Introduction and Goal
Working on Star Wars is a dream project. Period. No matter how you feel about this set of movies, getting to put just a tiny little piece of yourself into a franchise you grew up with is an amazing feeling. When this was announced to the team that we would be working on this, I nerded out, embarrassingly. Disney came to use with a very vague idea, they showed us the teaser work they were going with as a starting point, it had splashes of red, but otherwise was a neutral palette. They also sent us 28,000 photos. The brief was to start creating based on the teaser pieces and push the look from there.
Working on Star Wars is a dream project. Period. No matter how you feel about this set of movies, getting to put just a tiny little piece of yourself into a franchise you grew up with is an amazing feeling. When this was announced to the team that we would be working on this, I nerded out, embarrassingly. Disney came to use with a very vague idea, they showed us the teaser work they were going with as a starting point, it had splashes of red, but otherwise was a neutral palette. They also sent us 28,000 photos. The brief was to start creating based on the teaser pieces and push the look from there.
Process and Experience
Going through the photography for this film was arduous at best. As we sorted though we started to pull imagery that was usable in a poster format, we started to sort by characters, themes, colors, and concept art. Eventually we ended up building a manageable library that we could work from. Aside from the excitement of working on this project, I learned a lot and really pushed my photoshop and design skills. The inspiration for these character pieces goes back to the original Star Wars, that lone samurai, Kurusawa vibe. To get the background brush effect I painted on paper, scanned it, and created my own detailed brushes. One of my favorite parts of this entire project was getting to see all the brilliant work done by other artists I was working with, it was really inspiring.
Going through the photography for this film was arduous at best. As we sorted though we started to pull imagery that was usable in a poster format, we started to sort by characters, themes, colors, and concept art. Eventually we ended up building a manageable library that we could work from. Aside from the excitement of working on this project, I learned a lot and really pushed my photoshop and design skills. The inspiration for these character pieces goes back to the original Star Wars, that lone samurai, Kurusawa vibe. To get the background brush effect I painted on paper, scanned it, and created my own detailed brushes. One of my favorite parts of this entire project was getting to see all the brilliant work done by other artists I was working with, it was really inspiring.
Outcome
These pieces were not chosen although they did go multiple rounds. I am thankful to have been able to work on this and put my name on it. I am proud of this work. This was a tough project, not only was I competing with other designers in my company but (as far as I can tell) Disney hired every studio in town to make artwork, so I was competing with every other Key Artist out there. Our studio alone submitted 250 posters.
These pieces were not chosen although they did go multiple rounds. I am thankful to have been able to work on this and put my name on it. I am proud of this work. This was a tough project, not only was I competing with other designers in my company but (as far as I can tell) Disney hired every studio in town to make artwork, so I was competing with every other Key Artist out there. Our studio alone submitted 250 posters.
Skills Used
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Photoshop
Typography
Compositing
Photo Manipulation
Photography
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Photoshop
Typography
Compositing
Photo Manipulation
Photography
Studio InSync Plus
Role Designer, Art Director
Creative Director Jeff Wadley
Associate Creative Director Charlie Le
Role Designer, Art Director
Creative Director Jeff Wadley
Associate Creative Director Charlie Le