|
|
  |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Become a Patron!  Shop at my official Art Store Become a fan on Facebook Follow me on Instagram Watch my stream on Twitch Subscribe on Youtube       |
 Art tips and techniques, reviews and interviews from my studio. Archived here and at World Famous Comics. Comics 101 for 01/17/2002 Journal of the Whills #24 Interview - Part One I was recently interviewed by Robert Eiba, Publisher and Editor of the Official German Star Wars Fan-Club magazine, Journal of the Whills. You can take a look at the cover illustration I contributed for the magazine in my Star Wars gallery. Autographed copies of the magazine will soon be available to purchase directly from my Stuff to Buy page so be sure check back there in the next two weeks. In the meantime, check out Part One of this exclusive interview translated from German in English for JoeCorroney.Com and Comics 101. Journal of the Whills: Joe, you've contributed a wonderful cover artwork for our new Journal of the Whills. First of all "Big Forceful Thanks" for that. How do you develop a painting like the "Alien Scoundrels"? Joe: The aliens of the Star Wars universe are always so fun to draw and paint. Star Wars movies have the most creative and imaginative aliens in the history of cinema so painting a montage of some of my favorite ones was just something I wanted to do. I tried to design the composition with a balanced assortment of interesting looking alien personalities to make the piece engaging all around. Usually when I'm painting in a more photo-realistic style I spend hours going through my library of Star Wars books, magazines and cd-roms until I find the right poses and expressions that work with the design I have in mind. Sometimes it's the character's overall look or pose that dictates or changes the design in the early stages. After finding the right photos that work well together I usually do quick sketches composing the photos into a rough montage to get the design to work just right. From there I do a line drawing directly on my illustration board closley studying the details of the photos. I always work up the colors slowly in transparent layers of paint. Usually I use acrylics when I paint and thin them out with lots of water at first. I use them like watercolors so I can build up the color, values and contrast of the piece together. The first layer of painting is usually an underpainting in black and grey values followed by a second layer of earth tone colors like umbers and siennas. Then I usually tighten up the piece with more colors of opaque, thicker paint and usually add my brightest highlights with my white paint last. As a final technique I sometimes add some energy and extra color to the piece with colored pencils. I'm glad you like the cover so much and really hope your readers enjoy it too. I had alot of fun working on this painting since it had some of my favorite characters like Jabba and Boussh. JotW: Where do you get the inspiration for your Star Wars art? Joe: Well, my first and foremost inspiration comes from the films. I can watch those movies and be inspired to draw just about anytime it seems. I always pay attention to what other artists who create Star Wars art are doing so that's probably another strong influence. The comic books are always great inspiration to me as well since I'm a big fan of the Marvel and Dark Horse Star Wars comics too. JotW: Do you have personal contact to Lucasfilm and - if yes - what kind of cooperation is it? Joe: Depending on the situation, I'm in contact with Lucasfilm personally if it's a job directly for them or my communication with them is usually through an art director or editor if the project is through a licensee like Wizards of the Coast. The cooperation with Lucasfilm and their licensing department has always been fantastic for me. Star Wars is always such a fun and exciting project for me that it makes it very easy to work with everyone involved. JotW: Would you describe yourself as a "Hardcore Fan" of the saga? Joe: Oh, most definitely. Every time I get the chance to illustrate Star Wars it's a dream come true for me. I don't think all fandom can be measured by who has the most or coolest toys or who has read all the books or seen the movies the most times though. Of course, I do enjoy all that stuff but I think anybody who really just enjoys all the films, which are the heart of the fandom, has the right to be considered a hardcore fan. JotW: Do you also join conventions and - if yes - what do you especially like? Joe: I love going to conventions. This past summer was my first trip to the San Diego Comic Con and that was such a blast. I really enjoy just sharing my work with everybody at these shows and meeting the fans. I'm such a big Star Wars fan myself so seeing other Star Wars fans really respond positively to my art and knowing people appreciate my little corner of the Star Wars galaxy through the work I do just encourages me to do even more and better stuff than before. I've even been able to meet a