Via StarWars.com:

Artist Jason Palmer was 13 in 1977 — a significant age in a significant year. “Is there a better age to be when Star Wars comes out?” he says, laughing, to StarWars.com. “No.” His family couldn’t afford the toys, but Palmer read Marvel’s Star Wars comics, and found that the galaxy far, far away sparked something inside him. “I was absolutely in love with Star Wars, and I drew it all the time,” he says.

Fast forward a few years. Done with school and working a job he didn’t want in his late teens, Palmer decided to make a go for it as an artist. He had no real training or any idea of how to pursue art as a career, but he did know one thing: the legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan — his favorite artist — lived within driving distance. Palmer cold called Struzan, who invited him over without hesitation. “He became kind of my mentor,” Palmer says.

Over the years, Palmer learned the art of poster illustration from a master. “My education is, basically, going to his house, showing him what I’ve done since the last time I saw him,” Palmer says. “He would tell me where it was better, mostly how I was making the same mistakes in a new way, and I would ask him questions about what he was doing.” Through Struzan, Palmer came to understand layout and emotion, particularly in more complex pieces. “Drew always taught me language,” he says. “He was able to explain the whys to me.”

All of this — drawing Star Wars as a young teen, learning from Struzan — has led to Palmer’s current project: a massive mural, meant to capture the whole Star Wars saga, that will debut at Star Wars Celebration Chicago. You can see the original trilogy section below, exclusively on StarWars.com.

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