Aliens v. Predator... and Dave!!

(Oki Doke... Well, I guess I ruffled a few feathers with this post... So I made a few small edits to smooth the ruffles. And in no way meant to imply any wrong doing on anyone's part {that is why I explained the "Work for Hire" clause...}. Ah well. :)

So I'm having breakfast this morning (Friday Oct 26) and I open the USA Today and go right to the entertainment section... (Front page...Bleh!... Lets get to the real news!!). I pull out the section and unfold it and there jumping out at me is a photo of an Alien-ish creature. But wait... there's something different about it. I scan over to the headline and the article is about the new Aliens v. Predator film coming out this December. Cool. So I start to read the article, but my eye keeps going back to the photo. Why does this Predalien creature look so familiar? This is the first official posts of the creature...

Then my mind goes back... to the mid 1990's. I was hired by 20th Century Fox/Dark Horse Productions to develop some Predalien creature designs for the (then viable) first incarnation of Aliens v Predator. I did a number of designs, including the one shown here. Well much to my surprise here I am looking at my designs, in the flesh, so to speak! I have posted here my original designs and the photos showing the quite distinct similarity! (Click the art and it should enlarge... maybe...)



I have no hard feelings about this. As a freelance illustrator I am aware of contractual obligations and the "work for hire" clause that is in most of these. (For those who don't know, the "work for hire" clause means basically that the work done for any particular company is completely owned by them. I sign over all rights to them on completion of the work. So they can do anything they want with it without paying me any more above the original cost of the work). So I had produced these designs for Fox and then they scrapped the production. The art went into the vaults. And I thought they would never see the light of day...

Well it appears someone might have done some digging because the similarity is striking. It would have been nice to be acknowledged for the work. I doubt I will get any credit. But I wanted to post this to show my fans and the world that sometimes lost work isn’t lost after all and good designs will always work, no matter how old they are!!

San Diego Comic Con 2007 Appearance

Hey Everyone!

I will be attending the San Diego Comic Con (as usual!) this year. The show is from July 25-30. I will be bringing some prints and art (Magic, Highlander, Battlestar Galactica, etc) for sale, and have my Pencil art book Leadworks for sale as well. I will also be giving away the last of a series of 4 signature cards (see a previous blog) celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars in 1977. There will be other surprises as well!

We are in booth 4901/5000, right inside the entrance to HALL B. (see diagram)



I will be sharing the booth with fellow artists and friends Scott Hampton, Chris Moeller, John Van Fleet, and Durwin Talon. Also in the space will be WriteBrain Media, a creator's Public Relations firm represented by its owner, the beautiful and talented Denise Dorman.



That's it for now. More news as we get closer!



Dave

CE LONDON

Hi All!

Not a lot of time between CE London and San Diego Comic con so I can't write too much. But it was a fun show and GREAT to meet all the fans who came from UK and the Continent to meet me and have a good time at the show. The print sold very well and I signed a TON of autographs. It was also great to see so many families with kids at the show. That was something that was missed in LA.

After SDCC I will post pics and have more info fomr the show.

See ya!

Dave

INFO FOR STAR WARS CELEBRATION EUROPE!

Hi Everyone.

Well it is getting close to that time. Celebration Europe right around the corner! I am looking forward to meeting all my fans from across the sea and the continent! It has been almost 10 years since I made a trip to that part of the world so please pardon me if I don't recognize anyone right away.

I am going to be set up in 2 areas at the show. I will be in the retailers area most of the time. My booth is D46 and D45, and I will be sharing with Terese Nielsen. (Wow, you should see here print for sale!!) Along with selling my Exclusive print (see previous blogs), I will be selling some of my other, older Rolling Thunder prints, Dewback Patrol, Battle of Hoth, Jabba's Palace, Boba Fett and the Sarlacc, and a few others. Prices on these print will run about 40-50GBP each. I will have a VERY limited amount of these, so if you want to purchase don't wait too long into the show or you may go home disappointed. At the booth in the retailers area I WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO TAKE CASH, NO CREDIT CARDS OR CHECKS. I am sorry but I am not set up for anything else but cash.

HOWEVER... I will also have a display in the ART SHOW. I don't know my booth number at this time (You can find it in the directory when you get to the show). I will be at the art show booth at least an hour a day. In the art show they CAN TAKE CREDIT CARDS. So if you need to pay with credit you will have to wait until you can see me in the art show.

For general information, I do not charge for autographs. I have a signature card I will be giving away exclusive to this show (again see my previous posts), so be sure to ask for one at the booth. I don't mind doing small sketches for free as well (and I mean SMALL!) however I may ask for a few pounds for something I deem bigger than a small piece. And don't be shy if you want a photo, I am happy to oblige.

Looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend in London! Take care all! And may the force be with you!

Dave

HOLD LIST FOR CELEBRATION EUROPE PRINT!

Now that I can show the art it is time to get down to the details of the SW:CE Jundland Wastes print. See my previous Blog for a pic of the art!

