Art Department Weekly | Issue 91 Vol. 12

ADW ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY ISSUE 91 VOL. 12

TIME TO DUST OFF THE

Classics

MINIBOARD

BEAUTIFUL DISASTER According to Insider.com, Brittany Hardy’s brother, Brandon (@brandon.hardy.art), surpised Brittany with the cake inspired by Fauna’s attempt to bake a birthday cake without magic. She told Insider, “Brandon’s whole job is often creating whimsical objects which are built to last, so he had experience on his side.”

ADULTING AWARD Eight weeks in, what is our motivation anymore to keep doing the right thing?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get some sort of recognition for the effort it sometimes takes to put on real pants and brush your teeth?

Pandemicpatches.com has created patches. I for one would love to wear a sash full of patches with my mask when I go grocery shopping because I never had the chance to earn patches as a Brownie and then I could authoratatively tell other shoppers to follow the decals on the floor telling them which way to go.

These were some of my favorite patches in the first wave online...

Brandon wrote in an Instagram post, “I had to make the broom by hand using things lying around the house because I couldn’t find one the right size or style.” The handle attaches to the metal system holding up the vanilla cake. That’s amazing.

—MV

MAGIC BRUSH

Leif Gantvoort

I’m assuming you’ve seen a glow up montage. The dance teachers at my childrens’ school made one. Luis showed me one because the WWE Divas made one. Everyone has seen one... But Leif Gantvoort (@leif_me_alone_brah on Instagram) made one that tried to figure out how this works. Where did the brush come from? Check out his attempts to escape the brush on IGTV. —MV

ENTERTAIN THEM Bored Panda’s round up of people who used instructions from IKEA for how to build forts was fed to me shortly before my children became insanely bored.

Luckily I was also doing laundry, so I could pull the sheets off their beds and tell them to go crazy using the sheets to build forts. I’m always a huge fan of times that social media can tell me realistic ways to keep kids occupied offline.

—MV

Go to pandemicpatches.com today to get on the mailing list because you’ve totally earned at least one patch and should order merchandise when it becomes available.

—MV

Art Department Weekly is published by Dinosaur Girly Productions, 184 Bay 26th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11214. The entire contents of ADW are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of the publisher. ADW accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. ADW reserves the right to edit, rewrite, refuse or reuse material, is not responsible for errors or omissions, and may feature same in other mediums for any and all purporses.

QUARANTIME TIME All Betty has wanted to do for weeks is get in the pool. She couldn’t care less that it’s 60 degrees or colder. One day it was almost 80, so into the pool she went.

Meanwhile, it was Betty’s school that suggested having kids sweep stuffed animals into a basket but only Boom was interested in that game. He used a toy golf club like a hockey stick and had fun.

D R A HE

T R NA

R E V O

I

“Apparently all the adults are being funny today— except me” -Luis

“He’s laughing a lot at you” -Madeline

“A cruise ship is a giant buffet where you sleep over”

AWAY FROM THE SCREENS Getting them to do something other than iPad or TV

CAPED CRUSADERS TO THE RESCUE

FREE EAR SAVERS Stell Chuu is 3D printing

Around here, when we talked about different sports that were shutting down and then considering coming back, we were excited to talk about Mark Cuban offering to pay vendors in his stadium and how maybe it’s smart for players who want to sit out the season. But when talking about New York Comic Con, we’ve mostly left it at Luis being disappointed NYCC might not happen.

Without the conventions, cosplayers are missing not only sales, but also connections—photo shoots and motivation to complete projects, plus the opportunities to express themselves. The mental health and business impacts are worrisome. But cosplayers are prevailing.

As Yaya Han told Gizmodo, “Fandom is very resilient and has persevered because that’s part of the human psyche.” Han made masks to donate to hospitals and released a tutorial on YouTube, but she ended up with requests to sell masks on her website which hopefully can keep her three employees on payroll.

—MV

-Trevor

“Let the record show that Betty says, ‘You’re always so nice to me’” -Luis

“Diagonal—it’s the adult cut” -John

“Do you feel bad yelling at someone who looks exactly like you?”

-Luis

“I want to meet this Madeline you know”

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-Madeline

Department Weekly 3

“OPEN ME.” “NO...”

No Black Series were opened in the making of this shoot

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BACK FOR MORE

LUIS EXPLAINS WHY THE BACK-TO-BACK STAR WARS ISSUES Empire Strikes Back legitimately changed my life. It was one of those moments that I can look back on and see so clearly. I was

DISNEY LOGO

May 21 will mark 40 years since the movie’s release

completely blown away by these larger than life characters who seemed so deep, relatable, and most of all real. The over-the-top visuals and set pieces set the stage for me wanting to become an artist and speak in a visual medium. To say it’s the most important movie of my life is an understatement.

