Fans attending Star Wars Celebration Europe next month are getting a glimpse of the badge art that will be featured on this year’s credentials, commissioned by artist Alice X. Zhang.
What’s Happening:
- Star Wars fans who are attending the upcoming Star Wars Celebration in London are getting their first look at their credential badges, which is adorned in beautiful artwork celebrating the universe they all love, which also acts as one of the best Star Wars Celebration souvenirs.
- Lucasfilm has made it a tradition to commission artists to create original badge art for Star Wars Celebration and this year is no different, commissioning artist Alice X. Zhang, the digital artist behind Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023’s badge paintings.
- The portraits cover the Star Wars spectrum, with subjects including everyone from Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano, to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi-era Luke Skywalker, to a defeated Darth Vader from Obi-Wan Kenobi. There are 19 in total, all designed to fit together like a puzzle.
- Zhang’s Star Wars Celebration art is in the style of traditional oil paintings, but created through modern techniques. For this project, Zhang worked in Photoshop on a Wacom Cintiq tablet, and did early sketches with an Apple Pencil in Procreate. She also occasionally used a program called Rebelle by Escape Motions.
- Though she can’t pick a favorite piece from the bunch, one moment sticks out during the review process. Zhang was told that longtime Ahsoka Tano storyteller Dave Filoni "personally approved of the Ahsoka piece, and that’s always lovely to hear.”
What They’re Saying:
- Alice X. Zhang: “Well, it has absolutely been a huge honor! I have never been to a Celebration, but when I was first approached and researched the history of Celebration badges, I was immediately inspired — not to mention, portraits are my favorite illustration subject. So, it was exciting for me to take this on, and I really wanted to do a memorable job…I knew that Celebration has had a long tradition of commissioning a single illustrator to create the art on each badge, and that many collect the badges. I wanted to do something unique to ‘link’ the set together, like an Easter egg for those collectors!…Even though I know not everyone will keep their badges, I hope those that do will treasure the souvenir and the effort that I (and Celebration for commissioning me in the first place) put in to make them special.”
More About Star Wars Celebration Europe:
- Star Wars Celebration is the ultimate fan experience focused on the galaxy far, far away…
- Fans of all ages from all over the world will come together to celebrate the cultural phenomenon, Star Wars. Star Wars Celebration revels in the excitement of new movies, television shows, books, art, and comics while also commemorating the vast history of the Star Wars universe. Star Wars Celebration has something special for every kind of Star Wars fan!
- Star Wars Celebration is a four day event filled with major announcements, immersive exhibits, an interactive show floor, screenings, exclusive merchandise, celebrity guests, panels, autograph sessions, fan-inspired activities, costumes, and other surprises celebrating all things Star Wars! Star Wars Celebration is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience where memories are made, families are brought together, old friends are reunited, and new friendships forged — all in the setting of the ever-evolving Star Wars universe.
- For a complete list of all the various panels and sessions of Star Wars Celebration next month, check out our full list here.