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Star Wars Artist Interview by Loren Phillips |
(Click on images to view the full-size version)
ES: Have you always been a Star Wars fan?
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JC: I was about four years old when my parents took me to see Star Wars in 1977 and it was the first film i remember ever seeing in the theatre. Actually most of my fondest childhood memories growing up revolved around going to the movies with my family. I already had some of the Star Wars action figures before I went to see the film and I remember carrying them with me in my pocket to the movie. My mom had gotten me a couple of the different exclusive sets from Sears that were three packs of figures like Chewie, 3-PO, R2-D2, and Vader, Stormtrooper, Death Star Officer. I guess being a kid I remember being fascinated with the toys instantly but it was going to see the actual movie soon after that left the strongest impression.
As a child i knew at a very early age what I wanted to do. Soon after the first Star Wars film came out, my mom picked me up from a playmate's house and on the dashboard of the car was the 'deluxe-size' movie adaptation comic book from Marvel Comics. It was the first comic book I ever had and I remember the feeling of reliving the movie every time I opened it. I took it home and started drawing and tracing images from the comic book and at the age of four I knew exactly what I wanted to be.
Like most artists of my generation, Star Wars played a profound inlfluence in making me the artist I am today. I really think it was the combination of the film itself and the comic book adaptation that drove me to specifically be an artist. I think being so focused as child, knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up, had its definite advantages and minor disadvantages. Enjoying art at such an early age was a way for me to escape reality and let my imagination flourish, just like going to the movies, but it also meant drawing was something I could only do on my own and never really made me much into a team player in terms of extra-curricular activities.
ES: How did you get into doing SW art?
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JC: About a year after Return of the Jedi in 1983 came out, as a kid, I had lost interest somewhat in collecting Star Wars. I quit buying the toys and started collecting GIJoe and Transformers for a few years. Then a few years later in junior high I was in my neighborhood comic book shop spending my paper route money and i saw the Star Wars rpg rulebook from West End Games so i bought it. I had just started doing gaming with a few other fiends in school. We were playing 'Dungeon's and Dragons' and 'Marvel Superheroes' I think and it was the WEG Star Wars book that got me interested again in Star Wars. This was around 1987 i think. I started playing the game and drawing and creating my own Star Wars characters. I was still heavily into comic books before this and was drawing other comic characters and such all the time. My favorite comic book artists growing up were Berni Wrightson, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Mike Zeck, and Walt Simonson. Howard Chaykin and Al Williamson were also favorites of mine primarily because I was introduced to their work though Star Wars comic books. These artists are still drawing comic books today and they are still my main influences.
Later in college, some other friends and I got back into playing the Star Wars rpg and by this time I had already started doing freelance comic book work as a sophomore in college. Right after I graduated the Columbus College of Art and Design here in Ohio in late 1995, I sent West End Games my portfolio. Later that year they called me and asked me to freelance for them. I remember getting the message from Bill Smith or Stephen Crane at the time on my answering machine and my knees were shaking with excitement. Being able to do 'official' artwork for Star Wars was a dream come true.
ES: What technique do you use?
JC: I guess coming from a comic book background most of the work I had done to this point was in pencil or pen and ink. Being able to work for WEG, I built a strong color portfolio though and now most of the work I do still includes alot of pen and ink but also includes lots of full color work including traditional and electronic painting. A series of Star Wars playing cards i completed for the WEG book, Platt's Smuggler Guide, were painted in Photoshop and Painter. I scan the pen and ink art I drew and fill the basic flat color scheme in Photoshop and render the values, shadows, and highlights in Painter along with textures. This is a techinque I still use now when creating my art in a comic book style for the other gaming companies i work for like White Wolf and Last Unicorn Games' Star Trek rpg.
I also love to paint traditionally and I use acrylics, airbrush, watercolors, and color pencil when it's needed. Acrylics are great because they can be used thin and transparent like watercolors or thick and opaque like oils. They dry instantly and are a very forgiveable medium. In fact when acrylic paint first came out it was dubbed 'magic' paint due to its versatility.
