A&A The Official Jan Duursema Discussion Thread

Sorry Villiemace, I must admit I don't know. (I'm not from the UK though, but wish I could help.)

Something about Twi'leks I was thinking about. E.g. at first we see Aayla has a rather flexible lekku with the dot shaped tattoos on it. Reflecting Aayla in Episode II and Rite of Passage she has these roughly hexagonal lighter colored spots. (As well as seemingly having a more 'solid' lekku so to speak.)
I was wondering, could these spots on a female Twi'leks lekku be related to their age in any way? Or a physical symbol of reaching biological adulthood? ... It could be no other meaning was meant than for them to just look cool. But I was just thinking about it, since it offers some potential for conjecture and theorizing...

 

Aayla Secura website!!!

I know this is not a thread soleley about Aayla Secura but about all of Jan Duursema's Star Wars artwork but I thought you might find it interesting to know there's a new Aayla Secura website out there!
It's made by Russ from the Yahoo! Aayla Secura Fanclub. It's a wonderful site with a biography, timeline, images, fan art & fiction, and a forum for all things Aayla and Star Wars!!!

I think this site is truly magnificent, if you would like to make sure you go visit it, I guarantee it'll be worth it.
Maybe Jan duursema might even like it!

Just go here: http://www.temoto.co.uk/aayla/

Enjoy!!!

Oh, and if you should find anything that's wrong in the timeline, just write that Nicky Van Overloop dude an E-mail (it's linked at the bottom) ... he'll feel shamed for making a mistake but he'll correct it. (He's quite an Aayla fan. ) At least I hope I didn't make any mistakes in it, lol.

 

Hi, kampilan!--I WANT TEEMTO TOO!!! (Then I will get someone to turn him into Master Zao for me...)

Hi, Mr44--Wizard World was too much fun! Cool to know that Aurra is hanging over your computer! I think talking with other Star Wars fans at cons is the best--it's my chance to share thoughts with like minded people who love Star Wars as much as I do.

Hope you enjoyed Twilight and the Tales story--Did you see in the back of the Twilight tpb there is a section that had preliminary sketches for Quin, Aayla and Villie? Kind of fun to see where they started and how they ended up. Aayla's costume was a problem for me right from the start--the regular Jedi robes just weren't making it for her. Interesting to see how her costume ended up in AOTC!

We can only hope that Aurra and Aayla meet up someday! And I hope I'm there to draw it!

Hi Elven_Jedi--I agree, Aayla would beat Aurra--but Aurra is a mean fighter--it would be a truly intense fight! Thanks for the kind words on RoP--glad you are enjoying it.

Yeah, I'm a girl/woman. Name fools 'em every time...

Hi, AnotherAgentSmith-- You are so worthy-- -I saw the Aayla Secura website! Very cool and wonderful!

I think it is wonderful that you are enjoying Aayla's character so much. I'd have to say that she is one of the best characters I've ever had the privledge to draw--and she gets better and more interesting with each story she is in. I'm very happy that she inspires you!

>>The drawing of Aayla's face seen from the side after Quinlan Vos affects the dice toss Villie made! Her facial expression. (Seems she thinks what Villie's NT droid says.)<<

!!!!! Thanks for picking up on that--Aayla is absolutely having her own doubts about her old Master at that moment. She hasn't seen him in a long time--even though they spent a 'lifetime' together, he no longer shares the memory of their experiences. But Quin has come to a place where he can be easy with his loss--a Jedi who is in tune with the Force would have to reach such a place--and Quin has been following the path of Master Zao--letting the Force guide him where it will on his journey mission.

I'll ask Raymond about that commission--I've got a couple of requests lined up and waiting, so you may have to be a bit patient--but I'd love to draw Aayla--I don't think anyone has requested her yet.

I'd enjoy doing lots more stories about Aayla, Quin, Tholme and T'ra Saa-- definitely a chemistry there--what is their story, I wonder? Maybe a Tales story?