few of the great folks from the Ranch at various conventions I've attended across the country so that's definitely a highlight too. JotW: What's your first memory concerning Star Wars? Joe: My very first Star Wars memory stems from getting the three pack of action figures from the Sears or JC Penny stores I think which included Chewie, Artoo, and Threepio. After I got some more of the figures I remember being so hyped to see this movie before it even came out. Soon after my family took me to see Star Wars my mom bought me the Marvel Comics adaptation of the movie, one of my very first comic books, so that's an early memory too. Star Wars is really responsible for me being an artist in the first place. JotW: Do you have Star Wars merchandise? What is your favorite item? Joe: I have so much Star Wars merchandise that I don't even have room to display it all in my house. My basement and my studio is overflowing with so many collectibles and memorabilia it probably looks like a Star Wars general store. I usually only display the stuff that I think looks the coolest in my studio and pack up everything else I get until I can find room for it or move into a bigger place. I have lots of the 12 inch Hasbro and Applause figures and the Lego sets lining my shelves in my studio right now. My favorite item though is an Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode One lightsaber built for me by a friend who is a replica prop builder and costume maker. Kenobi's lightsaber design from The Phantom Menace is the coolest looking lightsaber from all the films so far. I ended up trading one of my original Star Wars paintings for it actually. I was so impressed with it's level of detail and it's authenticity is immaculate. Basically it's an exact replica of the one from the film. It's probably the centerpiece of my Star Wars collection sitting on top of a shelf filled with all my Star Wars reference books. JotW: If you could bring a new merchandise idea to life, what would you create? Joe: Hmmm... that's a tough question since everything has just been about done already. I mean there's been Star Wars soap, Star Wars cereal and of course I remember my Yoda and Boba Fett Underoos fondly. Really, how much more unique can you get than that? JotW: What do you especially like in the Star Wars movies? Joe: Some of my favorite things about the movies are the unique aliens and environments. Sometimes you see a background character and you try to imagine what it's origin might be or you see some exotic planet and you wonder what it'd be like to visit there for real. But I'd say what really interests me is the conflict between such heroic and evil characters in the stories. I love how dramatic the action scenes are portrayed and even the more psychological battles like Vader versus Luke in Cloud City or the final duel aboard the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. The way the movies make us feel for the main characters really puts you right into the heart of the conflicts. And the space battles always make you feel you're right there in the cockpit with Luke, Han or Lando too. JotW: If you could have played a role in the existing 4 movies, what character would you have chosen? Joe: When I was a kid I always wanted to be Luke. He was the center of attention most of the time and he fought the biggest monsters and had the coolest weapon. I guess I related more to the optimistic views of his character when I was younger too. When I got a little older I found myself relating to Han's pessimistic and roguish personality more. I think we all can be a little rough around the edges like him at times, especially when we're older and more hardened by reality. Just a matter of being more skeptical of things I guess. But now, if I had to pick one character to play I would have chosen Qui-Gon Jinn since I'd want to relate to him abit more than some of the other characters. His motivation and personality appeal to me and I like that he's noble and dashing, soft spoken but carries a big lightsaber kind of guy. I also admire that he balances his more honorable qualities with a rebellious nature. He adheres to his own code. He does what he thinks is right and sticks to his beliefs no matter what people think. He's stubborn and indpendent but wise, sincere and approachable. I like that. Check back here at Comics 101 for the second half of the interview next week. Check out this week's Comics 101 for Part Two of my exclusive interview with the Official German Star Wars Fan-Club magazine, Journal of the Whills. Journal of the Whills #24 is now available to order from my Stuff to Buy page. For more information about this magazine check out Star Wars.com or the Official German Star Wars Fan-Club website. You can also view the cover and read more about this issue of the fanclub magazine at the Official Star Wars website. See ya next week. -Joe Recent Columns:
© 2024 - , 153 Sheffield Way, Sandusky, OH 44870 All other ® & © belong to their respective owners.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
