I’ve been reading more EU Star Wars novels, and wanted to try my hand at book cover design. I loved doing this - and looking up references was fun as well! I just… the covers are iconic, sure, but also… terrible. The horrific photoshop. The fact that the actual actors clearly never posed for this. The use of filters so intense it makes modern instagram stars look frugal.
I love it to pieces.
The writing itself is exquisite. The effort authors clearly put into it is undoubtable. And the covers really have become iconic.
Heather as Tenel Ka Djo (original Queen Mother outfit #4 of A BIG DUMB NUMBER of original outfits) from the Star Wars: Legacy of the Force series (feat. Nate as Caedus Jacen & Jesse as Teneniel Djo! <3)
LET’S PLAY A GAME CALLED WHICH ONE OF THESE PHOTOS DOESN’T BELONG
Hint: it’s the third one in the row of three photos SORRY I GAVE IT AWAY.
I originally made and wore this jumpsuit for Dragon*Con 2007. It was the first jumpsuit I ever made, I jacked the zipper up but I was still proud as hell of the thing and pulled it back out for Dragon*Con 2012. As you can see in the single 2007 photo here, I had one of my old lightsabers I made, a different headpiece (I feel like the 2012 one is much more fitting) and didn’t have the capelet thing I made for D*C 2012, which was inspired by the Hapes Consortium symbol that’s also on the patch on the chest of the jumpsuit.
I had a ton of feels in this outfit because it’s a Queen Momma one and Jesse and I were pretty much sobbing the whole SWEU meetup about how Teneniel never got to see her daughter kick ass on the throne, etc. etc.
Nate & Heather as Jacen Solo & Tenel Ka Djo from the Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights series
We originally made these a long while ago (Heather’s first version of YJK Tenel Ka was made a bit before her and Nate even met) and have worn and modified them multiple times since. These are two of our favorites characters and we have so much fun in Jacen & Tenel Ka costumes – especially these since the YJK books are close to our hearts.
Nate’s Jacen was originally made worn at Balticon 2010 (the middle photo in the second row is from that con) and then again at both Katsucon&Dragon*Conin2012 (plus a number of out of con shoots and such since then). The version of YJK Tenel Ka seen here was first made and worn at Dragon*Con 2012 (with Jesse & Jean as Teneniel Djo & Ta’a Chume! <3333) and then fixed up (added edging to some of the shoulder armor, remade the scales for parts of the shoulderpiece that were originally made from fabric out of Wonderflex and added lacing to the front of the outer piece of shoulder armor) for an outdoor shoot in 2014, which is where the last photo is from.
This is one of the only Tenel Ka costumes Heather can have her left arm out for and that’s only when she doesn’t have the lightsaber. She’s slipped a couple times in photos with the lightsaber (let’s pretend it’s the first/rushed one, hehehe), but has gotten so used to posing without showing her left arm that she does it in non-Tenel Ka costumes now sometimes as well. XD
Nate as Darth Caedus from the Star Wars: Expanded Universe/Legends (ft. Heather as Tenel Ka Djo here and there lol AND NIC AS LEIA MAKING THE BEST “U GROUNDED.JACEN WHY” FACE <33333)
This costume (and pieces of it for different versions of Jacen) has been worn so many times and there’s fun to be had in it every single time it’s worn. Whether he is getting scolded by Leias or finding out how many fucks Tenel Ka has to give about his MAGICAL PLANS (spoiler alert: it’s none) – it’s always a wild ride. Just like the Legacy of the Force books were.
Also, this is another case of “holy crap jacen please get some new clothes this is like another jumpsuit with some armor on top” – we have many ideas for original Jacen/Caedus outfits in the works thanks to @djosolo SO PHEW. Boy’s finally gonna get something that’s not a jumpsuit and maybe even some damn jewel tones.
(We still have those contacts sitting somewhere and they’re really old now… we need to throw them out. XD)
Thanks to Bria for the fourth photo & Bria and Nic (WHO WAS HOLDING THE CAMERA AT THAT POINT I DON’T REMEMBER) for the seventh shot!
Random sketch of Tenel Ka, from Legends EU. I realized I hadn’t attempted any of the Young Jedi Knight characters in a really long time, and ended up with this. Don’t ask me why she’s naked… I originally just didn’t feel like painting scales. And then I did the background… My laziness is selective. Don’t judge.
Drew one of my fave EU chars for this May the Fourth be with You, Ben Skywalker! I got into the Star Wars books in junior high and read a lot of them all the way thru high school—somehow managing to read Fate of the Jedi before Legacy of the Force and being absolutely confused about so many things (see: “WAIT…Luke has a son???”). Those books and characters are very special to me, with some dang good characters I grew pretty attached to over the years, Ben being high up on that list for his well-written arcs and wittiness I appreciate
May the Fourth Be With You! Featuring Ben Skywalker from the Star Wars Legends AKA, my canon! He was the first Next Gen EU character I really got attached to—I read Last of the Jedi in high school before LotF—and overall really well written. This isn’t exactly new (drew it last year after reading through the Legacy of the Force books), but this 4th crept up on me so I didn’t have a thing prepared! Might try to get a sketch in later today, we’ll see…
Ben is a (burnt) cinnamon roll I’d protect with my life. How dare Psycho Cousin kill his mommy. That is all.
My first drawing in 2021 is finished and it’s my Star Wars OC An'tar ♡ A perfect choice bc one of my art goals this year is to draw more of my own stuff.
I have this OC over 2 years now and I’m still not sure about her species. She’s definitely not human bc I wanted to make her more snake-like with pale/blue skin, some scales on her body etc The pointed ears are more a LotR thing but in AUs everything is allowed so ♀️
I kind of invented my own species until the day I learned about the Nagai in the EU. I’m not sure if they are canon but they seem to be the perfect choice for An’ tar. Still not 100% sure about that Anyway, she would be more a character for the EU bc I made her a Gray Jedi. I love this concept bc I’m not a fan of this black and white thinking at all. There are so many shades in life, so many directions and choices, you can’t do everything right in a perfect way. The path for a Sith and for a Jedi too is harsh.
Side info: She has a purple double-bladed lightsaber ( definitely the fault of Mace and Maul ♡) and she’s also a mother of a son who’s a pain in the ass sometimes.
Star Wars Fun Fact: one of the EU Skywalkers is a furry named Micahthats half robot. He is Cade Skywalker’s cousin btw cuz he’s the adoptive child of Nat Skywalker. He looks like a teenage werewolf guys look at this dork
“Whether they formed themselves into inventory lists, targeting calculations, or hyperspace course and position data, numbers were at the heart of everything that made the universe function. they spoke to a grand symphony of people, humans and nonhumans alike; of worlds and trade routes; of the lifeblood of good and evil”
