Collectors and fans alike have a chance to own one-of-a-kind Star Wars art pieces while giving to a good cause with The Empire Muggs Back. Lucasfilm asked artists, comic book creators, toy designers, and celebrity fans to get out their markers, paint brushes and glue guns and transform blank Mighty Muggs (donated by Hasbro) into custom Star Wars art which will be auctioned by The Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Starwars.com chats with artist Spencer L. Brinkerhoff III about his process for turning a blank Hasbro Mighty Muggs figure into a special tribute to Aayla Secura.
What did you choose to do for your Mighty Muggs art piece?
When I was first invited to participate in The Empire Muggs Back project I had to do a little research. I had seen the Mighty Muggs on the shelf and I loved the illustrated style, but I'm afraid that I've had to narrow my collecting to the Galactic Heroes line. So, I went onto the Mighty Muggs forum and the RebelScum forum to look at what people were saying about the characters. I found that there was a lack of female characters and at the suggestion of a friend, I chose to do Aayla Secura.
Why did you want to participate in The Empire Muggs Back art project?
It was at Celebration Japan were I got to see The Vader Project first hand. There were so many creative designs there, I just knew that I wanted to be part of a large scale art collection like that. The Empire Muggs Back not only allowed me to be part of that group experience, but it also allowed me to contribute to a wonderful cause with the Make-A-Wish foundation.
What was your step-by-step process? What materials did you use?
When it came time to start making my Mugg, I went straight to the craft store to buy some supplies. Having never done any painting on a vinyl toy before, I needed to get paint, but I also grabbed some Sculpey, rubber gloves and some leather. I cleaned up the toy and then painted the majority of it blue for the skin color. I then used the Sculpey to make the feet and chest and then started to cut and fit the leather for the outfit.
I wanted to have a good texture and look to the Twi'lek head tails so I took the rubber gloves and poured some of the blue body color paint in it. I made sure that I had an even coverage and then I stuffed two of the gloves' fingers with cotton to make the head tail. I think that figuring out how to get the head tails on and looking right was the main challenge on the project. I felt like the whole piece was an art exercise and I really enjoyed it.
Why do you think Star Wars fans will love The Empire Muggs Back project?
I think that people will really love this project because the artists were really free to experiment and put their own spin on their piece.
The Mighty Muggs art pieces are now up for auction and can be seen at The Empire Muggs Back on Starwars.com. The auction ends August 14, 2009.
Stay tuned to StarWars.com for in-depth coverage on The Empire Muggs Back.
