Posts Tagged ‘Star Wars’
Posted by Barrett in Interviews, Latest News on January 3rd, 2010
For those of you out there who are aspiring artists, allow me to present to you the story of Randy Martinez… With an illustrator for a father and an art teacher as a mother, one could say that Randy Martinez was destined to be an artist. At a young age, after learning the crucial lesson that drawing on the walls would only get him into trouble, Randy turned to paper and by the time he reached fourth grade he began to realize that he had some real talent.
“I loved art, and it was like breathing to me, you know something you do involuntarily, but it was such a great way for me to express myself. You never really appreciate that in the moment. But I look back and art really got me through some tough times, and let people know how I felt. I did some powerful stuff without knowing it when I was a kid.”
Although the talent came to him at a young age, Martinez’s dream was to be a professional basketball player. After 2 years of playing college ball he realized that he would probably never make it into the pros and he decided to hang up his sneakers and focus on his art, but he never regretted the time he spent on the courts.
“I needed something that was a challenge and basketball gave that to me until I was mature enough to take my art abilities seriously.”
And so, Martinez embraced his talents and became what he is today: artist, author, teacher. Now he spends his days contributing to the expression and interpretation of some of the most legendary titles and characters such as Indiana Jones, Captain Jack Sparrow, Spider-man, the X-men and the whole Star Wars crew. While he is incredibly proud of his accomplishments he never forgets how humbling it is to work on such high profile characters.
“These titles and characters are so huge and bigger than life. They have been drawn and written about by some of the greatest artists to ever walk the earth. To be a part of that legacy is just overwhelming to think about sometimes… Being able to contribute to these iconic characters is truly an honor.”
The tricky thing when working with pre-existing characters, especially such well-known and well-developed characters as these, is to stay true to the original while somehow finding a personal connection to inspire you. Martinez suggests drawing to satisfy yourself. If you can appreciate your own art and connect with it your best work will come (along with your fans approval and hopefully a paycheck!).
“I could draw anything you want me to draw, but unless I get involved with the subject matter it’s really static. It’s just a picture. The best example was when I did some art from the TV series ‘Heroes’. When I got the job I knew absolutely nothing about the show. I had plenty of reference pictures, but they meant nothing to me. So I went out and bought the first season of Heroes. I sat there for 3 days with my girlfriend and watched the whole thing before I ever put down one pencil mark… If you look at any great piece of art you will always notice that the artist is really just expressing their experience or their feelings with the subject. With Heroes, I could draw Claire, but what do I have to say about Claire, what are my feelings about her condition, her struggles, and points of view? Illustrating that is what makes my art mine, no matter what the subject is.”
In addition to these works, Martinez is also the author of Creature Features, a how-to-draw book with an alien/sci-fi/monster theme that was recently reviewed here at FM. An avid fan of monsters his entire life, he was more than willing to take on the project when Impact Books approached him with the idea. Determined to keep the process fun, Martinez developed his own teaching style in order to teach student artists in a simple and effective way while not talking down to them or coming across as bland. The result: Creature Features.
“I have loved monsters my whole life. Godzilla, The Wolfman, Clash of the Titans, and of course I got my fix from Famous Monsters of Filmland. I gained a respect for the different types of monsters and what they meant to our culture. Mythic Creatures for instance are very different than monsters like Frankenstein they played a different roll and I wanted to teach that.”
Finally, we asked Mr. Martinez what advice he could give to aspiring artists and he responded with the following:
“1) Patience. This is by far the most needed virtue any artist can have. It takes a long time to record a good year of success, business-wise, as an artist. You have to let your art grow and mature with everything you will learn on the way. Patience will keep you from getting frustrated and help keep you focused on your goals.
2) Be nice to everyone. You never know who you will meet, or who someone is related to. You’ll gain social skills as you go, and learn hotw to network, but from the start you have to be cool to people. People remember that stuff.
3) Believe in yourself. If you don’t nobody will. Simple as that.
