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The Lightsabre Interview Cynthia Cummens
Welcome to
Lightsabre. She’s drawn Lord of the
Rings, Buffy and Star Trek characters, but we love her best for her fantastic
Star Wars art. Please welcome, all the
way from Chicago, Cynthia Cummens. Q - Cynthia, welcome
to Lightsabre. A -
Hello, hello! Q – During your
career you’ve drawn Frodo, Spike and done many illustrations for children’s
books but you have swiftly become best known for your artwork in the Star
Wars universe. How exciting is that? A – Very! Sometimes
I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. Q – Tell us something
of your career. How and where did you
begin in comics and what led you to where you are today? A - My career has been a bit of a winding road. Star
Wars is what inspired me to start drawing as a kid, and I’d always wanted to
do Star Wars artwork professionally but had no clue how to go about it. So I
let myself get sidetracked, went to art school, and exhibited my figurative
oil paintings in galleries around Chicago while working full time as a
production artist. I sold a lot of paintings, but just wasn’t fulfilled. In
‘98, being frustrated yet determined (or just plain ol’ stubborn), I closed
my painting studio so that I could change my career and get back on track.
There were a couple years of soul searching, which were quite painful,
actually. I had to unlearn what I had learned, as Yoda would say, and start
believing that it was completely possible to become a full-time freelance
illustrator. Things started to gel for me in 2000 when I worked at a
Renaissance Faire as a portrait artist. I had given myself my first taste of
creative independence and loved it. Illustration work started coming in. The
projects were fun but still unrelated to Star Wars. Everything changed when I
went to Star Wars Celebration II in 2002, followed that same year by San
Diego Comic Con. I remember walking through the doors and feeling like the
mother ship had landed! I was home! Suddenly, it all made sense – all my life
wanting to do work in connection with Star Wars and suddenly it seemed
entirely possible. So I just kept going to these conventions, showing my
portfolio to everyone. Randy Martinez, another Star Wars artist, was very
generous in sharing his experiences, having been an official SW artist since
’99, and I listened to all the advice he offered. Then in September 2004, I was hired by
Topps to work on Star Wars sketch cards, my first official SW project. Quite
a happy day, to say the least! Q - You’ve had your
work appearing on the official site, showing children how to draw many saga
characters. How fulfilling is that for
you, knowing that your work is inspiring kids to pick up their crayons and
pencils? A – It’s more fulfilling that I imagined it would be. It’s a way to honor Star Wars and what it meant to me as a kid, how it affected me. Like a lot of other artists, I learned how to draw by copying SW comic books, and I still have those stacks of drawings. Starlog magazine was another favorite of mine – I found all sorts of pictures to copy from that magazine, and not just Star Wars, but E.T. and Indiana Jones. So to be able to encourage a child to draw those saga characters on Star Wars.com, or by giving a lesson at conventions, is more rewarding than I can put into words and I hope to do it for a long, long time.
Q – What has it been
like to be a part of the Star Wars phenomenon? A- Exciting, fun,
dizzying, you name it! The folks at Lucasfilm like Bonnie Burton, Mary
Franklin & Steve Sansweet, are the nicest people and very
supportive. They invited me to be in
the Art Show at Celebration III earlier this year and I even visited
Skywalker Ranch in July. I’ve become friends with other people involved with
Star Wars, including many of the other artists. And knowing my artwork is in
the collection of other people who love Star Wars as much (or more) than me
is fantastic! It’s very cool to be a
part of it. It’s been a dream come true. Q – Being involved
with Lord of the Rings as well as Star Wars must be exciting, given that
Rings is probably second only to Star Wars as our favourite trilogy. How different is your work on Rings? A –
I have a very exciting LOTR project
coming up for but at this point, I’m unable to mention anything which is very
frustrating as you ask that! But I will say that teaching kids to draw at The
One Ring Celebration last January was again very rewarding and I hope to
continue with that in the same way as Star Wars. I’ve done a lot of commissioned work for
collectors and I’m looking forward to more projects on the horizon, whatever
they may be! Q – You are now an
official Star Wars artist. Just how
proud does that title make you feel? A –
You know, there are many people who
would love to do what I do, or who want to be painters or designers or
musicians or whatever, but whose creativity wasn’t nurtured as kids or they
weren’t encouraged to pursue a career in the arts, or even told not to. There
are days when I have to remind myself of how fortunate I am to be doing this,
especially not knowing how long it all might last. So I have fun with it and
appreciate it. And I always try to
express my gratitude to the people, my family and friends, who supported my
decision to go for it in the first place! Q – What were your
feelings on Revenge of the Sith? Did
it satisfy the little girl who had such a crush on Han Solo way back when? A – Well,
Anakin is smokin’ hot (no pun intended), but he’s no Han Solo! And what do
you mean ‘had’ a crush on Han Solo? It’s lifelong! What can I say! Q – If you could
chose any art project, Star Wars or otherwise, what would it be? A – That’s a
difficult question to answer … there’s a lot of creativity in me just waiting
to take shape. One thing I’d love to do is to write and illustrate a
children’s book one day. Q – Now that Star
Wars has finished on the big screen and we have a while to wait for the TV
shows to start, where do you think Lucasfilms focus should be, to keep us all
interested? A – Well, they’ve recently announced the new cartoon series for 2007 and we are certainly expecting there to be a Celebration IV! I think that will keep us feeling very satisfied until the next adventure!
Q – You certainly have many hobbies outside of your art. Figure skating, your love for dance as well
as being a double in films. Any good
stories from your other past times? A - This weekend, I
got to see myself on the big screen in The Weatherman (first time as an
extra). Ok, I was in the background for about 5 seconds, but it was quite
surreal to see myself up there! I also figured skated once dressed as Leia
from A New Hope, but that trust me when I say that photo remains safely
tucked away! Q - What lies ahead
for you in the future? A –
How can I know? Always in motion is
the future. I do know I’m going to keep attending conventions. In fact, I’m
attending Collectormania with Randy Martinez in
Manchester this February, which I’m very much looking forward to! I’ve never
to England and I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of collectors who have
been requesting a U.K. appearance. And
I have some very exciting sketch card projects which I’ll be announcing soon
on my web site. 2006 is going to be a busy, busy year! Q – A quick question
about our site, Lightsabre. Any
comments? A –
It’s a great site and I had no idea
it existed so thanks for clueing me in! Q - It's been a great
interview, and thanks for being our guest on Lightsabre. Just one final question. Frodo Baggins, Watto and Willow from Buffy
are sitting around a table for a night of gambling. Watto has his chance cube, Frodo has the
One Ring and Willow has her magic’s.
Who wins the game? A – Thanks
for the interview, it was fun! My
money is on Willow! |
