Favourite Star Wars Artist?

grendeljd

Member since: 2011
Location
Ontario, Canada

Hey, so I've been getting a few new Star Wars comics lately to glean inspiration from & I have decided that Doug Wheatley is my current favourite SW artist... the degree of detail he pulls off consistently is something I strive for in my own work. The sheer magnitude of character design he does for every panel is staggering sometimes.

So, I thought that would make for a good open discussion - who's your fav. SW artist, guys n' gals?

grendeljd

I definitely have to check out Biukovic's work in Star Wars. I lOVE the work he did in Grendel comics. Berkey is certainly a classic, and R.K. POst reminds me of Brom, another fav. of mine. I also really like Iain McCaig's work a lot.

Asok

Let's all acknowledge the obvious and state our undying love for Ralph MacQuarry, the original (and greatest) Star Wars artist. It could probably go unsaid, but that man cannot get enough props for his art. It's still as amazing as it ever was (and the unused stuff makes a perfect RPG resource!).

Boshuda

I. J. Thompson

I've heard Lucas, McQuarrie, and Williams described as 'the Holy Trinity of Star Wars', and I think that's exactly right. McQuarrie rules.

(but John Berkey's work just has that mythic, painterly quality I love so much).

But if we're talking comic artists, I have to go old school with Al Williamson. He just is Star Wars to me. Back in the days before dvd, VHS, or home video of any kind (yes, there was such a time), if you wanted to relive the movies, you had three choices: the novels, the soundtracks, and the Marvel Comics adaptations. When I was a child, Al Williamson was as big a part of Star Wars to me as Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.

Casca1967

Asok, I checked out some of R K post sketches. And though he is good, as for Star Wars characters....your better at giving the feel for it and your lines are as good as anything I saw there. IMO

Seghast

And here I was thinking the spammers didn't love us anymore...
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Links removed because the spam filter apparently doesn't like me, but I shall have vengeance. And maybe beer. Beer and vengeance.

Tusserk

... spammer RockingDavid may be, but I do have to thank him for drawing my attention back to this post! It spurred me to finally check out all the artists listed here; something I've been meaning to do, because I am (embarrassingly) unfamiliar with a great deal of those names!

And I discovered that Iain McCaig, whose works I've actually been aware of for some time courtesy of my brother's Phantom Menace concept art book (which currently lives with me...), is also responsible for the cover art of some of them ol' Fighting Fantasy novels, hahaha, many of which used to lie strewn about the house when the siblings and I were wee little kiddies! Now that was a surprise jaunt to my childhood!!

However, of all the artists I've just poked through thanks to this fine forum, I have to admit that Doug Wheatley's work reeeeaally strikes a chord with me. I'm gonna go look for some more!

grendeljd

Yay, a topic I started has been spammed - now I truly feel like one of the gang!

@Tuss - Wow, I didn't even realize Ian McCaig did FF book covers, thats awesome! I wonder if he did my fav of all time - The Forest Of Doom...

I just googled it, and yes he did. My mind is blown. I have been influenced by that art since I was a wee lad of ten! This is almost as crazy as the time I met Alan Lee [yes, the artist of Lord OF The Rings] & found out he DID illustrate the Iron Tower trilogy!!!

Anyways, I digress - glad you are diggin' the art of Wheatley, Tuss - I just ordered another collection of the Star Wars: Dark Times comics he did, I am really looking forward to getting it! If you haven't already, I highly recommend the Dark Times graphic novel 'Blue Harvest' [no joke there, its not the family guy SW special episode]. It is my favourite so far. Its only a shame that he draws so slowly, thus there isn't a large body of work out there by him.

Tusserk

AHAHAHAAA. Okay, that page was a hilarious little trip down memory lane over here, as well! 'Strategically placed wave shaped rock' ... oh, oh, this is me sniggering my sweet Trandoshan scales off!!

The first cover is indeed the one done by McCaig; it's the one we owned as well, the only one I've ever been familiar with. That second cover... ahahaaa. Oh man oh man. Good times.

Grendel, thanks for the recommendation! I'll add it to my list of 'things I'll keep my eyes out for'... and good timing, too, since the one and only Geeky Convention that exists in this here country of mine is making its way to my city this weekend!

(PS. YOU MET ALAN LEE!? Holy crap awesome!!)

grendeljd

Yeah, I.J. - love that McCaig cover, its the one I had too.

@Tuss - I just got my copy of Dark Times Vol. 1 today, can't WAIT to get into it. The detail in Wheatleys work... I can't go on enough about it.

And yeah, I met Alan Lee once... it was very surreal. John Howe was there too.

Weta Workshop & Three Foot Six Productions did a huge display of movie props from the movies in Toronto for the first two films, the one for Two Towers was massive, they had people rebuilding sets from the movie at the R.O.M. for it, it was crazy good. My wife & I were trying to get a job with either studio at the time and were there to meet some Art Directors to go over our portfolios.

We got a tour of the show with one of them, and as we were walking up to the entrance [Picture a large hallway completely converted to look like the dark rotted forest at the edge of the Dead Marshes, complete with roiling fog], out of the mist came two people - none other than Alan Lee & John Howe!! So bizarre to have the artists walk out of their own live imagery at that moment. T'was the best of times...

Sithsherald

There are so many awesome artists listed above. We should throw a little love to Doug Chiang and Drew Struzan too.

Asok

Of course! I LOVE Doug Chiang! I have Robota sitting on my shelf, staring right at me... watching me...

Boshuda

Sithsherald

If you look at the vehicles in my gallery, I think it's fairly obvious how Chiang has inspired me.

Struzan's dome some of the most iconic movie posters of the last 30 years, but some of the work I always remember him for is his Star Wars novel covers. The Courtship of Princess Leia and I, Jedi in particular.

UnnaturalGas

Nobody's mentioned Langdon Foss yet, so I thought I'd chime in to say that I really like alot of his work for the Saga Edition books, but I found him to be hit-and-miss. I love his ships though, his attention to detail and style leaves me with a feeling that he put alot into them. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but he seems to capture perspective pretty well, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

Asok

I wholeheartedly agree with all of that - he is among my favorite Star Wars RPG artists!

Boshuda

Tusserk

Hey, Grendel!

Finally got my hands on a copy of the first volume of Dark Times, and I love it! Definitely enjoying pawing over the art, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I got into the story, too. Dead keen to go seeking out volume two now! Many thanks for the recommendation.

Tusserk

(Oooh, and mentioning Struzan, I was this close to getting myself a gorgeous book of a whole heap of his works on the weekend! Including some really nice 'in progress' shots, which I love getting the chance to see. I'm thinking I'll have to make my husband very, very aware of its existence conveniently before my birthday.)

grendeljd

Tusserk - so cool, glad you found a copy!! It really is a good story, I was also pleasantly surprised by that. Be wary of vol.2 & 3, they may be fully or partially drawn by someone else... less... good...

There is also a bit of confusion because some issues appear in "Vector" vol.1 instead of a proper Dark Times volume. Wheatley is awesome, but he is also a bit slow getting in all that incredible detail. I think they had to have a fill in artist do several issues. Personally, I only have vol. 1 & 4.

Vol. 4 is an *excellent* read. I'm currently excited because they have started up the next 5-part story arc "Out of the Wilderness" in single comic form... 2 issues in so far & I'm loving it!