Tommy Lee Edwards Interview

Known for his stylized art across comics, films, and roleplaying games, Tommy Lee Edwards is the visionary behind the sprawling cover of the Star Wars Revised Core Rulebook. We sat down with Edwards in August of 2003 to discuss how he navigated Lucasfilm's tight directions, why he chose to take creative liberties with Mara’s signature wardrobe, and what it was like releasing his own massive career-retrospective art book.

Jade Crusades: Which of the five Star Wars films is your favorite, and why?

Tommy Lee Edwards: My favorite is definitely The Empire Strikes Back. The main reason I love that Star Wars chapter so much is because I feel that it's the best directed and is so well written. It also has the best photography with the use of such aggressive lighting, color, and composition. I love the melodrama of Leone's westerns and Kurosawa's samurai films. Empire is closest to that genre for me.

Jade Crusades: Who is your favorite Star Wars character?

Tommy Lee Edwards: Luke. You can't not love and identify Luke when he's starring off into the Tatooine sunset (with John Williams' score).

Jade Crusades: What do you think of Mara Jade?

Tommy Lee Edwards: Man, I was just sounding like an authentic Star Wars nerd, and now I must admit that I don't know much about the Expanded Universe.

Jade Crusades: You've illustrated Mara Jade twice. Once in the New Jedi Order Sourcebook and another on the cover of the Revised Core Rulebook. Can you tell us about the Solo/Skywalker clan image from the New Jedi Order Sourcebook? Tell us about some of the models you used for the different characters.

Tommy Lee Edwards: The New Jedi Order piece I did was a faster and simpler illustration than most. I still had to maintain the same sense of realism that most of my other Star Wars pieces have, so I tried to base all the characters on real people. For example, I used a photo of Shannon from Jade Crusades. I usually go online looking for reference, and - by coincidence - your shot really helped a lot.

Jade Crusades: What is your artistic process when creating a cover like the Revised Core Rulebook?

Tommy Lee Edwards: Half of the process is artistic, and the other seems to be in sales. What I mean is- I go through a lot of thought on how to make a good composition that applies to my own will to please myself along with pleasing the client by fitting in what Lucasfilm wants, nailing the actors' likenesses, and helping the book sell. There are several sketches to get to the point where I can 'move on' to the finish. I typically use acrylics, gouache, watercolor, Prismacolor pencil, and inks for the Star Wars paintings.

Jade Crusades: Who did you model Mara Jade after for the cover of the Revised Core Rulebook?

Tommy Lee Edwards: I think it was a cross between some shots I had of Shannon, and stuff I made up. Her head is from some other scrap I had.

Jade Crusades: Was it your choice to include her on the cover of the book?

Tommy Lee Edwards: That choice was Lucasfilm. They wanted an aspect of the Expanded Universe on there somewhere.

Jade Crusades: Her outfit looks a little different that we've previously seen. Why the change?

Tommy Lee Edwards: All of the characters on the cover are so established. I took some liberties with Mara because I could. She's the only thing on that packed painting that I could inject my own design into.

Jade Crusades: What other projects are you working on?

Tommy Lee Edwards: Right now I'm doing four Star Wars paintings for packaging on a new line of Star Wars mini-statues. I've also got a couple more RPG covers coming up. Hasbro brought me on the illustrate boxes for the new Axis and Allies games, and my new the Question series for DC Comics comes out next spring.

Jade Crusades: Rumor has it you have a book out. That's pretty exciting! Can you tell us about it?

Tommy Lee Edwards: The book is called Art of Tommy Lee Edwards, and it comes out the first week of September. It's published by IDW, and has 96 pages of full-color reproductions of all facets of my work. There's a ton of Star Wars art from the RPG stuff, children's books, magazines, etc. On top of that, the book is organized like my website. We have advertising stuff, book work, comics, and film and concept designs. There's a lot of stuff in there that I've done for licensed projects like MIB II, Dinotopia, He-Man, Hot Wheels, Star Trek, etc.

Jade Crusades: What kind of advice do you have for aspiring artists who wish to do what you do?

Tommy Lee Edwards: If one wants to do what I do, I guess the main advice would be to get as much good-old-fashioned drawing and painting experience as possible. People should really try to maintain classical skills, while trying to adopt new tools and digital technologies into their pallet.

Jade Crusades: Thank you for your time!

Tommy Lee Edwards: Any time! See you next Comic-Con!

Be sure to visit Edwards's website!