>>Something about Twi'leks I was thinking about. E.g. at first we see Aayla has a rather flexible lekku with the dot shaped tattoos on it. Reflecting Aayla in Episode II and Rite of Passage she has these roughly hexagonal lighter colored spots. (As well as seemingly having a more 'solid' lekku so to speak.)<<

>>I was wondering, could these spots on a female Twi'leks lekku be related to their age in any way? Or a physical symbol of reaching biological adulthood?<<

The scoop on Aayla's lekku-- I started out drawing the tattoos on them because I remembered reading in Tales from Jabba's Palace,about a young Twi'lek who was rescued by Luke. She had tattoos on her lekku to enhance her saleability as a dancer. At the time the thought was that Aayla was to have been sold at one point as a slave (as eventually happened in RoP 1) When I received the filmouts from AOTC of Aayla--I noticed that she did not have the tattoos, but instead some interesting markings on her lekku. I was told I did not have to change her in the comic book, but I really felt like I wanted to be true to the Aayla we were going to be seeing on film--so I changed her look to fit. As for her previous tattoos? I'm guessing they were part of her disguise when she and Quin were undercover on their mission during the Episode One time period. They were probably not true tattoos, but a long lasting vegetable dye that she later had removed. Don't take this as canon--but if asked to explain it--that is what I would theorize. As for the solidity of the lekku? I tr

 

Jan Duursema you rock! Thank you for answering and replying to what I said and taking a look at that Aayla site, I really appreciate it. You seem to be a really cool and wonderful person.
(Feel free to call me Nicky. Or Smithy or Obsessed Aayla fan ... joking on that last part. - I have an akward sense of humor.)

"We can only hope that Aurra and Aayla meet up someday!"
I have played a similar battle out in Jedi Knight II Jedi Outcast using the Aayla Secura model/skin and the Aurra Sing model/skin. (Since I play as Aayla, Aayla mostly wins. But Aurra is one tough opponent! )

"You are so worthy"
Thank you! (Every time I pick up a Star Wars comic about Aayla that quite makes my day. )

"I saw the Aayla Secura website! Very cool and wonderful!"
Thank you! I don't deserve much credit though, all I did was write the timeline and I pretty much know all of those things by heart. (Hope you will not think I'm one of those 'weird, crazy' fans.) But Russ from The Yahoo! Aayla fanclub deserves all the credit, truly. I'll pass your very friendly comments on to him if that's alright?

"Aayla is absolutely having her own doubts about her old Master ..."
Two things I thought about but hadn't mentioned yet.
One of the greatest drawings/scenes from 'Rite of Passage 1' I thought was the little Aayla hugging the teenage Quinlan, the look on the young Aayla's face was so well done. It could have a deeper meaning seeing how in 'Rite of Passage 2' Aayla is confronted with a Quinlan Vos who's no longer the Quinlan she knew. It's not remotely the same Quinlan as the teenage Padawan that saved her as a little girl. The way she was holding him, I wonder what you have in store for us in how their past bond will play out ... we see how little Aayla holds Quinlan and looks at him, their deep bond was clearly seen in 'Darkness 4' (That awesome drawing/scene where Quinlan reasons with Aayla as they duel! ) but in 'Rite of Passage 2' Aayla looks dissapointed, in the spaceship she even looks a little 'torn', as if thinking where the Quinlan she knew has gone?
About Quinlan, he did rather 'scare' me in 'Rite of Passage 2', while he does get his hands a little dirty with the dice toss, his sardonic smile as he battles those bounty hunters ... frightening almost! I wonder what's really going on inside him ... I think we'll probably be very surprised with what you have in store for them in 'Rite of Passage 3 & 4'!

For the commission, I'd would like to see when 'Rite of Passage 3 & 4' are out to see if there's any great drawings/scenes of Aayla in those that really blow me away to have those emulated maybe.(I'm sure they will, with each new issue I go like 'Wow'. - Imagine Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix' type of 'wow'. ) I'll be happy to request an Aayla pencil from you, once I decide what I want. But don't worry, I am patient because I know it will be more than worth it in the end.
'Everything comes to those who wait.', they say. I'd never mind waiting for something that I know will be great and really add something (to my life or my passion for Star Wars and Aayla Secura in this instance).

Thanks for that great info on Aayla's lekku. It's great to see how fantastic people like you who are creatively involved with Star Wars handle and conceive such elements.
I don't worry too much about what's canon, what's EU, I love Star Wars so I just enjoy it. (I wouldn't ever worry about tidbits that contradict each other.)
But really great info, many thanks for that.