Beyond the impact it had on me, it’s simply the greatest movie ever made. It takes ideas and characters that were introduced in A New Hope and expands on them in a huge way. Every major character took a big leap forward. Vader, Han, Luke, and Leia all became multi-faceted characters. New iconic characters were introduced (Lando Calrissian, Boba Fett, and Yoda) who would be as popular today as they were 40 years ago (look at the popularity of The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda). All leading to the greatest revelation in movie history: “No, I Am Your Father,” by Darth Vader.

All this wrapped around two magnificent battle pieces to open (Hoth) and close the film (Cloud City) where the bad guys actually win. That and the fact movie goers had to wait three years for the next part added to the mystique of the film. Hands down, the most important and favorite movie of my life.

INSPIRATION Boom couldn’t remember the scene I wanted him to act out with the toys, so he sat down to watch it on a phone.

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EMPIRE ESSENTIALS

KENNER INSPIRED During Toy Fair in February, while everyone was going crazy over the Baby Yoda reveals, the most exciting Star Wars reveal I saw was the 40th Anniversary Star Wars Black Series figures in retro Kenner-style packaging.

The initial wave of nine consists of some rereleased figures (Han, Lando, and Luke) utilizing their new photo-real face painting. The new faces are nothing short of stunning. Han and Leia have never looked better in figure form. I’m hoping they utilize this technology on some of their older releases. (Jyn Erso is desparately in need of a revamp.)

The standout of the line has to be the generic Hoth Rebel Trooper. He comes with a ton of accessories (goggles, face mask, scarf, rifles, etc.) and a different face in his backpack letting you have multiple figure combinations from one singular figure. This figure is an army builder’s dream.

Similar to the retro New Hope figures which were released in 2017, I fully expect these figures to be huge hits and sell out quickly.

—LV

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BESPIN HAN SOLO One of my all-time favorite Star Wars action figures, Han was the original good guy with a chip on his shoulder and he always got shit done. Pew Pew!

BOBA FETT One of the baddest bounty hunters in the galaxy who only showed up in ESB for about 6 and a half minutes. Not only was his armor the coolest, but he was actually working with Vader.

BIG-TIME STAR WARS FAN JASE GIVES US HIS TOP 5 FIGURES FROM THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

YODA Such a great little green

2-1B I really liked the color and

figure: the robe, cane, and orange snake. Grandmaster Yoda was the OG Jedi pimp. It even has the little lamp he pilfered from R2 on his utility belt. There were two versions of him: bright green and dark green with a bright orange snake and brown snake. I had the former.

If you were lucky, you had the Dagobah set and Luke’s X-Wing to recreate the classic “Training of a Jedi” scenes.

“see-through” body of this guy. He wasn’t a pivotal character but regardeless he was pretty cool in the Kenner action figure universe.

However, we could really use him and FX-7 right now during this pandemic.

CLOUD CAR PILOT 5-year-old me really liked this guy for some reason and if you blinked while watching ESB, you might have missed him. It was 1981 and day-glo was coming into its own, and I must have liked those bright accent colors of orange and yellow on his helmet, gloves, and boots.

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YOU’RE LUCKY YOUR NAME ISN’T HAN The night I was wearing this Darth Vader sweater at a birthday party, one of Luis’ coworkers asked if I got into Star Wars after I met him. And I wasn’t sure how to answer at first. Am I the dreaded fake nerd girl if I say I’m only wearing this sweater because I like how it looks? And then the lightbulb switched on.

“One of the first times we ever went drinking, this girl was like, ‘Jabba the Hutt.

What’s that?’ And Luis was about to explain, and I was like, ‘Hold my beer.’ And then I proceeded to tell her all about bounty hunters. So, yeah, I knew Star Wars before Luis.” Something like that was my retelling of the original events the night the above photo was taken.

Would I ever actually have named one of my kids Han? No, but it’s accurate enough that it’s funny when my kids are acting all surprised that their dad’s favorite movie is Empire Strikes Back.—MV

VADER VISION Back in the late ’90s, Dark Horse Comics released a wonderful anthology series titled Star Wars Tales. It was a wonderful collection of short stories told in the in-between moments of what happens on screen. At the time of their release, they were considered canon, but since the Disney purchase they are now considered Legend stories.

My favorite of these tales was in the sixth issue of the series from December 2000.

“Thank The Maker” written by Ryder Windham with art by Killian Plunkett is a 9-page story where Vader learns that Gamma Squad has blasted C3P0 to pieces. Vader then orders the Squad to bring the pieces of the droid to him as he may have valuable information in his memory banks.

The story then turns into a mini-flashback with Vader remembering the origins of his one time creation and droid friend. With appearances by Watto and Shmi, it helps the reader make the tie between The Phantom Menace and Empire Strikes Back. Instead of having the droid destroyed, Vader has his remains delivered to the cell housing Chewbacca as he knows Chewie’s mechanical expertise will help repair the droid.