Along with the acrylics i like to use color pencils since the whole basis of completing a good Star Wars painting, or any painting, is to keep the drawing intact. Color pencils work well two-fold since i use them to keep the integrity of the drawing as i build up the paint and they are nice to put finishing touches onto your work. This is a great techinique I learned from studying Drew Struzan's work, another of my favorite artists and a main influence, so I guess I am still trying to find my own voice when it comes to cranking out a new Star Wars painting. But that's the great thing about painting, in being able to explore such a limitless medium and experimenting in styles until you find your voice. Painting to me is like therapy since i do so much black and white and full color comic art, when it comes time to make a painting with brushes and messy tubes of acrylic, I feel more relaxed, even if I have a tight deadline.
ES: How long does it usually take to do one painting?
JC: Depending on the size of the painting and how much time for a deadline I have it really varies. I never really 'time' myself. Most often than not I am working on a multitude of projects simultaneously and sometimes I may work on a painting off and on for weeks or months. If it's a full page, half page, or quarter page painting like the ones i recently did for a Deep Space Nine book for Last Unicorn Games, those go fairly quickly, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Most of my paintings are 11x17 inches or smaller. Though my most recent painting. 'The Phantom Menace', which is currently on exhibition in the Columbus college of Art and Design gallery (where i graduated from and now teach), is actually 24 x 32 inches. I worked off and on that piece for months. I wanted to do something almost poster size but definitely bigger than 11x17 to give myself more of a challenge.
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ES: How many paintings have you done? How many sold?
JC: I can't really say how many paintings total I have done. Lately I have been doing alot more painted official Star Trek work and have been way too busy to count my paintings. In terms of traditional painted Star Wars peices, it's really only been a handful. The first official 'painting' I did for Lucasfilm through WEG was the 'Alien Scoundrels of Tatooine' peice. It was originally to be published as a cover to their third book in a series of novels that reprinted short stories from the Star Wars Adventure Journals to be co-published by Bantam. But WEG found themselves in financial trouble, I believe lost the license, and the book went on indefinite hiatus. I was really looking forward to seeing my first Star Wars book cover, on a Bantam paperback no less, and very disappointed when WEG dropped the ball .
I sell my originals, pen and ink and full color, when I can find collectors who are interested. At my official website I will have art displayed there for sale. I also look forward to being contacted for freelance and more comissioned work after people visit my site and view the art galleries.
ES: When and how did you get involved with Lucasfilm?
JC: Basically, my contact with Lucasfilm came through my working with their lisencee West End Games. I started freelancing for them in 1996 and it ended when WEG declared 'Chapter 11' in 1998. Though last year I was contacted by Star Wars Kids editor, Pamela Roller, to freelance for their magazine as an official Star Wars artist.
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ES: What official projects have you done for LFL?
JC: I illustrated numerous books for WEG's Star Wars rpg including 'No Disintegrations', 'Wretched Hives of Scum and Villainy', 'Shadows of the Empire Secrets of the Sisar Run', 'Platt's Smuggler Guide', 'Tapani's Player Guide', 'The Far Orbit Project', 'Alien Encounters', and 'The Official Star Wars Adventure Journal' #15. I actually illustrated a short story for issue #16 and #17 which was co-written or plotted by Tim Zahn but the story never saw print since #15 ended up being the last issue. Besides those unpublished issues of the Adventure Journals I drew for, I also did a ton of unpublished art for the 'Rogue Squadron Sourcebook'. More recently I just did a cartoon illustration for an article in issue #6 of Star Wars Kids.
ES: What is your latest project?
I have a few other Star Wars paintings in the works for my own portfolio. The one I'm starting now is called 'Enemies of Obi-Wan' and features the Jedi Knight and his adversaries Vader, Maul, and Sidious.
ES: Who is your favorite character(s) to paint?