Thank you for all the wonderful drawings and pencils of Aayla (and those other great characters) and for taking the time to replying, I really appreciate it.

 

Hey there Jan *pokes*Email me back, silly

Anyways, I really am posting to congratulate our beloved Jan for making the front cover of Sketch magazine, sabre and all. I haven't found the magazine yet, but I know the article is online somewhere. Great job, hon!

 

For anyone who didn't know or see, Aayla will have her own card in the Sith Rising expansion pack for the CCG card game.

Blows my mind how far our little blue skinned Jedi has come.

 

Hey Shara---yeah I gotta find me a copy of that Sketch mag...last one I got was Frank Cho/Liberty Meadows (Oscar and Truman are kickass!)
Matt Periolat---great news. I'll just get individuals as I am not into this CCG craze.
AASmith---See? Aren't you glad to be ignoring these Aayla bashers? There is light at the end of the tunnel...
Jan---are there prelim sketches in Darkness TPB?

San Diego Con in t-minus 8 days...!

 

Congratualtions on making the cover of Sketch magazine Ms Duursema.

(Can someone please telll the poor European dude here what Sketch magazine is? I don't really know, just wanted to jump on the congrats wagon to be nice and polite you know. )

MattPeriolat, any idea if we'll be able to purchase the Aayla CCG card seperately? I'd like to get it, more as a collector's item since I don't play the CCG.

Yeah, thanks kampilan, you're right. I just tend to rush in sometime head first. (Rather like Anakin in Episode II when they face Dooku to make a funny analogy.)

Great saying about 'light at the end of the tunnel'. I appreciate it. Though do you know the Metallica song 'No Leaf Clover'? there the lyrics say 'the light at the end of the tunnel is just a freight train coming your way'. Just thought that was funny. I tend to more want to believe the positive version you mentioned.

(And for anyone if any stuff I say sounds odd, I guess I'm just a rather strange person. I do my best though! I always try to be nice, maybe that comes off as trying too hard. As you can see from this I do think and talk too much as well.)

 

Randy Stradley, Star Wars Editor for Dark Horse comics has stated that with the change of the Star Wars Ongoing series into Star Wars: Republic in september the characters "Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Aayla Secura, Quinlan Vos, and other famous Jedi will continue to hold center stage as an emerging galactic conflict swirls around them."
(http://www.darkhorse.com/products/zones/starwars_popup.html?item=6)

So hopefully we'll get to see much more comics with these great characters and done by Jan off course!

 

That's great news AASmith about the Ongoing. I would like to see more interaction between Quinlan, Aayla, and Obi-Wan. It's always fun seing my favorite EU and Canon characters together as jan knows. I flipped out when I saw the cover for the Stark Hyperspace War with a young Obi-Wan and Quin.

Sketch magazine, I assume, is focused on artists, including comic book artists, hence why Jan's in it. I haven't been able to find it personally.

 

Chances are we'll have to buy the packs to find Aayla. Very rarely are cards sold seperately except in specialty stores.

Maybe she'll be seperate in San Diego, I dunno.

 

Well good news for me. I went to go get some comics today and found that my comic book store had the latest Sketch magazine. Upon initial inspection, there was a nice long interview and some samples of Jan's work, including pictures from the movie and original sketches of the AotC comic adaptation that Jan used to draw from I'm assuming. Looks great!

 

San Diego Comic Con is almost here! I'm both psyched and scared! Scared of the lines that is

Its 4-days so the odds are good!

 

hey jan!

first let me say how amazing it is of you to take the time here in the forums. and to follow our links, look at our sites, reply to all our individual questions, etc etc etc!!!

remember, "karma is a boomerang!"

my little suggestions of characters i'd like to see (besides quinlan):

luminara, the dark lady, kit fisto, a'sharad hett!, the (twi'lek?) jedi master from the SW TALES story "Nameless," aurra sing anytime!, and how bout throwing us an OLD EU bone with joruus c'baoth from "Dark Empire" or vima di boda!!!

to name a few

even a background sketch somewhere would make those last 2 seem a lot more true to their previous appearances.
everyone loves it when you see hidden characters in the background - and jorus and vima have a lot of unexplored history from the PT era!!!!!!!

anyway - thanks again!

