Welcome to a special Behind-The-Scenes feature as part of our ongoing “The Mandalorian” Week as we celebrate the shows debut on Disney+. We’re taking a deep dive through the work of Brandon Acree, more commonly known throughout the community as @skeletonastronaut and we hand over to him to walk us through several new shots with more coming in Part 2 later this week.

“Keep it steady!”

BTS

This photo came about because I was trying to find a new way to utilize the Mandalorian and Offworld Jawa figures with existing toys I already had. Anytime I get a new figure, part of the fun is determining what other figures he/she can be photographed with. Essentially, “What stories can I tell?” However, with a new property that has only a few released figures, you have to be creative. Quickly, I thought of Luke’s Landspeeder, and knew that I’d need to take it to visit my #AstronautCanyon shooting location.

This shot was originally more ambitious, with a running Greedo being chased and looking back to see this dangerous duo in hot pursuit. But the day was too windy to get Greedo to cooperate very long, and it proved difficult to choose a focus point that showcased all of the action. Eventually, I settled on just letting the viewer imagine who or what these guys were chasing.

COLOR/CONTRAST

Using LightRoom first, I did a basic color and contrast adjustment, bringing out all of the deep yellows and oranges, and setting a high, washed out contrast to give the image a hot, over-exposed, sun-beaten look. Next I used Photoshop’s Photo Filter to set a deep sepia tone to further wash the image out and give it that old, “western” look.

F/X

I added dust digitally in Photoshop to give the photo a sense of motion, and edited the markings on the Landspeeder’s hood to make it slightly different that Luke’s. I lightened the Mandalorian’s helmet and brightened and over-saturated the Jawa’s eyes to make them pop.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m very happy with this image, especially the Jawa’s eyes peeking just over the windshield. The only disappointment is that the scale of the speeder looks off from this angle and makes the Mandalorian look too big in comparison. But it’s a minor annoyance.

“Walking”

BTS

This is the first real photo that I took of this figure, and I was inspired to give him a walking pose in an homage to the original promo images. This was taken in a specific part of the #AstronautCanyon location that I use a lot. It works for both the 3.75-Inch and 6-Inch figures and gives the appearance of a well-worn path through the rocks.

COLOR/CONTRAST

Same general process as Photo #1

F/X

More Photoshop dust and haze, and an overall lightening of the helmet.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I was happy that I was able to add a hazy atmosphere to the image, which I felt gave it a bit of character and made it feel like a tangible place.

We’ll be back later this week with further shots from Brandon as “The Mandalorian” Week continues right across the Exclu platform. In the meantime, you stay up-to-date with all of Brandon’s work via @skeletonastronaut and keep it locked to Exclu for all the latest news, previews & more from across the toy community.

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Last modified: November 14, 2019