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ACME Archives Launches "Join the Alliance" Digital Artist Alley - Exclusive Preview

ACME Archives Launches "Join the Alliance" Digital Artist Alley - Exclusive Preview

Hear from Blake Jones, curator of a special online Star Wars art event!

Dan Brooks
Dan Brooks
September 4, 2014

Hear from Blake Jones, curator of a special online Star Wars art event!

Does waiting for Star Wars Celebration 2015's Artist Alley make you feel like you're imprisoned in a Death Star detention cell? Well, ACME Archives is here to rescue to you.

The purveyors of fine Star Wars art have announced "Join the Alliance": a digital Artist Alley at DarkInkArt.com featuring a wide range of prints celebrating a galaxy far, far away. To mark the kickoff of the collection, which will be available from September 5 - 15, StarWars.com caught up with ACME creative director Blake Jones, curator of the online event. He filled us in on the details of Join the Alliance -- and we snagged some special preview images, presented below.

Join the Alliance is making up for lost time -- and presenting new opportunities. "We didn't participate in [Star Wars Celebration Europe in Germany] last year, as logistically it was not going to work out, which we were pretty bummed about," says Jones. "Since there was not a Celebration this year, we figured, 'Let's still give the fans some artwork that they can collect as if it was still happening.' We had a great success with our May the 4th Silkscreen event that I had curated, but wanted to do even more images this time and offer somewhat of a different product."

The featured artists include fan favorites and some new recruits. "We took a select few from the pool of artists who are usually in the Celebration Artist Alley that the fans had already begun to collect from," explains Jones. "We started the conversations in about April, and made sure that even though the artists had not committed to doing Celebration this year, that they would still be able to fit it in their schedules to make something awesome."

Curating Star Wars art doesn't require Jedi Mind Tricks. Just a knowledge of the saga and an ear on what fans want. "I worked alongside the artists giving feedback on the images from a collector’s standpoint," Jones says, "worked with them on composition, adding elements, subtracting elements, and guiding them through current trends with our collectors. There are always the ones that submit images and there are almost no changes necessary, but for the others I lend as much support and knowledge as I can give. With getting into the crowds to talk to the fans on regular basis, it helps me to guide the artists as much as I can."

Brand. New. Art. "These images were mostly created specifically for this event with a few exceptions," explains Jones, "but my intention was to show the fans something they have never seen before. I wanted all new artwork to showcase the artists' talents and storytelling as much as possible. I gave some direction here and there to some artists to inform them of what has not been seen nearly as much, which quite a few artists took and ran with. So this year, you are going to see more inspiration from a world less-utilized than before, a couple of rare characters, and moments that haven’t really been showcased."

Bring on the bad guys. "I have noticed a large shift into Imperial imagery," says Jones. "Not necessarily in the style, just the fans and artists have been doing more representations of the Empire. People are not identifying as much lately with Luke or his journey/struggle. The younger crowds are really showing an interest and love for the darker characters. It has blown my mind that the younger generations are championing Vader, Boba Fett, Darth Maul, and even younger audiences [are fans of the dark side] with Savage and Ventress."

Fans of strange, alternate takes on Star Wars are in luck. "I think the 'weirdest' print style would have to be the in-universe interpretations," says Jones. "Some artists have such a knack for creating items that you would never think of. Peter Ferk, one of our longtime artists, has created a magazine ad for a landspeeder as if it was a Cadillac ad from the '60s, with the tagline 'Lowest Full Priced Convertible on Tatooine'. It's both 'Eye Catching!' and 'Exciting!'. These are sometimes the best interpretations."

Get a first look at the art of Join the Alliance below!

