Dave Dorman Star Wars Celebration VI – 30 Prints Still Available and More News

Dear Friends,

Through an agreement with Lucasfilm, I am able to sell my remaining unsold prints from SWCVI. I have approximately 30 prints available and I am happy to announce I can now offer them to those who could not attend the show in person.

Here is the order link:

http://www.davedorman.com/swc6print.shtml

Additionally, I wanted to update everyone that I will be attending Cincinnati Comic Expo in less than two weeks – from September 22-23. I want to shout out a special thanks to our friend Kevin Dugan, who made us aware of this convention. The headline to this story is that Stephen Bissette and I will reunite for the very first time since our Eisner and Bram Stoker Award-winning book, “ALIENS: TRIBES.”Stephen and I will do a panel on that book, which was revolutionary for graphic novel publishing, and still holds up today.

ALIENS: TRIBES by Stephen Bissette and Dave Dorman

Additionally, Stephen Bissette was my classmate and fellow “Kubie” at The Joe Kubert School of Comic and Graphic Art, so he and I will do a panel on our fond remembrances and appreciation of Joe Kubert. Here is the tribute art that Neal Adams did of Joe Kubert’s graduates – I was honored to be in the piece, and Stephen Bissette stands beside me. Jan Duursema and Tom Mandrake were also in our class.

Dave Dorman, Top Left, Next to Stephen Bissette in Neal Adams Tribute to Joe Kubert

I was saddened to see a lot of “trolls” disrespecting Joe Kubert, his students, and his school on Stephen’s blog, and we will address those controversial comments as well. I can assure you that Joe Kubert always thought of his students first, as was evidenced when he cut me loose during my first portfolio review; Joe felt that I had “graduated” in terms of what I could learn there. I wanted to learn to paint covers, and since I attended during their second year of operation, they weren’t set up to teach me color work. Joe could have continued to collect tuition from me, but Joe Kubert put me and my career needs first, ahead of the much-needed tuition in the early days. (I also want to mention that Stephen Bissette is also reuniting with his “Swamp Thing” collaborators for the first time during a panel at Cincinnati Comic Expo, so attendees may want to see that as well).

In other news, I’m assistant coaching my young son’s flag football team, and that has been a lot of fun. Many of you know that football was my sport at Friendly, MD high school in the late ’70s; I played defensive end in my junior year on the team that won the state championship, the first in our history. Those were heady times, fondly remembered.

On October 6th at 2 p.m., I will be signing at the Barnes & Noble in West Dundee, IL, helping the patrons celebrate STAR WARS DAY. If you live in the Chicagoland/Northern Illinois area, I hope you can come out and join us.

On October 26 – 28, I will be exhibiting at Geek Media Expo in Franklin, Tennessee and I hope that those of you who live in the area can come out and see me. While you’re there, be sure to check out my friend Leonardo Ramirez’ steampunk children’s book, “JUPITER CHRONICLES.”  Joining us will be Michael Koske, my wife Denise’s client, who is a “walker” or zombie on AMC TV’s WALKING DEAD series. Michael is in the brotherhood we know as the 501st, and we look forward to seeing him again after Star Wars Celebration VI.

That’s all the news for today. I thank you for your time, interest and support.

Dave.

Dave Dorman #SWCVI Pre-Orders Counter Is Now Officially Open for Business!

Hi Everyone!

The Pre-Orders Counter is Open for Business! I thank each of you for your interest in pre-ordering my new Star Wars Celebration VI Print titled Breaking Ground: Imperial Base, Moon of Endor. Here is how the finished art looks:

Final Art: Dave Dorman’s Star Wars Celebration VI Fine Art Limited Edition Lithograph

This print features a look at the Imperial Base construction site on the Moon of Endor, which is seen as a staging point for the Emperor’s mightiest weapon: The Second Death Star. We see Lord Vader himself supervising construction with a keen eye, ready to report back personally to the Emperor himself.

I had a great deal of fun working on this piece. Once again, I tried capturing a scene not filmed, but intricately tied into the storyline of the film. In this case, it was a “missing scene” from Star Wars: Episode 6 Return of the Jedi. This piece features some of my favorite troopers–the Scouts–and for those fans who have asked me hundreds of times over the years, have I ever painted Ewoks?…well, here you go!

Here are details for you:

Pre-Order Rules: Only those attending and picking up the prints in person at Star Wars Celebration VI can place an order…or: If you can arrange for someone else to pick up your order, that is fine, but you must contact me at dormanart@yahoo.com and give me their name.

Price: $80. Here’s my reasoning: My previous Celebration prints have been priced at $100, but I have lowered this year’s print price to $80 to reflect the current economy. I felt uncomfortable pricing the print as high as previous editions, knowing that finances are limited for the great majority of fans and collectors, myself included.