4) Dedication. People ask me what one thing do you need to have if you don’t have the first three elements I listed? The answer is dedication. This is an extremely competitive business, and you have to be ready to sacrifice everything for it. That might sound like a lot, but if you LOVE making art, there really is no sacrifice you need to make. If you really want it, it has to be your priority in your life.”
If you have an interest in Randy Martinez’s art, you will be happy to hear of several upcoming releases including his work. February Topps Trading Cards is releasing Star Wars Galaxy Series five, a huge set in which Martinez will have 19+ cards, two of which are in the New Visions Section, two are in “The Best of Star Wars past” section, and fifteen FOIL chase cards will feature his art and signature! Then, in the spring of 2010 his new book, Sketch Card Mania, is being released by Impact Books! Once again we here at FM thank Randy Martinez for his time and advice and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. For more information head on over to his site here.
To purchase Randy Martinez’s art, including how to obtain original artwork, visit ArtInsights Animation and Film Art Gallery.
Posted by Danielle in Events on January 1st, 2009
Didn’t land tickets to this year’s sold-out Comic-Con? FM is here to ease your pain.
In celebration of San Diego Comic-Con International’s 40-year history, a first-ever, exclusive television broadcast of a presentation will take place, due to a collaboration between Lucasfilm Ltd. and G4.
The Star Wars Spectacular! will air Saturday, July 25 at 2:00 p.m. ET/PT on G4.
This will feature never-before-seen footage, breaking news, surprise announcements, guest stars and more. At 4:00 p.m. G4 will also present three hours of live coverage from the Comic-Con floor.
Fans are also invited to participate in a panel by submitting Clone Wars questions through a special G4 micro-site. Questions will be answered, live, by supervising director Dave Filoni and others from Clone Wars.
The 2009 Comic-Con is also home to another Lucasfilm milestone- the Star Wars Stories Project. Fans will contribute to Lucasfilm’s own historical archive by describing their own personal memories through video testimonials.
Calling all Star Wars fans! Get started here.
Posted by dominie in Events, Latest News on November 26th, 2008
Yesterday we announced the Battlestar Galactica auction happening at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California come January 16, 2009. What about for our favorite movies? Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, etc. If you’re a fan with some extra cash stashed away or want to give to the film/TV fan that has everything, Profiles in History, the nation’s leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic Hollywood memorabilia, will be holding a worldwide auction on December 11, 2008. Bidding begins at 12:00 PM PST. Bids can be placed either in person, via mail, phone, fax, or live on the Internet via eBay Live Auctions or at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Auction items include Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, Indiane Jones” hat, whip and machete, inscribed one-of-a-kind books from Ian Fleming, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and many more. Click on the images below for a sample of items to be sold or click beyond the break for the full press release.
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Posted by dominie in Latest News on September 30th, 2008
Slashfilm featured cool new Star Wars Gear from Cool Stuff today, Marc Ecko’s Star Wars Collection. Various t-shirt designs and hoodies are available in mens wear. Licensed from Lucasfilm Ltd, the Marc Ecko Star Wars Collection can be purchased at your local Macy’s deparment store or online, or at Shop Ecko using promo code STARWARSFAN8 to receive $10 off a purchase of $100.
Posted by dominie in Comics, Games, Latest News, Movies on September 30th, 2008
Speaking of the crossovers between videogames and movies, the new hit video game The Force Unleashed may have potential to undergo this treatment. According to The Los Angeles Times who caught up with Haden Blackman, the leader behind The Force Unleashed, “It’s not impossible.” The video game, which hit stands earlier this month sold over 1-million units in its first five days. Already Dark Horse has created and released the graphic novel for The Force Unleashed, of which Blackman penned the script for. If we are still following the trend from graphic novels transformations to movies, the outlook seems likely a motion picture adaptation is in the near future.
“Never say never. George [Lucas] has looked to tell new ‘Star Wars’ stories through the games and with the entire Star Wars Expanded Universe, and then he has also shown a willingness to let the characters come into the films. Look at Aayla Secura, a creation in the [Dark Horse] comic books who became part of the theatrical films.”
