- "I've been a fan of Star Wars since it first came out. It was a fresh angle on Flash Gordon for me, and I'd been a fan of that comic and tv show since I was a kid."
- ―Gregory Manchess
Gregory Manchess (born 1955 in Kentucky, United States), also known by the pseudonym "Ravenwood," is an American illustrator and painter. Manchess is known for narrative-driven art pieces, including his graphic novel Above the Timberline. For the Star Wars franchise, Manchess illustrated the cover of the 1999 hardcover collection of the comic book adaptation Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace and the 2022 Essential Legends Collection reprint of the novel Kenobi and its audiobook adaptation. Manchess also worked on an unreleased cover for a canceled Star Wars novel from publisher Del Rey.
Biography[]
Early work[]
- "At the time, I had started using the [Ravenwood] pseudonym to stretch my availability in the market. I liked film and comics work, but didn't want it to confuse clients or interfere with my mainstream painting which was becoming known in the field."
- ―Gregory Manchess
Gregory Manchess was born in 1955 in Kentucky, United States. In 1977, Manchess began to work professionally as a painter and illustrator. He would become known for narrative-driven art pieces, including his graphic novel Above the Timberline.[1]
Manchess's Phantom Menace interior art of Darth Maul, credited to "Ravenwood"
Manchess first began working on the Star Wars franchise when illustrating the cover art for the hardcover collection of the comic adaptation of[4] the 1999 film[5] Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. He also contributed an interior illustration featuring the Sith Lord Darth Maul.[6] The collection, written by Henry Gilroy, was published by Dark Horse Comics on December 8 of the same year.[4] Wanting to separate his work for film and comics from his mainstream painting,[3] Manchess was credited under the pseudonym "Ravenwood" when working on The Phantom Menace artwork.[4] For his later Star Wars work, Manchess is credited under his own name.[7]
Canceled novel and Kenobi[]
- "One of my favorite characters in Lucas' franchise is Obi-Wan Kenobi, so when Scott asked if I'd be interested, it was a match."
- ―Gregory Manchess
At some point prior to November 2021,[7] Manchess was approached by[2] Penguin Random House Senior Art Director[8] Scott Biel to work on the cover for an unreleased Star Wars novel. Shortly after beginning work on the project, the novel was canceled. After the cancellation, Biel brought Manchess on to design new cover art for[2] John Jackson Miller's 2013 novel[9] Kenobi in preparation for its rerelease as part of The Essential Legends Collection[2] novel series from publisher Del Rey.[7] Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of Manchess's favorite Star Wars characters, so he considered working on the project to be a good match.[2]
Manchess began work on the cover by creating small black-and-white thumbnail sketches and watching Star Wars films to get key screengrabs of Kenobi. Based on around fifty screengrabs, Manchess drew freely, trying to capture the poses and motion Kenobi would make, while keeping the potential reader of the novel in mind. The thumbnails were then sent to Biel who gave feedback. Afterward, Manchess began to color the thumbnails that he particularly liked.[2]
Manchess's thumbnail sketch that would go on to become the final Essential Legends Collection cover for Kenobi
Before sending the colored thumbnails back to Biel, Manchess found a reference photo of[2] Kenobi actor[5] Ewan McGregor that he particularly liked. Manchess included a colored thumbnail sketch of the reference photo in his next batch of work sent to Biel, and the piece was selected to be developed into the final cover.[2] With feedback from Biel, Manchess went on to make several adjustments to the piece, including adding Kenobi's lightsaber. The final cover was painted using a palette knife and brush. Manchess hoped that the piece would portray how he felt about the character of Kenobi.[2]
Manchess's involvement and cover artwork were officially announced by Del Rey on Twitter on November 3, 2021. The cover, both used for The Essential Legends Collection reprint[7] and its accompanying audiobook,[10] was released on April 5, 2022.[7]
Works[]
Bibliography[]
| Year | Title | Contributions | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace hardcover | Cover art, interior art | Credited as "Ravenwood"[4] |
| 2022 | Kenobi | Cover art | The Essential Legends Collection rerelease[7] |
| Kenobi audiobook[10] |
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace 1999 hardcover (as "Ravenwood")
- Star Wars: Panel to Panel (as "Ravenwood")
- Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace 2016 hardcover (as "Ravenwood")
- Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir trade paperback (as "Ravenwood")
- Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: Rise of the Sith Vol. 2 (as "Ravenwood")
- Star Wars Legends: Rise of the Sith Omnibus (as "Ravenwood")
- Kenobi
- Kenobi audiobook
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Greg Manchess by Neo, Mr. Geo on Illustrators' Lounge (March 8, 2017) (archived from the original on January 21, 2021)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Kenobi by Manchess, Gregory on Muddy Colors (December 29, 2021) (archived from the original on December 30, 2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Manchess confirmed in email correspondence that he used the pseudonym "Ravenwood" when illustrating the cover of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace hardcover.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Ltd. Ed. HC on Dark Horse Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace hardcover
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5
Del Rey (@DelReyStarWars) on Twitter (November 3, 2021): "Exciting news! The next round of trade paperbacks in the #EssentialLegends Collection will be available April 5, 2022. Each edition will have a new cover with original artwork." (backup link)
- ↑ Bio — Scott Biel on Scott Biel (archived from the original on February 4, 2020)
- ↑ Kenobi
- ↑ 10.0 10.1
Kenobi: Star Wars Legends on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
External links[]
- Official website (backup link)
Gregory Manchess Art (@gmanchess) on Facebook
Greg Manchess (@gmanchess) on Instagram
Greg Manchess on LinkedIn
Gregory Manchess on Wikipedia
Gregory Manchess on Amazon.com (backup link)
Gregory Manchess on Goodreads' official website (backup link)