 

Hi there Smithy!

Your enthusiasm is breathtaking!

>>"Aayla is absolutely having her own doubts about her old Master ..."
Two things I thought about but hadn't mentioned yet.
One of the greatest drawings/scenes from 'Rite of Passage 1' I thought was the little Aayla hugging the teenage Quinlan, the look on the young Aayla's face was so well done. It could have a deeper meaning seeing how in 'Rite of Passage 2' Aayla is confronted with a Quinlan Vos who's no longer the Quinlan she knew. It's not remotely the same Quinlan as the teenage Padawan that saved her as a little girl. The way she was holding him, I wonder what you have in store for us in how their past bond will play out ... we see how little Aayla holds Quinlan and looks at him, their deep bond was clearly seen in 'Darkness 4' (That awesome drawing/scene where Quinlan reasons with Aayla as they duel! ) but in 'Rite of Passage 2' Aayla looks dissapointed, in the spaceship she even looks a little 'torn', as if thinking where the Quinlan she knew has gone?>>

Thank you! For noticing all the detail I try to put into the work--sometimes it's hard to tell if the work is conveying what I am trying to tell--that story within a story. John and I talk this stuff over right left and sideways--any project we've done together we try to get into the characters heads and really understand what they are all about. Reading this really makes me smile because I know it's coming through. Certainly, the Quin that Aayla knew is gone, that is the tragedy of what happened to them. Quin has learned to let the Force guide him in what is really a new life. Aayla still has to work this out. How much of her old Master still remains?

<<About Quinlan, he did rather 'scare' me in 'Rite of Passage 2', while he does get his hands a little dirty with the dice toss, his sardonic smile as he battles those bounty hunters ... frightening almost! I wonder what's really going on inside him ... I think we'll probably be very surprised with what you have in store for them in 'Rite of Passage 3 & 4'! >>

We've seen Jedi get their hands dirty with a toss of the dice before. It seems that a Jedi must weigh out the greater good and the need to find a little boy who is in grave danger is more important than a few credits being tossed around a casino. Chances are very good that with Villie's gambling habits they will be back in circulation very shortly. I think you will enjoy 3 and 4 very much!

As far as the Aayla commission goes--let me know!

Shara--I emailed you! Sorry, missed that one! Thanks for the congrats about the Sketch article! They put together a great magazine! Yeah, the article had the ref I used and the page I used it for. The idea was to show how to use ref for an adaptation while designing a page. Cool, huh?

kampilan--I don't know what extras they put in the Darkness TPB. I was hoping for Heart of Fire, but I don't think there was enough room for the three pages. San Diego! Tomorrow, man!

Episodenone--

>>first let me say how amazing it is of you to take the time here in the forums. and to follow our links, look at our sites, reply to all our individual questions, etc etc etc!!!<<

It's all good! I have seen some amazing sites out there! Thanks for letting me know they are out there. always glad to reply to questions or just say hi. Star Wars is a way of life around my house so thanks for letting me hang out and be one of the 'gang'.

>>remember, "karma is a boomerang!"<<

And positive energy generates creative energy!

>>my little suggestions of characters i'd like to see (besides quinlan):

luminara, the dark lady, kit fisto, a'sharad hett!, the (twi'lek?) jedi master from the SW TALES story "Nameless," aurra sing anytime!, and how bout throwing us an OLD EU bone with joruus c'baoth from "Dark Empire" or vima di boda!!!<<

I agree--hopefully we will be seeing these characters very shortly! Plans are in the works...so hang tight and we shall rock on!

 

Hi Jan! Thank you for answering us and making the time to come here, I really appreciate it!

Thank you for the nice compliment. But credit there really goes to you and John Ostrander, Amy Allen, George Lucas, ... and all the people behind Star Wars and the great stories of Aayla Secura. My entusiasm and passion comes from Star Wars and especially Aayla Secura being such great and epic entertainement, if not truly art!
(And if I ever should get too enthusiastic or get carried away -it happens, one of my faults- just bonk me on the head. )

Yes, I really wonder what'll happen between Aayla and Quinlan. The way she looks at him as a little girl when they first met, the different man he is now than before. Promises to be interesting I'm sure! (Hopefully poor Aayla won't get her spirit too crushed.)

