artwork – Page 2 – Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy

Galactic Style Guide – Aurebesh II

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide (where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’) and the end of Aurebesh Month! In last week’s installment we showed how before the Disney buyout, Aurebesh words on clothing were incredibly rare. This week, we’re taking a look at some places where using in-universe lettering IS appropriate!:

**Tattoos or scarification:** Force Hounds (26,000 BBY), Morlish Veed (Legacy), Kaddak (Cry of Shadows), Enviro-suit (FFG), Sketch, Kix (The Clone Wars)

Note that while there are plenty of tattoos in-universe, these were the Only examples of letters-as-body-art I could find in the rather complete listing of Aurebesh appearances.

Back to Basics – How?

This is the second half of our Back to Basics miniseries, a primer on the whats, hows, and whys of living history in the Galaxy Far, Far Away setting.
Like cosplay, reenacting is fairly straightforward; it generally does not go beyond ‘looking good’ through the creation of an ‘outer persona’. Since contemporary life is noticeably lacking in FTL spacecraft, energy weapons, antigravity vehicles, etc., true Star Wars reenacting is well out of reach.
On the other hand, living history—while requiring more diligent research—is actually much more achievable for the galactic setting. Because it usually involves educational interactions with the pubic, you should try to build your persona as accurately as possible, and whether you’re pursuing First-, Second-, or Third-Person interpretation, you’ll want to have at least a decent understanding of life in the Galaxy, as well as being familiar with your specific subject, trade, or activity.

So today, I want you to ask yourself two questions:
What am I good at? and What can I use those Skills to interpret or teach others?

17 ideas for in-universe interpretation after the jump!

Even more galactic whittling: Gozanti cruiser

Amazing what a transformation a coat of paint can accomplish!

For my latest ‘galactic folk art’ adventure, I decided to make a civilian-model Gozanti cruiser, partially inspired by the post-Disney Imperial incarnation featured in ‘The Heiress’. This ship has been around since at least 32 BBY (its first appearance was taking off outside Mos Espa in Episode I), so it’s a solid fit for any of my personas to carry in a pocket:

Whenever I’m feeling stressed out, in a funk, or down on myself (usually after spending too much time on social media and comparing my own slow progress and accomplishments with other folks’ flashy projects!), I find a great coping mechanism is to pick up some small project that can be completed with short turnaround. Whittling is a great choice for these kinds of projects, as I find the act of whittling by itself to be very grounding and meditative. However, the ‘in the flow’ quality of the work means that I always forget to take in-progress pictures, reinforcing my FOMO of not keeping up with the social media Joneses! (Aaahh, what difficult-to-navigate times we live in. 😉

More galactic whittling – Republic cruiser

I was always intrigued by the Radiant VII, the first starship we see on-screen in the Prequels.

radiant7 — The obvious Corellian Engineering Corporation design elements to connect it with the *Tantive IV*, the red paintjob, and that sweet, sweet Ben Burtt engine sound – what’s not to like?

I was reminded recently that MicroMachines included this craft—technically a Consular-class cruiser—as part of the Action Fleet line back in ’99, but they’re way out of my budget on eBay, so I opted to while away a few hours of quarantine in a galactic-folksy way and make my own! 20200814_130147 Continue reading “More galactic whittling – Republic cruiser”

Galactic whittling – shaak

After thinking about other possible pieces of pocket trash, I eventually decided that my partizan and archeologist personas could use a little memento of home. Enter the noble shaak, Naboo’s tick-like ‘space cow’ (meant to be designed as a sheep analogue).

shaakR20200522_125034 Continue reading “Galactic whittling – shaak”

Project: ‘Strength and Obedience’ Imperial propaganda

In the course of a recent apartment move, I realized that I had a large project kicking around that I never got around to sharing when I finished it (probably because it’s not technically finished! 😉

Strength_&_Obedience-detail — Just a teaser…full image after the jump!

Continue reading “Project: ‘Strength and Obedience’ Imperial propaganda”

NRAC: synthesis of kit design

“In the Outer Rim, what an individual wears is as much a calling card as a blaster pistol or an Imperial insignia. The clothes on a being’s back tell a tale as eloquent as any holonet drama. They speak of his priorities, how and where he works, his state and status in life, and the ways in which he wishes to present himself to the galaxy at large. -Armored plates sewn into clothing, gun belts loaded with firepower, and bandoliers slung across torsos are the hallmarks of bounty hunters and other guns for hire. Tool belts, bulging carryall bags, and coveralls smudged with machine fluids are the mark of a technician, and a flight suit sets a pilot apart in any crowd. Those who spend their time and make their living exploring and exploiting the vast empty places in the Rim are just as easily spotted. Well-worn clothes, battered packs, and goggles scratched by the dust of a thousand worlds tell of the many countless kilometers these hardy souls have traveled.” Fantasy Flight Games: Edge of the Empire – Enter the Unknown: page 44.

Last week I laid out my research into space-archeologist gear/clothing and utilitarian clothing in the 20ABY period; this week I am showing my current ideas for the items of kit which will be assembled to depict such an impression.
Continue reading “NRAC: synthesis of kit design”

NRAC: research and insights

Creation of a functional New Republic Archeological Corps impression will be an exercise in extrapolation, as I have a limited amount of data to draw from. In this post I’ll lay out and unpack the sources I uncovered, and next week I’ll reveal a ‘character design’ I have synthesized from these sources, and my explanation for these choices.
EotE-EtU p6 As the main body of Star Wars material for popular consumption generally (and stubbornly) revolves around a cast of high-level generals, politicians, pilots, soldiers, and warrior-monks, ‘occupational’ characters like archeologists are not to be easily found. As I have frequently found in my efforts documented here, when ‘common’ background details are scarce, one can usually turn to role-playing game materials to flesh things out, and this case is no exception.
Continue reading “NRAC: research and insights”

Image Analysis: Garqi Agricultural Academy

(image originally published in WotC’s Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds (2004), artwork by Langdon Foss.)

This image is a great ‘slice of life’ for children on an agricultural backwater—sort of a Star Wars Norman Rockwell scene: who hasn’t been a youngling ‘flying’ toy spaceships around while making PEW-PEW sounds? But what’s more important is how especially valuable this image is for the rare look it gives us at GFFA commoners’ fashion. Here are a few pertinent tidbits I’ve teased out:
Continue reading “Image Analysis: Garqi Agricultural Academy”

Project: Wookiee battle shield (part 2)

(Part 1 of the Wookiee shield project here)
With wroshyr trees a little hard to come by in this galaxy (likewise quality hardwood lumber in the 10”x4”x8’ range), I’m keeping the woodworking on hold until I can acquire an ideal piece of wood (paying in terms of time by choosing ‘I want it Good’ and ‘I want it cheap’ from the Designer’s Paradox). However, the Wookiee battle shield also includes some metal (‘bronzium’) elements which I thought I could try my hand at fabricating in the meantime. This gave me another reason to play around with sculpting wax, and I continue to enjoy working with this material. When I take my time to get a piece sculpted and cleaned up, I am extremely pleased with the feeling of having made a real prototype.

wookieebrnz1
Continue reading “Project: Wookiee battle shield (part 2)”