A&A The Official Joe Corroney Discussion Thread

Joe - awhile back you posted the news about Dave Dorman being in the Florida hurricane. Do you have any update on his situation?

 

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for not dropping by in awhile, I've been extremely busy with SW projects and my current work should keep me chained to my drawing table at least until May when we see the release of Ep III.

I'm really anxious to share with everyone some of the really cool projects I've been working on and currently have on my table, especially some things for EpIII that are really exciting... but I've still got to be patient and hold off on the details for now

Here's what I can tell you so far...

I'm currently chugging through a few hundred sketch cards for Topps Revenge of the Sith set. I'm not sure how many total in the end I'll have done since they're due soon but at least 250 for sure.

I'm also working on a new issue of Empire for Dark Horse It's a Darth Vader solo story too. Lots of great, classic character moments for Vader so I'm really excited about drawing it!

I'm also working on new Episode III artwork for Celebration III. That's all I can say about that project for now though

If you enjoyed my artwork for SW author Abel Pena's amazing 'Mandalorian History' feature in SW Insider #80 which is shipping now then stay tuned, I'm planning on illustrating more art for Insider coming up in the very near future.

In the meantime you can check out all of my Mandalorian artwork for Insider #80 at my official website in my SW Insider gallery here...

http://www.joecorroney.com/cgi-local/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Star_Wars/Star_Wars_Insider_Art

I was really pleased with how some of this work came out, especially the opening illo with Jango and Boba (who happen to be two of my favorite characters to draw next to Vader). If you enjoyed the artwork and this new EU feature then be sure to drop the editors at Insider an email since they'd love to hear your feedback...

comlink@insider.starwars.com

Feel free to let them know if you'd like to see me and Abel Pena do more SW features like this for the magazine in the near future.

You guys are gonna love Episode III when you see it, trust me. It's definitely the most tragic, emotional and action packed of all the SW films. I also believe it's going to take a huge emotional toll on the audience, especially us die-hard fans, so I'm going on the record to say I have a feeling everyone's not going to be prepared for this one either. A lot of folks could end up walking away not liking it since it's *so* dark. Just like when TESB was initially released years ago and fans/critics weren't prepared for it either. It was only in retrospect, years later was it so critically acclaimed. They were expecting another happy go-lucky SW film. Episode III will make Episode V look like a Sunday picnic

But with that in mind, it will give Episodes IV-VI that much more resonance, it will make those classic, great films even more powerful. I really believe that's what the Prequels were designed to do in the first place, espeically the fist two, they're designed as set-up, a slow-burn if you will for the big pay off, which will be the 'explosive' Ep III and then and of course the the Classic Trilogy as well. I can't wait for May!

Now, on to answer some overdue questions....

Hey Joe, I noticed that in this article on TOS about Chris trevas he mentions you're a friend of his- any chance you could throw an invitation to post here his way next time you speak? (or, do you know of any boards he does post to?)

I'm not sure if Chris posts on the boards here but you can always drop him an email through his website at www.ChrisTrevas.com

chris@christrevas.com

I'm sure he'll have a table in the art show at Celebration III too, so be sure to stop by and check out his amazing SW artwork in person if you're going to the show.

Joe - awhile back you posted the news about Dave Dorman being in the Florida hurricane. Do you have any update on his situation?

They were hit pretty hard by the hurricane but are recovering fine it seems. Check out his news section, the 'Dorman Dispatch' at his official website to read more news on the aftermat

 

Hey Joe, just wanted to comment on how awesome a job you are doing with the ROTS sketchcards. I still have yet to even find packs of the Clone Wars cards, lol but did manage to find some SW Heritage packs at a Hot Topic, of all places

I also managed to get my newstand copy of Insider #80 last night and was totally blown away by that Mandalore frontispiece! Fanatastic work on both Boba and Jango. Awesome detailing, Joe! And, is that really Boba on that deluxe jet pack like in the EU toy?

 

On holonetnews.com, there is a story about the history of Count Dooku. In that story is a picture of Yoda, Dooku, Qui-Gon, and a Wookiee Jedi. Who is this Wookiee supposed to be? Did you make him up, or is he a pre-existing character?

 

That's Tyvokka from the flashback sequence in "The Sark Hyperspace War" arc in Republic (issues 36 - 39).

 

Thanks, I thought it was probably him, but I did not want to assume without confirmation.

