Top 5 - Vaderkin fan art

[swiftsnowmane]

for @jedifest‘16 Top 5 Picks

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Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, and thus it's no surprise that attempting to choose only five pieces for this list proved a rather...difficult challenge. In the end, I decided to try a more liminal approach. While both of his dual identities are fascinating in their own right (Vader, his tormented prison; Anakin, his True Self, and the identity that we all long for him to reclaim), when it comes to artistic depictions, I find that this character is often at his most visually compelling when the two intertwine.

The following are five pieces that I feel capture the intermingling of and/or inner conflict between Anakin and Vader. (These are but a taste of the many beautiful works of art I’ve encountered this year; for more, see the tag on my blog here.)

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1. Anakin Skywalker by Lotsmanoff



"The king stood in a pool of blue light, unmoored.” – Station Eleven

This darkly moody piece, based on Anakin’s design in the first half of The Clone Wars animated series, is the fan art I’ve reblogged more than any other this year. For some reason, I am just completely head over heels for this depiction of General Skywalker in his ‘Hero With No Fear’ guise. Normally, this isn’t even my favourite ‘look’ for this character, but in this case the artist has managed to portray it in a way that I find extremely appealing.

Overall, the colours and the composition, along with the slightly blurred background of dark space, darting warships, and falling stars, evokes the chaos and confusion that the galactic civil war has unleashed. Anakin’s face is cast in both blue and red light, suggesting his current place in the Jedi Order while simultaneously hinting at that which lurks around the corner. Everything about Anakin here—his ready-for-war stance, his ‘fist of power’, his expression that is at once determined and forbidding, the dramatic lighting cast by the blue of his lightsaber—gives us this sense of him being poised, center-stage, upon some vast, galactic theatre. As though he is but one man standing alone against all. As though only his strength and sheer will is holding back the encroaching curtain of darkness—the darkness that threatens the galaxy… and himself.

The entire piece is suggestive of a steadily unraveling state of just barely-controlled chaos—and of the darkness that is already starting to take hold of him, simply due to his participation in this Sith-run war. Even the bright blue that surrounds him seems to serve less as a sign of his affiliation with the Light, and more as a coldly dramatic canvas for the dash of blood-red that crowns the back of his head, and which hovers behind him like a shadowy halo, just off-stage.

 

2. Anakin’s Fall to the Dark Side by themadknightuniverse

This artist has so many incredible Anakin pieces, including several others depicting various stages of his fall and the resulting devastating duel at Mustafar, that it was difficult to include only one on this list. This particular image, however, has haunted me since I first encountered it.

The scene in Revenge of the Sith where Anakin stands looking down upon the fires of Mustafar with tears streaming down his face is, in my opinion, one of the most emotional yet underrated moments in the entire saga. This piece is by far one of the most beautiful artistic depictions of that moment that I have seen. Here we have Anakin in the midst of his fall, after being knighted as Vader and doing ‘what must be done’, but before the Dark Side has fully overtaken him.

Aside from the rich tones and complimentary colours, what strikes me first about this image is the almost unbearable beauty of his physical appearance—a golden, angelic, almost god-like being, whose light is being extinguished right before our eyes, and whose beauty is about to be irrevocably marred. The reflection of the red flames against his golden skin hints at the horror of what is about to befall him…and at the torment that he will soon face as Vader.

But what renders this moment even more painful, is that, despite the evil deeds he has just committed, he still retains a shred of his humanity—the tears that pour from him attest to this. In the film, as the deluge continues to rain down his face, we can feel the layers of emotion that are likewise pouring forth: his love, his fear, his pain, his sorrow, his guilt, his own grief and anguish at what he is becoming, and at what he is doing—at what he, in his mind, is being forced to do—and to his powerlessness to stop himself now that the process has begun. Here, we see him with eyes turned Sith-yellow, as though his goodness, his compassion, his light, his humanity, have literally leaked out of him, leaving only the rage and the hate behind. And indeed, the next time those who love him so fatefully encounter him, Padme can no longer perceive ‘the light of love’ in his eyes, and sees within his gaze only ‘the reflection of the flames’. And Obi-Wan deems him 'too far gone' to save, and in turn, does what he feels ‘must be done’.

This, therefore, is a depiction of an extremely tragic moment that only we, as viewers, witness: the moment that Anakin disappears, seemingly forever. And just like the scene in the film itself, the exquisite pain of this piece is made bearable only by the viewer’s knowledge that, eventually, someday, he will return to us once more.

3. Suffering by Brian Rood

This piece, by the SW illustrator Brian Rood, is is one of the most haunting images of Vader I’ve seen all year. I’ll try not to say too much about it as, I think the title speaks pretty well for itself.

