A pixel art illustration of various futuristic spacecraft flying through a blue and white sky. The ships vary in size and shape, including a long yellow vessel in the centre.

Two brothers' archive of 1990s Star Wars images made on Microsoft Paintbrush

Words: Maisie Skidmore
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Date: 1 September 2014; Work
Art

Co-founders of Dastoli Digital Robert and James were huge fans of Star Wars in the late 1990s, recreating hundreds of images from comics, books and game graphics on Microsoft Paintbrush using the Windows 3.1 operating system. In the run-up to the release of Star Wars Episode VII which will come out on 18 December 2015 they’re releasing an image a day from this seemingly bottomless archive, giving fellow fans a glimpse of their fantastic attention to detail and brilliantly retro colour palette.

Robert explains: “My brother and I would spend hours working on each of them and many of them have an impressive level of detail and accuracy. Most importantly though, they serve as a charming reminder of the power of our fandom.” That they do; the archive harks back to the golden age of gaming and shows the brothers’ ravenous hunger for Star Wars ephemera in whatever form it presented itself. Good job there are 472 more drawings to come, eh?

An illustration of a sleek red spaceship hovering over a red, undulating landscape. The scene is set against a flat blue sky with small yellow circles scattered across the ground. — Above
Star Wars Paintbrush: #002 STORMTROOPER BATTLE CRUISER ON PANNA PRIME

An illustration of a futuristic city with tall, tiered white buildings under a clear blue sky. Three small, dark spacecraft hover in the air above the architecture. — Above
Star Wars Paintbrush: #006 WORLPORT ON ORD MANTELL

A digital illustration of various futuristic aircraft flying through a blue sky with white clouds. The vessels include a long yellow passenger craft, several small orange ships and a large grey blimp. — Above
Star Wars Paintbrush: #014 SKY TRAFFIC OVER BESPIN

A pixel art scene from Star Wars showing a space battle. The Millennium Falcon flies through a field of X-wings and TIE fighters, with a large Death Star visible on the left. — Above
Star Wars Paintbrush: #015 BATTLE OF ENDOR

An illustration of a towering, white futuristic city built into a jagged mountain peak. Two dark, mechanical spacecraft fly through a clear blue sky above a dense cluster of orange buildings at the mountain's base. — Above
Star Wars Paintbrush: #017 NEBULAN RANGER AND SUNGEM OVER IZIZ

A pixel art scene of a desert settlement under a clear blue sky. Yellow conical tents stand before a red brick wall and a large, grey tiered structure. — Above
Star Wars Paintbrush: #016 BIMMISAARI MARKET PLACE

An illustration of a surreal landscape under a bright blue sky with a large red sun and a smaller yellow one. In the foreground, abstract orange and blue organic shapes resemble futuristic buildings or machinery. — Above
Star Wars Paintbrush: #019 GANATH

An illustration of a small, orange and grey spacecraft landing on a flat yellow landscape. A thin black cable extends from the craft to a small orange probe on the ground under a clear blue sky. — Above
Star Wars Paintbrush: #020 SEBULBA’S PODRACER

Further Info

www.dastolidigital.com
www.starwarspaintbrush.tumblr.com

About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

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Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

Two brothers' archive of 1990s Star Wars images made on Microsoft Paintbrush

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