Much to my own surprise I began working on my next Droids Custom over the weekend. The last batch of bubbles I have in-hand are for Klaatu Skiff Guard. And I was faced with a dilemma. I already did a Klaatu custom, (which is honestly among my favorites), and that Klaatu was depicted on a skiff, so I couldn't do that again. So I struggled for a while with what other thing this new Klaatu could be doing.
I was initially playing with having him on the deck of the Khetanna. But I couldn't land on anything interesting for him to be doing there. Manning the huge cannon? Shooting Luke's hand? None of that really excited me. Then out of the blue it hit me...
So I began by roughing out the pose. Then I refined it...
Happy, I began adding details.
That went pretty well, and so here is the art as it stands now:
I love that's it's very dynamic. Klaatu's face is a bit of a pain to draw because it has so much detail, but I'll get there. Now I just need to decide exactly what I want in the background. I have a couple ideas in my head. Check back next week to see where I go with it!
The evening before the 2026 PSWCS Summer Social, I arrived with my buddy to Emmaus, PA to help with some prep work. We got there a bit earlier than the host was ready for, so we decided to stop in a random beer store named Shangy's. Little did we ...
It's been a slow summer here on Creature Cantina. I've been crushed with design and prep work for Star Wars Celebration LA 2027, none of which I'm allowed to share. As such, I haven't had much to post.
Finally the PSWCS Summer Social gives us something to write about, even if it is entirely self-serving. Each year PSWCS reaches out to companies to donate raffle prizes for the social. In return for the sponsorship, PSWCS promotes their gifts and links to their sites. Creature Cantina donated something you won't find anywhere else (unless you attended previous PSWCS Summer Socials or Sithmas parties...):
When I visited Tunisia, I collected and successfully smuggled out sand from all the filming locations I visited. And I've been gifting vials of the sand over the past several years. And people really seem to like them! They're typically one of the first prizes to be claimed.
So hooray to us for being so generous and giving away awesome stuff!
It's been a busy summer for me, prepping stuff for the PSWCS Summer Social and Star Wars Celebration LA 2027. Last week I really needed to buckle down on things, but I still found the time for a little road trip.
Weird Al Yankovic play the Erie Insurance Arena, which is a bit over a 2 hours drive for me. But that effort was worth seeing him, especially when it was from ON THE STAGE!!!
I'm the tall one on the right...
I was pretty anxious about performing choreography, but I think I nailed it.
Let's see if all my hard work pays off. Today I release my THIRTY-FIFTH Droids Custom: Death Star Droid. Inspired by the colorful cartoon version of C-3PO, these figure were stripped of their chrome, sprayed blue, then hand-painted with details.
Produced in a 1-time run of 21 pieces, they'll include a numbered COA. The cost is $155 shipped in the USA, or $150+ shipping international. PayPal payments are F&F only.
"How can I order one of these amazing pieces of art?" I hear you ask? Well... I have unfortunate news for you. They've already sold out.
I had a productive weekend, and the lower back pain to prove it! I also have this photo to prove it...
Death Star Droid is my most ambitious custom in quite some time - going all the way back to R5-D4 six years ago. In a lot of ways it was far more effort, with the stripping and the whole-body painting. But then the R5 work was effectively forced upon me, whereas I chose to do this with Death Star Droid...
At any rate - given all the extra work I put in, I figure I can ask for a bit more for this one. DSD will be priced at $155 shipped in the US, $150 + shipping international. Hopefully that will seem fair to you guys.
Now here's the bit you REALLY need to pay attention to: This custom will be offered up for sale this THURSDAY, June 25th, at 9:30am Eastern. It is not normal for me to post on a Thursday, but it was necessitated due to a conflict with a funeral for a good friend.
So stop back here THURSDAY at 9:30am and you'll find instructions for ordering. Good luck!!
Then I scanned it, pulled it into Photoshop, and started with coloring.
That was the initial work on the base colors, which I eventually completed:
That's the point at which the tedium ended and the fun began - using the various brushes in Photoshop to bring everything to life. I wanted the "employed" DSD to be super shiny - showroom fresh. And I wanted the one about to be reconditioned to be shiny but with some weathering.
With the main characters finished, I began working on the background. Here's where I stand as of now:
It's looking very likely this will be ready to assemble this weekend, which mean I'll post them for sale next week. Check back Monday for confirmation!
Over the weekend I took on the task for this custom that scared me most - painting the details on the figures. When I last attempted such a thing with my R5-D4 custom, it was calamitous. I thought filling in the wedges in the dome would be easy, but ...
Darned fine question! Ever since Bill’s suggestion from last week, the possibilities have multiplied in cascades. Even in the already fairly madcap comic strip format, things could get crazy . . . .
Tune in next week for the next installment of “The Cantina!”
If you enjoyed this, or if you have a comic idea you’d like to share (and get credit for, if it’s adapted!), please feel free to click on over to our Facebook page to join the discussion!