 

Yep, that indeed is Tyvokka from The Stark Hyperspace War storyline written by John Ostrander. I was so inspired by my friend Jan Duursema's artwork for the cover featuring the Wookiee Jedi that I wanted to include him in the HNN flashback scene with Yoda, young Dooku and a really young Qui-Gon Jinn. I really enjoyed Tyvokka in that series also since he had some memorable dialogue I enjoyed with his apprentice Plo Koon.

That particular illustration has a little more personal 'history' to it actually. My pal, webmaster, partner in crime, etc. Justin from World Famous Comics.com is a SW replica prop builder as well. I commissioned him to actually create a physical prop of young Dooku's lightsaber. It's hard to see in the illustration but we retro-designed it so that parts of it would be reminiscent of his student Qui-Gon's saber. We went a step further and built the prop with parts from Obi-Wan's Classic Trilogy/EpIII saber to represent the Jedi Padawan heritage of building lightsabers as homages to their master's weapons. We just thought it would be a fun and ironic, subtle, visual cue to tie Obi-Wan's character into Dooku that way, especially since Kenobi regards the Count with such disdain. There are pictures of the saber that Justin built for my illustration here at the Lightsaber.com site....

http://www.thelightsaber.com/MoreDookuYoung.htm

If you missed it on SW.com a few weeks ago here's the link to check out a sneak preview of my new sketch cards for Topps Revenge of the Sith set to be released this April...

http://www.starwars.com/collecting/news/topps/news20050125.html

I did around 290 cards this time, with about 80 different kinds of character sketches. I only did three of each kind of sketch (except for battle droids) so that will make each drawing a little more unique.There are also the the Vader, Yoda and clone trooper two card sketches. I did six sets of each of those. Hope you guys like them!

Also, Dark Horse released the solicitation info for my issue of Empire that I'm (currently) penciling...

Star Wars: Empire #33
?Sons? part 4 (of 5)
Writer: Scott Allie
Artist: Joe Corroney
Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
For the velociraptor-like inhabitants of Tiss?sharrl, assassination is a common method of corporate or political advancement?as the planet?s president can attest. But the Tiss?shar are about to get a surprising lesson in the use of force from one who has made the ruthless application of fear and violence a way of life: Darth Vader has dropped in for an unexpected visit.
Vader?s arrival could not have come at a worse time for the President, who is fending off attempts on his life?and business offers from a dangerous quarter. But even the President?s cool reptilian intellect can?t guess at the real reasons for Vader?s visit, or the depths at which the Dark Lord?s machinations run?
Writer Scott Allie (Star Wars: Betrayal) and Star Wars-fan-favorite artist Joe Corroney team up for ?The Price of Power.?
Pub. Date: May 4, 2005
Format: Full color, 32 pages
Price: $2.99

From what I understand though the story was originally scheduled for issue #31 so I guess that changed. Also, the script I have is 22 pages, not 32 They released a cover illustration to solicit with this issue but it's not the Vader cover I penciled, it's Thomas Giorello's art. I'm assuming that was a mistake as well and they'll be releasing the Vader cover art I created and that Brad Anderson is coloring. I saw a comp of the color and it was already looking sharp.

This issue has given me plenty of room to deliver some really cool Vader scenes for everyone. I'm really loving drawing this story, lots of great character moments for the Dark Lord of the Sith. It's very introspective, some great storytelling by Scott Allie. The Tiss'shar were kind of tough to get a handle on at first but now I'm really enjoying drawing them too.

Btw, LFL has approved my sketches for my exlcusive Celebration III artwork! I'll be teaming up with my pal and fellow SW artist Jeff Carlisle to produce this RotS artwork in full color

 

Hey Joe, just wanted to comment on how awesome a job you are doing with the ROTS sketchcards. I still have yet to even find packs of the Clone Wars cards, lol but did manage to find some SW Heritage packs at a Hot Topic, of all places

Glad you enjoyed the new sketch cards! Good luck finding some Clone Wars cards. Your best bet is eBay at this point since I doubt even the specialty shops and hobby stores have them stocked anymore (btw, I love hitting Hot Topic when I'm at the mall)

I also managed to get my newstand copy of Insider #80 last night and was totally blown away by that Mandalore frontispiece! Fanatastic work on both Boba and Jango. Awesome detailing, Joe! And, is that really Boba on that deluxe jet pack like in the EU toy?

Thanks! That was such a fun piece to create, I love the characters so I poured my heart into that illustration.

