Collectors and fans alike have a chance to own one-of-a-kind Star Wars art pieces while giving to a good cause with The Empire Muggs Back. Lucasfilm asked artists, comic book creators, toy designers, and celebrity fans armed with markers, paint brushes and glue guns to transform blank Mighty Muggs (donated by Hasbro) into custom Star Wars art which will be auctioned by The Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Starwars.com chats with artist Grant Gould about his process for turning a blank Hasbro Mighty Muggs figure into a special tribute to a BoShek.
What did you choose to do for your Mighty Muggs art piece?
I chose a little-known character that we see only briefly in A New Hope named BoShek. I've always thought he was really cool -- it's the sideburns. He's one of those characters where you can truly weed out the hardcore fans from the casual fans.
If someone knows who BoShek is, that automatically earns them 800 Star Wars fanboy points. When we had the opportunity to design our own Mugg, I knew I had to go for BoShek. He's just awesome, and he's a character that I'd love to actually own as a Mighty Mugg.
Why did you want to participate in The Empire Muggs Back art project?
I love Star Wars Mighty Muggs! There's no way I could pass up the opportunity to create my own little cartoony Muggs toy.
What was your step-by-step process? What materials did you use?
I outlined everything with pencil and brush pen. Then I colored in his flesh with a peachy mix of light acrylics. I was fortunate in that his outfit is entirely black and white, so the rest of it was done with black acrylic paint and Sharpie markers.
Why do you think Star Wars fans will love The Empire Muggs Back project?
Fans will get to see new Mugg characters, and they'll get to see a variety of different art styles and interpretations -- it's going to be a lot of fun to see them all displayed side by side! And hopefully there will be a few other BoShek fans out there who will recognize mine and enjoy it.
The Mighty Muggs art pieces are now up for auction and can be seen at The Empire Muggs Back on Starwars.com. The auction ends August 14, 2009.
Stay tuned to StarWars.com for in-depth coverage on The Empire Muggs Back.
