Featured Art: Concept Boba Fett Officially Licensed Sketch Card

Any Star Wars fan who has flipped through an issue of Star Wars Insider since 2017 have surely read The Light Side, the first comic strip to ever run in the magazine. As the name suggests, the strip is indeed light-hearted and suitable for all ages, and hilariously but gently pokes fun at some of our favorite characters from a galaxy far far away. The visionary artist behind The Light Side is none other than veteran cartoonist, comic book artist, Jamie Cosley.

When it comes to producing Lucasfilm-approved artwork, longtime Topps Star Wars collectors may already know that this is not Jamie’s first rodeo. Well before The Light Side made its debut at Star Wars Celebration Orlando in 2017, Jamie had already made his mark in the Star Wars universe as a sketch artist for Topps. The stark contrast in styles between his photorealistic compositions for Topps and his uniquely whimsical artwork on The Light Side underlines his skills and versatility as an artist.

We were fortunate to get in touch with Jamie just a little over a year after The Light Side premiered, and have since had the mind-blowing experience of owning both the original art of his very first strip as well as several concept/prototype Boba Fett sketch cards drawn in the style of his comic! Most importantly, Jamie is a nice and humble guy whom we are able to call a friend. His interview is both inspirational and humorous, from his story of overcoming the abrupt end of his past career to become a full time cartoonist and official Star Wars artist, to dispensing puns at the drive-thru to the dismay of his kids. Enjoy!

What are some interesting facts about you that your fans might not know about?

I lead Worship at small church called Cornerstone. I sing and play guitar. I love to go to Walt Disney World and write and draw a monthly comic for WDW Magazine. It’s called Nuts 4 Disney and stars a little Squirrel named Wally D. He lives in Epcot. I’ve also illustrated over 40 picture books.

What is your earliest Star Wars memory?

I remember seeing Star Wars when I was very little, like five or six, and I was terrified of Darth Vader. Now he’s my favorite character and I get to draw him for Star Wars Insider magazine! Woo! I also remember getting the Millenium Falcon for Christmas and playing with it for hours and hours.

When and how did you know that you wanted to pursue art as a profession?

I think I was 7 years old when I knew I wanted to be a cartoonist. I used to draw Popeye and Otto the little dog that belongs to Sarge from Beetle Bailey. My mom has a pile of drawings that I did when I was little. Oh, and a ridiculous character called Sgt. Bark! I need to send you a copy of that drawing. He’s like a cross between Sgt. Rock and Captain Carrot.

In 2008, I was working in sales at an office furniture. When the economy tanked, I was let go. My wife and I had just welcomed our baby girl home, and I ended up as a stay at home dad since daycare was insanely expensive. After searching “looking for an illustrator” on Twitter, I began illustrating picture books for new authors. I eventually got enough work to really begin making a living. Not quite as much as my old sales job, but still pretty good. Looking back since then, it’s amazing to be able to see how things unfolded. During our family’s lean years, our kids and I spent a lot of time at the library checking out movies and books! In retrospect, we really had a lot of fun and every week the Lord always provided.

What artists and/or cartoons have inspired you the most?

I love Beetle Bailey, Garfield, Bone, Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, my good pal Art Baltazar, Scott Shaw of Captain Carrot, Sergio Aragonés of Groo and those little Mr. Men books by Roger and Adam Hargreaves have all inspired me!

How would you describe the style of your art?

Old school comic strip art! Folks like Mort Walker of Beetle Bailey fame and Jim Davis of Garfield fame. I’m always excited to share with people that I got to combine my love of comic strips with my love of Star Wars.

Your early days as an official Star Wars artist involved working with Topps. How did that come about, and what can you tell us about your overall experience as a Topps Star Wars sketch artist?

My friend Beck Seashols told me about Topps Star Wars sketch cards and then gave me the contact info so I could submit my artwork. She’s amazing! I try to help others the way she helped me!

Today you are perhaps best known as the artist behind The Light Side, a comic strip for Star Wars Insider magazine. How did it all start?

I was working for Topps and sent Jonathan Wilkins some of my art and asked if he would be interested in a comic strip. He said no promises, but to show him what I had. The next few days I drew several comics that would all go on to appear in several issues almost a year later. It’s been an absolute dream come true.

What can you share about the creative process?

I try to think about each of the characters personality traits and how fun it would be to imagine them in certain scenarios. One of my favorite strips was inspired by Finn from The Force Awakens. I had a First Order Trooper who just decided to quit and become an artist. He was painting a portrait of Kylo Ren and told Phasma he wants to create not destroy. I imagine Captain Phasma would not be pleased with him at all. And I also like to draw these famous icons very cartoony. So it’s fun to come up with a new twist on an old favorite.

What is your proudest moment as an artist?

Definitely The Light Side comic. I used to drive my kids nuts when that first issue came out. I made a point to insert my big news into every conversation I had. At the McDonald’s drive-thru: “Sir, your first order was..” Hey, speaking of The First Order, you know I’m drawing a Star Wars comic strip now?

What is the best piece of advice you can share with aspiring artists?

Draw everyday and be grateful for the little victories in life. Be sure to encourage others. Not for your own gain, but just because we all need a little encouragement now and again. The life of an artist can be very lonely at times.

Last but not least, what is your dream goal as an artist that you haven’t already achieved?

I would love to see a collection of all The Light Strip strips! And maybe one or two Star Wars toys based on my designs. Especially Darth Vader! I’d also like to work on my original character Opie StarHopper. It began as a joke: In a couple of the older Light Side comics, I had an orange frog that escaped from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt and plans to hang out with the Wampa monster now. How did he get from Tatooine to Hoth? I’m not sure! They go on silly adventures together. Now I have a slightly new design with an original story that I’d like to tell. Maybe in webcomic form? Or a Patreon platform?

About Jamie Cosley

Jamie Cosley is a cartoonist, a comic book artist, a musician who sings in a band, a Christian, a husband, and a father.

Jamie’s official website is jamiecosley.com, and he can also be found on both Facebook and Twitter.