Star Wars! IamA: My name is Wassmann and I am a German-American SW Oil painter for LucasArts.

Were you a fan of Star Wars growing up?

I saw it opening day on a whim. Thought it was a stupid title but had nothing to do. After 5 minutes I was hooked. Still have the free stuff they gave out that day.

Speaking of free stuff, do you ever get any free cool stuff from LucasArts?

I get passes to comic con!

Cool, what did you think of the last star wars movies from the early 2000s

I liked them better then most people. I like CGI.

And digital projection is awesome.

Ok, times up for me. Thanks! Hope you enjoyed it?

Do you ever get the opportunity to design new characters, or do you stick with already created... creations?

Also, how closely do you follow Ralph McQuarrie's drawings/pictures when designing your own works?

How does one get into oil painting? Let's say I wanted a portrait of me in full Edwardian military regalia. How much would that cost on average and what would I look/ask for?

Thanks!

I'm doing reverse conceptual art right now. I create images that could have been in the movies but were not. I'm licensed by the fine art division so they sell the prints and originals. Some people think my work looks like McQuarrie's but that is not intentional. There are a lot of good portrait painters online that could do what you are asking but it's not my thing. If I do a commission it has to be a landscape or something similar. Thanks!

Awesome paintings, have you done/seen anything for the upcoming film? Also Endor is my favorite planet I think you should draw up some ewoks breaking into the empires walkers and fucking shit up

No, I'm not in the loop on that unfortunately.

2 questions:

1. What color light-saber would you have?

2. Do you have a website where I can see more of your work?

Ultraviolet would be nice.... My main site is http://artseek.com

It seems like every landscape has been used in the films; snow, swamp, desert, forest, etc. Is there an outdoor setting you would love to paint for Star Wars that hasn't been used yet?

You're right. It's time for more exotic places. Titan with it's methane seas would be interesting.

Ever tried your hand at drawing Ahsoka?

No, I don't do much figurative. Mostly the landscapes and machines

What is the vetting process like for doing star wars paintings -- is there a checker for accuracy?

He said time is up

Back for a few mins. They found me at ArtExpo in New York. I had a show of my Antarctica work and they liked it. Thought I could paint Hoth. I was happy to help!

I notice you kept saying Lucasarts. So does that mean you're working for the games division and not Lucasfilm?

Actually it is Acme Archives, they are an art licensing company. Lucasfilm is just one of the properties they work with. Edit: sorry I get them mixed up.

Where can one buy work from you?

My main website is http://artseek.com It does not have the stars wars work on it but all my other work is there. The Approaching Storm print is sold out but I have a few artist proofs left I can sell. Please email me via my website if you are interested. I also have some original star wars paintings that are going to be on exhibit at the Winter Sawdust Festival in December. What doesn't sell there I can make available online. Thanks!

Wait, hang on, I thought Disney shut down lucasarts after they bought lucasfilm...?

I do work for an art licensing company. They have rights to all the studios, so what ever changes happen to Lucasarts I don't think it matters. Before the sale to disney I was told what ever I did had to be approved by Lucasarts. Not sure how it is now. I could paint other movie stuff also but I like to keep focused.

Friend I work with worked on the set doing painting or something for Star Wars. You might have know him. He was telling me the producers gave out loads of fake story lines to throw off the fans. Is this true?

I'm sure. I stopped reading all that stuff. I just hope they don't kill it with over saturation.

Why don't you convince Lucas to not build that horrible monstrosity of a "museum" in my beautiful city. It looks awful. Plus a museum for a fantasy movie? WTF.

Where is it?