That's really Boba on the deluxe wing blast jet pack. The wrtier, Abel Pena, actually worked the EU toy into continuity for the article

 

Great to see that you'll be working on yet another comic!

 

Joe, I saw the ROTS sketch-card artist listing and saw that there is a "Justin Chung"...is that a particular "Justin" we know of, or somebody else?

Fantastic news about your work on "Empire #33". I can't wait to get it and also see this Darth Vader cover you did for it.

That is great to hear about LFL accepting to promote your EPIII/CIII artwork. That is going to be a blast, I bet.

I'm not big on Hot Topic ( they do have some cool nostalgia shirts and some band shirts) but I knew that they had some snazzy SW stickers and stuff so I braved the small, cramped store and I saw the Heritage retail packs by chance on the counter. Haven't seen any of the retail packs at local comic shops here in Vegas (I am thinking that sales from TPM and AOTC weren't that great so they underestimated "the power" of the hot Clone Wars, Heritage, and maybe the ROTS series as well).

Yeah, I knew that deluxe rocket-pack Boba looked familiar but forgot where I saw it at first! I thought I saw it in comic book form like maybe in the cool Boba Fett pop-up book that came out around the Special Edition OT theatrcial release...but it was a deluxe toy, heh!

 

Joe - I was wondering if you ever gave a name to that Ishi Tib Jedi you drew. It's a really cool picture, and I think it deserves a name.

 

Joe, congratulations on Empire 33! I loved the work you did on Empire 25, especially since I thought I knew what to expect after our previous collaborations. Can't wait to see what you've got cookin!

Take care,
Abel

 

Great to see that you'll be working on yet another comic!

Thanks Sidious! I'm having a lot of fun drawing it too Lots of Vader and lots of dinosaur action. I've had an awesome time drawing theTiss'shar and their environs. I hope it shows in the pages when the issue ships.

I understand from Randy's comments that the issue is actually still going to be #31, it's just the submissions were released before the need for a pause in the 5-parter was realized, so they're currently inaccurate- Randy says he'll have that fixed eventually.

Yep, it's issue #31, which ships at the end of April I believe or maybe in May.

Joe, I saw the ROTS sketch-card artist listing and saw that there is a "Justin Chung"...is that a particular "Justin" we know of, or somebody else?

Hey Wil! Yep That's our boy Justin, webmaster guru extraordinaire (WorldFamousComics.com, Joe Corroney.com, message boards and websites for Jan Duursema, John Ostrander, etc.)

And he's now also a SW artist! is there anything this man can't do?

Fantastic news about your work on "Empire #33". I can't wait to get it and also see this Darth Vader cover you did for it.

Thanks! I can't wait to see the color final for the Vader cover. It's just a simple shot of him standing on a Coruscant balcony, lightsaber ignited in hand, with TIE fighters whipping by and his cape blowing in the wind. But I was really pleased with my final drawing so I'm excited for the full color piece.

That is great to hear about LFL accepting to promote your EPIII/CIII artwork. That is going to be a blast, I bet.


Now is a good time to just let the cat out of the bag so you guys are first to hear the news... I'm currently illustrating with SW artist Jeff Carlisle the official program cover for CIII *and* an exclusive horizontal (landscape format) full color poster featuing just about all of the major characters from 'Revenge of the Sith'. This poster will be available for sale at the convention by the Gen Con folks. I'm not sure what the final measurements or price for the exclusive CIII poster will be so I may have to wait until the show to find out. But if I find out beforehand I'll let everyone know. The piece is coming along really well so far, Jeff and I are gonna try and knock this one out of the park for all of the fans so I'm excited to see it finished soon.

Along with the program cover and poster, with permission of LFL I'll be offering an exclusive signed and numbered limited edition (only 250) print of my Episode III artwork, 'Revenge of the Sith' which I illustrated with Jeff Carlisle this past December...

http://www.joecorroney.com/cgi-local/imageFolio.cgi?action=view&link=Star_Wars/Star_Wars_Misc_Art&image=1RevengeoftheSith.jpg&img=&tt=img

Be sure to stop by my table in the Art Show and pick up an exclusive prints if you'd like a personalized souvenir from the show by yours truly

Joe - I was wondering if you ever gave a name to that Ishi Tib Jedi you drew. It's a really cool picture, and I think it deserves a name.


I'm glad you like the artwork If you really enjoy it so much that you think he deserves a name why don't you come up with one and let me know. Maybe if I like it I'll rename the piece in the gallery on my website.