The print will be exactly the same size and format as the C4 Lord Vader print. The size is 20"x36". The edition is limited to 250 copies, signed and numbered. The price on this print will be 75poundsUK (approx $150US). There is a slight raise in price as I need to balance the expense of this particular show (travel, shipping, exchange rate, various other factors). I feel this is still a fair price also given the fact that the buyers will also get a free sketch remarque on the print when they purchase.

As with the C4 print, this one has some restrictions. I can only sell the print at the show in London. For those of you who are interested I am taking a HOLDING list prior to the show. This list will only be for those interested in purchasing the print AT THE SHOW and want me to hold one for them until they can pick it up. (I CAN NOT SELL the print prior to show or after the show, it will only be available from me directly at the show itself! I know that might seem unfair to those not able to attend, however those are the contractual rules I must follow). If you would like me to hold a print for you (I will limit the hold to 2 prints per person) please email me directly, dormanart@yahoo.com, and put CELEBRATION EUROPE PRINT or CE PRINT in the header.

In addition to selling this print I will have a limited umber of my other Rolling Thunder prints for sale, including the Dewback Patrol and Battle of Hoth.

Plus as an extra bonus I will have a special signature card, given away only at CE, featuring art from "SW: A New Hope". (See information on this in an earlier blog here below).

See you in London in a few short weeks!!!

Dave

NEW Celebration Europe Art PREMIERE!!

Hi everyone!

It's Star Wars show and tell time again!!

I finally got approval on my Celeration Europe art print art and starwars.com put it up on their site this past weekend. So I feel it is time to spill all the beans on this particular piece. (The art here is a little bigger than the one on the SW site, so you can see a bit more detail).

It is titled "Incident on the Jundland Wastes, Tatooine". It depicts the aftermath of the attack on the Sandcrawler in "SW: A New Hope". I have taken a throw-away line in the film, where Ben Kenobi says "This wasn't sandpeople, these blastpoints are too accurate. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are this accurate" (Or something to that effect!) There is also a mention of Bantha tracks and marching in a straight line.

So I thought: would the Empire be so bold to attack the sandcrawler outright, and possibly leave witnesses to cause turmoil in the already politically tense areas of Tatooine? Probably not. So how do they attack the sandcrawler and get away with it? Disguise themselves AS Tusken raiders! Banthas and all! They wack the crawler as Sandpeople and any witnesses think it is a local's territorial fight.

My brothers and sister of the 501st are no dummies! Subterfuge and disguise work just as well to get what you need.

Hope you enjoy the piece, especially if it makes you look at that particular scene in the film a little bit differently!

I also want to add another link here. It is to a great article on the sandtroopers.com site and it has pics and info on the 501st Legion/Midwest Garrison helping me out with reference photos for both of my Celebration art prints. Check it out! It was very cool to have a house full of the Empire's finest for a weekend! (Here's a pic of my son Jack with Darth Vader).

Thanks to my brothers and sisters in the 501st for their help (on the prints), friendship and comeradirrie over the past few years. I look forward to seeing, and greeting, many new members of the Legion during my trip to London!

See you there!

Dave

Star Wars News! Appearences! And Much More!!

Hey Everyone!

Got a lot of news to tell you and not a lot of time to write this (as I'm trying my best to get ready for Star Wars Celebration 4 and the long trip ahead!)

First off I will be at the Celebration in two areas. I will have an art display in the Artist's area. I believe my booth number there is 36. While my art will hang the whole show, I will NOT be at that spot the whole time.

I WILL be at my booth on the main Retailer's floor most of the time. My booth number is 917 under my company name ROLLING THUNDER. At my booth I will be signing and sketching and of course selling my art prints including the new one for the show "Lord Vader's Persuasion...".

NEWS ALERT!!! During the move to Chicago, I had packed away all the Star Wars prints. While getting ready for the show I FOUND copies of BATTLE OF HOTH! The sold out print everyone has been asking about. Also found were a few more copies of DEWBACK PATROL. So if you have been looking for these prints look no further! I do only have a limited number of these so be sure to stop by early if you were looking for one.

Back to the news... I have made a free signature card (or I should say a set of cards) to have with me for the shows I am doing to promote the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. This art is the piece I painted for the cover of Dark Horse's comics adaptation of SW: A New Hope. I have taken the full art (shown here) and divided it into four sections, one for each show. The shows I will be giving the cards out at are:

Star Wars Celebration 4 May 24-28 Los Angeles

Star Wars Weekend June 8 (Friday) only DisneyWorld

Star Wars Celebration Europe July 13-15 London

San Diego ComicCon July25-29 San Diego

Each show will have a different card given away, and the only way you will be able to get all 4 cards will be to come to all 4 appearances. There is no charge for the card at the shows, just ask for one if you don't see them on the table. My thanks to Lucasfilm Licensing for allowing me to do this.

I have been busy working on the NEW art for the Celebration Europe art print. I can't say too much about this except it is VERY cool and ties in with a specific scene in New Hope. It will make you look at that specific scene in a different way after seeing this art. Here is a VERY small preview of the art. I will give you more info when the piece is finished and I have final approval from Lucasfilm.

Please stop by if you are at the SWC4, especially if you are a member of the 501st. It is such a great feeling to be able to share my work with each and every one of you!

Take care and I'll be back soon!

Dave