JC: I'd have to say I'm more often 'drawn' to the aliens of the Star Wars universe. Characters like, Jawas, Gamorrean Guards, Rodians, Admiral Ackbar, Bib Fortuna, Jar-Jar, and Yoda were very fun to paint. Aliens seem to show up more in my paintings and full color electronic work. The Star Wars aliens are always visually striking and the most mysetrious to me as an artist and I think that is what attracts me to them. I have always been a huge fan of sci-fi and love drawing weird and crazy-looking creatures. I am still trying to work Chewbacca into one of my future paintings and am very excited to be finally getting time in my hectic schedule to paint my favorite Star Wars character for my portfolio, Darth Vader.
In terms of the more 'human' characters i would have to say Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan is my favorite to illustrate. He'll be showing up in three of my Star Wars paintings now and his face just has so much character. Just by looking at him you know there are a thousand stories he could tell. His presence reminds me of the kind, wise, older man and storyteller that was my grandfather.
ES: Where would you like your painting to lead you - what are your goals?
JC: So far i feel like i have already accomplished some of my goals I set for myself early on in life. I have illustrated a number of comic books already for various independent comic companies, including doing work for DC's Green Lantern. It has also been really fun to be able to contribute officially and give something back to the legend and myth of Star Wars since it's the reason why i do what i do for a living. Working as an illustrator, I realized early in college my whole purpose or reason for drawing and painting is to be a storyteller and Star Wars is such a great story to be a part of. I've been able to add my two cents to one of the greatest stories ever told and that is already one goal and childhood dream come true.
The only next logical goals i have from here is to be able to do even 'more' official Star Wars art for Lucasfilm soon, possibly when another gaming company picks up the license or another Star Wars venue opens up. I would love to illustrate a Star Wars book cover for Del Rey. I would also love to draw a comic book or mini-series for Dark Horse and would practically do it for them for free if they would only offer. I have approached them in the past with my comic art but with no luck yet. In general i would love to do more comic book work for Marvel and DC and find time to spend on my own creator-owned projects. I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by supportive family and inspiring, creative friends and can only thank them for where I am now and for the goals I have already accomplished. I guess my main goal in where i'd like my art to lead me now is to be a better storyteller.
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ES: What is your personal favorite of your work?
JC: I would have to say my newest work is what I'm almost always most proud of and that would be my painting 'The Phantom Menace'. After seeing the film ten times it was a blast to come home and paint characters like Qui-Gon and Darth Maul who I found interesting, exciting, and inspiring all at the same time.
ES: Have you met any interesting people because of your work?
JC: I enjoy meeting other Star Wars fans at conventions and in my comic book classes that I teach.
Art is a great way to develop a common bond when meeting someone new. Star Wars applies so well since it is so creative and universal. It's even more inspiring when meeting others who enjoy your art or are Star Wars artists themselves.
ES: What other projects are you working on?
JC: My latest projects right now are doing full color and black and white artwork for a variety of Star Trek rpg books. I recently did paintings for the 'Deep Space Nine Core Book', 'Star Trek The Next Generation Aliens Compendium', and the original Trek series 'Alien Compendium'. I also just did art for the 'Starfleet Academy' book, the 'Andorian Boxed Set', and am working on some other Trek projects at the moment which i'm unable to give details as of right now. My studio is full of sketches waiting to be approved to go to finals for different Star Trek books in the works. I can tell you though I am planning on doing a painted cover for the one of the Trek books soon and will definitely have more details to release on my website in the near future.
Besides doing official Star Trek work for the Paramount Pictures licensee Last Unicorn Games, I'm currently at work illustrating 'Mage-The Revised Edition' for White Wolf. I am also hard at work at putting the finishing touches of story on my own creator owned comic book 'Death Avenger'. I'm drawing and writing it and it will be published by World Famous Comics and you can check them out at their website www.wfcomics.com. I'm hoping the new Star Wars paintings I'm creating for my portflio now will attract more work from Lucasfilm and other clients. I always look forward to fun projects, like Star Wars, that allows me to lend my talents as an illustrator and a storyteller.
Joe Corroney will be opening his own website in early 2000. Please visit http://go.to/joecorroney
(Loren Phillips is webmaster for Echo Station, along with her husband David.)