Joe, congratulations on Empire 33! I loved the work you did on Empire 25, especially since I thought I knew what to expect after our previous collaborations. Can't wait to see what you've got cookin!

Thanks Abel! And I really enjoyed working with you on the Mandalorian article in Insider #80 recently. I hope we can team up again on something very soon!

Btw, my Revenge of the Sith sketch cards will be shipping in the new Topps set early next month so be on the lookout at your friendly neighborhood comic book shop or hobby store. For more info on Topps RotS series check out their official site here....
http://www.topps.com/Entertainment/StarWars-ROTS/SW_ROTS.html

I'll check back in soon when I get some of these current projects out the door.
Thanks

 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I just did this tutorial on how to draw Boba Fett for the Kids section of Star Wars.com...

http://www.starwars.com/kids/activity/draw/f20050228/index.html

Enjoy!

 

Joe, I'm a big fan of the Blue Senate Guards so I was wondering if this was your work?
[image=http://www.holonetnews.com/55/news/img/story_1.jpg]
I can't wait to see their new look in EpIII. How about a mini-series focused on these guys drawn by you and maybe written by Randy Stradley? Or is he only partial to the Red Dudes only?

Congrats on the SW Kids How-To-Draw Boba work.

That's awesome that its you and Jeff Carlisle that are collaborating on the official CIII Souvenir Program! Congratulations. Very cool, man. Can't wait to see that. Great work on the EpIII prints. Saw it on your site. I am able to make it to CIII and it'll be cool to see you all there, even Nicky. Don't think I'll have enough to get me one of your EpIII prints but I definitely will get a poster for sure! Will it be a different image than the souvenir program or the same? Buying them either way

So it is Justin then. Wow, he's now a LFL SW artist too! Can't wait to see the sample cards. I may have to pick up some hobby packs at CIII since it doesn't look like any of my local shops even bothered to order any. I've seen retail packs of previous cards but no hobby ones. Not that I think I'll be lucky enough to get any kind of sketchcard but retail packs are the only things I see in Vegas. tons of Pokeman, Yu-Gi-Oh, LOTR, RPG, CCG stuff but not much as far as movie cards go.

 

Great that you'll be doing another "Empire" issue Joe!
I'll be anxious to see it when it's out, especially if it's a Darth Vader issue as I always greatly enjoy how well you render Darth Vader and other characters such as Boba Fett. Somehow you're really able to capture the atmosphere of the Original Trilogy movies when you draw them, that's the impression I have anyway.

Those "Revenge Of The Sith" sketch cards look terrific too. May I ask, did you use a different method for drawing them or are they inked as they look a bit sharper or more detailed than some of the "Clone Wars" sketch cards that were previously displayed at starwars.com? (Perhaps it is merely the way they were scanned...)
As it is they look very sharp and the double Vader/Yoda cards certainly are cool!

 

I'm glad you like the artwork If you really enjoy it so much that you think he deserves a name why don't you come up with one and let me know. Maybe if I like it I'll rename the piece in the gallery on my website.


OK, how about Jedi Master J'ilk Torlin?

If you don't like that name, I could try to think of another.

 

hi joe, my name is godfrey washington. i will be at the c3 and i lllove your art work. i would love for you to draw me. if possible. a photo....etc. pm me asap god bless and may the force be with you!!

 

Joe, I'm a big fan of the Blue Senate Guards so I was wondering if this was your work?

Yep, that's a piece I did about three years ago for www.HoloNetNews.com

I can't wait to see their new look in EpIII. How about a mini-series focused on these guys drawn by you and maybe written by Randy Stradley? Or is he only partial to the Red Dudes only?

The blue Senate guard costumes haven't changed that much for Ep III as far as I can tell. IIRC they have visors now like the red guards instead of the open face helmets. Your idea for the mini-series sounds interesting, maybe it could be a prequel of sorts to Randy's Crimson Empire comics. You should head over to the SW message boards at Dark Horse.com and let him know

Congrats on the SW Kids How-To-Draw Boba work.

Thanks!

That's awesome that its you and Jeff Carlisle that are collaborating on the official CIII Souvenir Program! Congratulations. Very cool, man. Can't wait to see that. Great work on the EpIII prints. Saw it on your site. I am able to make it to CIII and it'll be cool to see you all there, even Nicky. Don't think I'll have enough to get me one of your EpIII prints but I definitely will get a poster for sure! Will it be a different image than the souvenir program or the same? Buying them either way.

