In this installment of the Artist Series, James Volpe takes a look at the life of Obi-Wan and the need for more of him on the screen in the Star Wars galaxy.
Since seeing Old Ben in A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi was filled with mystery and intrigue. He was kind of a strange hermit, the crazy old wizard living in the desert. What was he doing there? Then in private message Princess Leia told the a tale of him serving her father in the Clone Wars. Finally he told Luke Skywalker tales an ancient power binding the universe together that could be tapped into with training. After sacrificing himself Obi Wan then further instructed Luke in the ways of the Force in the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. There were still many questions to be answered.
Where did you dig up that old fossil?
I started thinking, what will be shown if there is an upcoming Obi-Wan movie? I was unsure of the benefits of this standalone film. Are there any more tales to be told?
Time has proven me wrong. Many years later. in the prequels more insight into the life of this great man was given. Besides, what would the Star Wars galaxy be without the epic battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin? The Clone Wars cartoon also provided plenty of adventures that enriched the tapestry of Star Wars stories.
So, here is my contribution to more of the crazy old wizard on Tatooine. I did a pencil drawing based on Old Ben’s appearance in Star Wars Rebels.
I sketched him out on paper using pencil on plain paper using Obi-Wan from Rebels as a reference. 
Next, I inked my drawing with a fine point Sharpie. After that I scanned him in using my flatbed scanner. Usually I just take a picture and then upload it to my computer but I happened to have my scanner hooked up so I used it. Then I cleaned up my drawing in Photoshop using levels and threshold.
Lastly I put him on the fabled planet–two suns and a desert background.
“Ben is a great man.” “Yeah, great at getting us into trouble.”
More is better in this case. Besides, I also used to think, “Why would I need to see how they got the Death Star plans?” However, Rogue One has become one of my favorite Star Wars movies of all time. So, I can see there is a need to see more of Obi-Wan and what he was doing between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Now if only Lucasfilm decides to make it. Will it happen? Possibly.
If you liked this installment of the RetroZap Artist Series, check out this one next!
James Volpe, aka The Ska Geek, is a life-long child of the Force. Born just before Star Wars hit the theaters, he first saw Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back at a drive-in double feature in 1980 as his first silver screen experience. Ever since then, Star Wars has been part of his life and inspires his art work and graphic design. His art work can be seen on the RetroZap network: Brews and Blasters logos, Ki Adi Monday shirts and promo video, Starships, Sabers and Scoundrels banner and various others. His podcast, The SKA GEEK Podcast, combines his two favorite things, being a geek and listening to ska music. Find him on twitter,, facebook and his website.