Featured Art: Concept Boba Fett Painting
The total number of artists who have produced officially licensed concept Boba Fett art is vanishingly small. With only Ralph McQuarrie‘s drawings and some sculptures to work off, the limited amount of reference materials makes this a truly unique challenge. Among the select few trusted by Lucasfilm for such a task is designer and illustrator Doug Sirois, who provided the artwork on the Rhode Island Comic Con exclusive Schylling Concept Boba Fett Wind-up Toy packaging.
Between seeing his work on Instagram and his personal website, this is hardly a surprise. We have trouble deciding which is more astounding: the quality of his art or the quantity of it that he’s already produced. Doug’s portfolio also boasts an exceptionally expansive range of genres, from fantasy art to vintage posters and just about everything in between, including but not limited to this this great little Rick and Morty piece that he painted for his brother. Prior to his contribution to the Concept Boba Fett wind-up toy, Doug has already drawn Boba Fett from The Empire Strikes Back on more than one occasion. Star Wars fans will surely also enjoy this brilliant sketch of Rey that made an appearance in his Inktober 2017 series.
For all his accolades and accomplishments, we are pleased to report that Doug is as friendly and down to earth as they come. Being able to interview him has been an absolute pleasure, especially with the behind-the-scenes glimpses and insights that he so generously shared. Thanks Doug!
What are three interesting facts about you?
First off, I have a family. I have two amazing boys and a wonderful wife. They are my daily inspiration. Second, I currently work as an illustrator designer for a toy company named Schylling. Third, I love playing drums. I don’t have time to play in bands, but hope to have the time to in the future.
How did you first know you wanted to be a professional artist?
I’ve always been interested in artwork and I probably started thinking about it as a career when I was a freshman in high school. Throughout high school i took part in the school literary magazine and extra curricular art classes learning the craft of sequential art. Upon graduating, I attended college earning a BFA in Illustration in anticipation of becoming a freelance illustrator.
What artists and/or artwork have been the most inspirational to you?
As an illustrator, there are so many influences that I look to including classic illustrators like N. C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Edmund Dulac, Maxfield Parrish. Growing up it was comic book artists and illustrators like Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, then guys like Dave McKean, Kent Williams, and George Pratt. Then there’s the concept art guys, like Ralph McQuarrie and Syd Mead that blew my mind.
How would you describe your style as an artist?
I like to think of my artwork as fantasy based narrative illustration. I like to help tell stories with my illustrations. I love exploring color and giving viewers a full depth sensibility of what I envision.
What is the best part about drawing/illustrating for a living?
The best thing is that I am never bored. I always have something new to work on. How many people actually love what they do? That’s a plus for me.
You provided the artwork for the RICC exclusive Schylling concept Boba Fett wind-up toy packaging. Congratulations! How did that come about?
I work full time as a designer at Schylling Toys. My Art Director Chris Aja was asked to design the BeBots wind up tin robots inspired by Ralph McQuarrie’s first concepts of the Star Wars characters. When he got to the design of the packaging he needed a McQuarrie-esque style illustration for a side panel and he didn’t have one that McQuarrie had done in the right angle. Chris asked the Star Wars Licensing folks if we could create one, they said yes and Chris brought me in to do it!
What was the most fun and most challenging aspects of this painting?
The painting process was pretty straight forward from sketch to finished art. I looked at the references that were sent over from the licensing team which included McQaurrie paintings and sculptures of his early Boba Fett concepts. I researched those for a day and developed a digital sketch in Photoshop that was approved. Next was painting it. I spent a day and a half on the artwork in Photoshop. We submitted it and the only challenges I had with it was based on the corrections that were passed back to me from the folks at Lucasfilm licensing. There were several rounds of alterations, but they all made the painting much better by the end. They were super great to work with.
What other Star Wars-themed commercial art have you done?
The only other Star Wars art I’ve done is some fan art and commissions for people. The fan art was a collaboration with some writers that had created some fiction to expand the universe and I illustrated it. We pitched it to some one at Lucasfilm years ago but it never went anywhere.
What was the best piece of advice you were given that you can share with aspiring artists?
Practice and draw daily. keep at it. Take it seriously if you want to be professional. Keep creating!
Lastly, what is your dream goal as an illustrator and/or concept artist?
I want to create and illustrate stories of my own whether comic books, children’s books, etc. and find a big audience for them. It’s my lifelong pursuit and I love it.
About Doug Sirois
Doug Sirois was born and raised in Massachusetts. He graduated from the Art Institute of Boston in 2001 earning himself a BFA in illustration. He has since illustrated and designed everything from children’s book covers and cd covers to clothing and apparel. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in illustration at CalState, Fullerton in 2009. He currently resides in Massachusetts with his beautiful wife Jenn, son Micah, and his dog Miles. Clients in the past have included Menagerie Creative, Wizards of the Coast, MGM Home Entertainment, FOX Home Entertainment, Image Comics, Benaroya Publishing, Radical Comics/Publishing, Zoom Entertainment, Publishing Works, Dragonfly Clothing Company, Interzone Magazine, IDW Publishing, Fantasy Flight Games, Rebel Spirit Clothing, Margaret Weiss Productions.
Doug’s work can be viewed on his personal website, and he can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.