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!
Long-time readers will remember how Bill’s original run of The Cantina ended, but if you don’t, here’s a refresher.
So how is this all happening?
Well, I had a plan all worked up, and immediately after posting my first strip, Bill himself went and suggested something even better, which also immediately opened the door for all kinds of further shenanigans! So here it is . . . .
This week’s story was sent in by our own Bill Cable! Thanks, Bill!
Tune in next week for the next installment of “The Cantina!”
Oh, and 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!
Droids Custom DSD: How not to paint 21 loose figures
Over the weekend I took the next big step in my most ambitious Droids Custom to date - I began painting my chrome-stripped figures. I knew I'd need a way to get at them from every angle, which prompted me to devise a (very basic) rig. And to hold them ...
It doesn’t matter what the Casuals say, the real Star Wars Day – the Orthodox Star Wars Day – has always been the 25th of May. So today is just as good a time to launch this project as any! (Okay, apart from maybe CreatureCantina.com’s actual 25th Anniversary, but I didn’t have enough of the bits & pieces to make this work, at that time.)
I’ve always loved “The Cantina.” Hells, I was submitting story ideas for it long before I officially joined the staff! But as anyone who doesn’t turn to A.I. for everything knows, drawing is a work-intensive endeavor that requires real talent. I haven’t got the kind of talent that can produce results that are good AND fast – you can have good, or you can have fast. But not both. Thankfully, the talented people who make “Star Wars” action figures and such have the “Good” part handled, so I can focus on the “Fast.”
Buckle up, buttercups, because WE’VE GOT MOVIE SIGN!!! Or something like that . . . .
”But wait!” you exclaim. “Didn’t Bill’s strip end with Tatooine getting disintegrated?!” Yes. Yes, it did. But after a brief confab with Bill, we sorted that out, and it doesn’t involve Momaw Nadon waking up to find Greedo in the shower, and it was all a dream.
Tune in next week for the second installment of “The Cantina” to see how we solved that!
Oh, and 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!