The above picture was my recreation of a touching moment Plunkett beautifully illustrated where Vader picks up C3P0’s head and remembers a more innocent time. Of all the great Star Wars Tales, this was one of my favorites.

—LV

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FAVORITE FIGS I remember so clearly watching Empire Strikes Back for the first time with my oldest brother. Shortly after watching the film, we went to Forbidden Planet in Union Square. As my brother dug around for some new books, we went to the lower level where they housed their action figures. Unbeknownst to me, the store had suffered water damage and was having a huge sale on toys with damaged packages. Upon this revelation, my brother told me I could pick up some figures. I excitedly ran over to the Star Wars section and grabbed two figures that would end up being two of my absolute favorites—Hoth Luke and a Snow Trooper.

These two were then featured prominently in every subsequent gameplay. No matter what the situation, these two figures were in the thick of it.

As some of my tastes started to vary and I began to branch out into other likes (wrestling most specifically) the tag team of Snow Trooper and a generic Storm Trooper became my Star Wars Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions.

Luke became the running mate to Empire Han (far superior to giant-headed New Hope Han), but I didn’t receive him for another year or so (and then he was by far my favorite Star Wars figure).

The above picture is my Snow Trooper and Hoth Luke. They may be a little worse for wear and have definitely yellowed over time, but the nostalgia I still feel when I look and hold these figures is real.

—LV

THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THESE My current favorite line of action figures is Star Wars The Black Series. The first wave of these was released in 2013. I regarded these new larger figures with trepidation as Star Wars had dominated (and created) the 3.75-inch scale of figures, and I had quite the large collection of that scale. I started to see some pictures of these figures leak out, and I thought they looked great, but I still wasn’t sure if I’d be diving in. Then I saw them in person and was absolutely blown away.

These figures are the best thing Hasbro has produced with the Star Wars license.

They embraced the 6-inch scale which Marvel Legends revitalized. You could now have two of the most popular toy lines on the market in a consistent scale. I’ve selected four of my favorite Black Series releases which have origins in Empire Strikes Back.

The first is Wave 2 Boba Fett. At this point it was the best release ever of this figure.

Absolutely perfect sculpt. I still count Empire as Boba’s first appearance even if he was added into the Special Edition of New Hope. Second is my favorite version of Luke Skywalker which comes to us from Wave 3—Bespin Luke. Posy Dagobah-training Luke shows up in all his bravado to help his friends take on the big bad and my third featured figure (and favorite character in Empire) Wave 5 Darth Vader. First of all, I can’t believe they released 5 waves before releasing Darth. Second, this figure is perfect. I love everything about it. The last figure I wanted to feature from my archives was the most important new character to the story, Jedi Master Yoda. He was a series 6 release and easily one of the most sought after figures of the entire line to that point.

With over 150 figures to date, this line shows no signs of slowing down. In fact they’ve started to remake some of their much older figures using their new “photo real” paint applications which makes these figure look even more like their big screen counterparts. The best line in all of collecting continues to get better and better. —LV

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FROM NOTHING

WHEN DOING THE SAME THING EVERY DAY BRINGS A CHANGE WE CAN ALL SEE (AND MAYBE EAT) Both Boom and Betty had plant units around the beginning of quarantine, so we had extra motivation to get some seeds wet and see what happens. Now we have spinach, sweet peas, and tomato seedlings.

STARTING WITH WET PAPER TOWELS Chia,

Cress, grass, and tangerine seeds were soaked to show off what seed embryos look like. The tangerine seeds went into a clay pot and nothing happened.

Spinach and sweet peas went straight into the ground.

TRANSPLANT A clump of what I think was mostly Cress outgrew its little pot, so I planted it outside.

And it promptly died.

SUN AND SHADE Most of the sunflowers started from seeds in egg cartons, but I planted one row of seeds outside. While I tried to get rid of all the wild onions and other random plants in the garden area, I moved the violets to a shadier space.

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NOT EVEN 20 MINUTES I put up a little fence to protect my seeds, but the neighbors’s soccer ball knocked over the part blocked by a car soon after. Now a feral cat dug up my spinach because obviously it’s a litter box...

GRASS AND LAVENDER

I planted grass outside at the same time I started seeds on paper towels. The inside batch was protected from the cold and quickly grew to be a lush clump, now outside with the Chia seedlings that grew in the same egg carton. Meanwhile, two packets of lavender seeds have yielded only a few seedlings.

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TIME FOR AN UPDATE PREVIOUS CONTENT SEEMED TO KEEP COMING BACK AT US

“Tech Support with Mom” needed an update almost instantly, but then a few more topics resurfaced. Here is what’s been happening since we published these eight stories.