"sometimes it's hard to tell if the work is conveying what I am trying to tell--that story within a story. John and I talk this stuff over right left and sideways--any project we've done together we try to get into the characters heads and really understand what they are all about".
That makes me think of when I first read 'Twilight', I was hooked right away. The scene where Quinlan finally finds Aayla and gives her her lightsaber and she ignites it. Quinlan asking if she remembers. When you see scene when she answers 'No.' her face and her eyes. Simply breathtaking. You can really see and 'feel' that behind those eyes she struggles to recall but it's just a blank slate.

Ever since 'Twilight', throughout 'Darkness' and certainly in 'Rite of Passage', in my humble opinion it all comes together perfectly. The first time you read it and look at it you get the basic story but then when you really look at each scene, the subtleties in the dialogue and more so in the art come one by one, each time a new layer catches your eye. The balance is just great. And the drawings, to me that's art, so full of detail.

For the comic book medium which bridges between books and movies, as they are not just words or moving images but still images with words the balance you've created is so awesome, it gives more to the imagination than a movie and allows to explore details yet lets a single image speak more than a 100 words.

Methinks like Villie still, Quin is naughty naughty Jedi.
Villie is such an awesome character too, literally. What a personality! (I think he better watch it when calling Aayla a 'yum-yum', the last one before him to do that didn't fare so well! Gotta love those strong, fiesty women.)

Since I know you're going to dazzle us with 'Rite of Passage 3 & 4' I'm going to check those first before I decide on what I'll ask for the commission. Though I have a pretty good idea. (Plus I don't want to give you tons of extra work, I know you must be very busy as it is.)

Thanks again Jan for all the great work!


Hey episodeone! Your Jorus C'Baoth idea is great. It would be nice to have a tie in the PT (Ep II) era for him, else Timothy Zahn's trilogy seems so detached from the current PT (Ep II) era stories.

 

thanks agentsmith!!!

i suggested jorus and vima in the ostrander thread as well.

i said a while ago that i wondered why gl didn't use great character like quinlan for the movies - but i was sure glad about aayla.

and a lot of people bash dark empire - but i think jan and john might redeem it if they use JORUS (notice only 1 "U") in the ongoing series somewhere.

imagine if our favorite creative team decided to somehow tie "outbound flight" and the Yuuzan Vong into the PT era!!!!!

and as for VIMA DI BODA - jan and john's use of her character could tie into "splinter of the minds's eye" - one of the earliest works of EU in existence!!!

jan - should i cut and paste these thoughts into JO's thread?

 

No problem, I really think your idea is good. It'd be awesome if Jorus C'Baoth had a cameo somewhere, even if only just enough as to acknowledge his existence in that era, it would add some more depth to the Heir to the Empire Trilogy.

For Vima di Boda I personally feel a past shrouded in mystery suits the character well. (But that's just a personal thought.)

And for the Yuuzhan Vong in the PT Ep II era? Might want to check out 'Rogue Planet' sometime.

 

Wouldnt Jorus already be dead by the time the ongoing series is? With issue 46, its jumping to 24 years BBY...and the Outbound Project happened 31 years BBY.

 

mavrick889:
JO responded something like that in his thread and i will take his and your word for it since i do not have the chance.

one idea i had was perhaps the dark lady = vima di boda????

 

"one idea i had was perhaps the dark lady = vima di boda????"


Doesn't really work out, because The Dark Woman gets killed by Darth Vader only a few months before A New Hope...and since Vima is alive as of 10 years after A New Hope...

 

Heh, I just said the exact same in Mr. Ostrander's thread.

 

good point about the death of the dark lady.
i forgot that for a second.

although that might be considered infinities.

 

Not with her entry in the NEGtC.

 

Jan -

Thanks for a great time at the panel today! I am really looking forward to the upcoming projects.

Really isn't said enough I think but I think I speak for a lot of folks when I say thank you for being so gracious with your time and for being so good to us fans. I do appricate it.

See ya next year!