right answer, click here.

Click on pages to enlarge.