FAN ART TO-DO LIST

I only put five things on the list and none of them have gotten done—not even vote in primaries. The 40th birthday is next week, so that’s getting crossed off one way or another. Meanwhile, costumes, past convention coverage, and voting remain on the list.

Obviously, Luis in not in the office so he has not been completing sets of quick sketches the way he imagined when he announced his plans for 120 quick sketches and 20 big pieces. He has drawn whatever Betty demands each morning, though, while she watches, making it even more like a comic convention. One week she wanted to see Powerpuff Girls paired up with their Rowdyruff Boys. Luis has only made time for three big pieces in quarantine.

Plans are useless, but planning is indispensible

FOOD PLAY 1

While we haven’t seen Kal’s food monster show up in anymore comics, he will be in the Succes Academy Visual Arts Showcase themed “Make Your Dreams a Reality” this year.

FOOD PLAY 2

ARBY’S HIRES

artists to work with the leftovers. Check out @arbys on Instagram

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Luis found the answer for what to do with all the ketchup packets Popeye’s dumped on us: Make art.

Apparently Arby’s sauce is an amazing medium, but Arby’s also hired artists to sculpt their used packaging. We’ll leave it to the professionals for now...

SPIDER-MAN: TOO CLOSE TO HOME

Playing the terrific Spider-Man game on the PS4, the story hits a little too close to the real world. Doc Ock releases a deadly virus in NewYork which causes civilians to wear masks when in contact with one another. Then, as you explore the city, you see signs telling you to “Avoid Contact with Others.

Stay Home and Stay Safe. Stay Away From Crowded Areas.” This game, released in late 2018, seems to have been pretty prophetic.

The male Cardinal poses for Luis

TECH UPDATE MORE BRICKHEADZ

I have been working more on my series of Beyblade Burst Rise themed Brickheadz.

This time it was a character called Pheng.

His bey is Harmony Pegasus, which can heal itself mid-battle. He has large hair—a large challenge for building, but still not too hard overall. Unlike the previous Brickheadz that I made, I actually have the bey itself, and it actually has its powerful healing ability that is shown on the show. Pheng is a bit of a jokester, setting tons of little pitfalls everywhere just for fun.

—KV

I was able to finally guess the right date to factory reset the third MacBook Pro to Lion and then update it to Mojave. Then a refurbished Chromebook arrived from the school. Kids are all right for now.

FOR THE BIRDS

I installed a dish for bird seed, but the seeds meant for birds have begun to sprout. Luis talks to his Cardinals.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT A ROUND UP OF WHAT WE SAW AROUND THE INTERNET AND REAL WORLD

WIPED OUT No wipies in Valley Stream

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I wanted to make a Lego model of the cases, but, after looking at numbers that spiked depending how many tests were given that day, I decided not to be so scientific or mathematical...

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FIVE THINGS *

DREW WANTS YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

1

The most famous line from all of the Star Wars films is also the most misquoted. In Empire, Darth Vader never said, “Luke, I am your father.” He actually says, “No, I am your father.” Mandela effect in full effect!

woman—78-year-old actress Marjorie Eaton. In the subsequent sequels and prequels, the role was assumed by Ian McDiarmid. George Lucas even tinkered with the film’s 2004 re-release, replacing Eaton’s mug with McDiarmid’s.

2

4

Vader’s proud-papa revelation was kept secret by giving David Prowse— the actor who physically portrayed the Sith Lord—a fake line. With no knowledge of the ruse, Prowse said on set, “Obi-Wan killed your father,” which of course was replaced by the real line when his dialogue was dubbed by James Earl Jones.

3

In the original theatrical release, Emperor Palpatine was played by a

Yoda was originally intended to be the surname of the legendary Jedi Master. In the beginning, “Minch” his first name was. Hmmm.

5

Empire is actually Boba Fett’s second on-screen appearance. The infamous bounty hunter previously appeared in 1978’s Star Wars Holiday Special, which was wisely prohibited by Lucas from ever being rebroadcast or officially released on home video. (Does

anyone remember—or better yet, is anyone able to forget—Chewbacca’s son Lumpy?)

6

When Han Solo re-emerges as a Popsicle from the carbon-freezing chamber, he is wearing his V-necked shirt from A New Hope rather than the one he’s seen wearing throughout Empire.

7

Han Solo’s “I know” response to Leia saying “I love you” right before he was frozen in carbonite was ad-libbed

by Harrison Ford. Lucas didn’t like the line, but Ford fought hard to keep it, insisting it be shown to a test audience.

The audience loved it, and the line was left for generations to enjoy.

Reenact iconic training scenes on planet Dagobah.

There’s a Force jump function that can be attached to the front or back of the model.

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