The souvenir program will include the right half of the full poster image. On the cover though you can expect to see Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padme, Darth Sidious and Darth Vader. The poster features... well, everybody else

I've just posted a big update in my news section where you'll find out more info and prices for the posters, my exclusive Celebration III print and my other projects about to appear soon...

http://www.joecorroney.com/news/

So it is Justin then. Wow, he's now a LFL SW artist too! Can't wait to see the sample cards. I may have to pick up some hobby packs at CIII since it doesn't look like any of my local shops even bothered to order any. I've seen retail packs of previous cards but no hobby ones. Not that I think I'll be lucky enough to get any kind of sketchcard but retail packs are the only things I see in Vegas. tons of Pokeman, Yu-Gi-Oh, LOTR, RPG, CCG stuff but not much as far as movie cards go.

Good luck grabbing one of our sketch cards. Your best bet might be eBay though since I only drew about 290 cards and Justin did only around 100.

Great that you'll be doing another "Empire" issue Joe!

Thanks, Nicky!

I'll be anxious to see it when it's out, especially if it's a Darth Vader issue as I always greatly enjoy how well you render Darth Vader and other characters such as Boba Fett. Somehow you're really able to capture the atmosphere of the Original Trilogy movies when you draw them, that's the impression I have anyway.

I appreciate that! I love drawing Darth Vader especially since my style is so graphic so he's a character I can have a lot of fun with visually. I've actually been nudging Randy recently to let me draw a Boba Fett story since I would really love to draw an issue (or series) centered on his character. He threw a Vader story my way since he knew I was a big fan of drawing that character so I'm hoping a Fett sotry works out too

Those "Revenge Of The Sith" sketch cards look terrific too. May I ask, did you use a different method for drawing them or are they inked as they look a bit sharper or more detailed than some of the "Clone Wars" sketch cards that were previously displayed at starwars.com? (Perhaps it is merely the way they were scanned...)
As it is they look very sharp and the double Vader/Yoda cards certainly are cool!

Glad you like the double, split portrait cards. There's also a two part Clone Trooper card to go with the Vaders and Yodas. I did six sets of each character so hopefully fans will have some luck trying to match them up.

As for technique, those are definitely completed in pencil, My style has just been getting tighter and more refined I suppose since the Clone Wars sketch cards I drew last year. I also only

 

Topps EpIII movie cards- I don't think I'll be that lucky to find either one of you or Justin's sketchcards. Especially with both your low card-count. I just like seeing some of the samples that are posted online and don't think I'll be bidding on anything on eBay.

Blue Senate Guards- I actually like them more than the Red Guards because they are afterall the "goodguys", the Republic's guards.
For EpIII, they do have a black-tinted full-face visor and have removed their fancy feather top. I don't really frequent the DHC boards much but I'll mention about seeing some Blue Senate Guard stories based on the guards' point-of-views.
I think the Crimson Guards look cool but I'm not really a big fan of the books. I think Ron Marz would do a well-written Blue Guard story.

Empire- more Vader. More Han and Chewie and something about SW dinos? Count me in!

 

I actually put a lot of thought into the name. First the training remote in the background made me think of him as a teacher, so that's why I decided to use the rank of Master. Then, I went to the CUSWE here on theforce.net and looked up as many names of Ishi Tib characters as they had in order to see if there were any common similarities in Ishi Tib names. I found that the letters t, j, and k were used alot. I went through about twenty or so versions coming up with Torlin Jilk, but it still didn't sound quite right so I transposed the name and got Jilk Torlin. I added the apostrophe just make the spelling seem a little more exotic. There really is no personal significance other than I just really thought it fit the character.

As I said before, if you don't like it, I try to come up with a better one.

 

I am really stoked about the Epic Poster and Souvenir Program cover. It really is an intense work to look at. Awesome job, Joe!
Over at Jan's WFC boards I had forgotten about your actual CIII print which was a different piece altogether and was referring really to your Epic Poster. Your actual CIII print is very cool too. I think these will sell as well as the posters and programs.

I do think your poster outdoes Drew Struzan's EpIII movie poster.

 

True, Joe's Celebration III Souvenir Program cover art (and poster) look really stunning. A fantastic piece, especially the evil aura that just oozes from Darth Sidious, the menacing image of Vader looming over the other characters displayed, the intensity of Obi-Wan facing Anakin... terrific!

That certainly is going to be a great artwork to get and keep!