With so much negativity surrounding the Star Wars fan base lately, from online bullying of actors to death threats aimed at Rian Johnson, it’s unfortunately become too easy to lose sight of all the good that’s come from the Star Wars fandom. Dave Filoni reminded us just how much the positive side of that fandom means to him, and what it can achieve, when he cited fan desire as one of the primary reasons Star Wars: The Clone Wars is making a comeback this fall. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with another bright beacon of the Star Wars fandom, artist Kyle Duca.

Kyle Duca: Artist From Early On

The twenty-six year old artist from Malta found his talent early on. In fact, has been honing his craft for the better part of the last twenty-two years. Ask him and he’ll tell you:

I’ve been drawing since I was just 4 years old, and never stopped since then.”

While admittedly not a Star Wars fanatic, Duca describes himself as “an avid fan” nonetheless. It certainly shows in his artwork. What began just two years ago with a Stormtrooper portrait has now blossomed into eighteen Star Wars pieces. His subjects range from Anakin Skywalker, to Thrawn, to Ahsoka Tano, and more.

A fan of the prequels, Duca’s favorite of the films is Revenge of the Sith. His true Star Wars artistic passion, however, rests with Darth Maul, his favorite character, and Maul’s conflict with Obi-Wan Kenobi. It certainly shows in this exquisite portrait of Darth Sidious’s apprentice:

Working primarily with pencils, acrylics and ink, Duca puts an extraordinary amount of time and painstaking detail into his works. That effort is more than evident in the final product. When asked which of his pieces is his favorite, he replied “Yoda, done in 90 hours.”

There is absolutely no questioning Duca’s talent and eye for all that is Star Wars. From now on, when I think of what the Star Wars fandom is and can be, I’m not going to dwell on those who would take to the Internet to disparage others; I’m going to think of artistic fans like Kyle Duca, who appreciate Star Wars fully and express that appreciation so vibrantly.

If you’d like to see more of Kyle Duca’s artwork, you can follow him either on Facebook (Kyle Duca) or on Instagram (@kyleduca).