A look into one of Vader’s meditation chambers, in what is likely a rare moment of repose for him without his helmet and mask. In this case, the fact that we cannot see his face renders the piece far more powerful than if we saw every detail. His pose seems like that of someone who has returned after a long, hard rotation, and his clenched fist speaks of anger, and likely, pain. We have no idea at what stage in the story this moment is mean to occur. Is it right after Revenge of the Sith? Is it later, during the height of the Dark Times? What has he been doing? What is he thinking about right now? Who is he thinking about right wno? (*cough* Padme *cough*) All of these contextual questions are left unanswered, but the artwork is all the more compelling for it.

I’ve included this piece here because it shows an extremely important side of this character’s existence that I wish was more widely depicted. While I realize that this artwork is of Vader as, well, Vader, I categorize it as ‘Vaderkin’, because the very fact that he is suffering here means that there is something human in him. A ‘machine’ does not suffer. The suffering comes from the imprisoned and tortured part of him that is Anakin, in this moment.

4.  Portrait of Darth Vader by Steven J. Levin

This is probably the most heavily reblogged of any of the works of art—official or fan-made—that I’ve shared on my Star Wars sideblog this year. And for good reason. In the world of online fandom, digital art has become the norm…and the expectation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people write ‘nice manip’ in the tags on this one. But once people realize that this is, in fact, an actual oil painting, well… then you suddenly have their attention. ;)

Created for George Lucas' wonderful Star Wars Visions project, this beautiful painting stands out due to its austere and dignified classical realism approach, intended to evoke both depictions of medieval knights as well as 18-19th century military portraiture. Interestingly enough, classical realism is a living tradition, and one that is passed down from ‘master’ to ‘apprentice’. How fitting that someone has now portrayed one of the most iconic figures from our modern-day mythology in such a style.

Not only am I a fan of the artist’s stylistic approach, but I also appreciate the views he expresses on the character himself, especially his description of Anakin/Vader as “the most interesting character…the central figure to the story, and a tortured one — the golden boy gone terribly wrong”. Which brings me to something else I greatly appreciate about this piece: the fact that, even though the title says that it is a portrait of ‘Darth Vader’, the face is so recognizably Anakin. It is more of a symbolic depiction than a literal one, as of course, he is horrifically disfigured by the time he is imprisoned inside his suit. But I absolutely love that this portrayal gives him back his face….and with it, his identity. For although he is named as ‘Vader’ here, the fact that his Anakin-identity is clear, and the fact that his mask is removed, held off to his side, rather than featured prominently, gives him a sense of dignity and, importantly, humanity, even despite his current ‘dark knight’ status.

Add to this the light breaking through the fiery clouds above his head, and rather than being simple depiction of a villain, this portrait instead becomes a testament to the survival of his True Self….and to his ultimate return.

5. Rebels-era Vader without his helmet, inspired by TCW Anakin by jasjuliet

Last but certainly not least, this is hands-down my favourite maskless!Vader artwork of all-time. I’ve reblogged it so many times on tumblr over the past year that I’ve lost track.

When I first encountered it, I loved it instantly. It’s a direct, unflinching close-up of Rebels-era Vader, the cold, ruthless Sith Lord persona, yellow-gaze and dark circles under his eyes and all. And yet….there is something at once penetrating and vulnerable in his expression. As though he has been shaken by something. (The return of his former apprentice, perhaps? *ahem* ) Regardless of one’s interpretation of his haunting expression, this portrait strikes the perfect balance between the horror of his disfigurement and the faint echoes of Anakin’s beauty–enough, that it is recognizable as him.

But even though I already adored this piece from the start, I had no idea how much it would eventually come to mean to me later on. It was first posted prior to the airing of Twilight of the Apprentice, and after that episode, the artist’s incredible foresight and prescience in portraying the TCW version of Anakin as the face of ‘Vader’ (instead of a Rebels  or OT version) suddenly had 100000x more meaning.

To this day, The Clone Wars remains one of my favourite Star Wars things ever, not in the least because we were given an in-depth look at Anakin Skywalker and his relationships to the people closest to him during the time before his fall. Snips and Skyguy have always been one of my all-time favourite ‘master and apprentice’ relationships, and thus Twilight of the Apprentice both shattered and exhilarated me. The emotions I experienced during and since that episode cannot even begin to be described. But when it comes down to it, I’ve realized that I have a much different view of the encounter between Ahsoka and Vader than many people seem to, in that I do not view it in a wholly negative light.  And this is because I prefer to focus on the incredible, mind-blowing fact that, in that episode, and in their final scene together, we (and Ahsoka) got a glimpse—not just a hint, but an actual, visual glimpse—of Anakin Skywalker. Confirmation that Anakin’s light still exists, imprisoned within the darkness of Vader.

And thus, every time I look at this beautiful piece now, I cannot help but see that Vader…and that Anakin. The Vader who was brought to his knees by Ahsoka Tano. And the Anakin who was freed for that fleetingly eternal moment in time when he was faced with his own light, reflected back to him by his beloved former apprentice.





** Original post HERE.