The Force Unleashed takes place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, interjecting scenes we have up until now been unfortunately denied. It tells the backstory of Vader’s secret apprentice, who was guided in the way of the Sith to terminate any remaining Jedis who stand in the way of his ultimate plan against the Emperor.
Posted by dominie in Latest News on September 9th, 2008
Drew Struzan, one of our industry’s most recognized and celebrated artists has retired from his 40-year career in illustrations to “have more time for his family and be able to work on his own paintings.”
Struzan is best known for his poster artwork for each installment of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. He also created the artwork for other franchises such as Back to the Future, The Goonies (one of my all time favorites), The Muppet Movie, Blade Runner, Harry Potter, Hellboy and was the “only artist who received authorization by Spielberg to illustrate the iconic character E.T.” Over the last 40 years, Struzan has created the artwork poster for over 150 films.
”I am grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to do all the work I did,” Struzan expressed in a statement on The Raider. “I am well pleased to have been able to give a gift of beauty and peace through my artwork to so many throughout the world. Now I have laid down the burden and have peace and happiness as the reward for my day’s labor.”
Struzan’s most recent work includes a poster for Frank Darabont’s The Mist and a painting for Roland from King’s Dark Tower series that Thomas Jane is seen painting in the beginning of the film. For more on Drew Struzan’s work, visit his official site, which also contains new Young Indy concept art and paintings. Struzan’s work will be greatly missed, but we are so thankful for all that he’s contributed in the movie industry.
Posted by philip in Movies, Reviews on September 3rd, 2008
Perhaps best known for writing the novel of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, writer, director, screenwriter, musician, special FX man, prop builder, and actor, Donald Glut continues to feed his passion for making independent movies in his latest project, Blood Scarab. As one of the original “sci-fi boys”, Glut lived and breathed horror and science fiction. His efforts gained him much publicity in the original Famous Monsters of Filmland magazines during its time. Today he returns to us in the new era of Famous Monsters.
Blood Scarab, produced by Dan Golden and directed by Donald Glut, is Frontline Entertainment’s sequel to their Countess Dracula and Mummy’s Kiss series. Starring Monique T. Parent, Blood Scarab tells the tale of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the infamous vampire who bathed in the blood of virgins to preserve her youth, in her quest for survival in daylight. Her motivation: her husband Count Dracula (accurately hounded as Vlad) has just fallen victim to the sunlight, and she too nearly suffered a similar fate. Committed to serving now Countess Elizabeth, Renfield (of the long line of Transylvania Renfields not to be confused with Marty Renfield of the Long Island Renfields) discovers a method via the “mummy’s kiss” for his mistress to walk in the daylight. Their hunt leads them to steal the mummified body of Hor-Shep-Sut (Hmmm…that’s a mouth full) which will allow the contact to Hathor, the Egyptian blood goddess and sister of Ra, (cousin to Courtney, mother to Bolinda…oh sorry, wrong movie). Consumed by her newfound ability, the Countess attempts to dispose of the loyal Renfield and defies Hathor. The Countess and the Mummy engage in an all out battle of the boobs.
Anyone familiar with the old Hammer films will immediately recognize Blood Scarab. Donald Glut pays homage to these old films by revisiting the legend (created in the last 37 years) of the “Blood Countess” from the 1971 Hammer horror Countess Dracula and in addition, merges her character with another one of our favorite genre monsters, the Mummy with boobs.
Glut takes the film to a new level. You know the level you wanted to see when you were 12, watching Creature Features and the two vampire chicks are almost naked, cat calling the other? Get your mind out of the “Glut-ter”. The bloodshed is plentiful throughout the movie (and so are the boobs) to keep the audience in suspense. Glut spares no details for the virgins in this film…Virgins in Hollywood?!!! We’ll that’s some acting, Aye?
The mummy suit was created by special FX man John Buechler. Although the mummy suit is not up to par with today’s The Mummy franchise, this had boobs…are you getting the picture? Well you can on DVD.