Paper: The lithograph is printed on an archival paper, of the same quality as previous years

Dimensions: Widescreen style, 20” x 36”

Quantity: It is limited to 250 copies

Autograph: Each limited edition lithograph is signed and numbered by me, Dave Dorman

Specifying Your Print Number: If you would like a specific number, please make a note of that on the Paypal order form so that Denise can track it in her spread sheet. I will do my best to deliver the number you ask for, but it will be a first come, first serve situation. You may wish to submit an alternate number in the event that your preferred number is already taken.

Remarques: Due to contractual reasons, I cannot add a remarque to your pre-paid drawing prior to the show. All remarques must be done at the show, in person. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at dormanart@yahoo.com

ORDER YOUR PRINT HERE & NOW!: Go to  http://www.davedorman.com/swc6print.shtml to place your order directly from me thru’ PayPal. You will find the ordering button as you scroll down that page.

On-Site Sales at SWCVI: If you prefer, you can purchase your print from me at the show. These prints have always sold out, so getting in your pre-order is a prudent decision.

Where to Find Me: I will be at Booth #939 in the regular section of the show, not in the ACME Artists Section. My booth information will also be included as a friendly reminder in the confirmation email you receive from me for your pre-order.

As always, I thank each of you for your interest in my work and for supporting my career. I look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

Dave.

Dave Dorman’s New Star Wars Celebration VI Art: ATST’s and EWOKS! Your Questions Answered!

Dear Friends,

After StarWars.com posted my new art for the Star Wars Celebration VI Limited Edition fine art print, “Breaking Ground: Imperial Base, Moon of Endor,” many of you had praise and an equal number of you had questions for me, so this blog is addressing your questions about the art. I did this piece to incorporate the elements that I enjoy – the ATST’s, the Ewoks, the Biker Scouts, who are the hot rodders of the Imperial Guard – in a scene that has never been, but nonetheless plays out in my own theater of the mind. Note: Please be sure to check out my other artist friends producing prints who are also listed the Celebration VI Gallery at StarWars.com.

Star Wars Celebration VI Art by Dave Dorman, Unfinished.

Before moving ahead, I just wanted to clarify that the image I’m showing you here is unfinished. I still have more work to do – a few added elements and tonal changes and color corrections. I will post the actual final version after I return from San Diego Comic-Con.

#1. Why is Darth Vader surrounded by Imperial Guards? First off, this was a compositional decision. I needed to draw your eye’s attention to Vader, and the bold red of the Imperial Guards against the cool earth tones of the rest of the piece ensures that he commands your attention. If he were just sandwiched among Storm Troopers, you wouldn’t readily notice Vader. Secondly, Vader is overseeing the Emperor’s construction of the second Death Star, so the Imperial Guards are ensuring and reporting back that nothing is amiss on the Moon of Endor.

#2. What’s with the ATST’s? The Moon of Endor is a forested planet, so naturally, deforesting needed to be part of the construction for the Base Camp. In my mind’s eye, the ATST’s made perfect sense as the laborers in this scenario, due to their strength and adaptability. After all, the “AT” in ATST does stand for “All Terrain,” so I replaced their heavy gun array with claws.

#3. Why the Ewoks? Over the years, I’ve had literally hundreds of fans request that I paint Ewoks, so this piece is my tip of the hat to those fans. Obviously the Ewoks are resisting the intrusion from the Empire, so they are creating chaos and getting arrested in this scene.

#3. What is the cost of the print? Like many of you, I have been hit hard by this horrendous economy, so rather than the typical $100 cost for my previous Celebration limited edition prints, this year I have lowered the cost to $80. I wanted to ensure that you have money to spend on other items at SWCVI as well. I’m a fan, too, and I know I would like it if my dollar stretched further.

#4. How can I pre-order this print? Lucasfilm has changed their contract, so please watch for me to post pre-order information on this blog and my Facebook Fan Page, which is http://facebook.com/DaveDormanFanPage. At this time I’m not prepared to take pre-orders, so please do not email now. However, after I return from San Diego around July 20^th, I will make a posting of all of the information needed to preorder this print. As stated previously, the edition is limited to 250 copies, so those who have purchased prints from me before and would like a matching number, I will also be able to take that information when ordering begins.

I will be posting a separate blog about my San Diego Comic-Con news, probably tomorrow, so stay tuned. I apologize for the radio silence, but I’ve been slammed with deadlines. I’ve been posting the work I’m doing on my Facebook Fan Page, so you’re probably aware that I just did a Pathfinder cover for Dynamic Forces and I’m doing the Darth Maul covers for Dark Horse Comics. Probably the biggest surprise is my first-ever limited edition Battlestar Galactica (2004 series) fine art print that we’ll be unveiling at San Diego Comic-Con with ANOVOS. I also have a Kaiju Japanese Monster design to unveil there – my first-ever collaboration with my son Jack for Max Toy Company and Mark Nagata. It’s been a busy but fun and creatively rewarding summer so far!

I have added a lot of public appearances to my schedule, so I will go over those in my next blog as well. For those of you near Northern Illinois, I will be appearing at Comic Book Mania – a small but growing convention at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, Illinois this coming Saturday, July 7^th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Joining me will be my artist friends Doug Klauba and Cory Carani, among many other talents appearing there.