Robert Bailey, an artist from Stony Plain, Alta., is now a Lucasfilm-endorsed Star Wars artist and is licensed to create Marvel Comics art. His path to the franchise began about 20 years ago, when filmmaker George Lucas contacted him after seeing his World War Two website and invited him to Skywalker Ranch.

Bailey had established a career as an aviation combat artist and was not initially drawn to Star Wars. Lucas had an interest in aviation combat, Bailey said, and the two met to discuss the franchise’s planets and other ideas. “He’d seen my World War Two website because he’s always been interested in aviation combat,” Bailey told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday, recalling the first meeting.

Bailey said he knew little about Star Wars at the time. “Next thing, it was two weeks later, and I was at Skywalker Ranch, and we were discussing new planets and all this stuff. He said, ‘How much do you know about Star Wars?’ And I said, ‘Well, nothing really.’ So when I got back to Stony Plain, I received many, many, many boxes via FedEx containing Star Wars figures and illustrations and books and things like that as reference, and next thing, I was (drawing) Star Wars.”

A few years later, Disney acquired Lucasfilm, a change that opened opportunities for Bailey at comic conventions. He was eventually connected with a Beverly Hills, Calif., company that distributes his work across the United States and Europe. The company designates some pieces, while Bailey chooses other scenes, subject to limits on which films he can depict.

“(The Beverly Hills company) designates some of the work I do, otherwise I’m completely free to do any Star Wars scenes I want to do, provided it’s A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi, which are the three movies that Star Wars fans love the most,” Bailey said. He added that he “turns out a lot of material” these days.

Bailey formerly made oil paintings as well as pencil drawings, but now concentrates on pencil work. He keeps a demanding schedule at his studio. “I’m at the studio seven days a week,” he said. “You have to be a fanatic or crazy to work those hours.”

Although Bailey saw the original A New Hope when it was released in 1977, he did not watch another Star Wars film until he began working for Lucas. He has since watched the three films he is permitted to depict repeatedly. “Because of the total immersion in Star Wars, I’ve seen those three movies maybe, I don’t know, 500 times each,” he said.

His two favourite scenes to draw are both from the original film: Princess Leia delivering the Death Star plans to R2-D2, and Luke Skywalker watching the message intended for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Bailey said he knows nearly every scene in the three films and occasionally draws one from the Disney sequels. The report included files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Kenny.

Based on reporting by CTV News Edmonton.