Creating
Star Wars Art Step By Step
Matt Busch Shares With Star Wars Fans
By Loren Phillips
8/28/99
In my interview with Star Wars artist Matt Busch, I was provided the opportunity to share the gorgeous artwork of this fantastic artist, and, hopefully, express a bit of the person behind the images we see, like the cover of "Tales of the Empire" laying on our coffee tables.
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Matt recently contacted me about a project he put together explaining the process by which he creates some of his artwork. He has taken images of the entire process and put them together into a bit of a storyboard on his website, which takes us through everything, from the first rough sketch to the finished product. Explaining his thoughts along the way, he discusses why he used certain positions for the subject, as well as the actual tools he used to create each new piece. Matt doesn't just talk "artist jargon"...he actually explains it so someone like myself can understand what he's talking about. An excerpt:
"Now I begin with gray washes. For practical reasons, I paint almost everything in acrylics these days. The washes are painted in like watercolor. I'm just taking the acrylic paint and thinning it down with water. I paint in the gray tones so that it begins to look like a full value painting in black and white."
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Hearing him talk about his thoughts is wonderful. Sometimes we take for granted the tiny details we see in an overall painting, not realizing the decisions that went into the most minor aspects of each part:
"I sign it last. I think it's an unspoken tradition for artists and illustrators. I remember how cool it was to watch Bob Ross on TV crank out a wonderful painting in a half hour and then sign it at the end. To add to the dynamic perspective of the piece, I thought it would be cool to also sign my name in perspective, giving the illusion that my name is actually carved into the ground."
I love this entire presentation for one simple reason - Matt did this to share something with Star Wars fans. Not for profit, not for a client, but simply to share what he could with a group of fans who seem to devour every morsel of information they can about anything connected to their favorite subject. I have become quite cynical about Star Wars things of late, because the motivation behind everything seems to always be The Almighty Dollar. Here, finally, I see someone doing something for the FANS instead of for the profit.
Kudos, Mr. Busch. You have provided me not only with interesting information and beautiful artistry to enjoy, but with a renewed faith that not everyone sees dollar signs in "$tar War$ Fan$".
DARTH MAUL STEP BY STEP
Visit www.mattbusch.com to see the entire presentation