Production Art Gallery

Last month in our art gallery, we showed you some early sketches for the newest members of the Star Wars universe: a young Wookiee, a handmaiden-in-training, a palace security guard, and a Twi'lek scoundrel. Now art director Sean Glenn gives us a look at a few of these new characters in the final forms you ll see in the finished products: young versions in the Star Wars: Invasion of Theed Adventure Game and more mature characters in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.

My favorite iconic character is the Wookiee, Rorworr, who is being produced as an exclusive action figure for the Star Wars: Invasion of Theed Adventure Game. Adam Hughes was able to really capture a character who was obviously not Chewbacca, but still was recognizable as a Wookiee. He's young, a little awkward maybe, but handy with a bowcaster. You may notice the little droid hovering over his shoulder -- that's TD0-9, his translator droid. This was a wonderful idea that Bill Slavicsek created for this character; it allows the Wookiee player in the adventure game to communicate with the other characters without breaking the suspension of disbelief. If you were one of the folks who picked up the sketchbook you'll see TD0-9 in action.

When it came time to develop the characters for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game core rulebook, I relied on Doug Alexander Gregory who happens to be good friends with Adam, and has a similar take on the Star Wars universe. Doug was given the challenge to age the Wookiee character by about four or five years, still capturing the youthfulness that Adam had instilled in the character, but making him more assured and mature. I think he hit it right on the nose.

Doug asked me all kinds of questions that I had to search for answers for. "What does a Wookiee's skull look like?" ... "Do Wookiees have ears?" ... and "When do I get paid for this?" Luckily Doug got answers to all his questions thanks to helpful folks like Iain Morris and Ben Harper at Lucasfilm. I still don't know when he's getting paid though. Sorry, Doug.

Next up we have Sia-Lan Wezz, Jedi Guardian. This character was the first sketch Adam turned in, and I instantly knew I had the right guy for the job. She's obviously well aware that she kicks ass and takes names. She's ready for anything, but she's also calm and composed. Very elegant costume design tops the whole character off, and we had a winner.

There were some initial questions with the color of the costume, but I can't imagine anything else on her -- it just all works together. Of course, you won't get to see the color of her lightsaber until you pick up the Star Wars Character Record Sheets.

Doug's version of Sia-Lan introduces a couple cool new ripples, befitting of her new age (around 20 years old or so). She is still very self-assured, and obviously comfortable wielding her lightsaber. Her hair has been shortened into a closer-cropped military look (maybe she's seen some battles between 15 and 20, eh?), but she still maintains her Jedi garb with the bloused sleeves and tall boots.

Deel Surool, the Twi'lek scoundrel. Man of action. Well, maybe more like man of sneaking around a breaking into places he's not supposed to be. You can see Adam's final really captured the look of a good-natured -- but sneaky -- scoundrel. He's got a set of code keys in his hand, ready to open up any interesting locked room he comes across.

Doug's take on the Twi'lek creates and equally sneaky-looking fellow, this time with a code card, or maybe a counterfeit credit chip, tucked up his sleeve. Deel has obviously gone from bad to worse in the five years since the events on Theed. It's too bad really -- he was such a promising student.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Arani Korden. Adam's final illo blew me away. She's obviously a graduate from the Han Solo Corellian Tailoring School, but she's got miles of style to herself as well. You'll notice the chance cube in her hand, and the bits of gear on her belt. She's sassy, but also a bit uppity (being the daughter of a Theed noble will do that to you). She's good friends with all the other characters, and I imagine her as the main troublemaker with this group.

This is why I'm glad that Doug and Adam are close friends, because they both knew exactly what this character needed to look like. Doug's final illo for the older Arani shows a very self-assured, very capable woman. She's good at what she does, and she knows it. There's a little change in the gear she carries, and her hair's a bit shorter (all of which adds an air of maturity). I think this might be my favorite of Doug's take on these new characters, but it's really too hard to decide.

Of all the projects I've been involved in, developing these new characters was one of the most fun. Both illustrators, Doug and Adam, were really motivated to create great-looking characters that spoke volumes to the viewer. Keep watching these guys, because you'll see a lot more of their work in the books to come.