  • 77 Vader With Glow
    77 Vader by Mike Kungl (glow in the dark) 1 of 20
  • Anderson-A-Symbol-of-Hope
    A Symbol of Hope by Steve Anderson 2 of 20
  • Anderson-The-Scoundrel
    The Scoundrel by Steve Anderson 3 of 20
  • Print
    A New Hope by Brad Bishop 4 of 20
  • B-Woodside-Su-Cuy'gar
    Su Cuy'gar by Brent Woodside 5 of 20
  • Corroney-Conquer
    Conquer by Joe Corroney & Brian Miller 6 of 20
  • Ferk-Kestrel-X-34
    Kestrel X-34 by Peter Ferk 7 of 20
  • Miller-Crush-the-Rebellion
    Crush the Rebellion by Brian Miller 8 of 20
  • Nestler-Jester's-Court
    Jester's Court by Dave Nestler 9 of 20
  • Proctor-Boba
    Boba by Tim Proctor 10 of 20
  • Rabitte-Victory
    Victory by David Rabbitte 11 of 20
  • Reed-Final-Orders
    Final Orders by M. Jason Reed 12 of 20
  • Rood-Take Your Prize
    Take Your Prize by Brian Rood 13 of 20
  • Shipman-Leia
    Determined Diplomat by Gary Shipman 14 of 20
  • Silvani Scum & Villiany
    Scum & Villainy by James Silvani 15 of 20
  • Staggs-Encounter-at-Echo-Base
    Encounter at Echo Base by Cat Staggs 16 of 20
  • VaderHoth_textonly_layout
    The Dark Lord Invades by Chris Trevas 17 of 20
  • Vanderstelt-Saga
    Saga by Jerry Vanderstelt 18 of 20
  • The Millennium Falcon, in art by Charity Wood.
    Wood-She's-No-Bucket-of-Bolts
    She's No Bucket of... by Charity Wood 19 of 20
  • Woodside-The-Last-Princess-of-Alderaan
    The Last Princess of... by Kayla Woodside 20 of 20
77 Vader With Glow
77 Vader by Mike Kungl (glow in the dark) 1 of 20
Anderson-A-Symbol-of-Hope
A Symbol of Hope by Steve Anderson 2 of 20
Anderson-The-Scoundrel
The Scoundrel by Steve Anderson 3 of 20
Print
A New Hope by Brad Bishop 4 of 20
B-Woodside-Su-Cuy'gar
Su Cuy'gar by Brent Woodside 5 of 20
Corroney-Conquer
Conquer by Joe Corroney & Brian Miller 6 of 20
Ferk-Kestrel-X-34
Kestrel X-34 by Peter Ferk 7 of 20
Miller-Crush-the-Rebellion
Crush the Rebellion by Brian Miller 8 of 20
Nestler-Jester's-Court
Jester's Court by Dave Nestler 9 of 20
Proctor-Boba
Boba by Tim Proctor 10 of 20
Rabitte-Victory
Victory by David Rabbitte 11 of 20
Reed-Final-Orders
Final Orders by M. Jason Reed 12 of 20
Rood-Take Your Prize
Take Your Prize by Brian Rood 13 of 20
Shipman-Leia
Determined Diplomat by Gary Shipman 14 of 20
Silvani Scum & Villiany
Scum & Villainy by James Silvani 15 of 20
Staggs-Encounter-at-Echo-Base
Encounter at Echo Base by Cat Staggs 16 of 20
VaderHoth_textonly_layout
The Dark Lord Invades by Chris Trevas 17 of 20
Vanderstelt-Saga
Saga by Jerry Vanderstelt 18 of 20
Wood-She's-No-Bucket-of-Bolts
She's No Bucket of... by Charity Wood 19 of 20
Woodside-The-Last-Princess-of-Alderaan
The Last Princess of... by Kayla Woodside 20 of 20
  • 77 Vader by Mike Kungl (glow in the dark)
  • A Symbol of Hope by Steve Anderson
  • The Scoundrel by Steve Anderson
  • A New Hope by Brad Bishop
  • Su Cuy'gar by Brent Woodside
  • Conquer by Joe Corroney & Brian Miller
  • Kestrel X-34 by Peter Ferk
  • Crush the Rebellion by Brian Miller
  • Jester's Court by Dave Nestler
  • Boba by Tim Proctor
  • Victory by David Rabbitte
  • Final Orders by M. Jason Reed
  • Take Your Prize by Brian Rood
  • Determined Diplomat by Gary Shipman
  • Scum & Villainy by James Silvani
  • Encounter at Echo Base by Cat Staggs
  • The Dark Lord Invades by Chris Trevas
  • Saga by Jerry Vanderstelt
  • She's No Bucket of... by Charity Wood
  • The Last Princess of... by Kayla Woodside
1 of 20
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ACME Archives Launches "Join the Alliance" Digital Artist Alley - Exclusive Preview - Gallery 1

Dan Brooks is Lucasfilm's senior content writer, and spends his days writing stuff for and around StarWars.com. He loves Star Wars, ELO, and the New York Rangers, Jets, and Yankees. Follow him on Twitter @dan_brooks where he rants about all these things.

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